Margret Sloan

I forgot to congratulate the Detroit Red Wings on winning the Stanley Cup last week.

I was really cheering for the Pittsburgh Penguins to win, but the Red Wings won the 6th game in the series that is best of 7, so that clinched the title for them.

The Penguins had a Cinderella season with the hottest new star, Sidney Crosby, on their team. This kid is a remarkable talent and a thrill to watch him play. He makes it all look so natural and so easy!

The Red Wings are the team that played against my favorite team, the Predators, and knocked them out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so I guess if we had to lose to somebody it was good that we lost to the team that won the whole shabang. So, congrats to the Red Wings!

This morning the doorbell rand and the UPS guy left a box for me at the door. He knows I have a lot of dogs and he doesn’t need a signature for most deliveries, so he rings the bell and then dashes back to his truck before I can even get to the door.

The delivery was the father’s day gift I ordered just a couple days ago - a way cool flashlight from a website I came across that specializes in hobby and tactical optical products. Those are big words for some really cool guy stuff, like binoculars, rifle scopes, flashlights, etc.

I was actually looking at riflescopes for hubby, as he has really gotten into hunting again. But when I got to this site, I thought the flashlight would be a much more useful gift for year round use and maybe I’ll get the riflescope for him for Christmas. They have all the good name brands and a helpful article on the site about how to choose the right riflescope, so I know I can pick out something that he’ll really like and appreciate.

My favorite way to spend a few minutes on a mental health break is to play online backgammon or some of the free card games on Yahoo or other online game sites. I first discovered online games way back in the early 90’s, when Microsoft launched their “Village of Games.” Now there are dozens of different sites, some with excellent graphics and large numbers of regular players from all over the world.

If I have a full hour to spend on R&R I’ll try to find a good partner and play one or two Spades games. If I only have a few minutes I’ll play something fast, like backgammon or cribbage. Sometimes I like the cutthroat strategies of Hearts to sharpen my mind. These are not time wasters as much as they are mental exercises to keep me alert and sharpen my critical thinking skills.

Tonights Round 6 game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs will be a “must-win” for Pittsburgh. If they lose to the Red Wings tonight it’s over and Detroit will have the Stanley Cup. I’m cheering for any team that plays against Detroit, so obviously I’m hoping that the Penguins will win tonight and have one more game to play in the final round of the Playoffs.

The last game was one of the most awesome, exciting, cliffhanger games I’ve ever seen. Pittsburgh took the game to three sudden death overtimes to pull the win out from under Detroit. That kind of hockey game is what hockey is all about - pure adrenalin and the guys playing with their hearts on their sleeves, giving 110% to the game.

Saw a short headline yesterday that the NFL is going to give Pacman Jones a break and reinstate him with limitations. What a bunch of sissies that run today’s “pro” league! The integrity has evaporated and it’s nothing but money money money anymore.

I’m going to join in at work with all the NFL pick ‘em games and maybe even join a fantasy team this year. The corruption in the league is getting so obvious that even I can predict the winners of every game, so I might as well make some money off it, too.

Found a website called Addict Sports that has bulletin boards for discussions on the different sports and even has college and NFL football picks on their site. Registration is free and there is a ton of information for people serious about picking the winners when this year’s preseason “games” start up again in August.

Look out, boys! Marge is playing for your money this year!