How About a Hockey Equipment Tax Credit for Single Hockey Moms? (Make that for all sports....)

"Hockey Mom Comes out Fighting" - that was the headline of today's Washington Post. Now before any of you out there jump all over this hockey mom, let me just state once again, that I am not endorsing a particular candidate - merely giving my opinions on this newest nominee, along with how she's brought hockey moms and the great sport of hockey into the limelight. Um, her daughter's baby daddy is a high school hockey player and quite a talented one I hear.

Just kidding, Sarah, about the sports equipment tax credit for single moms or lower income families. Just a hockey mom appealing to another hockey mom! But hey, if we had more affordable sports equipment available to all kids, maybe we could drag them away from the Playstations and cut down on childhood obesity...just a thought.

Hockey Mom thought Governor Palin did a great job considering the firestorm she's been under this past week. She certainly possesses the feisty spirit of a true hockey mom - every hockey mom in North America got a laugh when she said "The difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick!" She was poised, quick-witted and calm under pressure. Does that mean she can lead the country? Not necessarily. But those are qualities that a real hockey mom must have and they've helped me overcome adversity during some trying times.

Plus, she had to get ready for her speech in the Minnesota Wild locker room at the Xcel Energy Center and being a hockey mom, she probably wasn't bothered in the least by the funky remnant odor of BO lingering in the staging area.

So, Sarah Palin earned some points with me last night. I am still undecided in what is going to be long race - what I'd really like to see is her throw down the gloves with the Cap's Donald Brashear. She'd really earn my vote then, fer sure!

Locker Room Language

*Capitals locker room signs by DDI Signs.

So today my hockey boys made the big jump into middle school. They spent much of the summer in various hockey camps and finished the last one last Thursday. This particular session combined players of all ages and they were in the locker room with many of the Bantam (13 & 14-year old players).

And so begins the age of inappropriate locker room talk about "hot chicks", smelly bodily functions and lots of other ridiculous topics that make the guys from the movie Dumb and Dumber look like Albert Einstein. If there are no coaches or dads present, the raging hormones of pre-teen boys take over and the conversation tends to spiral downward quickly. Of course my guys think everything they hear in the sacred, stinky depths of the locker room is so hilarious that they have to rush home and share the jokes with Hockey Mom (who then proceeds to stick her fingers in her ears and go "LA LA LA LA" until said conversation comes to an end). I've come up with a rule for my hockey boys - what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room. And just because you hear something in the locker room doesn't make it true (or funny). There are some things that just don't bear repeating outside the inner confines of the boys' locker room...

That said, HM would like to be a fly on the wall inside the Capital's locker room (though I'd probably have to plug my ears in there too) - especially to catch the buzz on this upcoming season. The great news is that with the exception of goalie Jose Theodore, most of guys in the Cap's locker room are returning players and share a tremendous camaraderie. We hope to see captain Chris Clark back from injury and contributing to the locker room ruckus and on the ice in a few weeks!

Speaking of camaraderie, for any of you hockey players always on the lookout for a pickup game, HM just got wind of a really cool site: pickuphockeyfinder.com. This site lets you search for or organize pickup games from the convenience of your computer without driving from rink to rink. Look for more cities to be added to this site soon and remember - as so eloquently stated in the movie Mystery, Alaska - "what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room!"

Hockey Mom for VP?

Now Hockey Mom hasn't decided which way she's going to vote and I am in no way endorsing either candidate, but we may end up with a fellow hockey mom in the White House!

Breaking news reports are confirming that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin - a "self-styled" hockey mom has been appointed as running mate to Republican candidate John McCain. I don't know much about her yet, but I can say from experience if she's a hockey mom with 5 kids (including one with Down's Syndrome), I know she's tough as nails, a master at handling crisis situations and can handle the messiest of messes!

Interesting Article on Russian Players in NHL

Hockey Mom found this interesting article on Russian players in the NHL. As Caps fans know, three Caps (Ovechkin, Fedorov and Semin) led the Russian team to gold in this year's IIHF World Championships in addition to leading the Capitals to the playoffs last season. HM would be interested in getting their opinion on Predator's broadcaster Terry Crisp's comment where he states "I don't think the skins of Russian players are as thick as the other guys." Hockey Mom is going to throw the flag down on that little diddy!

Just because the Nashville Predators are in a tizzy because their star player
Alexander Radulov tried to go over to Russia's KHL (Kontinental Hockey League) for the crazy mad money they are throwing around, doesn't mean you can label all Russian-born players. They continue to come here for a chance to play in the world's best hockey showcase - the National Hockey League. I for one can't wait to see the newest Russian addition to the Washington Capitals when he makes the move up from Hershey - young goalie phenom, Simeon Varlamov.

Let's ask Gabby - I bet Bruce Boudreau would agree that Alex Ovechkin is probably one of the most coachable players in the game today! And he is obviously happy to be here along with his fellow countrymen Semin and Fedorov. Well maybe not so much for Semin, but hey I think Washington is growing on him...

Where in the World is Mats Sundin?

Okay boys, it's almost back to camp time and time for an attendance check.

Ovechkin? Check. Crosby? Check. Zetterberg? Check. Vinny? Check. Sundin?...Sundin? Anyone? Anyone?

Hockey Mom (along with many other fans world-wide) wants to know when Mats Sundin is going to get off the pot and make a decision to retire or sign with another team. There are even rumors swirling around that the New York Rangers may trade Scott Gomez to make cap room for the yet-undecided Swedish veteran. HM gets the fact that it takes a lot of time and thought to decide whether it's time to hang up the skates on an illustrious career. For most NHL players, hockey is all they've known since their youth and it's in their blood and enmeshed in their DNA! I'm sure the decision doesn't go down like this: "So Mabel (or insert name of hot hockey wife here), I've been thinking. I'm kinda tired of getting the tar knocked out of me every night and my feet are starting to hurt. Whaddya say I hang up the skates for good and we go fishing?"

But the stringing teams along routine (which occurs in other sports as well, see Brett Favre) while a player is trying to decide what to do about retirement issue is getting a bit old. For one, there's the CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement) to consider. HM doesn't even profess to completely understand the intricacies of the CBA in the least. But I do know, that once a player says they are going to retire (before they're ready) and then comes back to the team, some other guy gets misplaced due to salary cap limits. For a prime example, I refer to the case of the Anaheim Duck's Scott Neidermayer, whose return from a brief "semi-retirement" displaced one of my favorite players, Andy McDonald.

So hurry up Mats, the season's almost here...make a move finally!

An HM Toast to All You Female Hockey Bloggers...

Hockey Mom wants to propose a toast to all of the fabulous, hard-working and enthusiastic female hockey bloggers out there who are spreading the puck love among avid fans and the hockey uninitiated alike! I got a great shout out today from Ted Leonsis, the Washington Capitals' fan-tabulous owner (also known as "Uncle Ted" by legions of the Caps' faithful) - thanks Uncle Ted!

He also mentioned another favorite Cap's gal blogger pal of mine, Love The Game, Don't Like Puck Bunnies. This hockey goddess has scored some phenomenal interviews lately, including the most recent with Ted Leonsis himself. And of course there's also DC Sports Chick contributing her insight on Capitals hockey with the On Frozen Blog gang and one of the Cap's best female voices, Caps Chick providing her View From the Cheap Seats.

It's so exciting to see women succeeding in building momentum and recruiting new fans to this great game, all from the unique female perspective. You can be a "girl's girl" and still possess a wealth of knowledge about hockey, which has historically been covered by the "boy's club." Keep up the great work ladies - the season is just around the corner and I hope to see you all at Kettler during training camp!

Athletes & Egos

Today Hockey Mom stumbled across a FOX Sports feature, The Top 10 Showboaters in Sports. I was surprised to see the player I love to strongly dislike (you teach your youth players not to say "hate") the most, Sean Avery, only coming in at number 10! Of course the rest of the list is comprised of 3 NFL players, a few MLB players, Danica Patrick, Serena Williams, Jamaican runner Usain Bolt and unfortunately, the Washington Wizard's own Gilbert Arenas. But hey, when you have as many aliases as Gilbert (A.K.A. Agent Zero; A.K.A. The Hibachi) and have just signed another contract for an obscene amount of money ($111 million dollars), you're bound to end up on this sort of list. Do you know how much hockey equipment you could buy for underprivileged kids who want to get into the game with even a fraction of that amount of money?

NFL players are notorious for showboating in the end zone and despite efforts by the NCAA to curtail these antics, many of these players begin to polish their showboating skills at the college level. HM is a graduate of Florida State University, home to one of the biggest showboaters in college or NFL history, the legendary Deion "Prime Time" Sanders.

Don't get me wrong, I have absolutely no problem seeing any athlete (youth or pro) celebrate a goal or victory. Showboating is an entirely different thing which in most cases, demonstrates a complete lack of respect for your opponent and sportsmanship in general. That's one of the things that Hockey Mom loves about the way the game is played in the NHL. Watch any NHL team and it's pretty clear that the majority of these guys are totally in it "for the team" and not themselves. When Alex Ovechkin jumps into the boards after scoring a sweet goal for the Caps, it is out of pure joy for the game and not self-promotion. Even upon winning the biggest awards in the league this year, Ovie thanked his team first.

That's why, despite the bad rap the NHL may sometimes get for fighting, I think it's one of the best professional leagues that young athletes can follow. There's just no room for showboating in the game of hockey - at any level. Plus, it would be really hard to do an obnoxious "goal dance" on skates - you'd look more like a member of the Ice Capades than a bad-a$# hockey player!