CasonBlog: Storm Squad Tryouts Are Upon Us

I have to admit, I fell down laughing when I read the part about Mike (Better known to NCSU fans and Early-Raleigh Caniacs as “Mean Gene The Dancing Machine”) going all Barry White on the anthem.

In fairness to Mike (who I know), he’s doing his level best to drop some tonnage and become Lean Gene–but I still think it’d be a fun kick in the ass to have him sing the anthem(s) Barry White style instead of Holly “What’s a meter and why should I have to stay on it?” Wilver.

O Canada (can you dig it?)

Our home and native land (right on, baby)

It’d be great! The fans would eat it right up!

And speaking of young Miss Wilver….

I was at the corner store the other day when the clerk asked Jon Chase (the Hurricanes’ Promotions & Fan Development Coordinator) if The Wilv (as she’s affectionately known on Teh LGC) was coming back as the anthem singer–when he replied in the affirmative, the clerk politely suggested hiring a singing coach to help Miss Wilver improve…and Jon-boy, of course, coldly blew her off with a very firm “We support Holly 100%”.

That tells me, by the way, that a LOT of people have complained about her–and really, I’ve seen the Hurricanes react badly to fan criticism before (see “Maurice, Paul” and “Jingle, This Is Hockey”), so Jon-boy’s reaction really came as no big surprise.

I apologize in advance to fans of the Senators, Maple Leafs, and Canadiens for the imminent mangling of their nation’s anthem by a girl with a decent voice…and not much else.

Carolina Hurricanes - 2006-07 Carolina Hurricanes Season Schedule

The schedule is out, and I’m already saving my pennies for a NW Division roadtrip. It’s good to see that the Southeast Division matchups are a little more spread out, and I’m willing to bet that FlyersTV OLN Versus has already planned to show Rangers-Flyers again. Of course, I could be all wet; I’ll find out for sure when the TV schedule comes out (and then you can all hear me rant once again about how OLN sucks worse than Bristol ever did, and how the NHL created its own marketing nightmare by pushing the same five teams over and over at the expense of the little guys).

In other news, I’ve decided to embark on a new hobby: homebrewing. Be afraid, be very afraid.

newsobserver.com | Canes to play fewer games in preseason

May I just say that it’s so nice to NOT have to see all the Southeast Division teams 10x/season? Seriously, I’m rejoicing here–though I await the rest of the schedule with bated breath, because I really don’t want to see the Washington Capitals (or any of our other Division rivals) five times in the month of March.

Well that, and I want to be able to give my boss enough notice to get time off for a few roadies (as if that’ll ever happen).

Espresso signs for three years at 4 bills per.

I knew there was a method to JimR’s madness. So what convinced Erik to sign for three seasons? I strongly suspect it was the payday. Think about it: Colesy wanted a payday–either now, or a year from now. The Canes needed to come up with some way to convince him to stay as part of the core of the team, and as they say “money talks, bullshit walks”.

Four bills a year will buy a lot of coffee.