. . . but never something borrowed. With the help of the list of things needed to get married (as I will be, come next August), I am proud to announce the arrival of a new post (trumpets, trumpets, trumpets . . . fanfare, fanfare, fanfare . . . fireworks . . . thank you, you're all too kind). As usual, these words are all my own, never borrowed. Unfortunately, I have been forced to face a cruel reality, one that makes me blue (read: sad . . . see how I did that?). I share this reality with you now.
Do you remember way back when the producers of Saved By The Bell decided to make a second senior year of high school? I do, and at first I was excited. I did not know how I was going to cope with the loss of my good friends Zack, Albert Clifford, and Samuel; they were practically family. And what about getting the latest gossip from Lisa, or daydreaming about the head cheerleader/homecoming queen/swim team member/cheating Kelly, or getting annoyed with the neurotic Jessie (especially when she goes and gets hooked on caffeine pills . . . "I'm so excited, I'm so excited, I'm so . . . scared!")? So, needless to say, I was relieved to hear that senior year part two was going to happen.
Sure, some changes needed to be made. The same class coming back for a second round would have seemed a little odd. So Jessie decided it was best for her to go pursue her dreams of being a big-screen actress (if you can call taking your clothes for all your roles being an actress). Kelly also decided it was best that she go and sleep with every single male living in Beverly Hills, 90210 (no comment from Zack's people on how he's responding). Then there was the new girl in town, the "biker chick' Tori, who spent half the time being a bad-ass and half the time trying to discover her feminine side. Now, interesting enough, although the Tori episodes were filmed after the first senior year episodes, they aired simultaneously on NBC, alternating weeks. All that being said, the second senior year was a disappointment. Although the episode that features The Five Aces still ranks as one of my favorites, the second senior year left me feeling blue.
But the second senior year of Saved By The Bell is not the only thing that has left me feeling blue. This is the second year of Dean Lombardi's rebuilding plan for the Los Angeles Kings, and it seems to be worse than the first. If you take a moment to peruse the Pacific Division standings over in the right-hand column, you will see the Kings there at the bottom. The team is currently in the middle of not their first or second, but third five-game losing streak of the season and we are not even to the half way point. If I posted the standings for the entire National Hockey League, you would see the Kings at the very bottom; they are the only team that has not reached the thirty-point mark. As usual, the Kings are being let down by their defense and goaltending; they have given up the most goals (119) in the league. The team only has five players with a plus/minus rating of even or better, but only one of those five has played more than twenty games.
But like the episode featuring The Five Aces, the Kings second season under Dean Lombardi is not all bad. Their top line of Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, and Michael Cammalleri (who My Better Half thinks is rather good looking) all putting up some great numbers having scored 15, 16, and 14 goals respectively. All three are proving that are the future of the Kings and are all possible NHL superstars (Kopitar, only in his second season, is already, arguably, there). The Kings also gave 19-year-old goalie Jonathan Bernier a few games to get his feet wet before sending him back to Juniors (they were forced to do so based on some crazy NHL rule). Although he only won one of his four starts, Bernier looked sharp in all but one of the games he played. All signs point to him being the Kings goaltender of the future, and a good one at that. The Kings have also played in two memorable games this season. The staged a dramatic comeback on November 10th, beating Dallas 6-5 in overtime after trailing 4-0 midway through the third period. Then, on December 6th, they beat the Buffalo Sabres 8-2; at one point the Kings had seven goals to the Sabres' eight shots. Needless to say, it was a fun game to watch.
Through thirty-five games last season, the Kings were 12-18-5; this year, they are 12-21-2. Although all signs point to the Kings regressing this season, I am not ready to give up on them just yet (yes Dad, I'm always the optimist). There are still forty-seven games left in the season. That is plenty of time for the Kings to turn things around and at least show some signs of improvement. Do I think they will make the playoffs? No, not really; but I still believe they can have a better record than the 27-41-14 record they posted last season. Although we will not be seeing Bernier anymore this season, hopefully LaBarbara can fully recover from the rib injury he suffered a few weeks. The Kings have shown they can score, in bunches when necessary, but it is time for the defense and goaltending to keep the puck out of their net. If they can shore up the defense, the Kings are capable of making a nice run.
A lot of fans have already written off this season and, while I am not one of them, I do not blame them. But some are also going as far as saying there is no end in sight to the Kings' ineptitude. I would not be willing to go that far because you never know what will happen between now and season. Besides, if this season does not get any better, the Kings will be calling Steven Stamkos' name as the number one overall pick in the 2008 Entry Draft.
And remember, Saved By The Bell: The College Years turned out way better than anyone expected.
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