Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader’s youth was one where he learned to love hockey. Indeed, hockey was the first sport he really followed. When he was a boy the Capitals were new in Washington. And they sucked. The Caps sucked so bad that your Maximum Leader’s mother was always able to get her company’s tickets to just about any game she wanted. We went to many hockey games. If your Maximum Leader’s memory serves, he went to games for about two seasons before he saw the Caps win a game (lots of losses and ties). At one point, your Maxmium Leader even purchased a partial season ticket game plan for the Caps.

He moved away from the area, but still watched what games he could on TV. Then he moved back to the (much greater) DC area and started to see a game from time to time in person (and watched on TV when he could). Then came the strike/lockout. He’s not seen a game live since before the lockout/strike. He’s watched a few on TV.

And that brings us to what he has been doing this afternoon.

Your Maximum Leader has been watching the NHL Winter Classic game. The game is a contest between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres. Frankly, your Maxmium Leader doesn’t much care for either of those teams. But your Maximum Leader really (really!) dislikes the Penguins. (The teams he dislikes the most go back to those early days for him. He cannot stand the New York Islanders, the Philadelphia Flyers, the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New Jersey Devils, and the New York Rangers. He can’t abide one of those teams. In fact, he always (ALWAYS) roots against them. When they play each other he hopes for ties.)

For those of you not in the know about this game, it was played outdoors. Yes outdoors in Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo. (That is where the Bills play.) It was played during a lake effect snowstorm.

It was awesome! Totally kick-arse awesome. (Even if the Penguins won in a shootout.) Your Maximum Leader isn’t for abandoning the comfy stadia that hockey calls home. But he wouldn’t mind seeing a game or two in the elements every year.

Now your Maximum Leader is watching the Washington Capitals versus Ottawa Senators on the TV. It is a shootout. The score is 4-2 favoring Washington at the end of the first period. We’ll hope the Caps can hang on to win.

Carry on.