Kings Round 2 Recap

So because we are teachers and are not made of money, and because we are saving for our epic four stadiums in four days baseball trip (check back later this week for info on that awesomeness), we decided to enjoy Round 2 of Stanley Cup insanity from the comfort of home (and maybe a bar or two).  It has been nice to save some moola, but a bummer missing out on some epic games.  Let's start at the beginning!

Game 1--May 14, at home in LA:

The Kings started off Round 2 with a bang, also known as a shutout by superstar goalie Jonathan Quick.  It seemed pretty easy for the boys to lock down a 2-0 victory right off the bat, with goals from Slava Voynov and Mike Richards.

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Game 2--May 16, at home in LA:

Game 2 was a bit more of a nail-biter.  The Kings took an early lead with a goal by Jeff Carter in the first, which was extended by another goal early in the second by Drew Doughty.  But the Sharks answered back with two of their own by the end of the second.    The Sharks scored again in the middle of the third period to take a 3-2 lead, but the Kings weren't gonna have any of that on their home ice.  With less than two minutes left in the game, Dustin Brown knocked one in for the Kings and a mere 22 seconds later, Trevor Lewis scored goal number four for the Kings.  Kings won the game, 4-3 and took an early 2-0 lead in the series.

Game 3--May 18, away in San Jose:

Another nail-biter, this one ending up going into OT.  I don't want to talk too much about it, well, because the Kings ended up losing.  Leading into...

Game 4--May 21, away in San Jose:

The Sharks led this one most of the game and the Kings narrowly avoided being shutout with a third period goal from Mike Richards.  It became apparent in this game that the Kings were going to have some issues winning games on the road.  Not the end of the world in this round since we have home ice advantage, but could definitely lead to problems down the line.  Now the series is tied 2-2.

Game 5--May 23, home in LA:

Just as I was starting to get depressed, the boys came back with a resounding win, taking down the Sharks 3-0.  Another shutout for Quick and I'm going into Game 6 feeling good!  Anze Kopitar put the Kings ahead in the second period after a scoreless first, and Voynov put the Kings up 2-0 early in the third.  When the Sharks pulled their goalie with two minutes left in the game, Carter took advantage and scored an easy one to complete the 3-0 win.

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Game 6--May26, away in San Jose:

Ugh.  I may be more emotional about this one than usual since it just ended, but that was ugly!  Literally three penalties in under five minutes, leading to a Power Play Goal by the Sharks early in the first.  Sharks scored again in the second, and luckily Brown managed to get one for the Kings.  After a scoreless third period where the Kings showed practically no puck control whatsoever, we are going to Game 7.  The good news?  We are going to close out the series at home.  The bad news?  This is do or die time.

So now we are tied 3-3 in the series.  Hopefully the boys can pull out a win on Tuesday because if not, this Sports Doll is going to be pretty upset!

The Color Run

This past weekend, the hubs and I and a couple of our friends headed down to Orange County for the Color Run.  The Color Run travels all over putting on family friendly and fun 5Ks that each benefit a local charity.  The premise of the race is runners show up in white T-shirts, and each kilometer of the race are doused with colored powder that seeps into the skin and supposedly washes off with soap and water (though the race was Saturday and I still have some pink spots on me!).  This is what the the hubs and I looked like pre-race...

And here are some shots from along the course.  Please keep in mind that these were taken with my phone, while it was in a plastic bag to protect it from the colors so they are a little blurry!

At the end of the race, each runner is given a packet of their favorite color powder and then there is a big timed release where everyone throws their powders in the air.  I chose to stand back and snap this shot rather be in the fray, and instead threw most of my powder at my friends :o)

Here is the crew post race....nice and colorful!  Despite some poor organization in the parking lot of the race, and the heat (we ran at 12:30), the race was tons of fun and we will definitely be signing up for it again the next time it is in town!

Kings vs. Blues, Round 1 Game 6

Sorry for the delay with this post, but we had a pretty busy weekend, and since there is no need for a Game 7 in this series, I figured a little waiting wouldn't hurt.  And of course there is no need for a Game 7 because the Kings won Game 6!  It was so exciting to be in Staples Center for the victory and I am super pumped for Round 2 versus the Sharks (would have been better if it were versus the Ducks, but what can you do?).

When we got to our seats, we had new rally towels waiting for us...

And because of my super cool new iPhone 5, I was able to get some good pics during warm-ups...

And during the pregame hullabaloo.  Pretty exciting way to set the scene!

Unfortunately, I don't have any pics from during the actual game because I was too busy jumping up and down, screaming, and practically having a heart attack about every five minutes.  But the Kings pulled out a 2-1 victory, thanks to a goal by Dustin Penner with literally .2 seconds to go in the second period (thanks for the McFlurry, Dustin!).  After a scoreless third period by both teams, the Kings had sealed the win and Round 1!  This is on the ice after the win!  (Btw, love how the players all shook hands after the game, nice to see in professional sports.)

Totally exciting game and can't wait to see what the Kings can do in the next round!

Kings Win Game 5!

It was a nail-biter, going into overtime and nearly causing me to have a heart attack, but the Kings pulled off a win last night in St. Louis!  Which means, tomorrow night's game could clinch the series for them and I would be there to witness it!  So exciting!  I will have the full recap of Game 6 for you over the weekend!  In the meantime, Go Kings Go!

Quick had over 30 saves in the game last night!

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Cute Baseball Wear

Hello lovely sports fans!  I don't know about you, but nothing annoys me more than girls who dress up for sporting events.  Heels to a baseball game?  Short little dress in a hockey rink?  No.  Not okay.  However, just because you shouldn't be getting all dolled up (hehe, see what I did there?) for the big game, doesn't mean you can't look cute.  Check out these adorable baseball goodies that you could totally rock at any game without having to feel like that girl.  (Click pic for original source, all pics via Pinterest.)

And this one is just funny.  I have actually seen a couple wear these to a baseball game and they are pretty awesome!

See?  Tons of ways to look cute and girly, but still acceptable for a baseball game!  Now put down the heels and walk away.

Kings vs. Blues, Round 1 Game 4

Hey there hockey fans!  So, I'm not going to lie to you, and I understand that this may make me sound like one of those fair-weather LA fans who only cares about her team when said team is winning, but I promise, that is not me!  However, I am not a huge follower of hockey the way I am with baseball and football.  We try to go to a couple of games every season, but it is pretty rare that I will sit down in front of the TV and watch a full game of hockey.  That is, until we get to playoff time.  Last season, watching the Kings during the playoffs was so exciting, it gave me a whole new appreciation for hockey.  I still didn't pay a ton of attention to this season (especially given the fact that it was about half as long as it should have been), but I've been looking forward to the playoffs!

On Saturday I was switching back and forth between the Dodgers/Giants game and Game 3 of the series between the Kings and the Blues, and as usual, I was not only watching two programs on TV, but was also checking in on Twitter and Instagram (click the links if you want to follow me!).  The Kings tweeted about tickets for the Game 4 and I was so excited that there were even tickets left, I immediately logged onto Stub Hub and scored two tickets for a totally reasonable price!  The hubs was obviously uber psyched as well and we headed out to the game yesterday evening.

LA Live was packed, obv, so we headed straight into the game and found these awesome playoff rally towels waiting for us on our seats.

The atmosphere that Staples Center and their sports teams is able to cultivate is really something else.  I don't know if it's the closed quarters or what, but there is definitely nothing like the feeling when the lights dim before the game starts.

Of course, the game last night didn't start out all that great for Kings fans.  Within two minutes, the Blues had scored their first goal, and just a couple of minutes later had scored their second.  The crowd was pretty quiet after that (and if you know LA crowds, it's pretty rare that we do "quiet").  Nothing to fear though, because by the end of the first period, we had tied it all up with goals from Jeff Carter and Dustin Penner.  The Blues scored their third goal in the second period, which was a scoreless twenty minutes for the Kings.

Luckily, during the second intermission, we got to see this adorable couple get engaged on the big screens at center ice!  I love watching sports engagements and this was my first hockey one, so it brightened up the night a bit!

Things only got better from there.  The Kings came out in the final period of the game and put two more goals on the board, one from Anze Kopitar and one from Justin Williams.  Goalie Jonathan Quick held tough, despite the Blues pulling their goalie in the last minute of the game, and LA walked away with the win!  This cutie patutie, Mike Richards, had two assists and was named the Star of the game.

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The series is now tied up at two games a piece.  The teams square off in Game 5 tomorrow night in St. Louis, and then return home to LA for Game 6 Friday night.  I'll be back in the stands of Staples Center rooting on the Kings on Friday and I can't wait to see them kick some Blues butt!

Welcome to the Blog!

Hello fellow sports fans!  My name is Falon and welcome to my blog.  This is my take on all things sports related in the City of Angels.  I'm lucky enough to live ten minutes away from Dodger Stadium and Staples Center and fifteen minutes away from the Rose Bowl.  I love me some sports...well, except for basketball, of course.  I'm a diehard Dodger and UCLA Bruin fan and have been a follower of the LA Kings (just not as diehard) for many years.  I love going to sporting events and spend much of my free time watching my favorite cute boys play their games.  I can't wait to take you along on my adventures in the wide world of sports!