Lets see. Little has changed since the last time I blogged. But, with the big guy being injured, I have been taken out for more walks, which I’m pretty pumped about.  The squirrels seem to be increasing in numbers, so I’m not sure if they are preparing for a strike or they are just doing recon work.  The walks have been business as usual, so have nothing more to report.

Tuesday was a big day for yours truly!! I Got my haircut!!! It has been a while since my last snip and lately my fur has been impairing my vision, which could potentially give the squirrels an advantage.  What a day it was. It started out as any other day, had breakfast with the little one and the big guy and then outside for a quick morning walk.  However, after the walk we jumped right into the car, so I knew something was up.  Sure enough, as we pulled into the parking lot, I began to whine with excitement, because I knew it was “new dew” day.  Crystal is my lady. She trims me up real nice and gives me the soft, fluffy look that my lady friends can’t resist.  As soon as the big guy leaves, Crystal and I head back to the bath tub, which is not my favorite, but I hang in there, because it pays off in the end.  From there we head to the blow dry station, where I go from wet rat to fluffy polar bear!!! After my hair is all cut, teeth are brushed and nails clipped I wait for the big guy to pick me up.  Once I see him I leap up give him a few hello licks and then it’s out the door to show off my fresh cut.  And OOHHHH MAN, do I feel like a million bones with a clean cut!  I feel so good, that I can’t control my excitement, and I just start barking!!!

I know what your thinking, how can this day get any better? Don’t worry it does, because after my haircut we make a pit stop down the toy aisle, where I get to pick out my next stuffed victim.  I give a few thank you licks to the lady at the front of the store and then we are out to the car and heading home.  Once I got home, I did a quick lap of the house; took inventory of all my toys and then retreated to my bed.  As you can see it was a very eventful day, so I always take an extended nap in the afternoon.

Hope you enjoyed hearing about my awesome day!!

Mo…Out!

 

We had a successful road trip to Peoria last week and as you know, whenever we go on the road, one thing is certain, there will be ice cream at the pre-game meal.  

It was a bit of a rollercoaster pregame meal as expectations were high. Everyone seemed to be pretty impressed with the presentation of the food, nice décor and there was a great spot for the ice cream.  It wasn’t out yet, which if you remember is key, because otherwise the ice cream melts before dessert time.  Also, they had a few large martini glasses that looked to be where they would put the toppings, which is also a great sign.  As I was finishing my last few bites of my meal, the hotel staff started to bring in the pre-scooped bowls of ice cream.  It was going to be a successful dessert. Perfect timing. Pre-scooped bowls. Which meant no risk of getting sticky hands.  I got up to the table and FLOPPPP! I immediately noticed the lack of GOOD toppings.  Again, I will give them props for trying, because they did have coconut shavings, but the rest was crumbs of leftover nuts and other subpar toppings.  Despite having decent ice cream, the overall emotional roller coaster of the meal was too much to recover from.  I gave it 1 ½ Stars!!!

One of the best parts about our upcoming trip to Texas is the opportunity to get out of the recent snowstorm and feel the warmth of the sun for a few days.  That and getting the chance to take two games off of the top-ranked Stars.  The team had a good, hard week of practice in preparing for the upcoming battles.  Now all that is left is to refill the toiletry kit, pack some short-sleeved shirts, maybe a light jacket, sunglasses and head to the airport.

Maddog…Out

Most of my days start out the same: I spend most of my nights on the bed until it gets too warm or until the Little One starts kicking me, which is a common occurrence.  I sure do love my sleep. The Little One is usually awake first and some days when I feel like she has slept in, I jump up on the bed and put my paws on her and lick her face.  The Big Guy doesn’t seem to react when I lick his face or jump on him, so most mornings I don’t even bother.  After everyone is up we usually all eat breakfast downstairs.  I always sit next to the Big Guy and watch sports, which I thoroughly enjoy, mostly because he is generous with his food and something usually hits the floor.  From there, the Little One usually leaves for a while and then the Big Guy and I head out for a morning stroll where I usually sniff out a nice piece of real estate to make my morning deposit.  The Big Guy seems to be thoroughly impressed with the size of my droppings, which has always confused me, because he has to carry them around in a bag after.

After we return from our morning walk, which have been pretty brisk lately, the Big Guy gives me a treat and then heads out for a while.  I used to get quite concerned when either of my roommates left, but they always seem to come back, so I don’t worry near as much.  After they leave I usually take a lap around the house, making sure that everything is in place and there are no new discoveries.  Then I take a quick inventory of all my toys, to make sure no one is lost.  And finally I usually retire to the top of the stairs where I take my afternoon nap and dream about catching squirrels.  

THE SQUIRREL, my arch nemesis!!!!! Every time the Big Guy and I head out for a walk I’m on high alert for any potential squirrels that may pop up on my radar.  I don’t like these creatures. They never want to play and they are always hanging out up in the trees staring down at me, like they think that are superior or something.  I can’t wait to get my paws on one of those tiny creatures.  Although, my hat goes off to them, as I have yet to trap one, they seem to be rather agile and when ever I get close they retreat to their trees.  I haven’t seen many around lately, not sure where they went, maybe they have relocated in fear of being caught or they may possibly be drawing up new plans to try and outsmart me.  If there are squirrels reading this, just know I’m out there and ready to do battle.

When the Big Guy comes home I get extremely excited, I start snapping my tongue at him and run between his legs, because I know that an afternoon walk is coming.  I love my afternoon walks, because I like to get out and patrol my area.   Most of the times I run into a few of my buddies and we always greet each other with a few sniffs and a high-paw.  Snickers, Bella and Tag are my favorite!  Lately it has been snowing…. MAN DO I LOVE THE SNOW! The Little One usually complains about it, but I think she is crazy, I can’t believe this fluffy stuff just falls from the sky.  The Big Guy and I usually end up at this huge field where he throws big balls of the snow up in the air and I try and catch them in my mouth.  It may be my favorite activity, plus whenever I get thirsty I just chew a bunch of the snow and I’m ready to play again.

Other days the Big Guy comes home and we go for a short walk and then come right back and he tells me that it’s game day.  I know right away what that means.  First, he eats some food, which again I enjoy, because something usually hits the floor.  Then it’s upstairs for naptime, which again I fully enjoy and it’s usually the Big Guy that has to wake me up.  After that, he changes and heads out the door, but not before leaving me a bully stick and a couple of other treats.  I know he is going to be gone a while, but the treats definitely help the time pass quicker.  

Most nights I usually spread my toys out and have a good play with all them.  Both the Big Guy and the Little One seem to enjoy playing games with me, like tug-of-war or hide and seek.

Then, it’s outside to relieve myself one last time before bed and the whole routine starts again the next morning.

Before I turn the blog back over to the Big Guy. I want you all to visit Haydar’s Hounds during Saturday’s game and Adopt-A-Dog. We dogs stick together and although I have never met any of the dogs that will be at Saturday’s game, they all deserve a good home like the one I have.

I hope everyone enjoyed a look into my daily activities!!

Mo Out….. rrrrruuffff!

Through hockey, school, family and personal vacations, I have travelled to quite a few places in North America and I usually always make sure to stop by the local bakery or dessert shop to try a cupcake or two, or three, ahhhh who am I kidding, half dozen, for sure!!! I mean I have to try all the top flavors.  In my travels, I have come across some unreal cupcakes as well as some pretty standard cupcakes.  In my opinion, there are a handful of key elements that I look for in a cupcake.  

For starters, the ICING!!! I have tried many different icing flavors and for the most part, most bakeshops seem to have very good icing.  The first thing I look for is the consistency of the icing.  Is the icing light? Is it soft? Is there enough? Is there too much?  For me the perfect icing is light and has a fluffy quality to it that gives you a melt in your mouth sensation.  I dislike bakeshops that have icing that is on the harder side and gives more of a crumbly feeling.  

Photo: @craveYYCNext and probably the most underrated part of the cupcake is the cake itself.  In my eyes, it is the best part of the cupcake and the key element that can make or break a cupcake.  Very similar to defensemen in hockey, the underrated key elements that make or break a team, haha! Again, here you don’t want the cake to feel dry and crumbly.  I prefer the cake to compliment the icing, so it should be light, fluffy and moist.  Back home in Calgary, the best cupcake shop is Crave and what truly sets it apart from any other cupcake, is the cake itself.  If you ever get the chance to try one, I guarantee that you will come back for more.   

Lastly, SIZE!! And just as the ladies would say, size does matter! But here, bigger doesn’t always mean better.  Cupcakes are hand held desserts and if made too big can be messy to eat and possibly ruin the experience.  In regards to the icing, there should be enough on top that you get a little bit on your nose, but not so much where it ends up by your ears or worse, spills on the shirt.

Locally, I have tried Crumbs, Sprinkles, Molly’s, Sweet Mandy B’s, and Magnolia’s.  Crumbs is pretty solid. Sometimes I find that you have to let their cupcakes warm up to room temperature, because they tend to crumble.  I found Sprinkles overrated. The icing is average and the cupcakes are too small.  Molly’s, Sweet Mandy B’s, and Magnolia’s are probably the best that I have tried here in Chicago. All three have great cake with equally delicious icing.   The Ultimate Cupcake still belongs to CRAVE bakeshop (@craveYYC), located In Calgary.

Pretty pumped to have the best cupcake bakery in North America follow me! @craveyyc #nojoke #dangerouslyaddictive

— Mark Matheson (@25Maddog) January 17, 2013

Anyways, as you can tell I take my cupcakes seriously!! Feel free to send me your thoughts on local cupcake shops that I should try!! (@25maddog)  I’m also on the hunt for the top dessert in the Chicago area, so send me your top spots.

Maddog…Out!

Although I enjoy road trips with the boys, it definitely feels nice to be back home in my own bed in Chicago.  Getting to and from Abbotsford consists of a couple two-hour bus trips, and a couple of four-hour flights.  For many of us Canadians, it’s nice to play in the motherland and breathe some fresh air, haha. A lot of the Americans on the team don’t take too kindly to that comment.  We left a couple days early for this road trip, which was beneficial for a couple of reasons.  First, it gave us an extra day to shake off the jet leg and recover from a long day of travel.  Second, we had some free time to hang together away from the rink.  Fortunately, there was a huge indoor amusement park next to the hotel.  For starters, we had a mini-golf tourney that got pretty intense in the opening rounds.  Thanks to stellar clutch putts, Derek Joslin and I claimed the top spot.  From there, we headed upstairs to the arcade games, where the boys got pretty competitive trying to set records in the basketball and skeet ball games.  The basketball was pretty close, but I think Brett Sterling took top spot and Andrew Gordon and I tied for top skeet ball score.   All and all it was a fun way to kill the afternoon, even though I think Tim Miller lost sleep frustrated with his basketball score!  From there, we went out to dinner at the Cactus Club, a top spot for the boys.  Mix-in, a big four points and it turned out to be a solid road trip.

Regarding the pre-game meal, I gave the hotel four out of five stars.   They did a lot of things right, the ice cream was delicious, provided a proper serving utensil, had a good size bowl and brought the ice cream out at the proper time.  The only thing they lacked was the toppings.  Another reason why the ice cream received four stars was due to the fact that the meal before was excellent and had a lot of variety, which helps the dessert scores, because I’m already feeling good heading up to the ice cream bucket.

Maddog…Out

We recently had a road trip in Grand Rapids and the pregame meal there did not disappoint.  The ice cream got the top rating so far this year, earning 4.5 out of five stars!!!

Keys to earning 4.5 Stars:

• Having a proper serving utensil,making it easy to make perfect scoops.
• Having four topping options, as well as chocolate and caramel sauce.
• Had perfect timing on when the ice cream was brought out and the ice cream itself was delicious, which in the end is a key component.

Other hotels, take notes for when the Wolves come into town!!

The holidays for me were awesome, because I got a chance to spend time with my family and show them a Chicago Christmas.  Despite having a cold that has left me with no voice, I was able to battle through and enjoy some quality time with the family.  Unfortunately, their visit, as always, went too fast, but we are bringing in the New Year together.  I hope everyone has a chance to spend time with family and friends and I want to wish everyone a Happy New Year!!  All the best in 2013!!! Lucky 13!!!

Maddog… out!

Canada is coming to Chicago this holiday season. I'm looking forward to having the rest of the Maddog family in town for Christmas. With the short breaks we get for Christmas I haven't been able to make it home for since turning pro, so this year I'm going to thoroughly enjoy spending time with my family and showing them a Chicago Christmas.

Streaking....

The boys having been putting together a decent little run, winning our last four games! We have one more game left, Saturday at Grand Rapids, before the break and we are shooting for another big win. I just want to thank all the students and teachers who were at our early morning game on Wednesday. The crowd was energetic and as players, we really appreciate the support.

Ice Cream Status:

Well as promised, I will be giving a review of the various pre-game ice cream meals we have on the road. First up, Cleveland!! I gave Cleveland a 2 out of 5 stars for a few reasons.

On the plus side:

• The overall presentation was decent
• The ice cream was brought at an appropriate time, so it wasn't melted by the end of the meal

Penalties:

• Only offered one topping (strawberries) - UNACCEPTALE
• The scooping utensil provided was inefficient, because the ice cream kept getting stuck to it, which in turn made things a bit messy.

We'll see what Grand Rapids has in store.

I hope everyone who is travelling this holiday season, does so safely. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Having been around hockey for so long, I’m used to the smell and many times unaware of its effects on others.  I have actually had a conversation with my wife and many of the other players’ wives over the years discussing how bad the smell is and what can be done to put an end to “Hockey Hands.”

REMEDIES:

Unfortunately ladies, there is nothing that can be done to stop the smell, but there are a few helpful remedies out there that can help mask the smell postgame.  

First, and probably the most effective, is generously lathering the hands with shaving cream while in the shower.  The thickness of the cream, combined with its pleasant aroma, seems to tackle the unwelcoming stench.  

Sometimes if I’m in a rush, and forget to use the shaving cream, I turn to my wife’s fruity hand lotion!! Yes, I’m not afraid to admit that I prefer the flowery or fruity smell of women’s hand lotion rather than the unpleasant order of my hockey gloves.  Plus, with my hands smelling better after games, I don’t have to hear about it from the wife and that fits right into the married guys handbook rule number one: Happy Wife equals Happy Life!!!

THE ICE CREAM CRITIC IS BACK!!!

Back by popular demand, I will again be rating our pre-game ice cream meals at the various hotels on the road.  For those you who don’t know, I have a bit of a sweet tooth and thoroughly enjoy devouring ice cream and other sweets.  I take my ice cream very seriously and in order to earn top scores, hotels need to bring their best.  

The ice cream gets rated on the following criteria:

• The overall presentation of the ice cream.  Are the bowls appropriate size? Is it pre-scooped? If I have to scoop myself, is there a proper scooper? Etc.
• The ice cream itself, texture, frost-bitten, flavor, etc.
• The variety of toppings. Many guys have different likes when it comes to toppings.  Is there enough variety to satisfy the whole team?
• The timing of the dessert.  A common mistake is bringing out the ice cream to early and it starts to melt or the opposite side bringing it out to late and messing with players’ schedules.

So, as you can see, ice cream is very important to a lot of players on the road.  Many feel that a little scoop helps them digest their big meal, while others find that it helps relax them before pre-game nap!!!  Anyways, the moral of the story is never take life to seriously, unless you’re dealing with dessert!!!

Maddog…OUT!

I’m not lying either when I say it was a Feast!! The Drake Hotel did not disappoint as I’m pretty sure I set a personal record for most cocktail shrimp consumed in one sitting.  Despite being full after the appetizer platter, I rallied like the true champion eater I am, and dove into some prime rib, turkey, stuffing and of course I had to sample the dessert bar.  Fair to say, I had a light dinner that night!!!

November is almost over and the booyys are looking to end this month strong with a few wins over our division rivals.

Movember is also coming to a close and I just want to thank all the Wolves fans and my teammates for supporting a great cause.  It has been a long month for the boys and their lady ticklers.  I can tell it’s starting to get to a few of the fellas, as it has affected a few of the boooyss, how should I put this….social life, haha! But you have to give them props for staying with it. 

This year, there were quite a few participants doing their best to grow a thick, lushes man stash!!! If I was giving out an award for top push-broom of the year, I would have to go with Andrew Ebbett who has a Tom Selleck-like stache. I would also have to give an award to the world’s best limo driver, Darren Haydar!!!   Honorable mention goes to Zack Kassian, Andrew Gordon, Brett Sterling, Kevin Connauton, Eddie Lack, and Brad Hunt.

Again, thank you for all your support and I look forward to seeing everyone at this week’s games.

Maddog… Out!

WHAT TO DO WITH A DAY OFF?

Well, Saturday morning I went to Wildberry Pancake House with my wife for a nice big breakfast.  Great minds must think alike, because while waiting in line to be seated we ran into Hunt, Connauton and their better halves.  So, we joined up and crushed some unreal food.  I went with scrambled eggs, chicken-apple sausage and the banana bread french toast.  Fair to say I didn’t need lunch that day.  After that, I got my ears lowered at the high-end establishment, Supercuts! My go-to lady there is Africa and she cuts a tight do.  

After that, my wife and I took our dog, MO, on a lengthy walk around our neighborhood, which MO really enjoyed, because it gave him a chance to hang out with some of his bros.  

Saturday night we had our team rookie party in downtown Chicago, which is always a fun night!  It acts as sort of an initiation for rookies as the team goes out for a nice meal and fun night on the newcomers’ dime.  It’s always a great night when all the boooyyss get a chance to go out together as a team.

Sunday was a typical casual day, not a lot of activity, mostly watching football!

On Monday, my wife and I headed into the city for dinner!  We also had to pick up a dress she had on hold, SHOCKER, but nonetheless it was a good excuse to try a new spot for dinner.  The traffic was it’s usual pain the butt, still can’t understand how it can move so slow without some kind of fender bender or construction.  Fair to say I had a bit of road rage at some slower moving vehicles.   

A little over an hour later we arrived at this little joint called Mitty Nice, which turned out to be a great choice. It had an inviting atmosphere accompanied by excellent food.  Would definitely go back there! As many of you know, Monday night was pretty chilly and walking around downtown felt pretty cold.  The best thing to do when you’re walking around cold is to grab some hot chocolate, which we did, from Ghirardelli’s.  Actually, it turned out to a decent night for a walk, as we were both bundled up with our hot chocolate strolling down Michigan Avenue as the first few snowflakes of winter started to fall.

For those of you that think I’m crazy, might I remind you I’m from Canada and enjoy winter (to an extent).  

Maddog….Out.

Next Blog: Movember updates!