What would a normal person do?

It's half an hour before a big game and your one-eyed mutt of a dog lifts his leg on your hockey bag that resides in the yard -- because it's not allowed in the house.

You would pretend it didn't happen and proceed with said bag directly to the rink? Isn't that the right thing to do?

--S.H.

Hockey crimes and misdemeanors, part 1,328

You're playing right wing on a defensive zone faceoff. Puck drops you skate out and cover the left point.

Easy enough assignment, right?

Unless you're (for example) me. Puck drops, I skate hard to cover point, forget to stop, go sliding right past him, he snatches puck, takes slapshot.

I don't need to tell you the puck where ended up.

Lesson for fellow idiot beer leaguers: it's much easier to cover the point if you're not 10 feet in back of him.

--S.H.

Hockey participation in the U.S.

If you play adult hockey and you think you're part of a small elite group that participates in the sport, you would be correct.

Check out this chart on the New York Times website that shows hockey participation on a state-by-state basis, based on USA Hockey registrations.

California has a population of 36.7 million people and only 20,404 hockey participants. Of course, not every player is registered with USA Hockey -- but still. According to this count, only one person out of every 1,800 Californians plays hockey.

There are probably more people in Fight Clubs.

--S.H.

Skating on Twin Lakes, Mammoth Lakes, CA

Skating on Twin Lakes, Mammoth Lakes, CA, a photo by JulieAndSteve on Flickr.

That's me out there at Twin Lakes above Mammoth. I was up there last weekend skiing and on the way out of town stopped at Twin Lakes to try outdoor skating.

It was my first time on a lake. The ice was actually pretty smooth, although harder than at the rink in Pasadena. Temps this day were in the low 30s but it had been in the single digits at night for the four nights we were there.

I'm still bummed I didn't get to the Yosemite high country before Tioga Pass Road was finally closed for the winter in mid-January. It was open during the holidays, allowing folks the rare chance to skate on the likes of Tenaya Lake. If the road opens before winter is over, my ass is in the Subaru and I'm there.

If you're staying in Mammoth, just take Lake Mary Road until it ends at Twin Lakes and Tamarack resort. It's a five-minute drive from town.

--S.H.

L.A Skyline & Sunset, Jan. 24

L.A Skyline & Sunset, Jan. 24, a photo by JulieAndSteve on Flickr.

Yeah, it's not hockey. But a little something from the workplace, taken a few nights ago.

--S.H.

Hockey on Tenaya Lake in Yosemite

Attentive readers may recall that I purchased my first-ever Mammoth Mountain season pass earlier this year -- thereby guaranteeing one of the driest Decembers on record in the Sierra Nevada.

My bad! Sorry!

The upside is that the National Park Service reopened Tioga Pass Road to the Yosemite National Park high country on Dec. 19 -- a very rare move. The road is usually closed from early November until late spring or even early summer.

That means people can get to Tenaya Lake and go ice skating (not encouraged by the Park Service, but they won't stop you either). I found this video of a couple of folks passing a puck around and there's a bunch of other videos on YouTube of people skating on the lake. Such as this one:

It's a big deal because the vast majority of Californians who play hockey never get to play outside. And if you're going to play outside, you may as well do it in Yosemite -- pretty much the prettiest place in the Golden State. 

If the road remains open, I have to get up there and have my own personal Winter Classic, even if I only play with myself (ha-ha-ha). The National Weather Service doesn't have any snow in the forecast for Yosemite and the Mammoth area for the next week, btw.

Here's what Tenaya Lake looks like un-frozen -- I took the pic in 2010.



photo copyright Steve Hymon

2012 Rose Parade stealth (B2 Bomber) flyover

Wonder if I can arrange for a flyover for Puckalolos season opener next Monday night. We are, after all, defending third-place champions and we pay our taxes and league fees promptly. Just sayin...

Los Angeles, Christmas Day 2011

Los Angeles, Christmas Day 2011, a photo by JulieAndSteve on Flickr.

No hockey today. Just a hike in the Angeles National Forest and this pretty nice view from Highway 2 in the Angeles National Forest above La Canada Flintridge. The key is to hang out until the sun actually sets, bringing a lot better definition to the coastline. Beyond downtown is the Palos Verdes Peninsula and beyond that is Catalina Island. This whole view is more than 50 miles, which is pretty good visibility for Southern California.

Merry Christmas, blog readers!

--S.H.

ReIgn game

ReIgn game, a photo by JulieAndSteve on Flickr.

Ontario versus Stockton. Lots of fights and beer league style mistakes.

The building was freezing. Even for hockey. But it was cheap and fun.

Best part: after the game we were walking through the parking lot and some chump took a leak on the side of a car and then got in THAT car and drove away.

I'm trying to decide if that's super classy -- piss on your own car instead of some other bloke's -- or just a sign that the 909 Territories aren't filled with the sharpest of blades, if you get what I mean.

--S.H.

Let's Go Kings

Let's Go Kings, a photo by JulieAndSteve on Flickr.

Grabbed this one at last night's Kings-Preds game. Taken with the Hipstamatic app on my iPhone -- great photo filters.

--S.H.