Well folks - it’s official. Steve Downie is a goon. We first noticed Downie when he contributed to the World Juniors in 2006, and he was quickly labeled a future “character player” which is a polite way of saying that he’s a bit of a head case. Still, we welcomed him to the fray as his loose-cannon personality was consistently backed up by his on ice antics. The antics are entertaining until someone gets seriously hurt as has now happened several times. The latest incident occurred September 25th when Downie opened a can of creamed corn on Dean McAmmond of Ottawa, leaving him blacked out behind the net.

Bryan Murray made a few comments that hit home with me. He mentioned Downie had been “laughing after the hit” and that the “history of this young man” would play a role in how his punishment was handed down. That punishment, it was just announced, will see him suspended for 20 games. Let’s look at some of the facts of the case here, and then I’d like our readers to sound off.

Downie is going to spend a long time trying to live this down, and maybe it’s good that he’s having his hand slapped early. On the other hand, he was indeed trying to lay a hit on a player who had the puck - albeit a ferocious one. It’s kind of his job. So let us know where you stand, GoonSquad. Is 20 games too many or two few? Is NHL Corporate going to use this as a further tool to eradicate the physical play of the past? Is Downie’s considerable skill on the ice doomed to be overshadowed by his quick temper and rough style of play? Do you like movies about gladiators?

I would like to personally thank everyone for the well wishes, and words of support and encouragement you have given MOL and I. Saturday was a very emotional day for the both of us, and it means so much to us that everyone could be there and share the day with us. To the Goonsquad in attendance. Thanks for being there. We really could not have asked for a better day eh? I hope you boys got enough to eat and drink. Judging from the two posts while I was away, I’m guessing you did.

MOL and I had a fantastic time on our Honeymoon. We did the same thing every day. Wake up. Go to the beach. Eat lunch. Take a nap. Eat dinner. Go to Sharky’s. Go home. It was a great time just sitting on the beach reading the Hockey News, and doing nothing. I had never been to the Vineyard, but I will most assuredly be going back. The people are super friendly, and they all seem genuinely interested in making sure you are enjoying yourself. Excellent times to say the least.

So, now I am back with many wedding thank you cards to write. I am refreshed, and am looking forward to the puck dropping on Saturday at noon for the Ducks and Kings. I love the Ducks in your face game, and I think the Kings have some very entertaining youngsters on their roster. Plus, it’ll be awesome to see two West Coast teams play in East Coast time. I am also trying to get MOL to go to the Bruins game on Sunday against the Isles. My boy Gordie Dwyer has been scoring goals, and dropping the mitts so I’d love to see him in action….provided he doesn’t get sent down…or released……Anyway, good to be back boys! Killer and I have some stuff coming up for the season that will be fun and entertaining, and The Ref is always lurking, ready to chip in his two cents. Hell, we may even get Hammer to write something again?

It’s Wednesday and I am slowly getting back to feeling somewhat ok after the wedding of Chris & Amy. What a shindig!! As the Ref mentioned, all of GoonSqaud was in attendance for a fantastic event. Some of the highlights include:

• The Hammer greeting me at the entrance with beer in hand
• The small bird bath (ok - maybe it was a pool) that developed on the ground below Chris from the sweat dripping off of his head as he awaited the arrival of his bride
• The Ref sporting a swanky new corduroy blazer in 80+ degree weather (he’s from the motherland eh, what do you expect?)
• Sitting with Chris’s co-workers and telling them some great stories about Chris (sorry about that kid, maybe it was the booze talking, but if you get fired on Monday it’s really not my fault)
• Taz exiting the port-o-potty chewing on the white mint

I wish you both the best as you navigate through life as Mr. & Mrs. you definitely married up Chris, nice work!

I wanted to share with you a brief update on my summer vacation as I have neglected this site for far too long. I played a lot of golf, drank a lot of beer, hit the ice a few times, picked up new skates and a stick, chased the Million Dollar Babies all over creation and watched my grass go from the envy of the neighborhood to the Mojave Desert as we have had zero rain in the Northeast. All in all the summer of 2007 was a good one and I hope all of you enjoyed yours as well.

Did you hear the news??? Cam Neely is employed again by the Boston Bruins. Unfortunately, he won’t be seen flying down the right wing unloading a boomer top shelf or lowering his shoulder as he blasts an opponent off the puck in the corner. Nope, Cam is now the Vice President of the Bruins. I love Cam for the player he was, his involvement within the community off the ice both during his playing days as well as after and his drive to be the best at what he does.

The B’s are screwed as long as Jeremy and his smarty pants son Charley Jacobs are at the helm. Peter Chiarelli is a dead man walking this season. If the B’s stumble out of the gate (which they will), it will be Peter who will take the fall. How can Cam make an impact on this team while working directly with dead man walking and smarty pants? I don’t see it happening this season but I am very optimistic that he can make an impact down the road.

You can hear it in his voice when he made the press rounds yesterday. He is clearly upset at the current state of the Bruins and wants them to improve. Will it happen this year? Not a snowballs chance in hell. As a B’s fan, I must say that this is a solid organizational move and one that I hope will pan out. If it doesn’t, oh well they’ve sucked the past 15 years what’s another 15? I still have the Pats and Sox kicking ass.

On behalf of Killer, Taz, Hammer and the rest of the GoonSquad who were in attendance in Nashua last night - I want to congratulate our very own Chris and MOL on their marriage yesterday. The spread was delicious, the kegs were cold and older brother Dave’s speech was the best I’ve ever heard. I am as hungover as a bastard, pretty sure I slow-danced with Hammer at one point (hence the hour long shower), but I still have a smile on my face. We love you guys.

Pulitzer Prize winning author, friend of GoonBlog and all-around awesome lady - Doris Kearns Goodwin - has reached the second phase of the current Red Sox Nation Presidential competition. Votes from the general public narrowed down the first group and the stage 2 winners will be determined based on traffic to their individual MLB blog.

Doris will bring a level of intellectualism and historical analysis to the position that Sox fans will find refreshing and optimistic. To prepare for the future is to understand the past, after all. In addition to being able to statistically rattle off figures as well as any fan in the Nation, Doris can then tell you what people were wearing, eating, reading and how they were voting that year. It’s an honest and life-long love of the game coupled with one of the best insights into American History alive today. I, for one, would honestly like to see Doris in this position above all of the other candidates in the running. But don’t take my word for her forward-thinking and original spin on the position:

“If I were fortunate enough to be chosen president of Red Sox Nation, I would call upon my love of history to exorcise the tortured memories of the past that create a constant sense of dread in even the most loyal Sox fans. I would personally rewrite the history of 1978 to remove the story of the final months when our 14 game lead was catastrophically lost. I would encourage NESN to bury every clip of Bucky Dent and Bill Buckner in an underground vault. I would sponsor a special line of T-shirts emblazoned only with positive images - Ortiz pointing to the sky on reaching home, Papelbon pumping his fist on recording a save, Schilling’s bloody sock. Since I’ve never outgrown the superstition that the actions of fans influence the fortunes of our teams, I would do all that I could to transform the mood of Red Sox Nation from one fearing the worst, to one expecting the best, game after game, year after year.”

Doris is the perfect remedy for a Nation which more and more is being saturated by peripheral, fair-weather, nay-saying fans who dilute the legendary fan base as a whole. That’s not to say these folks should be banished. On the contrary - they should be educated, hardened and sent back out into battle as a true Fenway Phalanx ready to defend Boston from Yankee tyranny. Doris is the woman for the job, so please stop what you’re doing and visit her blog right now!

Ok, so like, this is long overdue eh? To answer your question Red Thunder, I have not repeat, NOT kicked my Goon buddies to the curb. I promised an update on where the hell I’ve been at the end of August, and I have not delivered. For that, I apologize. Here’s a quick recap of why I haven’t.

For starters, my Sony piece of shit notebook decided that the copy of Vista Business that is loaded is not genuine. Well, considering I won it from the PC Reseller I work for, and I won it for selling a lot of Microsoft, from the Microsoft rep, I’m pretty fucking sure the copy of Vista is Genuine. As such the little fucker doesn’t work properly and I have been on the phone with Sony so many times, I know all about my support rep’s life. I finally got it straight, and here I am typing away on my piece of shit Sony Vaio. Quick tip. If you are looking at a notebook, stick with Lenovo. I miss my T60, and I am thinking of a way to get it back from MOL. I’m thinking jewelry and a straight up trade for this POS.

So, that’s the reason for the hold up. For once it’s not me being on a bender. Maybe I’m growing up? I know, I know. I couldn’t even type that with a straight face. Considering my absence hasn’t been entirely non bender, and crappy PC related, it was impossible to type with a straight face.

So, where have I been? Well, I had my bachelor party a couple of weeks ago. I’m told it was a lovely time. We went to the Paw Sox, and a couple of peelers. I remember being at the game, and I remember one of the peelers. The other? Not so much. I have been hearing all the stories about how I could not stand under my own power, and the second anyone took a hand off my shoulder, I started falling forward. I guess the boys made a game of it….as they should have. I do know I woke up in a bed by myself, and was hungover for two days. Great times. I really appreciate all the boys coming, and taking care of me when I was hammered.

MOL and I have been looking for a house too. So, on top of planning a wedding, working, and my general lack of sobriety, we are trying to find a place to live. We had an offer in on a place, but it fell through. We had another offer in on a place, and that fell through as well. For now, we will pull back until October 1 when we get back from the honeymoon.

Speaking of MOL, her bachelorette party was a couple of weeks ago. I dropped her off, and Rich and I went to a bar. We drank several pictures of Miller Lite, and watched a Red Sox no-no. Then we met up with a bunch of drunken girls in the city. He needed to get a lift back with his wife, and I was supposed to get MOL. Trouble is, they weren’t exactly ready to leave, so I ended up in the mix. Luckily one of the girls wasn’t drinking and was able to drive us all home. Good times.

We also managed a weekend up at the lake with Bobby. We went for a couple of boat rides, and drank a bunch of brew. Then we hit the town, and slept in a tent in the back of Bob’s truck. It was a great weekend too. So, that’s where I’ve been. I hope everyone had a great summer. I for one am psyched Camps open this week, because I need some hockey real bad. 13 days until I go pro boys. Wish me luck!