Sunday morning homily XVII

For those of you who have followed my hounding adventures this season, it's safe to say that recent weeks have proved rather productive. Fifty autographs in one day from the Montreal Canadiens. Four pucks signed by Colorado's Joe Sakic. Three pucks from Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff. Heck, even the Maple Leafs, a team I associated with grumpiness, proved to be willing signers.

Not too long before that, though, I was experiencing the flip side of hounding, running into virtual brick walls and repeatedly testing my mantra that one autograph is better than none.

From time to time, readers comment about the luck I seem to have when it comes to hounding. With all due respect, though, luck has very little to do with it. Preparation and perseverance are my keys.

I won't apologize for my preparation efforts. Because my work schedule provides idle hours early in the day, I put that time to good use by compiling exhaustive puck lists and stacks of team sets that number more than 75 cards. I memorize players faces, making little flash cards of those I don't initially recognize.

Perseverance comes easily, too. If I'm going to make the effort to be prepared for teams, then putting myself in the right position at the right time is the easy part. In my book, anything less than that is a waste of time and effort.

Over the past 10-plus years of hounding -- from the early days of asking "Who's that?" in Greensboro, N.C., to too many freezing February mornings in downtown Boston -- I've had my fair share of more good days than bad. And, for that, I'm thankful.

Luck, I'm afraid, had nothing to do with it. We all make our own opportunities. Effort is usually rewarded. Laziness, I'm afraid, is not.

Something to think about

Down here in Florida, we've started to notice that players who not only sign for us, but also interact in a positive fashion, seem to enjoy a bit of good luck in their games against the Lightning.

The most recent example was Colorado defenseman Jeff Finger. Though he's not exactly a household name, one of my hounding buddies, Gary the Swedish Big Dog, made a point of sharing their mutual connections to Michigan's Upper Peninsula before last Tuesday's game. Finger's recognition that someone knew his hometown brought a giant smile to his face.

Later, during warm-ups, Finger noticed a sign of encouragement (Yooper Power!) that Gary had made for him. We weren't surprised then, when Finger scored Colorado's first goal against the Lightning. It was just his third of the season.

Now, I'm not suggesting that autograph hounds serve as conduits of good fortune for NHL players. Still, though, I guess it shows that good things happen to nice people.

5 Big Sigs

With Western Conference teams continuing to make stops in Tampa, one might think that I'd focus my efforts entirely on the Edmonton Oilers this week. While I will devote a considerable amount of attention to the Oilers, I can't forget that Ottawa is coming to town, too.

With a little hustle and good timing, here's what I hope we add to the collection this week:

~ Edmonton general manager Kevin Lowe on Oilers (old school) and Rangers pucks;
~ Winger Ales Hemsky on an Oilers official game puck and a wallpaper image;
~ Defenseman Denis Grebeshkov on one of his game-used sticks from his days with the AHL's Manchester Monarchs;
~ Goalie Dwayne Roloson on Oilers, Sabres and University of Massachusetts-Lowell pucks; and
~ Ottawa's Jason Spezza on the Young Guns stick.