Last year when I attended the Division III Phinal Phour, I wrote up a summary in a humorous awards format. I wasn't going to write anything up for the Div. I Phinal Phour figuring that the more active Hockey-L'ers (I tend to hang out more on hockey3) would provide quite adequate summations. But, I've been thinking up things all day today, some of which haven't been posted, so I figured, what the heck. The worst that can happen is for people to delete my message without reading it. In no particular order: THE SOCIALITE OF THE YEAR (DECADE, CENTURY, MILLENIUM?) AWARD: Who else, but to Carol White. Others have thanked her, but there is never enough for the fine effort she put in. The dinner was great (it wasn't her fault that the kitchen wasn't unable to keep up with the demand), and the tour of Mariucci Arena was a super bonus. THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AWARD: To the Hockey-L Mailing List. Where else can you find, but at a Hockey-L Dinner, fans of Wisconsin and Minnesota, proudly dressed in their team colors, sitting at one table talking amongst each other as if there is not a trace of hatred in the world. THE TAKE YOUR SHOES OFF TO HELP KEEP COUNT AWARD: Somebody needs to teach the shot clock operator how to count. Not only was it never kept up to date, but twice I saw it never increment even after a team scored a goal. THE COME THE FURTHEST JUST TO MEET AWARD: Goes to myself and Larry Haag. Despite both of us working at Kodak in Rochester, NY, and even having common acquaintances, we never met each other until after we traveled nearly a 1000 miles to attend the Hockey-L Dinner. THE QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND AWARD: Goes to our esteemed Mike Machnik. Between the 1st and 2nd periods of the Championship Game with Lake Superior St. leading BU, 1-0, Mike said, "BU has Lake State right where they want them." THE FUNNIEST SCHOOL NAME AWARD: I know my brother, Kenneth, is going to kill me for this, but it goes to him. After the introductions at the dinner where he mentioned that he got his Masters Degree at UW-Stout, he received many jokes about the name of that institution. THE DEAD FANS AWARD: Goes to, surprisingly, the LSSU supporters. If somebody walked into the arena in the third period without knowing the score, they would have thought BU was winning. BU's supporters continued to cheer, urge on their team, and have their pep band play. The LSSU fans just sat on their hands waiting for the game to end. And they were going to win the National Championship! THE SEND THEM BACK TO POLICE ACADEMY AWARD: Goes to the St. Paul Police for their totally inept traffic control. We got to the Civic Center on Thursday a half hour before game time, yet we still missed the first goal. I have been stuck in the worst of the worst in NYC before, but I have never seen such incompetent traffic control as that provided by the St. Paul police. THE "OH, THAT'S WHAT THEY LOOK LIKE" AWARD: To all us Hockey-L'ers who were meeting each other for the first time. How many other people had their mental images of what they expected based on how people write totally shot to hell? For me, the only two folks who vaguely resembled what my imagination conjured up were Pam Sweeney and Heather Machnik. I have no idea what should be read into that. THE "I WONDER..." AWARD: Goes to the Charlotte PA announcer. During the Final Game, the PA announcer in St. Paul gave updates on those other Final Four games. I wonder, did the PA announcer in Charlotte give updates on the hockey championship game to all those round ball fans? I'm pretty sure I know the answer. THE TRUE CONFESSIONS AWARD: Goes to myself, who as a Potsdam alumnus, was still willing to introduce myself, shake hands, and hold valid conversations with the First Lady of Cardinal Hockey, Heather. (For those of you who don't know, Potsdam looks at Plattsburgh hockey the way Minnesota looks at Wisconsin, the way BU looks at Maine, the way, well you get the picture.) I just hope the gods of the Bears can forgive me... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Russell Jaslow | Official Contact - Potsdam College Hockey|My employer Eastman Kodak Company | Potsdam Bears - 1981 and 1986 NCAA Div. |has nothing Rochester, New York | III National Basketball Champions and |to do with [log in to unmask] winners of 60 consecutive games! |my drivel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------