100

Hey everybody! It's a milestone! This is my 100th post! I think that's kind of amazing since I only started this blog a little less then a year ago. So, for the occasion, I've decided to do a nostalgic retrospective celebrating my favorite posts. If you've enjoyed any of my stuff so far, please take the time to review what I think are the best examples of my work from my first 100 posts.

Top Ten Leafs Games, 2008-9, Sensational Season-Ending Super-Post Spectacular!
-April 9, 2009

This post got a really good reaction, so I ended up double-posting it over at PPP. Totally stole DownGoesBrown's thunder, but honestly, if he had posted his first, who would've read mine? I admit I jumped the gun by publishing it with one game left in the season, but truthfully, even if Boyd had scored a 4th and a 5th goal, I still doubt that last game would have made my top 10.

Live From Leaf Nation, It's Saturday Night!
-December 13, 2008

This one was also double-posted at PPP, but this time I published it there first. It was a cold, lonely Saturday night in December, and the Leafs were not doing the one thing they were supposed to be doing - entertaining me. So, I thought I'd entertain myself by imagining what they might be doing with themselves on a rare, free Saturday night.

It's Not Funny If It Isn't Raycroft
-November 17, 2008

This is just a short sight-gag really, but it seemed to strike a chord with Leaf fans. At first I wasn't going to publish it, 'cause it seemed mean-spirited and I didn't want to get too down on the Vesa, but after giving up 2 goals in the 1st period on 10 shots and spotting the Bruins an early 2-0 lead, I lost my patience and fired this one off out of spite.

Hockey At The Gardens
-November 7, 2008
Here's one of my posts that I'm most proud of. Ever since the Leafs moved out of the Gardens I've dreamed of them returning someday to play a series of "black-tie affair" Original Six games there. I was really pleased with how well this post was received, but the best part, was that just 2 weeks later, CBC aired a special video of Wendel Clark revisiting Maple Leaf Gardens as part of the Leafs' tribute that night to their great Captain.

Well, It's Not Gonna Be That Guy
-August 20, 2008
In the summer I began writing a series of posts entitled "The Blood Of My Chief" about the great line of Leaf captains. I was hoping to time the conclusion of this series with Sundin's decision on his return, but that became a colossal miscalculation on my part as we waited in vane throughout the summer. When it became clear that the Leafs were going to have to start the season without him, I realized he was no longer the Captain, even if he decided to return. He had retired, at least, from that responsibility. The obvious question then became, who would the Leafs name as their 17th Captain? As usual, DGB had the answer.

Hockey Or Death!
-August 1, 2008

Ever since I published this post, this has been one of the most popular on my site according to Google Analytics, probably from people finding it through Google Images because of the picture of Robert Smith in a Leafs jersey. This post is the kind of stuff I wish I could do more more often, but I've come to realize that this piece was uniquely inspired. It basically wrote itself and perfectly captured and summarized my feelings about Sundin, in the end concluding that "Black is the colour of our love".

Maple Leafs Nation: Meet The D-Men
-July 3, 2008
I still like this one a lot. I think it's a good example of the kind of stuff that I do well. Interesting to note that 6 of these 9 defenceman are still with the Leafs. I wonder how many will be left by the time the season opener rolls around in October?

How Creepy Glenn Sabotaged Our Future
-June 18, 2008

If you're a Leafs fan that's new to this site, or if you've just stumbled through accidentally, this is the one and only post that I really think you should read. The reason why, simply put, is because every word is the absolute honest truth. This is the stark reality that the Hockey Hall Of Fame doesn't want you to know about, but it had to be told. History books will tell you a different story, but we don't forget.

Ron Wilson And Me
-June 11, 2008
Soon after Ron Wilson was hired to be the coach of the Maple Leafs, he held a Q&A session with the media in Toronto that was covered by Paul Hunter in the Star. There was a ton of great quotes in there so I decided to make up my own questions to Wilson's responses and this is the result. This was one of my earliest posts, and it was a lot of fun to do.

Is There A "Todd Gill" That Isn't Todd Gill?
-May 24, 2008

Just before Wilson was hired I decided to speculate on what kind of a coach would be good for the Maple Leafs this season. The best thing about this post, just my second ever, was that I didn't even know Todd Gill was a coach when I'd written most of it. After I was about 2/3 of the way through it, I thought I ought to do some research (i.e. Google "Todd Gill", and then click Wikipedia), and was flabbergasted to discover that he actually was coaching and was in fact doing it very well. Gill was named Canadian Junior Hockey League Coach of the Year for the 2006-2007 season and is still coaching the Brockville Braves today. Recently, Gill's underdog Braves defeated division rival Smith Falls in the opening round of Junior A playoffs, and then pushed their semi-final series with the Pembroke Lumber Kings to 7-games before finally ending their season. One of my favorite Leafs of all-time, I could just as easily have written 100 posts about Todd Gill exclusively, and to be honest, a part of me thinks maybe I should have.

Thanks again and cheers to everyone, especially for the comments which I really appreciate. For those of you who've been here for the "entire journey", I hope you've found this blog to be fun and meaningful, like a playoff run to the Cup Final, and not a series of increasingly joyless and deflating moments, like a Maple Leafs' regualr season.