What To Do With An Extra Half Hour Before The Game

Canes square off at home against the Sens with a rare 1/2 hour to kill - 7:30 start. We here at COI thoroughly enjoy a weeknight tailgate just as much as anybody does, but what are we to do with the extra time? Here's a few ideas.

1. Drink a few more $1.50 beverages as opposed to $7.50.
2. Grill your own burgers as opposed to buying the delicious $6 Hardee's Thickburger.
3. Spend a few extra minutes doing your hair before leaving the house.
4. Make sure your seat is nice and warm.
5. Go to K-Mart and buy a $30 jersey instead of the $200 one at The Eye.
6. See suggestion #1.

Canes Play So Well, David Tanabe Scores A Goal

Cheers!

Hurricanes 4, NY Rangers 0

Caniac Carnival

Well,

We're exactly a month away from this year's Caniac Carnival. That's a very good thing because I've got the hockey DT's so bad I can't stand it. And the Carnival means that it is hockey time once again. So I should be excited about this, right? Unfortunately, (maybe it's the heat) my pessimistic streak has kicked in with a vengeance. But I just can't seem to get excited about the Carnival itself anymore. I mean, I think it's great that they do this event every year. Not only is it fun for a lot of the hardcore fans, it also gives thousands of local people who would otherwise never support the team the opportunity to come out and leech freebies off the organization and attend a game without actually having to support the team. I know that is a mean characterization, but I've witnessed this phenomena in person for the last several years. If I were truly vitriolic, I'd suggest they change the name of the event from the "Caniac Carnival" to the "Bandwagoner Barbecue".

But enough of my petty bitching!

There is one part of the Caniac Carnival that is always worth a visit: Wally's Used and Surplus Equipment Sale. That is always worth a gander. There are usually some great items available for purchase and some are a bargain. I've even seen a few odd things for sale that made me wonder...

So without further ado, I give you my 2007/2008 inaugural "Top 10" list:

Top 10 Items Least Likely to Find a Buyer at Wally's Used Equipment Sale:

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10. A Paul Maurice Autographed Eye Patch

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9. Two Ziplock Bags Containing Mike Commodore's 2006-2007 Sideburns

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8. Game Used Pair of Ray Whitney's Shoe Lifts

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7. Jeff O'Neill's Attorney Business Card Collection

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6. A Partially Inflated Cow Shaped Promotional Blimp

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5. An Unopened Case of official "Carolina Hurricanes 2002 Stanley Cup Champions" Hats

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4. A Lightly Used Pavel Brendl Practice Jersey (Several Krispy Kreme Glaze Stains on Front)

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3. Pavel Brendl

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2. 2 Game Used Danny Markov Teeth

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1. Joe Vasicek's "Road" Neuticles

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[Honorable Mention: One Badly Worn Pair of Tripp Tracy's Kneepads]

One more month. I'll never make it...