Kings v Blues; Winner of the Stempniak Nickname Contest Announced!

By gallagher

I hate to say 'I told you so', except that I actually love to say 'I told you so'. I told you so means I'm smart or lucky and somehow managed to predict the future. My current rung on the ladder of life indicates that I'm not actually all that smart nor all that lucky, so, I'm going to grab onto every I told you so and hang on for dear life.

So, I told you so.

Two games isn't a streak, but it is helpful. The Blues were outmatched tonight, but there's plenty positive to take away. As Mark from 14th and Clark and I were discussing, the Blues just looked better after the two wins. The confidence they have in Sanford is apparent. Look, they're basically the same grinders and muckers that they were last week, but now they play with confidence. And confidence is the difference between losing in Detroit again and pulling off an upset win. Confidence is the difference between falling behind by two goals and saying, "that's it" and falling behind 3-1 and then scoring two goals to tie it, as the Blues did tonight. Yeah, they lost, but they showed that they can climb back into games.

The Blues are going to be outmatched most of the year, so we need to start pulling for more confidence. Confidence allows a team like our Note to win against the suddenly good Wild in Minnesota. If they believe, it can happen.

In GT news, we had a decent night tonight, but I had a blast out selling. You guys are a riot and like getting to meet you and try to pry $4 out of your cold hands. Thanks for stopping and giving us a try, especially you skeptical former GNR readers. I really believe that if you try us once, you'll buy us again. Do me a favor, tell your friends to try it too.

But now, on to the the real news of the night, the formal announcement of the winner of the

First Ever Game Time Contest

The winner of the "Give Lee Stempniak A Nickname" contest will receive a credit as a Contributor in every GT issue this year that uses the nickname in print. Since I edit all the content, that will be basically every issue. The winner also wins the first Game Time t-shirt to roll off the line.

After sifting through the ten of submissions, the winner distinguished himself by zigging while the field tried to zag. Most amazingly, even after I publicly berated someone for sending in "Stempy", I received two more "Stempy" submissions. I weep for your parents. They feel shame at this very moment, and they don't even know why.

No, the winner managed to unearth an unknown detail from a previous life that makes young Lee Stempniak a tie to the great 80's and funny to hockey fans and stoners alike. On top of that, it fits the most important criteria for a hockey nickname - it can be yelled by linemates at top speed.

Here is the winning submission:

It's a little known fact that Lee was the lead singer of the 80's reggae group "Musical Youth".

In the early '80s the Musical Youth, a teen-age pop-reggaeband from the UK, became very popular all over the world. The members: brothers Junior and Patrick Waite, brothers Michael and Kelvin Grant and Lee Stempniak. The debut-single, "Pass The Dutchie", became a worldwide number 1 hit. It was a remake of the Mighty Diamonds' Pass The Kutchie, replacing the marijuana related 'Kutchie' with 'Dutchie', which means cooking-pot.

The Musical Youth gained worldwide fame, even in Jamaica. In 1985, after a couple of small hit songs Lee Stempniak left the band, and the band split up. Bassplayer Patrick died of natural causes in police custody, while waiting for a court appearance on drug charges in 1993. The Grant-brothers are still working in the music business. Lee Stempniak became a professional hockey player.

I believe that the last line was added by the contest winner.

And so, we have the GT annointed, Lee "Dutchie" Stempniak. I hope he passes that puck on the left-hand side.

Look for our winner, Tacos Rose, in the GT masthead on Saturday. In addition, my From The Editor article will recap Tacos' rise to prominence and his new favorite hockey player, Dutchie Stempniak.

Tell your friends, folks, Dutchie be his name.

I'll post a couple more times this week, and hope to see you all Saturday.