It's Christmas In July!

Take heart, readers of this here place, this is one of our days...particularly, if you admire Ronnie Francis as much as I do. ;)

Today, Mr. Franchise had a press conference about his being elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame two weeks ago at the RBC Center...video here (courtesy of WRAL-TV 5), text there (courtesy of the Canes' official site).

Also taking a gander at Ron's Hall of Fame induction are ESPN and Luke DeCock/the Raleigh News and Observer.

As if this month could not get any better for this Francis nut...first, I won what is quite possibly the new crown jewel of my collection, AND NOW all of this!! *happily sighs*

Current Music: "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" by The Police

Numerous Site and Collection Updates

Not even going to waste time listing all of the dates...I've been way behind, and I just want to get caught up over here. Over the past month, here's all I have added...

- A copy of Goal Magazine - October 10th, 1987 vs. the Hartford Whalers.

- June 29th, 2007 copies of The (Raleigh) News and Observer (front page/main section), The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and The Sault Star. Still working on The Hartford Courant...

And last, but certainly not least...

- A MP3 of the June 29th interview with Mark Madden on Pittsburgh's ESPN Radio affiliate, 1250 AM, with A LOT of thanks to Michael a.k.a. Hockey Fanatic.

Pictures will be coming soon of these (well, the more visual items, anyway ;) ) and the others I have yet to post pictures of.

Also coming soon is quite the addition to my collection...all I'll say is that it might just edge out my Carolina Hurricanes Season Ticket Holder Litho for being the crown jewel of my collection. ;D

Current Music: "I Softly Surrender (To You)" by Down To The Bone

Happy (American) Independence Day!

Whether you're at the beach or elsewhere, may your BBQs be fun and delicious AND your skies free of these.

Obviously, I'm not dead...just been very, VERY BUSY lately. While I'm still having fun with my commercial-less game DVD project, I am very, VERY close to something that will revolutionize my regular blog...thanks to something I won from here and which arrived yesterday. Just have a couple of things I need to play around with and work out. But hopefully, my big plan will make its debut either this weekend or next week.

Haven't forgotten about pictures and all...got some items on their way to add, thanks to Ronnie's becoming a Hall of Famer. You'll have to forgive me for being a bit slow with the site and blog updates...between what I mentioned AND the fact that, other than said items, there's not a whole lot coming in for my collection, I cannot help but take my time.

Again, stay tuned...

Current Music: "San Lorenzo" by the Pat Metheny Group

RON FRANCIS TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME

Inevitable, as it should be, it was announced today that the one, the only Ronnie Franchise is to be in the 2007 Hockey Hall of Fame Induction Class, along with Mark Messier, Al MacInnis, and Scott Stevens.

I was actually starting to barrack for Ron's induction to be next year instead of this year, due to the threat of this year's celebrations being heavily Messier-centric. BUT, I actually got to thinking: Ron will just be happy to come in and be inducted. And afterall, one of the reasons I like the man as much as I do is because he is not a gloryhound type like the other former NHLer mentioned in this paragraph. So yeah, let the gloryhound get the hype and everything...we know who the real class act is.

Many, many congratulations, Mr. Francis. I shall raise a glass of chianti in honor of thee this evening...

Current Music: "One Fine Morning" by Lighthouse on Little Buddy Radio

Ron Francis Among the Nominees For the 2007 Hall of Fame Induction Class

(Got a site update AND the rest of those pictures finally coming soon...been *very busy* with something that will revolutionize my trade bait. Stay tuned.)

As announced this past Tuesday, Ronnie is among those who will possibly be picked for the 2007 Hockey Hall of Fame Class. I'd post some content from the article, but there is so much talk of a certain egomaniac in hockeydom, that I'll just say click here at your own risk.

That said, while I have been barracking quite heavily at the linked Score Boards thread and in my other blog for Mr. Francis to get in this year, the more I think about it, the more I realize that his getting in next year instead may not necessarily be a bad thing. ESPECIALLY considering how that article oozes on and on about Mark Messier...and if that's *just* an article about the nominees, then there is absolutely no telling how heavy with "The Mess" this year's HHOF ceremony will be. o_O I fear it will be to the point that Ron, if he is nominated, along with Scott Stevens and Al MacInnis (my other picks for who *should* get in this year, anyway) will be highly overlooked with the potential Messier lovefest.

Current Music: "Shake It Up Tonight" by Cheryl Lynn on Little Buddy Radio

Site Updates For June 6th and 13th and Collection Updates For June 4th and 11th, 2007

Ok, at very, VERY long last, here are the pictures, some I promised quite sometime ago, of the most recent additions to my ever-growing collection...along with any info I care to add about them...

Even though it's not part of the updates mentioned in the title, here's that little Ronnie figure I posted about awhile back. Isn't it cute?! ;D As of now, I am still seeking another one to buy and open up for a desk/office area decoration...

More overdue images...these of an autographed Storm Zone (The Hurricanes' attempt at something similar to the Hartford Whalers' Junior Whalers deal. I could very well be wrong, but I don't think the Storm Zone stuff is going on anymore. At least, I sure have not heard or seen anything about it for awhile.) card, issued around 1999-2000. As mean it may sound, I've always found the backs of these cards a hoot...particularly in what's often said for "Favorite Book" and "Favorite Movie". The scary thing? Ron and I's inner young'un have pretty similar tastes. o_O As a matter of fact, I remember when I was only five years old, and tried to order "green eggs and ham" at a Bojangles. Yeah. Though, it cannot be any worst than someone thinking UPS trucks bring chocolate milk and that Juan Valdez picks all the coffee beans in the world...as revealed on a old morning show (Kevin and the Blade on WRDU 106.1, back when it was a classic rock format) I loved listening to when I was in middle school, and they asked people what they believed when they were little kids.

The last of the overdue pictures...in the bottom one, Ron is the one wearing the white jersey in the middle AND sitting between two red jersey wearers (one of them, on the left, being current Canes captain Rod Brind'Amour).

And now for the (somewhat) recent pictures...

Once upon a time, I read somewhere, I want to say in a Whalers media guide, that Ronnie had done work on a hockey video for children during an off-season. I would have added the video to my Want List, if it weren't for the fact that I had no clue what the video was titled...

Well, I was browsing the Internet for random hockey things one night, and happened upon a site by the name of Northwest Books. I decided to type in Ron Francis and see what they had to add to my collection, and lo and behold, the above video appeared. Needless to say, I immediately picked it up.

I watched the video the night of the day it arrived (Monday, June 4th...only about five days since I ordered the tape. Not bad for something that came all the way from around Vancouver)...and for a training video, it was not a bad watch. Though, admittingly, it can get boring in parts for those who do not play and/or coach ice hockey. BUT, the historic value (after reading about Roger Neilson after ordering the tape, I also ended up ordering a copy of Roger's World) AND star value of the tape make it worth having for most hockey collectors.

Not to mention that, in addition to a nice collection of game clips, there is a rather nifty part where Ronnie is shown doing some cool hand-eye coordination tricks with the puck and his stick. As a matter of fact, he did those exact same tricks right in front of me at a couple of Hurricanes practices I was lucky enough to attend when I lived in Raleigh, NC. So needless to say, seeing him do those tricks on tape took me back to those good times...

(More to come as soon as Blogger cleans up its act with its Image Uploader...)

Current Music: "Young Americans" by David Bowie

Update as of June 15th, 12:10 AM: The Image Uploader is *still* not working... (sighs) >:(

Needless to say, the rest of the pictures will come ASAP...along with more pics of another eBay winning...

Current Music as of the edit: "Castles Made of Sand/Little Wing" by Tuck and Patti

(sighs)

Well, pictures are a bit later than usual because my Canon CanoScan Scanner is not cooperating with my new compy, as I have feared. I *do* have some pictures via my digital camera, but I *really* wanted to post those in addition to the scans I need to do. Yeah...I'm picky like that. That said, I am doing the best I can...the wait may be worth it, 'cause if I win what I have my eyes/mind focused on eBay, a couple of rather hard to find Ronnie goodies may be coming soon.

Not to mention that I already have one hard to find Ronnie goodie on its way...all I'll say is that it also features one of the greatest coaches AND more interesting characters in NHL history, along with some other classic NHLers.

Last, but certainly not least, Mr. Francis remains hard at work as the Carolina Hurricanes' Director of Player Development, as evidenced by this article, about a Canes prospect from South Florida, and quotes featured in it...

"In February, Ron Francis, the former star NHL player who is the Hurricanes' director of player development, visited Notre Dame to scout defenseman Kyle Lawson, whom Carolina took in the seventh round in 2005. Francis was impressed with Babin and returned to watch him for a second consecutive night. Then Francis had two other scouts watch him. Everyone liked him.

"He caught my attention right away because he skates so well," said Francis, who compared him to veteran Hurricanes defenseman Bret Hedican."

"The way Noah skates and the way he handles the puck," Francis said, "that's what you're looking for in the new NHL."

Current Music: "Stone Free" by Eric Clapton