What most of us Clarkson alums who follow hockey dreaded — Cole is out for the rest of the season.

Not cool.

As with most people, I do hope that he recovers well (as he seems to be doing) and hits the ice hard next year. And that he does get his name on Sir Stanley’s Cup when the Canes win. (They will, I hope)

As for Mr. Orpik — I hope he’s enjoying Pittsburgh’s fine golf courses in May. I hear they’re spectacular!!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/hockey/nhl/specials/playoffs/2006/05/26/cole.update.ap/index.html

Yeah. Taylor won. Man — I love that guy.

For the last 18 days I’ve been solving puzzles from my google homepage, as part of a promotion for the new movie, the Da Vinci Code.  They have ranged from obeservation, puzzles, chess, etc.  Pretty addicting, and also pretty cool.

I was one of the first 10,000 people to finish the puzzles and sign up.  So I’m in the final round, which involves solving a puzzle and using a cryptex.
If I win, I could get these prizes.  Wish me luck!

By the way…if we win, we need 2 people to travel with us.  Any takers?

As many of you know, I have been addicted (not-so-secretly) to American Idol since its 2nd season. Some tidbits:

• Season 2: I own a Clay Aiken album.
• Season 3: I cheered for Fantasia, but only after Jon Peter Lewis and George Huff were eliminated.
• Season 4: I was a Bo Bice fan. That’s about it. Carrie Underwood can definitely sing, but she didn’t do it for me.

It’s now Season 5. I’m extremely happy with the top 5. I think everyone’s got it right. Kellie Pickler was not great — not as great as Carrie from S4. Kevin Covais was a nice guy, but a little out of his league. Even my cutie-patootie — Will Makar, while a nice guy, he also didn’t have the range or experience to compete with the remaining contestants.

Now — with who is left — who am I rooting for?

• Katharine is a great singer, with a well-trained voice and the personality of a good AIdol candidate. I am assuming she’s the producer’s choice to win it all.
• Paris definitely has the singing talent — I’m not sure she’s found her niche for singing style or personality yet.
• Elliot is also a well-trained singer. He has a unique style — kind of R&B/blues-ey but not my personal thing.
• Chris is a great rock singer. I wish he didn’t sing out of his throat all the time; ’cause when he uses his diaphragm more he has a really nice tone. He is a popular pick as well.
• Taylor is my personal favorite. I have a soft spot for him, and his Bob Seeger/Michael McDonald/Ray Charles style. He sings really well, and entertains me every time I watch him. I think that some of the theme nights have not allowed him to really be himself — which is too bad because we’ve seen that he can really sing a song well if its in his genre. And he’s been a great sport — he’s got his own “SOUL PATROL!”, SNL ran a sketch on him, and now they even have a game on him…

May the best contestant (or most popular) now win.

Truculent - “Truck - yoo - lent” - adj.

1. Disposed to fight; pugnacious.
2. Expressing bitter opposition; scathing.
3. Disposed to or exhibiting violence or destructiveness; fierce.

I read an article today on a fellow Clarkson Alumni, Erik Cole. He plays for the Carolina Hurricanes, and was on this year’s US Men’s Olympic Hockey team, who played in Torino. He’s a good hockey player — aggressive, great speed, good stick handling, and definitely likes to “mix it up”.

He was involved in a nasty check during a March game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, and injured his vertebra. He’s been in a thoracic brace since, and finally got to a soft brace this week. There’s a good article on the ‘Canes’ celebration here.

The Globe & Mail used truculent to describe his play. Now that I know what that word means, I’d have to agree.