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Memorial Day is here in the US. The traditional beginning of summer. A day for family gatherings and cookouts. A day to take some time and remember those who sacrificed for their country. Sacrificed their time, their families, their sanity, their lives.
It is days like this that I remember family members killed in service to our country. My grandfather, father and brothers who served with honor and distinction in many foriegn lands... and especially my nephew, currently serving his third tour in the Middle East, this time in Afghanistan.
To all who serve or have served... thank you.
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Saturday’s 6-5 Game 1 shootout was a crazy start to the finals on Saturday night and it sets up an intriguing game 2 tonight. How crazy was game 1? Let me count the ways…
• Both teams top lines were shut out… and a minus 16 to boot.
• Ten goals in the first two periods.
• The clock appeared to strike midnight on the Cinderella story of Michael Leighton, giving up five goals, including three on five shots in the second.
• Chicago dominated in the face-off circle, puck possession has been a key for the Flyers during this playoff run.
• Giveaways were huge, Chicago just doesn’t give the puck away as much as they did Saturday night.
• You expected the battles in the slot to be big, didn’t happen, four of Chicago’s goals had a player in the slot, creating havoc in front of Leighton that didn’t help his fighting the puck at all.
So… what happens tonight? I expect a much calmer game as both teams did quite a bit of running around. Nerves were evident that shouldn’t show near as much tonight. It may be calmer, but I also expect the intensity to amp up as well.
The Flyers learned that they can play and end-to-end game and stay with the Blackhawks, but it is not the way they will win this series. The Blackhawks learned that they can win without production from Kane, Towes and Byfuglien, but they need better play from them. The Flyers already announced that Michael Leighton is back in net tonight after getting chased from Game 1. Frankly, pulling Leighton was a good move, giving Boucher a chance to get some work in and see if his knees could handle it. That being said... Leighton deserves the start tonight but he could be on a short lease. The Flyers want the win to build some momentum to come home with, the Blackhawks want to come into Philly with a commanding 2-0 lead… It’s gonna be a good one… a Memorial Day capper, after the cookouts, some Stanley Cup Final hockey!
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The SlapShot Radio Rink Rebuild Event is Wednesday night… we’re raising money to help rebuild an inline rink that was destroyed by the recent Nashville flooding. Pie in the Sky Pizza- Midtown is our host location. We’re doing a live remote of SlapShot Radio, watching game 3 of the finals and having a silent auction. As it stands right now, we have the following guests joining Pete Weber and I for the 6pm SlapShot Radio live remote...
- Predators radio play-by-play man Tom Callahan
- Predators in arena host and afternoon drive time jock from 97.1 RQQ... Mac
- Gnash
We are also efforting Predator players both past and present to join us along with members of the coaching staff. Rumors of a potential Terry Crisp sighting are also running rampant.
The silent auction has some great stuff. Here’s just a sample…
• A Dallas Stars Jersey - Signed by the entire team
• Signed pucks from Steve Sullivan and Jason Arnott
• A signed framed print of our Olympic Medal winners, Shea Weber and Ryan Suter with their medals
• Fire and Ice Enetertainment Packages featuring gift certificates from Sportsplex, the wave pool and Pie in the Sky
• Rock Climbing Packages from the Crag @ Cool Springs
• Pizza Lover’s Packages from Pie in the Sky
• Pete Weber recording your voice mail announcment
• Puck signed by Gordie Howe
• Puck signed by Bobby Hull
• Two brand new Warrior "Kronik" Adult Sticks
• Bauer Hockey Roller Bag - X-Large
• Game used, signed sticks from former Preds Greg Zanon and Chris Mason and current Pred JP Dumont
• Elvis Presley Stamps - First Day Issue Collection
• A Collector's Tin containing 30 exclusive Pinnacle Joe DiMaggio cards.
• A Collector's Tin featuring Mickey Mantle Upper Deck Metallic Impressions Collector cards.
• A Cal Ripkin Ironman Commemorative issue 23k Gold Foil Card
Big thanks to our contributors, Jim, Wendy and Roarke Leutgens, Hockey Plus Pro Shop, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, The Crag @ Cool Springs, Pie in the Sky, Centennial Sportsplex, Pete Weber and Diane Fashing. It’s going to be a great time, please join us Wednesday night from 5-9:30pm at Pie in the Sky Midtown.
Wed - On the road again… For Wednesday’s show, it’s the SlapShot Radio Rink Rebuild event. We’ll be gathering at the Vandy/Midtown location of Pie in the Sky Pizza for a Stanley Cup Final watch party. We’ll get things going with happy hour at 5pm, a live remote of SlapShot Radio at 6pm then we’ll settle in to watch game 3 of the Finals on one of Pie in the Sky’s many HD televisions. We’ll have a Silent Auction with some great memorabilia and merchandise, we will also have donation buckets to collect as much as we can to help rebuild the Bellevue inline rink. The address for Pie in the Sky is 110 Lyle Avenue, just off West End Ave. If you’ve never checked out a Pie in the Sky location, well, you are missing some great food, awesome wings, great pasta dishes, incredible salads and of course, they make one outstanding pizza! So join us… Wednesday night at Pie in the Sky. We will have a great time, to help out a great cause. The live remote begins at 6pm on SportsRadio 560 WNSR and online at www.slapshotradio.com.
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You are invited to follow me on Twitter. Search for PredPAPaul… Not only will I be updating when I get news or updates… I’ll also be updating with starting lineups and scratches during Pred home games, also I’ll be supplying information and explanations from the PA box.
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