I apologize to all my dedicated readers/fans (read: my family and loved ones) who have been holding their breath in anticipation of my next post. You can finally come up for air; it has arrived. I have been preoccupied lately with work, planning a trip for a friend's wedding, and the pending release of results for the July 2006 California Bar Exam (which, as I'm sure you're all dying to know, will be released in exactly 73 hours and 26 minutes...er...25 minutes...er...I could really spend an entire post just counting down the remaining time, and, as entertaining as that might be, I won't). Well, all this actually has nothing to do with this post...so let's move on.
I had the oppurtunity to hang out with my good friend Agman this past weekend at the UCLA/OSU game. He was out from Chicago for a brief weekend visit with his family and the game. There was quite a group of us for the tailgate: Agman, his parents, his sister, my friend Stavy, my friend Reina, my friend Bal-Sac's parents, his sister and soon-to-be brother-in-law, friends of Agman's parents, and several of Agman's UCLA friends. As with all events Agman plans, it was a great time (see, e.g., Bal-Sac's bachelor party in Austin...Austin, Massachusetts?). We ended up seeing roughly 30 minutes of the UCLA game live because (1) we did not expect it to be that good of a game and, well, (2) because we were holding an epic flip-cup tournament that could not be interrupted (you haven't lived until you've played flip-cup with the Bal-Sac family...living proof that flip-cup skills are genetic...I kid you not).
My group of high school friends is, to this day, amazing. Most of us are still in touch on a regular basis. I attribute this to Agman. He was the one who was always making the plans. What are we doing on Friday night after the football game (besides watching Friday Football Focus)? I do not know, call Agman. BAP's parents are out of town again, are we having a small soiree? I do not know, call Agman. He made sure everyone was in the know and everyone was having a good time.
When I went away to college, I realized just how important it was to have a friend like Agman. Not that I had trouble finding fun things to do or ways to get myself into "trouble," but I became the "Agman" of my group of college friends because someone had to coordinate everything. I never realized how much work it took to make sure everyone was having a good time. I did not know what kind of friend I had in Agman until he was not around everyday. The same thing happened when Dylan McKay left the 90210 zip code early in the 6th season (and millions of teenage girls were left heartbroken...with BAP there to pick up the pieces). For the next three years the show ambled on meaninglessly forcing the writers to have two to three episodes each season playing the "will he, won't he return" card. Inevitably, Dylon had to return in the 9th season, but it was too late, the damage had been done. I'm convinved the show would still be going today had he not left. The producers just never realized what they had. (My favorite sports writer, Bill Simmons, who's articles can be found here, recently noted that the first pick in last June's NBA draft has the same name as the girl who had the crush on Brandon while they were working on the Beverly Blaze together...crazy...how did I not see this first?...but I digress.)
This also goes for the defending NFL Champion Seattle Sea...er...my bad...Pittsburgh Steelers (way to go ref). At 3-6, the Steelers are starting to realize just how important Jerome Bettis was; so much so, that the commentators even mentioned it while the Steelers were struggling to put away the New Orleans Saints this past Sunday. The Steelers could always climb on board "the Bus" when it mattered most and enjoy the smooth ride to victory. As much as I hate the Steelers, it's hard to deny the ability of Bettis to put a game away late in the 4th.
Where am I going with this train of thought you ask? Simple: I think the Los Angeles Kings are now starting realize what they lost when they let one of their coaches go. No, I am not talking about my main man Andy Murray; that post will come when he is hired by another team. I am talking about former assistant coach, now head coach of the Dallas Stars, Dave Tippett. Tippett served as a Kings' assistant coach from 1999-2002. The Kings made the playoffs in each of his three seasons, after making it only once in the previous six. Since arriving in Dallas, the Stars have gone 140-71-33 (going 0-1-1 while he recovered from surgery), have won two division titles, and have made the playoffs each season. The Kings, on the other hand, have failed to make the playoffs, going 103-101-42 during that stretch.
The Kings power play never ranked outside the top ten while Tippett led the special teams as an assistant; they finished 10th during his first season, 7th during his second, and led the league in 2001-2002 at 20.7%. Since his departure, the Kings power play has not opperated at higher than 14.6% (2002-2003 season), never ranking higher than 20th (2002-2003 season), and finishing tied for 28th out of the 30 teams in the National Hockey League last season. This season appears to be much the same as the Kings power play is opperating at 14.6%, good for 21st in the league (though, it has gotten better as of late, including a 2-3 performance last night against the Sharks...and the Stars are only opperating at 14.4%...told you Marc Crawford was going to turn this ship around).
It is hard to admit it, but I don't think the Kings realized what they had until it went and turned a division rival into Stanley Cup contenders (and they'll feel the same way when Murray does the same).
Oh yeah...fyi...71 hours and 9...er...I mean 8 minutes.
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