My thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by Hurricane/Superstorm Sandy. I hope that everyone can begin to resume a "normal" life sooner than later. It's been interesting watching the news coverage. The reporters go out into the storms, into dangerous places, to tell us normal people NOT to go out into those dangerous places. Go figure. Just be careful in any storm that you happen to be in during the winter season.

I have family flying back to Portland this coming weekend, and I'm fairly confident that they'll be fine getting back, but I wonder what it's going to be like... will the airports be horribly backed up, or will things have settled down by the weekend?  We shall see.

On the west coast, we had earthquakes all over the Canadian coastline last weekend. I think there were over 25 of them, but I lost track after awhile. Fortunately, here in Portland all we've had to deal with lately is just wind, rain, and colder weather, and by cold weather, I'm referring to temperatures dropping down into the 40s. That's October for you.

Halloween is almost here, but I'm not wearing a costume to the hockey game. I'll probably just go as myself; that should be scary enough. 

Cheers!

So, looking back at the last few days...

We had some friends join us at the hockey game Saturday night. Always fun when friends are with us, and more fun at a Portland vs Seattle game. Late 2nd period, with 2.8 seconds to go in the period, Portland pulled their goalie for an extra player. Amazingly, they scored before the horn! That pretty much broke Seattle's spirit, and Portland rolled up a few more goals in the 3rd period to run away with the win. Lots of fun for everyone...

The weather has not only turned rainy and windy, but cold as well. I finally had to dig out some extra blankets the other night, since the lows were falling into the upper 30s. Living in an "outlying area" has it's ups and downs, and this time of year can be a real downside.

The boys continue to be busy with their respective schedules: Brandon is busy much of the week at work, and Tyler has not only his regular school work, but his car class as well. He's moving into an advanced level, and that means bigger things to work on, like electronics. He's really excited about all of it, and really seems to enjoy it as well.

As for Mary Lou, she's starting a holiday position soon as a bouquet designer. In fact, she's going to be at the same store that Brandon is at, just in a different area. She continues to worry about her dad, who is still recovering from bladder cancer surgery, as well as dealing with thyroid cancer. Updates on that as they become available...

Onward from here, see y'all later...

It's official! Fall is here and with a vengeance as well. The temperatures have fallen, the rain is falling, and it looks like even snow is falling, at least in the Cascades.

High temps are expected to be pushing the mid-50s, and the lows down close to or below 40 degrees for much of this week.

So, it's time to break out the rain coats, sweatshirts, hoodies and warm blankets for the beds. Good thing we have a fireplace... it helps take a bit of the chill out.

...and oh yeah, this sort of weather really gets you into the mood for a good hockey game. Portland-Seattle coming up!

Cheers!

In spite of schedules that have not crossed for quite some time, my younger sister and I had a pleasant chat tonight on the phone. We talked about the extended family, relatives, friends, and started laying groundwork for the holidays. Hey, it's only about two months to Christmas.

While I write, whether on this blog, my hockey-book reviews, or anything elseI often play music to help me relax. In many cases, I listen to the music of ABBA. I have been a big fan since I was a kid, growing up in the Middle East. Though many artists have come and gone through my collection, ABBA remains a staple of my music preferences. I have updated my music player with plenty of my favorite ABBA songs.

I am also working on a fictional story that, when finished, will link the great Alcatraz escape of June 11th, 1962 with the D. B. Cooper skyjacking mystery. These two events could not be any further apart, and yet, I'm working on a way to combine them into a wonderful fictional adventure.

Stay tuned!

Hockey book reviews can be tough. The idea is to give an unbiased opinion of a book, but at the same time, you can give some opinions either way about the book.

I've started a spin-off site for my collection. It can be found here:

http://markshockeyreviews.blogspot.com/

I will put up my hockey reviews there as I work my way through what I've got at home, and whatever I may find at the library.

Happy reading to everyone!

It's been a few days, and I've spent many of them dog-sitting for a close friend. Dogs are wonderful creatures; they don't ask too much, other than give them love and attention every so often. They'll curl up beside you or at your feet. They'll play ball, or with their other toys.
When you're dealing with service dogs, they are even more entertaining, because you not only have to keep up their training, but you can take them everywhere around town.

Nothing like taking a service dog in training to a hockey game either. You get a lot of funny looks from other fans. Granted, our friends love our puppies, but most of the people in the arena don't care, and don't think it's fair that we have dogs in the building, and they don't. After all, it's not a guide dog for the blind, and yes, we've had many problems in the past few years at the games.

I should have another hockey book review up in a couple of days. This is a fun one, but I'm not going to say any more until I'm done.

Cheers!

Book review for today:  Gretzky's Tears: Hockey, America, and the Day Everything Changed by Stephen Brunt.

I was a big fan of Gretzky back in his prime in Edmonton. I loved the way he could do almost anything, practically at will on the ice. It was amazing to watch as a budding hockey fan. I figured he'd play forever in Edmonton, and retire with the Oilers.

To my shock and disbelief, he was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on August 9th, 1988. I believed everything that was printed at that point, not having the internet or NHL-market papers to read. Who would have the nerve to trade The Great One? What in the world happened that made him want to leave?

This book answers all those questions and more. You get a feeling for how Gretzky was slowly being pushed to the side and edged out, so that Peter Pocklington, the Oilers owner, could get some new, younger blood back and make another pile of money.

The inside information is exquisite, and easy to follow even if you don't know anything about the game. From the beginning of Gretzky's career in Edmonton, to the days of the trade and following his arrival in Los Angeles, everything is not as it seems. The reader begins to see that not all was well in Edmonton, and Pocklington was to blame for much of that.

To purchase this book through the website of Powells City of Books, located in Portland, OR:

http://www.powells.com/biblio/1-9781600783043-0

So, here's my first hockey book review. This is intended to be the first of many, as I start with my personal collection as well as stuff I've read from the library, and it will go from there.

Many of my reviews will include a link to purchase the book through Powells City of Books. This is an independent book store, located in Portland, Oregon. The main store is a 4-story, full city block emporium of new and used books. While their hockey selection can sometimes be lacking, I have also found wonderful treasures on the shelves. If Powells doesn't have a book, then I will include another web site that has it.

Today, I'm reviewing Hockey in Portland (Images of Sports) 

This is a book about the history of hockey in the city of Portland, OR. (my home town)

As a hockey fan, I am interested in both current hockey, as well as the history of the game. This book starts all the way back with the Portland Rosebuds in the early 1900s. The Rosebuds were the first team based in the United States to compete for the Stanley Cup.

The book goes on into the 1940s and 50s with the Portland Eagles and Penguins with pictures of players and the arenas that they played in. Unfortunately, those arenas are long gone in the city.

Finally, the main focus seems to be on the Portland Buckaroos, of the WHL in the 1960s and early 70s. There are pictures of probably 30 or 40 players, action photos, and photos from other memorable games. Each player photo comes with a short bio, outlining playing style, career numbers, and general hockey career.

For any hockey fan who watched the Buckaroos play, this is a wonderful book to bring the club back to life. For a hockey fan who has had the opportunity to meet the Buckaroos at Winterhawks games, like myself, this book has brought their careers back to life and gives people an insight into a different era. It also stands as proof that hockey in Portland was once the "in thing." The Coliseum regularly sold out for Buckaroos games, making it one of the hottest tickets in town for it's day.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in hockey in the Portland area. It stands as a living testament to a century of hockey in the city.

Here is a link to purchase this book via Powells City of Books:

http://www.powells.com/s?kw=hockey+in+portland&class=

Good grief, it's been a couple days since I posted. Hopefully, everything has been going well for everyone.

Two hockey games last weekend at home, and Portland split the two, a win and a loss. I won't go into the games too much, other than to say that along with a lot of Hawks fans, we're getting nervous about the beginning of the season. Things are not looking as rosy as they have been in the past two seasons, but therein lies the problem; we're comparing apples and oranges, and the team doesn't have the same personnel and horses that they did the last two years. Now the team heads into Canada for two and a half weeks for six games against the Eastern Division.

The service dog school did a field trip on Saturday. We took a few students on the MAX train to the airport, and then walked around there for about twenty minutes. A couple of the students and their dogs did some testing as well, preparing for the CGC, the Canine Good Citizen test. After the test, my wife, my son and I sat down in the food court with the program director and we all had some lunch.We had a few laughs, talked about a few things with the school and class, and generally had a good time for the afternoon. My family had to run home, throw on our hockey gear, and go back to the Rose Garden arena after the field trip. Busy Saturday, to say the least.

The  upcoming week will bring the Pet Expo. Special treat at the Expo; from the Animal Planet show Pit Boss, Shorty and his dog Hercules will be there. We're looking forward to a possibility of meeting him.

That's my world at the moment... thanks for peeking in.