Player Profile #2

Here's another one.

Jeff Peel is one of my better besties these days. Not your, "typical" hockey player. And by typical I mean he has a heart! ( I know right? Who woulda thunk...) Quite the jokester this guy is - a huge factor as to why I'm as good friends with him as I am. He played for the MJ team back in my hometown and that's how we met. I went to almost every road game these boys played in stein, portage, winnipeg, selkirk, and even d-town sometimes. But even though he's done his junior days he still plays a little intramural hockey at school every week! Here's a little about his MJHL hockey days.

Meet Jeff Peel:

Hometown:
Virden, MB

Position:
Forward

Number:
 23

Shoots:
Left

What team did you play for?
Swan Valley Stampeders (MJHL)/ Melville Millionaires (SJHL)

How long did you play there?
2 and half years in Swan, Half a year in Melville

What does hockey mean to you?
Best sport in the world, a lot of fun and a great way to meet new people

How long have you played?
16 years

Who's your favourite player?
 Jordan Eberle

Why?
Because he's the man

Why do you wear your number?
Got it given to me by the GM

What's your pregame meal?
Anything

Do you have any game day rituals?
Sleep for 2 hours in the afternoon

What do you plan to do after hockey?
Go to University and hopefully marry Allison Pattison

Peel is already in University considering his last season was his last year of junior. You can only play until you're 20 in the MJ. As far as the whole marrying me thing goes... We'll have to see about that one. Im not ready for marriage Jeff Peel - I like to party. He's also an h-core Oilers fan... bleeds orange and blue or something lame like that. BUT he loves twitter so follow him : @peel23

Player Profile #1

With the weather slowly starting to get a little bit colder, we're hoping the outdoor rinks will get flooded soon. A little pick-up hockey is always a ritual for my family during the Christmas break, and I know of a few other families that do the same. I was talking to a friend of mine last night after his hockey game and he was talking about coming home for Christmas break soon as well and was looking forward to hitting up the outdoor. I'm so proud of how far he's gotten considering that he's come from such a small place. I want everyone to know about him, so here he is!

Meet Dee Fontaine:

Hometown:
Opaskwayak Cree Nation

Position:
Centre/ Right Wing

Number:
17

Shoots:
Right

What team do you play for?
Utah State Aggies 
Division 2 Hockey

Where did you play last year?
Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN) Blizzard
Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL)

What does hockey mean to you?
It's a part of me; I don't know what I would be doing or where I would be right now if it wasn't for hockey. It teaches me a lot and has made me the person I am right now.

How long have you played?
I've been playing hockey since I was 4 years old.

Who's your favourite hockey player?
Sidney Crosby.

Why?
The fact that he's still very young and has surpassed every expectation that's been given to him. He is unbelievably talented and dedicated to the game; it motivates me to get better whenever I watch him play.

Why do you wear number 17?
My father always wore #17 and my brothers have always worn it, so I felt I needed to do the same.

What's your pre-game meal?
Usually I eat Pasta and Salad.

Do you have any Game-Day rituals?
Nope.

What do you plan to do after hockey?
I'm in my first year of University right now so I am deciding what I want to major in, after my four years here I am planning on playing Pro for a couple of years, of course if that doesn't work out then I will get my Masters.


Utah State University is in Logan, Utah. Dee is attending school there on a scholarship. His team is doing really well, their record so far is 19-1-1. The top 2 teams in his team's division get an automatic bid to Nationals. With his team being one of those two teams he gets to travel to Florida this year to take part in this big deal.

I have a feeling these boys are gonna bring home the title this year.

Hockey and Shopping?

It's about that time kids.
Winter is fast approaching and we all know this because the SNOW IS HERE!
Careful driving around this weekend.
Try and beat the traffic jams and collisions what with the Jets game on Saturday afternoon and Behind Closed Doors at St.Vital Saturday night.

I will attend both events.

Basically I won't be sleeping this weekend. At all.

In fact I haven't slept since Thursday last week actually.

That sorta happens when you work 2 jobs and go to school full-time.

GOOD TIMES.

Anyways.

Doin a bit of promoting - come to the Jets vs. Phili game tomorrow if you can get some tix. Because the MTS Centre is ALWAYS a packed house and a fun time whether the Jets win or not.

Come to Behind Closed Doors because all of the proceeds go to charity which is nice!
And there are a lot of sick deals to be had because every store has a sale AND its right before Christmas and everyone likes deals before Christmas right? Right.

So do the right thing and enjoy the Winter Wonderland this weekend.
Don't stay inside.
Do something.

MOVEMBER.

It's the most wonderful time of the yeaaaaaaaaar.

November has blessed us all with its presence ladies and gents.
This month brings nothing but joy to AllyPat.

Why?

I LOVE FACIAL HAIR! THAT'S WHY!

No Shave November is the best invention ever. I love it.

I also love to see what people that usually walk around with a naked face look like with a fully clothed face.

Or maybe the kids that have a really hard time growing facial hair, they have the tiny little crustaches going on and have to Just For Men it at the end of the month.

Here is last Movember's MVP.

Introducing Kelly Gray ;

That is what I like to call pure beauty.

Now Kelly hasn't always been this beautiful. It has been a long journey here.

He started off a little baby, with a naked face. (He's on the right.)

And then little Kel-Kel grew up a little bit and hit puberty. Got a little crustache goin on.

And then he decided to take the creepy pervy route. Bad look for you Kel, bad bad bad.

But he's come a long way since those days and every Movember he participates in full swing!

Will anyone be able to take the defending champ's title from him this year?
He thinks not!
So everyone take part in this lovely lovely month and grow out your facial hair!

Try and get this good looking...

Try it out!

The Future of the Media.

How does one get informed about the news?

How many people have enough time to read a newspaper front to back every morning?

How many people have enough time to sit down and watch the 6 o’clock news every day?

By the time you’ve found out about a headline how long has it been since this was the main topic of discussion?

 Does it take you days to find out about something?

 Let’s use one example of headline news, are you just finding out about this topic now? If not, how long ago did you know about this?



Hazing.

In early September, a MJHL hockey team took part in a few "rookie initiation" events that were taken too far.

These said events eventually became a form of hazing because they were no longer done in "good fun" but in a more spiteful and humiliating way.

One victim of these events is only 15 years old. When his parents found out about the happenings they immediately took action.

Now back probably ten years ago, the most attention from the media this would have gotten would be front page of the town's newspaper, as well as MAYBE the news in nearby cities, and probably only a one-time appearance.

 Let’s fast forward to the present.

 This serious situation has gotten LOADS of media attention.

 I was out for wings the other night at Pony Corral and there was a 3 minute segment about it on TSN!

Seriously, TSN - that is HUGE. Everyone in the sports community watches TSN.

 It has made our Winnipeg Free Press front page for the last two days.

 It's on the MJHL website.

 It's on the CBC news website.

 Other blogs. - http://mikestackhouse.blogspot.com/2011/10/neepawa-natives-investigated-for-hazing.html

THE GLOBE AND MAIL!


 It's all over Facebook. Whether it’s statuses or even pictures of the newspaper articles.

 I've seen it on Twitter among some of my friends that used to play in the MJHL.

 This situation is being put on blast because the MJHL wants everyone to know what happened and that they are not taking it very lightly.

Everyone remembers the late hit Jesse Enns made at the end of last season. He got a 40 game suspension. Basically ended his MJ career.


The league has handed out an even HARSHER penalty to the Neepawa Natives because of this hazing incident. No, the players didn't get 40 games each, but a $5000 fine isn't easy money to come up with.

 With the victim's family speaking out against hazing, they hope other victims will feel that they can speak out too.

The media outlets these days are absolutely beneficial in terms of getting important messages out. The fact that news is so accessible with just the click of a button on your computer or smart phone is the real deal. I can't predict what the future holds, but it can only get better for media outlets. That's a guarantee.

Just Slow Down

With this fresh blanket of ICE on all of our cars and front yards I couldn't help but get a sense of panic from everyone.

We live in Winterpeg, Manitoba people - we should be used to this. Always be ready to pull your winter coat out in the middle of July. That's just the way it is.

On a more serious note, I know how careless some people can be on the road. When it comes to slippery winter conditions drivers need to be more cautious and sometimes that is not the case.

When I was in grade 12 two friends from my home town were killed in a car crash on Bishop Grandin.  Not something I would ever wish to happen to ANYONE. And especially never would I ever want anyone to feel the pain I felt.

Here is the video the two survivors of the accident made.
I will warn you it is very touching, I cry everytime I watch it. There is nothing gruesome about it, just a very sad story.

Like Tyler said in the video, "You shouldn't ever feel like you can't tell someone to slow down."


Safety first guys, stay aware of your surroundings and be careful on the road. Just because you're driving safely doesn't mean everyone else on the road is.

Power Nap? Nah, I'll do homework instead.

Bombers game is tomorrow. I'm tired.


Montreal is coming to CanadInns Stadium to face our BLUE AND GOLD. Still tired.


All 75 CreComm students get to go watch the game for a journalism assignment - oh the joy of school.*yawn*


I seriously hope the weather will be nice because I get cold VERY easily. *Maybe I'll be able to nap on the shoulder of the stranger sitting beside*

I will also be missing the Jets game tomorrow and believe me, Allison is not very happy about this. *Is she ever happy about anything?* *HEYALLDONTSAYTHAT*


But sometimes you just gotta take one for the team and suck it up, which is what I will do as I sit and watch the game. All alone. In the cold. With no idea about what is going on. Story of my life.


THANKFULLY Joanne was a complete BOSS this week and never gave us a news quiz because we spent our monday class talking about our city hall assignment,*imaginary crowd cheers in my head* and todays class going over our Bombers assignment. *still cheering.*


But hey, the City Council came to a decision, a new garbage and recycling program starts up next fall. Thats exciting right? *Sorry, dozed off for a second there, what'd you say?* 

Naturally everyone left their assignment until last minute so nobody got any sleep on Wednesday when our City Hall assignment was due the following morning. I had to work on Wednesday night after school. This is when the tiredness started to set in.


Spent todays spare completing my assignment for Tracey's class. Don't worry it's not nice at all - complete failure right here when it comes to InDesign. That program hates me. *Everything about CreComm hates me.*


I would love nothing more than to be able to devote my whole weekend to sleeping, but I've come to realize that CreComm students (and some instructors) just don't sleep.

This is me sleeping once. Back in the day of no CreComm and no auto-fails and no strict deadlines and no nightmares about Chris's class... Don't I look peaceful? *I'll never look like that again.*






Sleep is overrated and sleep is for the weak. You can sleep when you're dead.

The Fans still love ya, Jets.

Sunday went down as a great day in history for Winnipeg.

No the Jets didn't win their home opener but the atmosphere was unreal to say the least.

The MTS Centre was packed to the roof. Literally. I would say about 80% of the fans in there were in white, which was a good thing because that means when the Jets request a white-out, fans will know what to do.

The game started off with a ceremonial puck drop; Rick Rypien's mom had the honour.

Along with Rypien's mom in attendance were a few other known names.
Our Prime Minister Stephen Harper was there. He sat behind the Jets bench at ice-level. Pretty good seats if you ask me.

Gary Bettman, NHL's Commissioner was also there, as well as Premier Greg Selinger and Canada's Ambassador to the United States Gary Doer.

Selinger had a personalized Jets jersey with his last name on the back for a custom namebar and sported it with pride throughout the game.

As important as those names are to many people, the most important names in attendance were the last ones that belonged to each and every fan.

The loyal Jets fans that will come to every home game are who will make this team and franchise so successful this year and in the years to come.

You gotta give these people credit. They stay happy when our home team is losing, and they stay strong and loud when our home team is winning.

Tons of excitement filled the air and even though the Jets lost, the majority of the fans still had a happy attitude as they left the building.

HOWEVER;
I saw this poor little boy absolutely heartbroken and crying because the Jets lost. He was literally like 8 years old maybe. Die-Hard fans, gotta start em off young I guess.

It would take pages and pages to explain everything that happened during the day of the home opener, and the night for that matter, so maybe instead of me having to explain it; you should just try and get your hands on some tickets of your own so you can have the experience!

The Stress of CreComm is getting to me.

Im seriously gonna break this computer. Everytime I try to do something it just WONT let me do it. I've had the default background on this babygirl since I got it.

It drives me nuts.
I seriously have OCD when it comes to certain things and right now this computer is bringing out the worst in me.

As for another thing that is grinding my gears - I CANT COMMENT ON PEOPLE'S BLOGS BECAUSE INTERNET EXPLORER IS BEING STUBBORN. I totally just refrained from calling internet explorer what I really wanted to call it... stupid.

Another thing that is quite irksome- Predators home opener was tonight and I didnt get to watch it because

POINT A: We apparently dont have the channel that was covering the game at Bridgestone Arena tonight. (Dad needs to be fixin that reeeeeeeeal quick)

POINT B: I fell asleep for the starting of it because CreComm drains the life out of every human being. and last but not least

POINT C: The power kept going out so every time it would turn back on my guide would display, "To Be Announced" on every channel while it was trying to receive information back. Took me like half hour to surf through the channels until I gave up.

On the brighter side of life, I get to go skate at the MTS Centre tomorrow for a little recap before the big day on Sunday! Look for me on the Jumbo-Tron homies! But i'm being rude right now tucked away in my room on this Friday night, G-ma and G-pa are in to visit.

I'll leave you with the video to one of the songs on the constant playlist in my head. Toodleloooo.

I'm no David Carr, but I hope to be one day.

On Tuesday, October 4 I was a journalist.
Or at least I was pretending to be. For school we were sent out to a candidates office or headquarters to report on the provincial election.
I went to Judy Eastman's headquarters in Southdale and at first I didn't know what to do.
I walked in, clipboard in hand, and everyone in there just stared at me.
One guy, (turned out to be a CreComm grad), took one look at me and said, "CreComm?"
How did he know!? Was I that obvious? Apparently the worried look on my face and Red River College clipboard gave me away.
He pointed me in the direction of Judy's office and told me, "go quick before it gets too hectic in here."
I was so glad he was there because he really helped me out and kinda told me what to do and where to sit.
I got a few minutes in with each family member that was there which was kinda cool because it gave me a little more background information on the situation.
In the end, Judy didn't win enough votes to become the incumbent but she wasn't gonna let the loss ruin the party. I wish I coulda stayed because she was such a nice lady!
She made a beautiful, tear-jerking, brave speech and encouraged everyone present to take part in the festivities. Champagne and beers were offered to me by like eight different people and I had to kindly decline. (UNWILLINGLY MIGHT I ADD, CRECOMM IS PURE STRESS!)
After I'd interviewed Judy and got what I needed I drove home and typed on Microsoft Word until my fingers bled. 
I felt pretty accomplished after my paper was done, as a result bloodshot eyeballs and an empty stomach told me to call it a night.
Naturally I figured I'd just auto-failed, but guess what guys!
We got our marks back today and Ally-Pat got her first 7.5 !
Life is looking up, I guess I shouldn't give up on this whole CreComm thing entirely.


Next blog post will be about our beloved Jets home opener this Sunday. If you're coming to the game, BRING THE NOISE! And for the love of hockey and Winnipeg, do not boo Bettman, I know there are tons of mixed emotions about this guy but we don't wanna look like them Canuck fans. Winnipeggers are not a "classless bunch" so lets prove it to the people in the arena and the people watching our team on tv.

Page One: Inside the New York Times.

David Carr is one journalist I would love to meet.

Last week our CreComm classes went to watch a movie about The New York Times. At first of course none of us were all that excited with the idea that we had to finish our week off and start our weekend with watching a documentary.

This documentary was not like any other boring documentary, it was actually extremely insightful and pretty funny. We got to take a look inside the New York Times Newspaper and how it's run. The documentary mainly follows David Carr as he investigates the downfall of a competing newspaper and shows how journalists and editors get their facts for stories.

They did everything in this movie from phone calls and e-mails to their sources as far as TWEETING about the current headlines and stories that the Times was working on.

The reason I enjoyed David Carr so much was because he was just so legit. If he was sitting down in an interview with someone and they pissed him off, he would straight up bite their head off, he was ruthless! He also stole my heart during a segment of the film when he was in a debate against a website editor and proved to the audience that the website was stealing all of the Times original material.

If you ever want to become a good journalist my suggestion is watch this movie and take some notes on how David Carr does his work, you gotta be willing to dig deep down and thats what Carr is all about. Of course there were other journalists and editors present in the film but for me Carr is the one that left a lasting impression in my head. Carr turned my thoughts about a career in journalism from doubtful ones to inspiring ones.

I highly recommend this movie to anyone that wants a good laugh.
TEN THUMBS UP!

My ears are still ringing.

Imagine the loudest concert you've ever been to: times that by 10.

The sound you are now imagining inside your head is the sound of the fans in the MTS Centre on Tuesday night.

The wait is over.

The Winnipeg Jets took the ice for the first time in the MTS Centre on Tuesday night as the new and improved team. The place was a gongshow. Fans decked out from head to toe in Jets gear, new or retro, filled the building. I've never heard something so loud in my life, it was like an explosion of positive cheers and screams and cries and EVERYTHING!

I would consider myself as one of the luckier people in Winnipeg, not only getting a chance to attend the first exhibition game of the season against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but I get to attend every home game played by the Jets this year.


All I could keep telling myself was, "this is unreal. I'm at an NHL hockey game right now. A JETS hockey game. In REAL LIFE!" Kid in a candy store I tell you. Hands down best experience of my life.
Included in the best experience of my life was getting the chance to be behind the opposition's net for one of the goals we scored! I was RIGHT behind the net, legit eye-level, when Ivan Telegin scored the 4th goal of the night.

It would be impossible to sum up all of the emotions I went through on Tuesday night, but I hope by the end of the season I will be able to! Things are only gonna go uphill from here and I can't freaking wait!

All I can say is, if the streets and bars were that packed after the game when it was POURING rain outside, I can't even imagine what it's gonna be like when it's nice out.

Twitter me this!

Alright, a blog post about Twitter.

What is Twitter? Who uses Twitter? Why do those people use Twitter? When are you supposed to use Twitter? Blah. Blah. Blah.

Well here's the gist of it.

Twitter is the best thing ever, that's what it is.

 Many famous people and organizations use Twitter as a means of communication with the online tech-savvy world.

Each profile is made up of info on the person or organization, maybe a picture or two, and of course TWEETS.

Tweets let people know "whats happening" in the internet world.

When are you supposed to use Twitter?

NOT IN CLASS. Especially if you're teachers are following you! *cough* @Lockstep *cough* (My bad.)

All jokes aside, I use Twitter all the time.
On the bus
During Lunch
Watching Tv
At the table (even though my parents HATE when I have my phone out while we're eating. Sorry 'rents, im a teenage girl, my phone is attached to my hip.)
In bed. (Yes I sleep with my phone. So what, wanna fight about it?)

I use Twitter to sometimes get something off of my chest, maybe to inform fellow tweeters of a traffic jam, and most of the time just to get my news and sports updates because thats what matters most!

For some people, tweeting may not be your thing. (I highly suggest you give it a try though, its a little tough at the start but you get used to it in no time.)

Its not facebook, so don't try to convince me or anyone else that it is. Twitter is a quicker means of getting updated on issues if you're following the right people. Hashtagging becomes a way of life.

If you haven't spread your little blue wings; do it now.
And then follow me. Because I'm awesome.
@ninjaPattison

I've been called the Hashtaggin' Maven of my generation - THAT good.

Is it hockey season yet?

For some people and players, yes it is.
Although some people may not consider pre-season games as "the season" for me, it really is. Exie's are being played throughout many of the junior hockey leagues already, giving coaches the chance to bring some last minute assets to their teams as well as fine-tune them until they are at their best. Exhibition games means for some first-time players that its time to kick off their flip flops in exchange for skates and hopes of a permanent spot on the team they're trying out for.

If you're an intense Winnipeg Jets fan like I am, you've been avidly following the team's every move since the announcement of their return home.

If you're not as intense as me, but still a fan nonetheless, you'll be happy to know 3 things:

1. We have a new logo!
Yes, the retro look is still available in store, but the jerseys that our boys will be playing on the ice with are "new and improved." Designers have added a little military feel in there by putting a fighter jet over top of our beloved maple leaf, as well as a few different shades of blue.

This is what the new logos look like.






2. The logo has been placed in centre ice!
I seriously hope I don't have to elaborate on that one. If you don't know what that means then stop fooling others and mainly yourself by trying to convince people that you're an avid hockey fan. If you're not an avid hockey fan and have no idea what I'm talking about, it simply means this;
There is now a big, pretty, oversized version of the Jets logo beneath the ice surface in the MTS Centre. Best thing ever.

legitimate logo in centre ice

3. Our Jets have landed!
For the most part, the team has arrived in Winnipeg, bringing their off-season to a halt. The boys in blue had their first skate this morning at the MTS Ice-plex. The sooner they are on the ice practicing means the sooner they will be playing games which means THE SOONER WE GET TO WATCH THE JETS PLAY! (Yes, I'm a season ticket holder, nananana poopoo)













Even though I cried like a baby when I found out the Jets were coming back home, and cried even harder when we achieved our goal of attaining season tickets, I will say one thing:

Don't forget about the other kids playing hockey around here. They may not get paid to play, but they still play, and its because they love it. Boys and girls play all different divisions of hockey. Minor hockey, rec hockey, and even some get the chance to play in the Junior Hockey Leagues and Western Hockey Leagues. They may not make it all the way to the Show, but still give them your support!

In upcoming blog posts I will be interviewing boys and girls that play this loved sport and we'll get their point of view on some of the on-going issues, so stay tuned!