Some Stuff

That's Teamwork

Dan Marouelli's Hockey Officiating Insight

Good ol' Dan Marouelli hasn't been on CBC lately.  That sucks.  Oh well, here is Dan's final NHL game:

http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/console?catid=0&id=65713


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"The Only Easy Day was Yesterday"


Since NHL hockey has been pretty quiet on the Tube lately, I have been watching "The Military Channel" a lot and I have been really into the "Navy SEAL's" stuff.  You know...killing Bin Laden and all.

In fact, my latest newsletter for Ultimate Officials has direct tie-ins with SEALs and even some football stuff.

Click here to start getting UO newsletters: UO Online Camps (only $0.25 for 1st Month)

http://youtu.be/3DeSyl1CGIQ


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The "King of Almost"

I have also been "dialed in" to "The Voice" on NBC.  My latest newsletter also has a bit on perseverance and chasing your goals, with a tie-in to Tim Mahoney and "The Voice".  Tim Mahoney, raised in Minnetonka, MN and Tonka H.S. Alum, (I just saw this guy perform on May 7th at a fundraiser event for my daughter's Minnetonka elementary school) was on the show last week (got eliminated).  Think he is going to give up?  How easy do you give up?

http://youtu.be/-KMKP18En6I


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UO Online Camps: http://ultimateofficials.com/online-referee-camps.html

CTE for Linesmen?

Tough Day at the Office?

Stick tap goes out to Adam Shadiow for sharing this (www.twitter.com/shadiow).

"#75 Derek Amell takes a wicked bad digger after Setoguchi slew foots Bertuzzi right under his legs.  Amell absolutely gets destroyed.  Bounces his head off the ice, then gets up like its nothing."

Whats' CTE?: Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy at Boston University School of Medicine studies Chrinice Traumatic Encephalopathy:

Ever bounce your melon off the ice?  Maybe got concussed?  Not to be a downer, but more and more stuff has been coming out on how taken many shots to the head causes Alzheimer's type symptoms in ex-athletes.  

All I know is that the situation NHL Linesman, Derek Amell, was caught up in has been a spot that most, if not all, hockey officials have been caught in, including me.  You brace yourself...you say a quick "Hail Mary"...and hope for the best.  

Overall: ouch! (even if you don't admit it publicly).

Foot note: Dave Duerson's Suicide may have been a result of CTE

Link: http://www.bu.edu/cste/2011/05/03/nfl-player-dave-duerson-suffered-from-advanced-cte/

This is Pure Poetry

If this doesn't get you emotional, I give up on you...



As a young boy in 1981, I remember Dino as a rookie for the North Stars run to the Stanley Cup...this is another good video on passion: [HOF Weekend Interview]

Koivu, Kovalchuk, and Mauer

Mikko Koivu

Signs the largest contract in history for my boys, the MN Wild (it's not that I have a MN Wild tatoo on my chest or anything.  It's not like I have a deep, deep loyalty to a team that has been around for...well...10 years (only 9 seasons if you don't count the lock out year, and I don't) -- it's just that they are an NHL team in my back yard, which all the news is about, and I get to watch all of their games on the tube.  So, I guess, they are my boys ( but not like the Vikings are *MY BOYS!*).

Anyway, back to Koivu.  That guy is one tuff sonofabitch.  I love the way he plays.  He plays all 200 X 85 feet of the rink, never takes a night off, is a workout fiend, and definitely earns the "C" he wears on his jersey.

So, with his 7 years $47 million contract extension...I say, "Good on him."

SIDE HOCKEY REFEREE NOTE: Watch Koivu play a game in person if you can.  He "chirps" at the refs all the time and has drawn a few 10 Min. MISC.  

SIDE HOCKEY REFEREE PERSONAL NOTE: When I went to the USA Hockey Elite Officiating Experience, which is a tryout to get an IIHF license, it was 2001.  This is at Lake Placid, NY and it is the U20 World Junior Camp for the USA.  Each year USAH invites European teams to come over and play a series of games with the two USA teams.  In 2001, it was Finland who was there and their captain was the MN Wild's first round draft pick, Mikko Koivu.  One of the games I was working turned into a swordfight.  The referee was Jonathan Morrison, who knew, like, two Finnish phrases, one of which was "eff you".  Johnny Mo-town tells us it is "Hi-stoo Vee-too".  So...during one of the "melee's" Motown is at the referee's crease, dividing up the penalties, and Koivu is there.  Mikko hears that Finland is going to be short-handed in this situation and he mutters something.  Motown flips on him, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?  I KNOW HOW TO SAY F**K YOU IN FINNISH! WHAT DID YOU SAY?!?"  Koivu responds, "I said 'Hi-stoo'...you know... like, "Fuck-in-eh".  Motown said, "OK! I thought you said Eff You!"

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(have you ever noticed I use parentheses a lot?  I even used a parenthesis inside another one earlier in this blog = (wow)).

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Ilya Kovulchuk

Ever notice that he wears the number 17 for the Thrashers...I mean, the Kings...I mean...oh yeah...he was supposed to make a decision right after the 4th of July, wasn't he?

Anyway, he wears the number 17 to honor Valeri Kharlamov.  Go check him out...another warrior.

Ever notice that Geno Malkin wears 71 for the Penguins?  Once again, Kharlamov.

Ever notice that Kovulchuk wears 71 for Team Russia?  Nobody can wear 17 for the "Reds"...it's retired.

** SIDE NOTE: Kharlamov and one other Soviet are the *ONLY* two players inducted to the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame, who have never played in the NHL.  Who is the other player?

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Have you ever noticed that I like...to use...the "three dots" a lot?  Useless trivia = the three dots are called "Ellipsis".

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Joe Mauer

The guy is batting .298 one game after the All Star game.  The guy was just given the largest contract in MN Twins history - $184 million.  

The dude looks like he gets beaten like a rented mule.  What's going on Joe?  New Target Field not all it's cracked up to be?  Dude, you have got 4 home runs...once again, Target Field?  You have no homers in Target Field, what's up?  

Joe has got some natural talent.  Some people kid that he is the second best quarterback in the state, after Brett Favre (are you coming back?).  I know the guy tries real hard but he is not inspiring to me like Koivu inspires me.  Why? Because I can't imagine being that talented.  

I can imagine working like my life depended up it.

And, considering I have a torn MCL and a bad bone bruise on my tibia, I know what it feels like to be beat on like a rented mule:

 

Bucci Says It Best for Referees

If you have been following this blog for any length of time, you know that I love to read John Buccigross from ESPN.  His writing is funny, a bit out-of-the-box, and, most improtant to me, very passionate.  The guy loves NHL hockey and gives us just a little different view on the sport than your average "vanilla-plain" NHL sportswriter.

I read this following excerpt from Bucci, and I thought of the life of a hockey referee immediately:

Hello Mr. Buccigross,

I am currently a freshman at the University of Minnesota-Duluth, majoring in communication. I, like many of my fellow freshmen, have asked myself what it is I want to set myself up for when I get out of school. After thinking about it, I realized my dream is to find myself in a similar career as yours. The real reason I wanted to e-mail you today is to ask what you did (as far as schooling and previous jobs) to get to this point in your career. Any tips are more than welcome, as well!

Ryan Anderson

I am asked this question a lot, and it is understandable. If there was e-mail when I was in high school and college, I would have sent Chris Berman an e-mail asking the same question.  

The only advice I can give you is from my path.  

My parents gave me a tape recorder when I was 12, and from that day on, I knew I wanted to be either a professional athlete or broadcaster for those who were playing. This was pre-ESPN, so my dream was play-by-play. I played with my tape recorder as a play-by-play man and disc jockey.

I chose a college, Heidelberg University in Ohio, small enough to compete in NCAA sports and equipped with a campus radio station (DJ), a school newspaper (writing) and a campus television station (broadcasting). I was there for four years.

Then, I was willing to work for free, five days a week, for five months at a small television station on Cape Cod while working part time at Chess King (simultaneously proving my passion for television and lack of long-term fashion trends). Then, I was willing to go to an even smaller cable station in the next town over and work there for more than five years for about $17,000 a year. This was poverty wages considering I had a wife and two kids. I ate pasta most nights and qualified for free baby formula (not for me) and, yes, cheese. Eventually, I increased my small salary by also getting a job at an all-news and talk radio station; I had to get up at 5:45 a.m. to record 60-second sports reports that ran all morning. This paid $6,500 a year, which was like hitting the lottery at the time. I no longer had to put grocery expenses on my credit card.

Later, I got a job at a larger station in Providence, R.I. (44th-biggest market in the United States at the time). This was my first real foray in television news. I was in Providence two years before I somehow wound up working 30 feet from Berman's desk at ESPN. I was 30 years old.

Besides that quick rundown, how did I get here? Again, I'm not really sure. Ryan, all I can give you in terms of advice is my approach, which may not be the best for everyone, I suppose. I didn't call in sick until my 15th year in the business. (Watch. Tomorrow: BUBONIC PLAGUE!) I've tried to write and/or read each word with all I've got, knowing effortless talent has never been my companion in anything except eating mozzarella sticks. So, I'd better write from the heart, and I'd better have decent hair.

I didn't listen to anyone else when I was young and poor because I believed that everyone was wrong and let chance furnish me with what I needed. And when someone like you asks me how I got such a cool job and how I've had the opportunity and honor to write a hockey column for the past 10 years, I tell them "accidental birth year and pure, unadulterated luck." I got lucky, babe. I hope you do, too.

Wow, that sounds a lot like the life of a referee who wants to make it big -- go out, bust your butt, drives 1 zillion miles on your car, go work some Squirt D's at 7:00 a.m. on New Year's Day, give up your Thanksgiving, Christmas Break, Valentine's, and any other social function/holiday that the rest of the 'normal' world thinks you should attend.  Don't forget to bust your butt, working out like a Banshee when no one is watching (did he say he recorded himself in his bedroom when no one was listening?  I know that Clay Matvick did that, too!).  Oh yeah, I also forgot to say that you need to have the MOST extreme Mental Tuffness, carry a MUCH higher level of expectation, and go about your business when those around you just want to slack off.  Oh...don't forget the luck.  Definitely gotta be lucky. 

Mr. Buccigross...thanks for the career advice!

Ode to More Tough Guys (esp. from MN!)

Gotta give some props to a northern MN boy (by way of other parts), Dustin Byfuglein:

Ode to Tough Guys

If you know me, have read this blog for any length of time, or ever played with me, you know that I am waayyy more "lunch bucket" than "Great Gretzky"...so I thought I'd share this one.

** NOTE TO ALL: During the 2006-07 College Hockey Season, I had a goal of 'out-working' EVERY single linesman in the league.  Happy to report, it wasn't a contest.  Bring your lunch bucket! **

OK...So, I am NOT this INTO Twitter!

Those on the SWAT Team know that I am all about using Twitter for accountability purposes. The psychological effects of answering to someone that "you are doing what you said you were going to do" is highly effective.

In fact here are some "tweets" I received yesterday (my comments in Blue):

"Had a good weekend at camp, I made the program passed level 4 skating exam so I thought it was a good weekend gotta get back to work"

(This guy is referring to the Jr. Officials Development Program Camp that was held in South St. Paul this past weekend. One step towards his ultimate goal(s). The guy has been busting his butt, wants it bad, and puts his accountability on the line. How about you??).

"Invited to pool party hit chest back and biceps first. Going to stick to the meal plan as best as I can. ps no booze"

(The PGA Championship just wrapped up this past weekend in Minnesota. Even though Tiger Woods lost on the Final Day for the first time in his career at a Major, he definitely impressed the home crowd with his work ethic. This ref is keeping his nose to the grindstone = payoff in the future).

"Seriously my best session of Kenpo yet. True DNA removal. To date, I have an X on every workout on my calendar. BRING IT!"

(An X on everyday. I love it! Who's keeping up with this guy?? That's commitment. That's raising the bar high! That's building a reputation. My favorite quote = 'You don't build a reputation on what you are GOING to do.")

"Hey thanks for everything......i made the junior program....all the hard work is paying off."

(Don't you find it hard to work so hard for something that might not pay off until some time down the road? The problem with immediate gratification is that it takes too long. Another favorite quote: "It takes 15 years to build an overnight success." By the way, this guy is bringing serious heat!)


On the lighter side of sports and twitter, here's Kenny Mayne:

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Signs

Here are the two artcile links mentioned in the video:

1. All-around stars
2. Early Recruiting for Basketball (this is a video)




Got Daily Discipline to Kick Butt and Take Names???

Email me: info@ultimateofficials.com

Airing My Dirty Laundry

Want to see my dirty underpants?? Sorry, I don't think they are in this video. However, an offer is in this video..

MAYBE EVEN FOR YOU????



info@ultimateofficials.com

Game Day Blog - 2/05 - Shoot You with a Rubber Bullet

What is the number one difference between a "cagey veteran" and aguy who is a bit on the "green side"? Veterans don't fall asleep, and green horns will pick a time to unfortunately "doze off".

I remember it all too well. I was there. I used to do it, too. I remember a game in particular, Waterloo at Green Bay in the USHL at the old Brown County Coliseum (what a dump), and I dozed off in what was turning into a routine game and routine rout for Waterloo. I doze off and all of a sudden I have missed a major stick violation, there is a fight on the ice, and I am not sure how it all started. WHAT IN THE HECK WAS I THINKING?!? I wasn't...it seems to happen.

That's where the rubber bullet comes in...

The Secret Service train their agents to react to situations in a calm, cool, collected way AFTER they have been shot. In their training, they will unexpectedly shoot them with a rubber bullet, measure their heart rate, and observe their response and reactions. After all, these are people who sign up to "take a bullet for the President". They'd better be able to be level-headed when they get shot.

This practice will continue until their heart rate stays at a low rate, because you think better with a lower heart rate as opposed to a heart that is racing.

In other words, they want their field agents used to the feeling of being shot.

Maybe we should shoot inexperienced officials with rubber bullets to help them speed up the learning curve, and get them to STOP FALLING ASLEEP AT IN-OPPORTUNE TIMES.

On the this night, working a high school game, I saw the partner's I was with fall asleep. Things happened, and they missed it. I could chalk it up as "it's part of the learning process" or I could give them advice to help eliminate that from happening again.

Do you want REAL SPECIFIC advice to avoid "falling asleep" in a game? Contact me at:

info@ultimateofficials.com

6 Inches Between Your Ears

This past year I have finished a "How To" manual on mental toughness. The book is titled, "Better than Buzzy* -- *you fill in the blank who you want to be better than". It is a tribute to my father, who coached me in football, track, hockey, and hockey officiating. My goal was always to be "better than Buzzy".

Don't know who Buzzy is? Here are some testimonials I collected about Buzz Olson for the book:

“The thousands of young men and women who had Buzz for a teacher or a coach are better people for it. The lessons he taught were life lessons, and he taught them if you’re going to do something, do it to the best of your ability and do it the right way.”

Jim Scanlan

“Buzz is the kind of guy that would lead by example, and had a passion for the game of hockey. He seems to have a calming presence around people.”

Roger Stephens

“Buzz Olson is one of the finest individuals I have ever met. He is a man of integrity. Buzz has been an integral part of hockey in Minnesota for decades. His willingness to work with younger officials for the betterment of the game is greatly appreciated.”

Eric Olson

"Buzz Olson has been a paragon of both USA Hockey and MSHSL Hockey. He has always been there as a teacher, coach and mentor to ask and answer the tough questions, and mail my shoes back from Warroad."

Ryan Swafford

“Buzz is always there with a warm smile and a handshake to greet you when you walk in the room. No matter who you are, he is always there for kind words and support...Always a kind and welcoming personality.”

Jeff Beckers

“Buzzy is a person you would want to call a true friend. He never has a bad thing to say about anyone and always takes the ‘high road’".

Mike Schmitt

“Sincerely smiling each and every time I see him - that Buzz.”

Leah Wrazidlo

“Buzz Olson has always led by example by putting forth a complete effort no matter what level he is working. He has the respect of everyone from MHOA because he always put the good of the association over and personal success or rewards he could have received had he gained had he put himself first.”

Skip Trumble

“You can't say just two sentences about the guy. I can remember back when we started the MHOA Association in Eveleth with Buzz, Bill Leslie and myself with Gordie Lee. He tried to attend all our meetings but with his track and I think he worked football also at that time, he was on the go. I don't know how your mother ever kept track of him.”

Paul Moen
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You can check out the book here: http://www.lulu.com/content/2792366

Or, see a video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuUeSV0q2A0

Linkorama: Are You All About "MORE"?

I just got my July newsletter from Dan Kennedy (go see this stud at www.dankennedy.com ) and he had some great insights into wanting "MORE". I am telling you...it doesn't matter what type of business you are in, whether you are an employee, business owner, bus boy, or bottle washer, you can apply the concepts from his opening excerpt.

[[ Note: If you are an athlete and consider yourself to be a SERIOUS athlete, then the concepts definitely apply to you and yours.]]

[[[Special Note: If you are a hockey official and you want MORE...more big games, more playoff runs, more championships to work, more t.v. games...this is DEFINITELY for you and yours]]]

From Dan Kennedy:

"At the SuperConference, Gene Simmons made the observation that he and pretty much all successful people are obsessed with the relentless pursuit of "More". This is why so much more invention, innovation, progress and wealth has been birthed here in the U.S. than anywhere else (up until lately) -- because, more than any other nation on earth, we have been all about the belief in the philosophy of 'more.' These days, there's a lot of foolish criticism of that, a lot of it from ridiculous hypocrites -- people who own five 15,000 square foot homes and commute between them by private jet telling you to shrink the size of your carbon footprint. Billionaires-turned-liberals late in life suggesting that your wealth is somehow at others' loss. There is also a rising chorus of voices selling us on a new mandate to accept 'less'. Obama has said we must give up the idea of keeping our homes at 72-degrees and live less comfortably, drive less, even eat less food...and, of course, keep less of the wealth we create. You want to ignore all of this b.s. and feel proud to be a pursuer of More.

The more 'More' you pursue and get, the more good you automatically do for others, and the more good you can deliberately do as well. So, to celebrate July, this Issue is about "GET MORE."

How to GET MORE of a lot of different things. I have written it immediately before jetting off to the U.K. for a week, to get more of the Brit's money and bring it back here. On that long flight, I'll be scheming about how to get more customers by more means with more speed when I get back. And it seems to me that the main reason more people don't get More is that they just aren't thinking about it, noodling it, being creative about it, working at it, and taking pride in it. Right now, a lot of people are actually voluntarily, shamefully shifting their thinking into reverse; instead of thinking about getting More, they've turned their thoughts to getting by with Less until "this recession blows over" -- as if it were a summer thunderstorm. It is not. It is a Transition to the New Economy, where there is more opportunity than ever. Different, but more."

Amen to the thought of GETTING MORE!

5 Things a Referee Can Teach You About Life

1. Relationships matter -

explanation: The greatest "circle of friends" I have is referees. All of my great friends are referees, and when I am old and in a rocking chair, whittling some wood, and gumming the few teeth left in my mouth, I will remember the camaraderie of the guys I worked hockey with.

Treat those relationships special. I found an interesting study online recently that looked into the saying, "Money can't buy you happiness." The researchers tried to assess if that was true and whether or not there was something out there that did, indeed, create consistent happiness. Results? They found that money doesn't buy happiness, and the greatest correlation they could find between anything was the number of times you meet with friends and family. So...if you want more happiness in your life...break bread with family and friend more often! Because relationships matter.

2. Do you deal with problems or challenges?

explanation: Semantics? Word-smithing? Play on words? Or attitude?

The great ones love a challenge. Do you love a challenge? Challenges are things to overcome. Problems on the other hand...

The best officials handle difficult situations in hockey games differently than the average ones. When things blow out of proportion (like this situation) the best ones rise above the situation and act in a cool, calm, and commanding fashion. It's a challenge, not a problem. The average ones? They get all bent out of shape, get frazzled, and handle the situation poorly. The difference may be due to experience, but it may have a larger part to do with attitude.

3. From the results of failure come the seeds of greatness -

explanation: In business, life, and hockey, the best ones are willing to experiment, take risks, and if they encounter a setback they learn from it. I have heard this being called, "failing forward fast."

The opposite is the guy who doesn't want to make any type of mistake and he does his best to not stick out. To me, this is the number one reason referees who don't like to call penalties act the way they do -- it's better to "remain on the couch and do nothing versus getting up and risking the chance of falling down." Sitting on the couch can be mastered by just about everyone.

Lastly, on of the best sayings I have heard about judgment goes like this -- "Good judgment comes from experience. Experience comes from bad judgment."

4. To the swift go the spoils -

explanation: See the "remaining on the couch" line in the previous explanation. The same could be said about "the entitlement age." I can guarantee you that every official you see working the highest levels of hockey DID NOT have it handed to them on a silver platter. They went out and worked for it. They paid their dues by working whatever games necessary to get where they belong. They did not look for it to be handed to them. They are all "go-getters." You want some? GO GET IT.

5. Strength is in the team -

explanation: There are a number of character traits that are rewarded in the hockey arena and in the business world, among those: problem solving, creativity, hard work, perseverance, and independence. However, that independence thing is the tricky part.

Businesses and associations want self-starters, people who can work without having to be baby-sat. At the same time, the leaders who are looking for great people want TEAM PLAYERS.

Ever played a sport and/or game with someone who is NOT a team player? I remember my high school hockey team had a player who was extremely talented, but was also extremely selfish. I think he hurt the team more than he helped the team.

Do you have any experiences with selfish players or poor team players?