Now I know why I made this a multi-sport journal in the first place.

I caught my first live Mighty Ducks game of the regular year on Tuesday when they squared off against Nashville; particularly for hometown fans, it was undeniably loaded with entertainment value. The matchup also demonstrated that I tend to immerse myself in more than one pastime at once. When I expressed shock after seeing the Kings and Hornets score from the NBA's opening night on the arena ticker, my companion admonished me to “stick to one sport at a time.” This was welcome advice, because both hockey clubs began the game with the high shot totals that have become a fixture in 2005-06.

Anaheim made the first period relatively exciting for the home crowd with several power play opportunities, featuring an early stuff attempt by Teemu Selanne, who was denied by Tomas Vokoun. Nevertheless, the Ducks failed to convert, even when they had close to a minute with the two-man advantage. Jean-Sebastien Giguere was beaten by Yanic Perrault in the early going, but Steve Sullivan could not score on a breakaway shortly thereafter that would have made it a two-goal game. It had looked as if the home team had scored about seven minutes in, but the tally was disallowed as Jonathan Hedstrom was whistled for goalie interference. Suddenly, the injuries to C Sergei Fedorov and D Sandis Ozolinsh seemed to hurt more than they had during the Ducks' excellent run at home to begin the season.

Watching from home, I had seen the Rangers have the same problems with the man advantage the day before. For some reason, it was hard to envision the Ducks plagued with similar futility for the entirety of the game. As if receiving my thoughts over the Mighty 1090's radio frequency, Anaheim's streaking center Andy McDonald wasted little time from the opening faceoff, skating in and sliding the puck past Vokoun to tie the game. Hockey players must truly love pain if their idea of a celebration is similar to that of McDonald, who leapt into the glass after scoring. Five minutes later, Hedstrom redeemed himself as he deflected McDonald’s wrister off the goaltender and in. Sullivan and teammate Scott Hartnell both took unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the frame, which allowed Anaheim to control play considerably. Rob Niedermayer capitalized on the momentum with a power play goal off a one-timer a minute before period’s end that managed to sneak over Vokoun’s arm.

This was Paul Kariya's return to Anaheim in a Predators jersey, and fans were more negative than ambivalent toward the left wing who once played for the Orange County franchise for nine years. Much like his team, Kariya found the puck near the net often, but had difficulty turning possession into legitimate threats against the defense. This futility may have irked LW Jeremy Stevenson enough to use force by the third period, as he dropped the gloves against a willing Kip Brennan in what has become somewhat unusual in the reborn league: a fight. Much to the delight of the fans, Brennan ended up wrestling Stevenson to the ice. Chris Kunitz took advantage of a giveaway on one of the rare scoring chances for the team in this final twenty minutes. Finding his name unfamiliar, I surmised it was his first NHL tally, which turned out to be correct. Despite keeping the puck in the offensive zone and a desperate six-on-four with the net empty, the Predators were held to just the single goal.

I should be the last person in the world offended by East Coast bias.
I root primarily for the Jets, but from a regional and rotisserie perspective, I enjoyed watching the Giants' Tiki Barber have such a fine performance on Sunday. Barber started the game hot and finished with 211 all-purpose yards as well as a late touchdown. At the same time, however, it seems as if the media are as infatuated as ever with the Big Apple sports scene. For instance, my opponent in fantasy football played the Rams' Steven Jackson, who rushed for 179 yards, albeit without a touchdown, and he got little exposure by comparison. Jacksonville's Fred Taylor had a monster contest as well, going off for 165 yards with a score. Perhaps Barber's publicity stems from the fact that it was part of a 38-0 divisional thrashing by New York against Washington. Their offensive line may be in bad shape, but Patrick Ramsey should really get another shot at the quarterback position after Brunell's difficulties. I may have also neglected to consider the importance of the game being played following the death of beloved owner Wellington Mara, to whom the team paid tribute prior to the contest.

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