Christmas Vacation in LA

Meet "TheYotesDiva Jr"

Hello all! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (just a tad bit late...) 

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. I had the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles for the first time to visit the Staples Center and watch the Coyotes play the Kings the day after Christmas. Regardless of the loss - I still had a blast! I took my niece - who is an avid Coyotes fan - and my mother, who had never been to a live NHL game before. She LOVED it! The Kings fans were fantastic - and didn't even complain about my niece's constant "GO YANDLE GO!" chant through-out the ENTIRE game. I love that kid... 

We stayed at the LA Live Marriott - on Coyotes TV Color Analyst Tyson Nash's recommendation - and it did not disappoint! Fantastic accommodations and within walking distance of Staples Center. Perfect! 

My niece and I waiting for the Staples Center doors to open...

Posing by the famous Gretzy statue...

Waiting for warm-ups...

Trying to get Yandle's attention...

Mission accomplished! Commemorative puck from warm-ups obtained!

The Diva's 1st Annual Coyotes Christmas Card Awards

Each year the Phoenix Coyotes draw holiday cards to be sold by Coyotes Charities. Opening up those cards each year and seeing what each player drew has become a fun tradition holiday in my house. So in honor of this Coyotes tradition, I've decided that I will start my own tradition here on the blog and give out awards to the players who make the best holiday cards each Christmas. Maybe if I ever purchase and learn how to use Photoshop, I'll actually make up awesome little trophies for each award or something. For now - we'll have to go with what we've got...

Welcome to The Diva's 1st Annual Coyotes Charities Christmas Card Awards! 

We're here tonight to honor those Coyotes players who really take the time to put some thought into their Christmas cards - or the ones who blatantly just don't give a crap... Because that makes for awesome Christmas cards too. So here we go! 

The award for the Best Desert Themed Card goes to:

#16 Rostislov Klesla!!!

Rusty's card got MAJOR props for the Christmas Cactus and PHX patch. 

The WTF Award goes to:

#3 Keith Yandle!!!

Uhhh... WTF Yandle...? 

This is why my boy is a hockey player and not an artist. Mcy? What does that mean? Is that supposed to be a stocking? You put rope on your Christmas tree? Is that a Smurf Snowman? *pats Yandle's head* you just keep teachin' how to dougie pumpkin. 

The "Hey, That's Actually Good" Award goes to:

#11 Martin Hanzal!!!

That's actually a really good snowman! Nice use of colors, great hat. Nice work Marty!

The "Huh?" Award goes to:

#41 Mike Smith!!!

I'm not entirely sure what his message is here - but he's a goalie. And the beauty of being a goalie is that no one has to understand your logic, because your a goalie. As long as you stop the puck you can do whatever you want. I am a bit disturbed by the "Candy of Cane" part though, I can't lie. But uh... Keep on Truckin'! 

The Best Christmas Tree Award goes to:

#33 Adrian Aucoin!

Is his wife taller than him? Cuz I... well... Why is the pink one the tallest? Um... yeah... that's a really good tree though! 

Last but certainly not least we have... 

The Best Overall Award, it goes to:

#13 Ray Whitney!!!

Where's Whitney strikes again! This time apparently, as Todd Walsh's creepy 2nd head. The absolute epicness of this card is immeasurable. From Shane Doan's nose to Walshie's shoes - it's a WIN all around.

If you'd like your own set so you can see what the rest of the team drew - you can order them here. You won't be disappointed. 

And with that - I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Hockey New Year! 

I Hate Trade Deadline Day.

Tweet

End of Day Update:

Well... despite losing Scottie and Sami - we can't complain too much. We got what we needed in return so we might actually squeeze by without an owner until the end of the season. Perhaps Scottie will re-sign here over the summer :(

I didn't expect any blockbusters - and I think its safe to say NO ONE in the league made any blockbuster moves. So now we head into the final race for the post-season with (most of) our team in tact. I'll do a tribute to The Ones We Lost On Deadline Day at work in the morning - if my intakes don't show up :)

NOON UPDATE:

The Ledge has been successfully located. Currently trying to keep my fellow Yotes fans from jumping. 

We lost Scottie... 

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I hate trade deadline day.

It was all fun and games until the first time my team traded my favorite player.

I remember that day all too well. I even remember what I was WEARING. Trade deadline day has since been the anniversary of my first hockey heartbreak via trade.

I was having a blast - watching all the trades being made between all the other teams & a few not so shocking moves with the Coyotes. It was my first trade deadline day since I'd gotten season tickets and really started following every move the Coyotes made. I remember sitting at work all morning hitting refresh on the TSN trade tracker page. Then I found a link to the audio coverage - and I remember the feeling of complete and utter shock I experienced when that dreadful trade was announced. I heard it. From Panger. He was supposed to be one of us... How dare he be the one to break such horrible news to me???

Daniel Carcillo to Philadelphia for Scottie Upshall and a 2nd round draft pick. 


What....? Wait... WHAT?!?! No... they couldn't... that's a mistake right? He meant someone else... NOOOOOOOO!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

Sadly - I have to admit that the tears started streaming down my face. I was literally heartbroken. I remember calling and texting all my hockey friends - posting the sad news on Facebook.... (this was prior to my Twitter days).

I spent the remainder of that season out on my ledge over it. And I hated Scottie Upshall. Passionately. Don Maloney wasn't my favorite person either.

I am happy to say however that my hatred for Scottie no longer exists in any form - and that I've now learned how to handle trade deadline day more appropriately - and that Don Maloney traded Danny because he had the best interests of the team in mind....

But that doesn't mean that I have to LIKE it.

I fell asleep with butterflies in my stomach last night...

With worries of trades to come running through my head...

"Who is trade bait this year...? Maybe we just won't make any trades... We don't have any money to play around with... right? What if they trade Kyle? No - I can't think like that... Yandle's untouchable right? I may head back out onto that ledge if they trade Turris or Yandle... I don't want to spend another end of the season out on a ledge. It involves too much drinking..."

Check back after twelve for updates on that ledge thing...

One more thing.......

YANDLEMONIUM

Photo Cred

Update: 11:00am 1/31/2011 More Yandlemonium. I'll add them as they keep popping up on my Zimbio alerts!

<3 The Yotes Diva

2011 All-Star Moments - So Far

Well ladies & gentlemen, the Skills Competition from last night's All-Star festivities is now complete. It was great! Team Lidstrom lost the skills competition so that just means they get to win the actual game tonight....

Here's some shots of my boys last night from around the web...

Coyotes Rookie Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson bing introduced to the crowd in Raleigh, NC. Photo credit goes to David Burke - the VP of Ticket Sales & Services for the Phoenix Coyotes. He Tweeted the photo earlier this morning. (psssst his Twitter is worth a follow too!)

Here's Coyotes Defenseman Keith Yandle unleashing the #Yandlemonium during the Skill Competition. He wasn't in full Yandlemonium mode - he's saving that for tonight! (photo cred)

 The NHL All-Star Game kicks off at 2:00pm (MST) on Versus. Don't miss it!!!

<3 TheYotesDiva

Ways to occupy yourself when your team plays like crap...

Before I get to my game recap, here's the Diva's tips on how to occupy yourself when your team is playing like they are destined for a dispersal draft:

#1 Watch funny videos of your favorite players on youtube. There are so many to choose from. You could watch Bryz tell you all about his helmet when he played for the Ducks.



Or you could hear his opinion on ex-teammate Chris Pronger. ("He's a good guy, why you hafta be mad? It's a minus turty two dere...")



I chose this video of Todd "Fridge" Fedoruk doing a little on-ice dancing when he was still playing with the Wild. Every time one of your players does something stupid on the ice, watch it again and remember what good guys they really are...



#2 Spend some time checking out the funniest website I've seen in a loooooong time: nhLOL. They have an especially hiliarous Wayne Simmonds picture that references Anze Kopitar as a zombie. Hysterical. (Be sure to move your mouse over the picture for another view.) Thanks to hipchecks for pointing these out to me and keeping me from losing my sanity during the game. You can even make your own nhLOL, here's the one that I made...

Really... where has this site been all my life???

Now...
Wild 6
Coyotes 3
BLAH!

Why we lost: we played like crap, for the most part. Down by two goals early in the first, the Coyotes appeared to wake up in the second. By the first half of the third, it looked like we were on our way to our first comeback of the season. But looks can be deceiving. Goals by Joakim Lindstrom, Olli Jokinen and Steve Reinprecht put us only one point behind the Wild. They started playing like a team NOT destined for HNIC's hypothetical Coyotes dispersal draft. Thanks a lot guys... give the media up north more fuel for their fires. Then our Defense fell apart and the Wild started scoring again. We are missing the hell outta Kurt Sauer right now. David Hale played better than Yandle, I'm sad to say...

Next up? We get to welcome back Roberto Luongo, in net for the first time since his injury. Canucks, Flames, Oilers... effin' great. This is going to be one helluva road trip. Then the boys come home and play the Red Wings again. Hold on to your hockey pucks ladies and gentlemen, we're in for a bumpy ride...

Oh Danny, I know how you feel...

*photo credit

♥ -The Diva

The "I only post game-day recaps when I feel like it" Game Day Recap: Avs @ Coyotes

TELLY! TELLY! TELLY!

He's a monster. I adore Telly. 37 saves by the Telly-Monster last night. He played fantastically. Derek Morris scored early in the 1st in his first game back since being injured while playing against the Hurricanes. Kevin Porter scored with a backhander in the 2nd to give the Yotes a 2-0 lead. Ryan Smyth ruined Telly's shut-out with a tip-in early in the third. Dammit. There is still some room for improvement. For example; we only won 16 of 51 face-offs. Unacceptable. The Coyotes were strong in the 1st & 2nd, seemingly losing a bit of momentum in the 3rd. PK is improving greatly. Still need some work on the power play. Work in progress...

We have now returned to being .500 (10-10-2). The boys wore their 3rd jerseys & I think they might be growing on me. They looked fantastic out on the ice. Tonight we face the Sharks. Who might have a bit of a stick up their asses due to the whoopin' we gave em earlier in the season...

Notes:

*Yandle = Playmaker. You should all take-up Fandlism. Really. \V

*ENVERRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!! So glad that your back. We missed you.

*Winnik was also in the line-up last night after having been a scratch due to injury.

*Carcillo had a GREAT night. He played fantastically, stayed out of the box, talked a little smack a time or two. But that's just how he rolls...

*OlliCoyote is out 2-4 weeks with a shoulder injury. Get well soon Olli!

*Porter played center tonight in Olli's absence. He did quite well.

*I gotta give Jovo some credit, he played a lot better tonight.

Photos courtesy of this site

Keeping up with my boys version 2.0

HOLY JUMPIN': YANDLE, JOVO PLAYED WELL IN LOSS
Darren Pang

Nov 22, 2008, 1:58 AM EST

Wayne Gretzky and his Phoenix Coyotes played the first game of a four-game swing that takes them from Carolina to Columbus.He had to be happy with certain parts of the team's performance on Friday night, as the 5-2 loss didn't tell the whole story. The Hurricanes scored late to make it 4-2 and into an empty net to finish it off at 5-2.He wanted more scoring from his second tier, needing to take pressure off of Olli Jokinen and especially Shane Doan. Doan did score his 11th goal in another strong game, while Kevin Porter notched his fourth of the season. Derek Morris only played 7:54 before leaving with an undisclosed injury, Gretzky saying after the game he has been "banged up" and had a previous ankle injury, to go along with a finger injury.Gretzky found a solid pairing iin Keith Yandle and Ed Jovanovski, who had a strong game, especially down the stretch when they were needing to get on the board and tie the score.Yandle continues to make great strides. He is strong on the puck, making plays in both ends and has a presence about him. He grew up idolizing Ray Bourque, he picked up a few things along the way. All of them good. Like taking pucks off the boards, bringing it to a better angle and getting pucks to the net. He has great hockey sense.Jovanovski needs to just play the game, move his feet, get in on the play, get a good hit in early and then let the game come to him. He is too good of a player to be playing the way he has in most games this season. This was a game that he had legs, and that is everything in this day and age.As a whole, Gretzky's squad has to read situations better in the defensive zone, and be stronger on loose pucks. They were loose in front of their net on this night, and saw Eric Staal snap out of an eight-game goal-scoring drought, with three goals. He wanted pucks in the net more than the Coyotes were willing to defend.The Coyotes did create plenty of good chances and never gave up, in fact they should have had a power play with around five minutes to go, as Staal got his stick between the legs of Porter, clearly an infraction, and the score 3-2 in favor of the 'Canes. Enver Lisin was recalled from the AHL and is likely to be in the lineup in Philly on Saturday.The Coyotes can't score goals and could use a spark, even if it is short term. Mikael Tellqvist will be in goal against the Flyers as he played a great game last year there in a win.From there, it is on to NY for a rare Monday game for the Coyotes and the second game coached by Gretzky at MSG, as he got a win in his first game there last season.

Panger (article)

Diva Terminology Part 2: The Howl, The Elves & The Fandles

The Howl: As a Coyotes fan, I think we have the best "fan thing" in the NHL: The Howl. No one else has anything even remotely as cool. We need to embrace the howl. We need to howl frequently. Example 1: Some of the hockey friends recently howled at a wedding when our hockey friend Q kissed the bride. Absolutely fantastic. The howl is a beautiful thing. I have started working the howl into my daily life. When something good happens or someone says something that I feel needs a little further emphasis; I've adapted my own lil version of the howl. It goes a little something like this: "ow owwww" or "owwww" or even just a simple "ow" could suffice, depending on the situation.

Embrace the howl, Coyotes fans.... EMBRACE IT!

The Christmas Elves: Any and all players in a Minnesota Wild jersey. While watching a Wild game at the start of the season, I discovered that the Wild strongly resemble little Christmas Elves in their little home outfits. All they need are bells on the tops of their wittle helmets and curled up elf skates with bells on the tops of them too. Goalie Backstrom should be required to wear a Santa suit for each and every home game. Their goal horn should be the Halleujah Chorus and I think green visors would complete the whole look.

Christmas Elf picture coming as soon as Odie finishes it, check back often....................

Fandles: This is a term I have dubbed to describle myself and my hockey friend The Virg. We are Keith Yandle Fans = Fandles. The few and the proud. Maybe even the only two. If you are a Yandle fan, you should join us. We are quite the elite group of folks... Can two people be considered a group? We even have our own hand signs... \V that's kinda it.... but not really....

Keeping up with my boys: Keith Yandle

Keith Yandle Feature at PhoenixCoyotes.com

A recent return to the lineup for Coyotes defenseman Keith Yandle has been a positive step in the development of the one-time Canadian Major Junior defenseman of the year. With a newfound confidence, Yandle, a healthy scratch for four straight games this season, has assisted on four goals in the five games he has played since returning to the lineup on Nov. 8. “When I was sitting out, I told myself that when I do get in the lineup, I’ve got to play to stay in the lineup,” said Yandle, who has a goal and seven assists in 12 games this season. “I do what I can do to help the team.”Coyotes Head Coach Wayne Gretzky likes the offense Yandle brings to the team.“He is a little bit more offensive then a lot of the other guys we have,” Gretzky said. “When he does get in the lineup, he has this energy.”Since his return, Yandle has been paired with veteran defenseman Ken Klee, whom the Coyotes picked up off of waivers from the Anaheim Ducks in October. "Keith is obviously a great skater,” said Klee, who has an assist in eight games with the Coyotes this season. “He can get up in the play and he has offensive talent.”Klee has taken it upon himself to try to show Yandle how to be a consistent professional in the NHL.“As a young player, one
thing they are lacking is confidence and consistency and that’s what I am trying to help him with,” Klee said. “As an older guy, I tell him to relax and that we will be OK as long as we use eachother.“That’s kind of my role as an older guy, to kind of help young guys with confidence and consistency. That’s what makes a good NHLer and a good pro, so that’s what I am trying to help him with.”In the few games they have played together, Yandle has learned a lot from the 37-year-old Klee.“He’s a wily vet,” Yandle said. “He helps me out … it has been good playing with him. He teaches me a lot and knows a lot about the game. He talks to me throughout the game and after the game, so it’s good.”Yandle said he is learning how to stay in the lineup.“I think I was a little too aggressive last year,” Yandle said. “I have tried to be simple and jump in the play.”That simplicity will help Yandle progress as a player.“It’s about knowing the right time to jump and reading the situation, and that comes with experience,” Klee said. “As a young guy, he wants to do more. Especially when you are young, sometimes you try to do a little too much. I am trying to make sure we take care of our end and be efficient with the puck.

Click for article.

What Happens in Minnesota, Stays in Minnesota

I am going to blatantly ignore the fact that my boys played like crap last night, K? The best thing I can say about that game is that at least all of the Wild's goals were scored on their power plays. That's not so bad... or maybe our contract to be the Flames bitches has expired and we've just signed another one with the Wild. Stupid Christams Elves. DIE ELVES! Ya know what probably happened? They were singing rounds of "Jingle Bells" during play and it threw my boys off. Yah... that's it. Who can concentrate on the game when you've got a jolly 'ol elf singing in your face? Not I. And no one wants to score on Santa Clause... then they wouldn't get anything for Christmas!

But I digress... One highlight of the game last night was when my boy Keith Yandle dropped the gloves with Clutterfuck... or Cluttersmuck... or whatever his name is. My boy usually doesn't fight so well. He didn't do too bad last night. Take a look...





Tomorrow night, Sean Effin' Avery is in town. I've been awaiting his arrival for a long time. Here's hoping The Great One puts in McGrattan, Murray and Carcillo for the festivities. This will also be Carcillo's first meeting this season with Ott and Barch, whom he has quite a history with... should be a lot of fun!

*Elf Slaughter photo courtesy of Q at http://davidaebischer.net/

*Video courtesy of youtube.com

The Diva's Coyotes @ Canucks Preview

Ok, so according to all of the research I have done; we are going into tonight's game having only won 1 of our last 13 match-ups against the Canucks. OUCH! That might even be worse than our record against Calgary??? Regardless... the boys played a great game Tuesday night and tonight needs to be the night we prove we can keep that momentum going.

The Diva's Game Day Pep Talk:

YOU GOT THIS BOYS!!! You're SO gonna own those Canuckleheads tonight! It's time to prove that you are no longer anyone's bitches!

Danny: That first goal of the season is comin' tonight baby, I FEEL IT!

Olli: We're really gonna need you to go in there and be the Olli we all know you can be. That is YOUR PUCK!! You OWN that puck! You let no one take that puck from you! You are Olli Coyote HOWWWWWWWWWWWL!!!!

Papa Doan: Feel free to go in there and smack around as many Canuckleheads as you please. DOAN THEM!!!

Murray: you lil shit, get out there and do your thing! PARTY ON GARTH!

Jovo: We need JovoCop tonight, K? Love you... no, really...

I feel sick... Alright... now.

LET'S GO COYOTES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

P.S. I am going to boycott... something... until they bring back Yandle...
BRING BACK YANDLE!!!

*photo courtesy of Q at davidaebischer.net