Today was a departure from my regular schedule, to say the least. The Phantoms had their annual Schoolday Game, meaning that the first puck was dropped at 11:00 AM.

It seems that both Karla and I have to be at a home game this year or the Phantoms' mojo is fouled up. I missed the game on October 20, and the Phantoms suffered their first loss of the season. Karla missed today's game, and we lost again. Those are the only two regulation-time losses we've had so far this year (we're 13-2-1-0), so it's obvious that Karla's and my presence at the home games are what made the difference there. ;o)

Well, that and the fact that this was the team's fourth game in six days... five and a half days, if you want to count the fact that it started at 11 AM instead of 7 PM. We're a tired, banged-up team and this morning, we played like it. We can also add a couple more guys to the injured-scratches list, as Jared Ross and Oskars Bartulis both left Sunday's game hurt. Dang it...

Anyway, here's to seeing Our Heroes rest up and come out with guns blazing on Friday night (another home game that both Karla and I are karmically required to attend). The opponent will be Binghamton, the team we shut out on Saturday night. Bingo hasn't played since then, but they also have got a franchise-record three-game scoreless drought in progress. I'm positive they're going to come charging out of the gate on Friday to try and break that goalless streak. We'll have to be ready for them, particularly early in the game when their energy level will be at its highest.

On to other news: I have my profile set up on the Zune Social network. Now I can export what songs I play on the device, or on my computer via the Zune software. I have my sights set on being a top player of GOOD music. Maybe it'll skew the demographics in favor of music that actually took some talent to create, as opposed to some of the vapid offerings that are being put forth for public consumption in recent days. Hey, I'm only one person, but if ALL the people who like actual music (as opposed to noise) get together, we can make a statement to the record companies about what kinds of acts they SHOULD be signing to contracts. (JFM, this means you -- you're the one person I know personally who meets both the requirements: someone who's got a Zune AND whose musical tastes are similar to mine. :o) )

So if anyone's looking for me, I'll be busy playing Manilow on my Zune software. I've looked at the people who've got him listed as one of their top artists on Zune network. I can see the number of times I've played his songs vs. the number of times they've played his music, and I can easily get myself included in the top few Manilow-listeners. All I have to do is play, play, and play his music for a while... certainly NOT a hardship to me. :o)