Last night I took my friend Phil (above) to his second ever hockey game at the Xcel Energy Center to watch the worst team in the west play the second worst team. Now one of them is only the third worst team, and unfortunately it isn’t the Wild.

I don’t really know what to say about how the Wild have started the season. On paper, I like our team and the changes that were made in the off-season. The reality, though, has been total suckage:

• Complete lack of ability to clear the zone
• Out-hustled to the puck all the time
• Way too much standing around and waiting for the play to come to them
• No chemistry from any of the lines yet
• Burns at -13, Koivu at -12 and Havlat at -10? How is that even possible?
• Our leading goal scorer is Andrew Brunette with 7, then it drops down to 3 (Koivu)

The three goals in 1:47 was amazing, but only one shot in the remaining 17:42 of that period? And I agree with Russo – how do you scratch Sykora and play both Scott and Boogaard? On defense, I wanted Skoula gone as much as anyone, but Zidlicky and Hnidy seem to be battling for the new crown of Wild defensive goat. Zids and his turnovers make me cringe and Sheriff Shane can’t seem to hit an outlet pass to save his life – it’s either a turnover or icing almost every time.

As Mr. Fletcher said during an interview in Chicago, “we’re still trying to get on the same page.” I was hoping that would have happened during training camp and the pre-season, but here we are 12 games into the season and the Wild sit in the western conference cellar with none of our “stars” hurt. Maybe that’s it – Johnnson and Butch are the secret sauce we need to turn it around.

If only it were that easy…

Thanks to a last minute call from my lawyer and friend KJ, I got in nine more holes for the 2009 golf season. We played the back nine at Parkview Golf Club in Eagan, which as you can see above, was absolutely covered in leaves. There actually is a ball in the picture, if you can believe that. Good thing scores don’t count after October 15 in Minnesota (although I did birdie the par five thirteenth hole).

Barring another warm-up, that’s probably it for me this season. Time to get the skis ready!

The confirmation cards arrived in the mail today for the 2009 Monster Dash events in Minneapolis. This year the races will actually be on Halloween morning – the half marathon I’m running starts at 8:30AM, followed by the 5K that Colleen and the kids are doing at 10:30AM. The plan is for me to finish in under two hours and join them for the 5K.

The field for the half and the 10 mile race is full, so parking will be interesting. The forecast looks good, though. More later…

It’s been almost two weeks since we picked up the new iPhones at the Mall of America, so I thought I’d write up a short review. AT&T also sent me a survey last week, so it got me thinking about what I like and don’t like about the 3GS (after switching from a first generation model).

As I wrote when I got the original phone, I’m not a big fan of the touch screen keyboard. After several years, I’m still not sure I like it all that much. I’ve gotten better at typing on it, but it still seems awkward to me. Even with the auto-correction, I still find myself correcting errors way, way more than I do on my laptop keyboard. The new cut-and-paste tools don’t work very well for me, either. It nice to have the option, though.

The 3G service from AT&T has been OK in my area – faster than Edge with decent coverage. I still experience the same dead zones as before and have had a few dropped calls. I don’t care about the MMS issue (don’t use it), but the tethering thing bugs the hell out of me. I’d use that if I could (and it should be included at no extra cost).

As for the phone experience, it feels better in my hand (lighter and sleeker), apps run much faster and the new camera options work great. It’s amazing to me that I can shoot video, edit it on the phone and upload it directly to Facebook from just about anywhere. I had some issues moving my settings and files over from the old phone, but nothing major. Having the extra storage space is wonderful – I now need to figure out what songs and movies I want with me all the time. I still have 15GB open on the device, after loading 1799 songs, 11 videos, 591 photos and 20 applications.

Here are my most used third-party apps:

• Tweetie
• Facebook
• Weighbot
• NetNewsWire
• iStat
• Now Playing
• Urbanspoon
• HoldEm
• Canabalt
• Wurdle

I’ve also been looking for a good TV listings app (currently using i.TV, but I’m not sold on it). I love that you when you buy an app, you can put it on all your devices without having to pay again.

Colleen bought a case for her new iPhone, but I’ve left mine plain so far. I’m really partial to Skinizi products (especially this one), but they are expensive. I also picked up a pair of the Apple in-ear headphones, which are awesome (and well worth the price).

So overall, I’m very happy with our purchase. It’s not perfect, but it does just about everything I want.

Yesterday might have been my last Minnesota round of the season, and what better place to play than the Meadows at Mystic Lake with my friend and neighbor Tim (center). We both had our doubts about the weather at the start, with clouds covering the sun and winds blowing 13-17 mph right in our faces on the longer holes on the course (including the way too long 442-yard, par four fifteenth hole). Tim’s brother-in-law Bob (right) and his friend Dave (left) also joined us.

Things turned out fine, though, and I shot my usual 93 from the 6,668-yard blue tees (72.3/142). The highlight of the round for me was a birdie on the 410-yard, par four fifth hole. My drive was in the fairway, but left me with about 190 yards to the green, which is fronted by water. I hit one of my best four-iron shots ever, landing in the front third of the green. The 15 foot birdie putt curved right into the middle of the hole.

I wish winter would hold off a little longer – all of the courses I’ve played lately have great conditions now that could last another few weeks. Hard to play in 40 degree temps and snow showers, though.

Tim and I stayed for lunch in the wonderful Meadows Grille and watched the last ten minutes of the Vikings game (which was another story in itself). Thanks again, Tim!

7MM Meadows at Mystic Lake Photo Gallery

Thanks to member Steve Morrison, the Miller boys and I played Bristol Ridge Golf Course in Somerset, Wisconsin, this weekend. I had never been to this course before and was happy to get out anywhere after a few weeks of cold and snow.

Located about 15 miles from Stillwater, Bristol Ridge was different from what I expected. Some holes reminded me of Hidden Greens (like the narrow, wooded, 354-yard second hole), while others had similarities to Braemar – long par fours with lots of elevation change. The fall colors really made the course pop, too.

The weather was perfect and the crowds definitely picked up behind us as the morning went on. I couldn’t hit a straight drive to save my life on the front nine, which contributed to a not-so-great 48. I had four pars on the back nine, but still only managed a 45, thanks to one blow-up hole. I really need to make driver improvement a priority next season.

After the round, we had a nice lunch that included cheese curds and grilled cheese sandwiches – when in Rome, right?

7MM Bristol Ridge Photo Gallery