Sunday morning homily IX

After a recent bit of bad luck (the timing belt busting on my wife's car and, on Thanksgiving morning, a clogged kitchen sink because of too many potato peelings), I'm certainly looking forward to this week.

It's not because a hefty paycheck, thanks to holiday pay and six hours of overtime, will come in handy. It's not because Colin goes back to school Monday, after a week off for the Thanksgiving holiday. In fact, I'll miss having him around during the day. Nor is it that I'll be on vacation, though I do have a long weekend coming up.

Nope, the reason for my optimism is twofold:

~ Colin starts his hockey/skating lessons this Saturday. I know it's just the beginning, but this marks what I hope will become a deepening bond between father and son. It means future hockey games, whether he's playing or we're all watching, will take on a new meaning; and

~ The Bruins, one of our favorite teams, are coming to Tampa Bay. Though Colin's buddy Patrice Bergeron will be back in Boston, it will be nice to see the team again. Colin and I got spoiled a few years back, attending way too many practices, but getting to "know" some of the players. While some have moved on (Brad Boyes and Hannu Toivonen), there are still a couple (Andrew Alberts and Tim Thomas) who remind us of the good times we had in New England.

Oh, yeah, there's something else. I'll turn 46 this week, on the day when Colin starts skating and the B's play the Bolts. To be honest, I couldn't ask for two better presents.

Witnessing greatness

Normally, when a goalie stymies the Tampa Bay Lightning, I'll chalk it up to the player having a great night. Last night, against the Devils, it was simply watching a great player.

After giving up a five-hole goal (in which he tried to catch the puck between his legs) to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead, New Jersey's Martin Brodeur showed why he's the best active goalie in the game.

Time after time, I could only smile as yet another improbable save frustrated the streaky Lightning. Though I believe Patrick Roy is the best goalie of his generation, I'll likely revisit that opinion on the sad day when Brodeur hangs up his skates.

5 Big Sigs

With only the Bruins coming to town this week, we're hoping to add these to our and, if we're lucky, someone else's collection:

~ Johnny Bucyk on a Detroit Red Wings puck;
~ Cam Neely, if he travels, on a Cam Neely Night puck for Tampa Bay's Andre Roy (his Lightning bio says Cam is a favorite);
~ Phil Kessel and Andrew Ference on warmup-used pucks that they tossed to Colin last season before a Bruins-Lightning game;
~ Tim Thomas on the American-born goalie stick; and
~ Marco Sturm on the 1999 NHL All Star Game helmet.