hockey
We talk pucks and objects of that kind. We yell, complain, and analyze in the language of hockey fandom. Gretzky can do no wrong.
Unbalanced
M Mehran Callum Ward never noticed the imbalance at first. Balance is like gravity—when it works, you don’t think about it. When it fails, you fall. He used to be steady. The kind of man who woke up before his alarm, ironed his shirt twice, and brewed coffee like a ritual. He believed if you organized the outside world, the inside would follow. But life doesn’t always agree. Sometimes it throws its weight on one side until everything tilts. For Callum, that tilt began the day his wife disappeared. The Tilt The police asked the usual questions. When did you last see her? Did she seem upset? Did you two fight? Callum answered honestly. He didn’t remember fighting. He didn’t remember much of anything anymore. That, apparently, made them suspicious. Grief does strange things to a mind. It fogs it, warps it, forces it to replay moments like broken film. The house felt uneven without her—rooms too quiet, chairs misplaced, doors slightly open like someone had just left. It wasn’t just the sadness. It was the guilt. Because the truth that Callum never said out loud was simple: he felt her leaving long before she actually left. Conversations that didn’t reach their endings. Dinners eaten in silence. A growing distance that could have swallowed oceans. One night, two weeks after she vanished, Callum heard footsteps upstairs. Not loud. Not violent. Just… footsteps. Familiar in rhythm, like someone pacing. Like someone thinking. He picked up a flashlight and climbed the stairs. Halfway up, the light flickered. The footsteps stopped. He whispered her name. Silence answered. But on the landing, he noticed something new: her necklace, hanging on the doorknob. The same gold chain she wore every day. He hadn’t seen it since the night she disappeared. Callum’s legs nearly gave out. The Unbalance Grows People in the neighborhood started talking. They called him “unstable,” “off,” “not right since she left.” Someone reported that he was wandering the street at midnight, as if searching for something he couldn’t name. Another swore they saw him talking to the empty air on his porch. Callum didn’t deny it. He heard her voice sometimes—soft, like she was speaking from another room. He smelled her perfume in the hallway. Sometimes, he even felt the mattress shift beside him, the weight of a second body settling into the bed. Callum knew grief had gravity. It pulled. It dragged. It distorted. But this was something else. One evening, when the sun was dying into a bruised purple, someone knocked on his door. Detective Rana Hale. She looked tired in a way that went beyond sleep deprivation. “We found something,” she said. The world tilted. The Truth That Isn’t Down at the station, they showed him a photograph. Callum’s wife. But not the woman he remembered—no soft smile, no warm eyes. Her hair was cut short. Her expression was sharp, like a blade disguised as a face. She was standing beside a man Callum had never seen. The detective spoke calmly. “There are signs she may have left by choice. We believe she was involved in something… dangerous. You may not have known her as well as you thought.” Callum stared at the photo. His chest tightened, breath catching like a snagged thread. That was the moment he understood: the imbalance wasn’t an accident. It was a message. His wife hadn’t vanished from life—she’d vanished into another one. “You think she ran away?” he asked. Rana nodded. “We think she’s hiding. And Callum… we think she may come back for you.” A strange relief washed through him. Not fear. Not anger. Hope. If she left by choice, maybe she could return by choice. Maybe the world could even out again. He went home that night with a spine full of static and a heart split down the center. When the Scale Breaks At 3:14 a.m., the footsteps returned. This time, they were not gentle. Callum didn’t reach for the flashlight. He didn’t hide. He walked toward the sound. Down the hall, through the open door, into the bedroom where it all began. His wife sat on the edge of the bed. She looked real. More real than memory. More real than grief. Her eyes were tired, frightened, alive. “Callum,” she said. Her voice cracked like old paint. “I need you to listen. I didn’t leave you. I ran from them. And now—they’re coming.” The room swayed. The world tilted. Every ounce of balance he had left snapped like a pulled thread. “Who?” he asked. She trembled. “The man in the photograph. I wasn’t supposed to survive. But I did. I’ve been trying to get back ever since.” He crossed the room, sat beside her. He didn’t touch her, afraid she’d disappear like fog. “Why come back now?” Her eyes lifted to his. “Because the only place I’m safe is with you.” And just like that, the imbalance didn’t vanish. It became something new. Not steadiness, not order—shared weight. Epilogue They didn’t sleep that night. They packed bags. They planned. They prepared for a world that was no longer straight, no longer stable, no longer kind. Callum learned something in that moment: Balance isn’t the absence of chaos—it’s choosing who you stand with when the world tips. He had spent months trying to regain equilibrium, not realizing that maybe life isn’t meant to balance perfectly. Maybe it’s meant to be held, together, even when it shakes. Especially when it shakes.
By Muhammad Mehran16 days ago in Unbalanced
Quadrilogy of Dominance
Christmas is closing in, but for myself and other Colorado Avalanche fans, it's been Christmas game in and game out! The Avalanche's strong season continued with three more games to the schedule, coming after a road trip that saw the Avs go 2-1-1.
By Clyde E. Dawkins22 days ago in Unbalanced
The REAL Great Eight
The Colorado Avalanche's four game road trip was quite interesting, to say the least. The trip started in NYC, with games against the Islanders and Rangers. The Isles were first, and they did something no one else had done all season: they took it to the Avalanche. The Avs were soundly defeated, 6-3, the first time we lost by more than one goal, and our second regulation loss all season. As the saying goes, it's how you respond to these fallbacks that makes the difference, and we responded with a clutch overtime win at MSG.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a month ago in Unbalanced
Edwin Díaz Joins Los Angeles Dodgers
Edwin Díaz isn’t a Met anymore. The star closer has signed a massive three-year, US$69 million deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers — a move that reshapes the late-inning dynamics of one of MLB’s top clubs and sends ripples through the free-agent and bullpen markets.
By KAMRAN AHMADabout a month ago in Unbalanced
A New York Minute
The Colorado Avalanche kicked off the month of December with another home win, this one against the Vancouver Canucks. Now, the Avs are on the road; a four-game trip that mostly takes place in the East Coast. The season has been very amazing. Only one regulation loss, near perfect play, and a huge points streak. Which begs the question: when will that other shoe finally drop?
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a month ago in Unbalanced
San Jose Sharknado Warning
This has been a wild NHL season so far. We are almost two months into this thing, and we've seen a lot of surprising things happen, even by hockey standards. I've been looking for a non-Colorado Avalanche story to write about from this season, and honestly, this wasn't the planned story I had in mind. Given the fact that I saw something that confirmed my suspicions, I had to write about the San Jose Sharks.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a month ago in Unbalanced
New Month, Same Juggernaut
What a month of November that was! 13 games, won 11 of them, and our only two losses came past regulation. No regulation losses in November, and still only one regulation loss all season! But we are now in a new month, the month of December. The final month of the calendar year, but in the NHL, December ends the whole "it's early" vibe. December begins the NHL's transition into midseason form, with January placing the league at that exact part of the season.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a month ago in Unbalanced
A November to Remember
I still remember January 2022. The NHL was coming off a mini-COVID outbreak that ended the 2021 calendar year, and in the second day of 2022, the Avs faced the Anaheim Ducks and won. Little did any of us know that it would be the start of a monstrous month that saw the Avs decide to not lose in regulation. As awesome as winning streaks are, and they are awesome, the point streaks are even more epic. Yes, they include losing in overtime or shootout, but teams who find a way to get points get a lot of notice.
By Clyde E. Dawkinsabout a month ago in Unbalanced
Perfect 10
I've been a Colorado Avalanche fans since the team's final three years in Quebec as the Nordiques. The Avs made the move in 1995, won right off the bat, and added a second Cup five years later. Right now, the Avs are coming off winning Cup #3, a beautiful dream season that, IMO, actually topped "Mission 16W" 21 years prior. I still remember so many things about that year so fondly: sweeping the Preds, Kadri's Hat Trick in Game Four against the Blues, Helm's goal in the final seconds, the insane West Final against Edmonton that was capped off by Lehkonen's OT clincher, the wild Final against TB, and especially counting down those final seconds.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 months ago in Unbalanced
It's the Wood That Makes it Good
After a very successful and dominant homestand, the Colorado Avalanche hit the road for back-to-back games within the Central Division. First up, the Nashville Predators--first meeting of the season between the two clubs. I'm still amazed over the Preds winning in signing players last year. Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault joining the team? To go with Roman Josi and Filip Forsberg? I immediately had the Preds being a strong force that the Avs had to deal with... and then last year happened.
By Clyde E. Dawkins2 months ago in Unbalanced
John Jay Moves to Semis with 2-1 Victory over Yorktown
See Photos at end On Tuesday October 28, John Jay hosted Yorktown in the quarterfinals of the sectionals. Their second meeting in ten days, Yorktown was looking for revenge after falling in an 1-0 overtime thriller. So taking an early 1-0 lead seemed like a pretty good idea but not according to Catherine Natko.
By Rich Monetti2 months ago in Unbalanced
