Georgia on my mind!!!

Ok, a bit of a break from just a hockey blog during the nasty part of the winter.....


"Hello, I am Jim Nantz, and welcome to Butler Cabin".........'and that is where I get so relaxed, I soil myself......'. That is a line my buddy tells me every time the opening broadcast of the Masters Golf Tournament from Augusta Georgia kicks off in early April. It refers to the silky, sedating voice of the legendary CBS broadcaster, Jim Nantz and his opening from the legendary wood panelled, fire burning comfort den that is called Butlers Cabin on the grounds of Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta Georgia.
What does this have to do with Super Bowl weekend and Hockey?  Well here goes.....

Hockey and golf are tied together. Most hockey people love golf so bear with me....Almost all of the guys I played with are big time golfers and I know the current players are still really into it.
This weekend is arguably one of the hardest weekends to deal with in the winter. Why? Well football comes to an end and then we wait for Hockey Playoffs and try to get by with March Madness. Spring training is only about a week away but sometimes that makes it worst, getting pictures of the baseball guys down in Clearwater stretching...... It makes for a long couple of months.....
I find it amazing how fast the time from Thanskgiving to New Years goes compared to how slow the same amount of time goes from the Super Bowl to the Masters.......brutal.....
Now back to the relationship between golf and hockey.
My golf pro growing up in Peterborough, Ontario told me  as a young golfer and hockey player, face to face, that the guy who invented hockey made the season in the winter so he could golf in the summer season. There you go!!! No further proof needed. Have you ever seen hockey players golf?? No joke. I got to see my buddy Dan Quinn play Mario Lemieux and it was unreal seeing how good these guys can play. Find a charity golf event in the summer and I am sure one of the hockey guys will be there!!!
So it got me thinking about both sports.
This time of year, suddenly the commercials for the Masters start to run and it gives you some kind of comfort that spring may not be too far away. But this has been a tough winter and we have a ways to go so back to Augusta dreaming.....


I was fortunate enough to go to the practice rounds at the Masters for about 5 straight years. There is no place in the world like Augusta National. If you get a chance to go, do it.....It is kind of a tough town but the course is beyond your wildest dreams. I have never seen anything as beautiful in my life!  You can walk the hallowed grounds of Bobby Jones, Gene Sarazen, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer and then walk about 200 yards down the street and see John Daly selling merchandise out of his RV in the parking lot of Hooters!!!! There is nothing like it!
One night we actually met the James Brown on James Brown Boulevard where he is from!
Only at the Masters!!!
Now then, enough of the dreaming. Back to waiting for hockey playoffs and working hard during the winter!!!!!

But always remember. Sometimes in a hockey season, it is natural to dream of warmer times.....

If you ever need to relax from the winter stress or are just constipated, remember.....
"Hello, I am Jim Nantz, and welcome to Butler Cabin".........:)


Hockey Guys are Pretty Cool!!

Saw a twitter report about a great hockey guy moment. Here goes.
NHL Player Mike Rupp during warmup of a game bumped up against the glass in the corner of the end he was warming up in. It ended up knocking down a beer of a fan that had placed it on the ledge of the other side. He saw what happened, went and talked to his trainer and told the trainer to go into his wallet in his pants in the locker room and get a $20.00 bill. He signed it and said sorry, taped it around a puck and threw it to the fan who lost his beer.....
Great stuff!!!!
Not sure how many guys from the other major sports would have done that......