On the Road in Orlando, Pt. 1

So I've made it sunny Florida, although at present it's not exactly sunny and warm. It's been in the low 60s, which is a little chilly for this time of year, but I'll definitely take it over dirty snow piles and 30-degree weather back up north.

Met a very nice lady on the plane and our chat helped distract me from the brat a dozen rows behind us, who had to have screamed "I DON'T WANT TO!" about six bazillion times between Philly and Florida. I now have a strong feeling that children should be stowed with the luggage.

For anyone who doesn't know, I am down here as part of the Pittsburgh Conference on Analytical Chemistry and Spectroscopy. But fret not, Faithful Listeners. I won't be trading in the podcast microphone for a pocket protector anytime soon. My father has been one of the conference organizers since '93, so I get to tag along, volunteer for a few hours a day and then spend the rest of my time doing whatever I want...

...which yesterday included watching the US/Canada gold-medal hockey game...

I gotta say, all in all, it was a fantastic game. When the US was down 2-0, I was taking comfort in the knowledge that, if Canada lost, the entire nation would crumble, but if the US lost, I would feel bad for about 10 minutes and then forget all about it as I look forward to NCAA conference tourneys and March Madness. But then Zach Parise had to go and tie it with 23 seconds left, and of course I jumped up off the couch screaming and clapping.

So it was a real letdown when Crosby slipped the game-winner past Ryan Miller. And even though it's rolled off my back by now, it was great to see the US boosting their international hockey profile and giving the Canadians a real run for their money.

I'll also say that it was kind of liberating to be able to hate on Sidney Crosby for a couple of weeks. I defend him to just about every NHL fan, but to be perfectly honest, if he wasn't on the Penguins, I'd probably be on the "whiner" bandwagon as well. However, it's hard to by anything but happy for Sid the Kid, having lifted the weight of an entire nation on his squad's collective shoulders. But just as I was starting to feel good for him, the post-game interview came on:

"It wasn't as easy as we had expected."

Why you gotta be a dick about it, Crosby?