Shoes, Ships, and Sealing Wax

I interupt the baseball season

...to consider that the Tampa Bay Lightning have added veteran goalie Olie Kolzig to the team that includes Jeff Halpern and, of course, Marty St. Louis (for whom I have publicly admitted a completely inappropriate love, given what he's done against the Caps over the years.)

Yeah, it's the name on the front of the jerseys, not the names on the back.

I have already told my mom and Victor that I'll get my own tickets to the Tampa games next season, though, so as not to embarrass them around our fellow season ticket holders.

(What kills me...what had me literally shouting obscenities last night...is that idea that, if only the Caps front office had played it right this spring, that Kolzig could still be finishing out his career here. I have nothing against Jose Theodore, but nothing particularly for him, either, and for bridging the next season or two until the propect goalies in the system are ready for the NHL, I'd give the edge to Kolzig as mentor.

A lot of people have said that the team owed Kolzig nothing, it was no big deal that McPhee never called him during those last few weeks of the season to say where the team wanted to go. I disagree; I think 18 years or whatever it was, plus Kolzig's desire to stick around through a horrid rebuild, earned him that right. I suspect McPhee may have been a little complacent, assuming that Kolzig was so loyally a Cap-for-life that he could totally ignore him but, if he ended up on July 2 without another goalie, Kolzig would happily resign instead of retire.

Well, whatever. It'll be interesting, first time the Caps play the Lightning...I'll know by what play brings me out of my seat where my real loyalty is.)