Denver Post sports writer Adrian Dater posts his Avs Mailbag each Wednesday during the 2006-07 NHL season on DenverPost.com. The next installment, however, is slated for Dec. 27.
To drop a question into the Avs Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
Adrian: Do you ever get tired of the traveling?
— J.T., Longmont
J.T. – Well, the life of a sports writer on an NHL beat is definitely one of travel. I’ve got a little boy now, so traveling is tougher in that sense.
But, while there have been days where I’d rather be anywhere but in an airplane, or in a Buffalo snowstorm in January, or in Tampa for Thanksgiving (did that one year, ate at Shoney’s for T-dinner; must have been a sad looking sight), I still enjoy the travel.
Here’s what I won’t ever miss, when my days on the beat end:
* Turbulence. There are times when the plane is bouncing around up in the air that I start to really grip it. I’m a bit of a white-knuckle flier at times. But I’ve talked to a few pilots and read up on all the statistics, and flying really is the safest form of travel. It just doesn’t feel that way when your cup of coffee spills on your lap as the plane drops about a thousand feet all of a sudden.
* Room service add-on charges. Ever buy a room-service dinner at a nice hotel? If so, you’re familiar with all the add-ons. If not, here’s the drill: you get your bill. It’s got the appropriate tax on it. Then, there’s the “delivery” charge, often up to 20 percent. Then there’s the “service” charge, another percentage of the bill, sometimes as much as the delivery charge. Then, this is when hotels really have a nerve: Then they leave a line on the check for “gratuity” charge. It’s up to you if you want to tip another percentage to the guy delivering it.
So, what happens if you leave it blank? You feel like a cheapskate, of course, and sometimes you get a dirty look from the delivery person. But what were the service and delivery charges for then? Wasn’t that a gratuity right there, both times? Should I have to tip the hotel THREE times just to get a cheeseburger and fries brought up to my room?
Either hotels should give one of the first two service fees straight to the person delivering it, or they should stop trying to guilt their customers into shelling out more on top of their already exorbitant rates.
* Cabs. God, I hate cabs. I try to avoid them at all costs. The next friendly cab driver I get will be the first one I’ve ever had. But, how about those costs, folks? Look, I’m really not a cheapskate. But, $50 to $65, from DIA to downtown? Do cab companies realize it’s $99 one way from Denver to BOSTON on JetBlue?
I recently took a cab from a hotel in St. Louis to the airport. Total miles, about 15 or so. Cost? $50. That’s THREE DOLLARS A MILE, and change. It wasn’t my money I was spending, but I don’t care. I had to take that cab because it was 4 a.m. and the MetroLink – three dollars from downtown to the airport via light rail – wasn’t going yet.
Unless I have NO other choice, I either rent a car, take the light rail, take a discount airport bus or walk to where I need to go on the road. No cabs. Their rates are simply too exorbitant, end of story.
* People who don’t step inside their row when stowing bags on the plane. MEMO TO ALL PEOPLE WHO DON’T FLY MUCH, AND TO SOME WHO DO ANYWAY: When putting your oversized bag in the overhead bins, STEP INSIDE YOUR ROW A LITTLE SO OTHER PEOPLE CAN PASS THROUGH IN THE AISLE BARELY WIDE ENOUGH FOR KATE MOSS TO NAVIGATE. Do it. No, do it. Do it. Otherwise, that heavy, harrumphing sigh you hear will be me and other frequent travelers, the ones you’re holding up forever.
* The little old lady in the window seat, She needs to get up and go to the bathroom every, oh, 30 minutes or so, causing me to have to pick up my drink, laptop and unhook my seatbelt and get out of my aisle seat so you can get out.
* The 350-pound guy who didn’t have time to shower so he could barely make the flight. He gets in his middle seat, right next to me.
* The airport in Vancouver. There, you only have to present your boarding card to security personnel about 15 times or so before boarding your flight.
* Whatever latest, awful Jennifer Aniston/Kate Hudson/Lindsey Lohan/Brad Pitt/Sandra Bullock/Matthew McConaughey flick is on the airline movie screens.
* The person in front of me who leans his/her seat all the way back. I’m nearly 6-foot-6. With nobody in the seat in front of me, I still have to crouch my way into my seat, kneeing the seat in front of me. But – and it NEVER fails – the person in front of me leans his/her seat back. Not just a little – ALL THE WAY BACK. I can smell what kind of shampoo the person used that day, with their head right in my lap.
It never, ever fails to happen. It’s the rule of law: Whoever is in front of Adrian Dater on a plane MUST lean his/her seat all the way back, to the point where Dater needs knee surgery after the flight.
That’s why, the first thing I do upon check-in, is ask for an exit-row seat or bulkhead seat.
* And, last but not least, the little bags of peanuts.
Hi, A.D. Jose Theodore has no fire, no passion in his game. He’s not sound positionally. He gets rattled so easily. Can’t the Avs send him to the minors to try and smarten him up? I’d rather take my chances with Peter Budaj and Vitaly Kolesnik.
— Welby Leger, Montreal
Welby – Well, Kolesnik plays in Russia now, so that’s not an option.
Look, it’s been the same sad story for the Avs and Theodore this season. One good game, one bad game. Good offense one night, nothing the next. Good power play one night, goose eggs the next. And, with Theodore, one solid win, one stinker, like against the Kings on Saturday night.
That Kings loss really hurt, and I think it really set the team back mentally. It was just confirmation to players that they’re not good enough to win consistently. At least not so far.
As my Post colleague Jim Armstrong likes to say a lot: “You can’t fool the players.” They know whether they’re good enough to go anywhere, and they know if they aren’t. They’ll say all the right things to the public, but deep down they know. I think it is sinking in with this Avs team that they aren’t good enough to really go anywhere.
Theodore just can’t string much together. I think he’s trying hard and isn’t mailing things in, but the results are the results: mediocre. But the same can pretty much be said for Peter Budaj, too. He has a game every few where he’s pretty subpar, too. It is what it is, right now. There are no magic solutions for the short-term. I don’t think sending Theodore to the minors is one of them.
The Avs are a mediocre club. Doesn’t it make sense to develop young players at this point, much like Anaheim did last season?
— Greg Morris, Highlands Ranch
Greg – Well, of course it “makes sense” to develop young players. That’s always been the case, but it’s especially true in the new NHL, where you can’t just go shopping at the trade deadline anymore for the best, big-money players.
Anaheim has been developing young players for a while now, after years and years of mediocrity. But the Ducks have also gotten very lucky. If Rob Niedermayer isn’t Scott Niedermayer’s brother, no way does he sign a free-agent contract with Anaheim last year. If Chris Pronger’s wife doesn’t hate Edmonton all of a sudden, no way does he go to Anaheim in a trade. If Teemu Selanne gets his knee fixed like he should have with the Avalanche in 2003-04, no way do the Avs just let him go for
nothing, where he signs a bargain-basement deal with the Ducks. So, it hasn’t all been a “master plan” by Anaheim management that’s responsible for its tremendous success right now.
The Avs need to continue to draft well (Wojtek Wolski, Paul Stastny, Chris Stewart) and develop those players well. Of course, that’s the way to success, especially now.
I noticed Riku Hahl was still listed “in the system.” That kid is good. Fast, great positional defense, kind of reminds me of a Chris Drapier-type player. I know he went to play back home a while back, but is there any chance of getting him back to Denver? To answer your potential question: Yes, Terre Haute is the hometown of the original KISS army founders Starkey and Evans. This is where it all started!
— Jesse, Terre Haute, Ind.
Jesse – Hahl is currently playing in Sweden, for Timra. He is not “in the system” with the Avs. He signed a two-year deal with Timra last spring.
Yes, Terre Haute is a great place for me, though I’ve never been there. Not only is it the birthplace of the Kiss Army, but the college home of my sports idol, Larry Joe Bird. When the Celtics won the title in 1984 over Magic and the Lakers, he
told the world he “Won this one for Terre Haute”, to help make up for his ’79 NCAA title loss to Magic and Michigan State.
By the way, has anybody checked out Paul Stanley’s new solo CD yet? I haven’t (shame on me) and have heard mixed reviews.
Adrian: I have read recently that the Avs are working with Cleveland to locate an AHL affiliation there. Why not put this team a little closer to home like in the new Sprint Center in Kansas City or the World Arena in Colorado Springs? I’m sure there are other locations in the West where the Avs can place their AHL team, right?
— Rick Sallee, Colorado Springs
Rick – There are a few issues, mostly the size of the arena in the Springs, and also up in Loveland, at the Bud Center. The AHL prefers teams to have a big building. Hey, Cleveland is a lot closer than Hershey and Albany.
I agree, though, it would be good for Avs fans to be able to drive an hour to see some of the team’s top prospects. Maybe it’ll happen some day, but for now it’s “Hello Cleveland!”
Hello, Adrian. Thanks for the Avs Mailbag. It is one of my favorite items for tracking the Avs. I used to live in Missouri and watched the Blues while Joel Quenneville was there. I’m worried he’s doing the same to the Avs’ goaltending as he did to the Blues’ – namely hanging goalies out to dry. Did he kill David Aebischer last year? Is he stopping Jose Theodore from coming back strong? Is he going to kill Peter Budaj?
— Bill Watts, Mankato, Minn.
Bill – It’s a valid concern and point you make. I am starting to come around to the belief that Coach Q juggles his goalies too much, and hurts their confidence levels. I’m not saying he should baby the goalies, but benching them after every mediocre performance gets old.
Quenneville just never seems to have a top-notch goalie to work with, though. If he did, I’m sure he would keep them in all the time, more than he does now.
Adrian – Tyler Arnason was a steal for the Avs in the offseason. How come no one makes a big deal about the Avs getting him for near nothing?
— Kevin, New Baltimore, Mich.
Kevin – Well, steal is a big word. But Arnason has been better than many predicted. But I don’t think his season has quite been to the level of superstardom either. We’ve done some stories on him, though, and pointed out his good play. If he keeps it up, there will be more.
Adrian Dater can be heard every Wednesday from 4-5 p.m. for “The Puck Stops Here” on KLZ 560 AM. Adrian has covered the Colorado Avalanche since the team moved to Denver in 1995. To drop a question into his Avs Mailbag or visit DenverPost.com’s .
