Thanks...

Back in the '70s, I was a die hard Philadelphia Flyers fan who used to play street hockey every day of the week. I never even owned a pair of ice skates, though. In fact, I don't think I ever went ice skating until I was in about 8th grade. But man, I knew quite a bit about the Broad Street bullies: Bobby Clark's point totals, Bernie Parent's goals against and Dave Schultz' PIM.

On Mondays, there was no street hockey because I had piano lessons. I liked the idea of playing piano, and can remember hassling Mrs. Wheeler to go easy on the Mozart and let me try some Stevie Wonder. Once, at a recital, I banged out a version of "You are the Sunshine of My Life" that was met with blank stares and polite applause. Still, my musical limitations didn't stop me from soaking up everything there was to know about Stevie, the Beatles, Boston and a thousand other bands. Back in the day, we had the long-playing (LP) record albums, which usually had the lyrics (so you could sing along) as well as some liner notes with triva about the music, the players, the sessions and, of course, the thank yous.

The net of it is this: Whether it was a game I didn't play or music that I couldn't play, I've always been a fan and always been a bit obsessive. So watching nearly 100 high school hockey games and blogging about them isn't really a stretch for me. What has shocked me is how people have responded to it. The site has been "hit" almost 120,000 times since I put a counter on the day after Christmas, and I long ago lost track of the number of people who've stopped me at the rinks or sent me emails.

The #1 question people ask me is: How do you find time to do all this?

The answer: I don't.

The Blog may have been my creation, but it is the work of many people throughout West Michigan. That is the beauty of it. It's a community thing. Hell, it's a beautiful, groovy thing, and I can say that because I'm from the '70s. And here is the part in my "liner notes" where I do the thank yous to all the awesome hockey people who've made this first season of the WMHSH Blog so much fun.

Thanks to my bloggers in the field, especially Gary Guest, Bob Wheelright, Doug Hancock, Jim Valk, P.J. Scott, and Scott Whitman. Oh yeah, and that raving lunatic up in the Mona Shores area, who I've decided needs to stay anonymous for his own personal safety. Seriously, these guys have the sickness just as much as me. They don't just go to their own kids' games. I see them at other games, and they send me blog dispatches. Bob Wheelright followed Portage Central all the way to the quarterfinals -- even though his son plays for PC's biggest rival, Portage Northern. That, readers, is dedication.

Plus, thanks to all the folks who've sent me pictures to post on the Blog, including, but not limited to, Shane Hansen, Eric Sturr, Randy Ellen, Dan Dewitt, Jon Post and the budding 12-year old hockey star & photojournalist Connor Sullivan.

Special thanks to a couple of Mona Shores dads -- Bill Hicks and Jeff Zaloga -- who helped set the tone for the Blog (and never failed to crack me up). My conversations and email exchanges with them early on helped me figure out "how" I wanted the Blog to portray what was going on. In fact, Mr. Hicks himself sent me an email with this line: "The positive objectivity which you exhibit in your write ups adds to the value of the webpage." I loved that phrase -- positive objectivity -- and have made it a credo of the WMHSH Blog. There's enough bad news and snarkiness in the mainstream media and on MLIVE - the Blog wants to keep it real and keep it positive.

Lowell-Caledonia coach Mike Ballard also deserves a ton of credit for keeping me (and everyone else) updated on the OK Conference results and standings. There wasn't a Sunday morning all season that I didn't open my email and find the updated results, standings and upcoming week's schedule waiting. He's the reason I was able to figure out which games to go to every week.

Thanks also to the coaches, referees, rink managers, hockey dads and hockey moms who gave me their time, thoughts and help throughout the season. This is a partial list because my memory is fading and besides, there isn't enough bandwidth to thank everyone who deserves it. Thanks to Ed Van Portfliet, Dan Gadbois, Kevin Zaschak, Jason Caster, Joe Day, Mike Bynski, Dave Adams, Eric Sikkenga, Pat Rabbit, Jeff Huizenga, Andy Soper, Ryan McLoed, Scott Titus, Kevin Hausch, Pat Thompson, Darrick Brown, J.D. Kalleward, Jim Murray, Chris Givens, Jason Rintala, Mike Neuman, Brian Parsons, Bret Baker, Pete Piatek, Rob Clark, Kim Allen, Andy O'Brien, Steve Afendoulis, Jim Bresko, Kathy Harwood, Carri Shipalia, Kelli Meloche, Don Ziemke, Doug Vandevelde, Pat Ragains, Patty Alexander, Jeff Peel and all of the GRCC parents.

A special tip of the hat to the GRCC coaching staff -- Al Kranzo, Kurt Romero, Matt Milanowski -- for their help, insights and for helping turn the SOB (son-of-a-blogger) into a young man.

While I know some of you think they're blind, the on and off-ice officials have helped me cover hockey more thoroughly and more accurately. Special thanks to Randy Sheahan, Dave Rost, Joel Potter and the aforementioned Kurt Romero (who's also a ref) for educating me on the game. And I could not overlook Mr. Tom Jones, the king of off-ice officials, who's become a good source of information and a good friend of the Blog.

Special thanks to the folks in the West Michigan media who stepped up their hockey coverage this year, especially the boys at FOX 17, who made prep hockey a regular part of their sports coverage -- and made it quickly accessible on the Web. Huge thanks to Tim Dye, Tim Doty, Brent Ashcroft, Matt Kucinek and the camera guys who shot games, especially Kent.

Likewise, others in the media increased their prep hockey output this year and deserve our thanks, including WOOD-TV (Jack Doles and Larry Figurski), WZZM (Peter Ross), the Muskegon Chronicle (Troy Ruel), Grand Rapids Press (Steve Vedder and Kelly Hill), and Kalamazoo Gazette (Dave Jenkins). And to the folks at the Advance papers -- great job covering hockey in West Michigan! Likewise, thanks to the Grand Haven Tribune, Traverse City Record Eagle, Channel 9/10 and Holland Sentinel for giving me content to link to

On a personal note, I would like to thank my lovely and talented daughter, Madison, who lent me her camera all season and who has, over the past 10 years, had to endure trips to the rinks, weekends away at tournaments and endless conversations about hockey. Just when she thought my hockey-time was on the wane, I started the Blog, which upped the amount of hockey-talk exponentially.

Finally, the WMHSH Blogger thanks two people who have taught me more about hockey than anyone else: my good friend, Todd Bell, and my son, Quinn Edwards. One of them is a master of the game, the other is a student of the game. Most importantly, they always remember that it is a game and they help me keep it in perspective.

And last, but certainly first, thanks to each and every one of the kids who played varsity hockey in West Michigan this year. Whether you were all-state or just your mom and dad's favorite player, you deserve our respect for balancing schoolwork with practices, games and workouts. Thanks for an awesome season.