MY BUDDY

This commentary is an inept attempt to describe how truly awesome our dog Miles was. He was 14 years old when he died and we were fortunate enough to have had him for the last ten years of his life. Besides his loving spirit, I will always remember him as a happy dog. Whenever he would run back into the house from outside, he seemed to always have a smile. His nickname was "the happy boy".

My Buddy

My Buddy, as I called him, came to live with us because of our Beagle, Vinny. The story of how Vinny came to us was actually because a little, ornery, self determined escape artist of a Beagle named Bama. This is our story....... (go ahead make the sound, its OK).

When my son got out of the Marine Corps, he got a "great deal" on a pure bread Beagle that was the last of the litter. Not the runt, just the last to be re-homed. I could fill this entire story with the shenanigans of the 13 inch hound of terror. All the stories though, are pure Beagle- destroyed a couch, couple rugs, a mattress, somehow moved his cage from the living room to the kitchen one night, bloodied his paws trying escape a bathroom prison, dug under a fence to go explore, became an expert getting stuff off the counter and got shot while "exploring" on one of his sojourns. However, he was also just as energetic about those in his human family.

Bama as a pup with his favorite toy.

As a one year old, his human mommy was diagnosed with cancer and had to undergo surgery to remove the affected kidney. During her recovery at home, young Bama never left her side except to eat and patrol the back yard for invading lizard heards. He brought love and comfort to his family in spite of his ever present Beagleness.

As our son, code named "little Joe" moved out to begin his life post grunt, he took Bama with him. Shortly thereafter, we began looking for a Beagle pup of our own. One day the wife says, "hey honey, I saw this Beagle pup today, why don't we go look at him again". Long story short, he came home with us. This little 12 week old pup who we named Vinny, was nothing like Beagle #1. He was not interested in doing anything but laying on his new mommy's chest. He was tentative at every turn, hoped like a bunny in the grass and had terrible separation anxiety. And as a bonus, he developed epilepsy at six months old. His seizures were scary for us but we were committed to doing everything we could to take care of him. How could we do anything less?

He still sleeps like this

A family moved into a house 3 Doors Down from us after we bought our current home. Come to find out the wife lived next to us in the home where we lived with Bama  in a quaint Tampa suburb. Small world, huh?  She had a little black and tan dog named Miles that she walked in the cool Central FL evenings. Miles and Vinny soon became friends, playing dog games in our back yard over the next year or so. As happens sometimes, our friends ran into some struggles and asked if we would take Miles. We did so without hesitation.

Miles in 2007 when he came to live with us

Vinny now had a canine compadre. Miles' presence seemed to help calm our insecure Beagle Buddy and they bonded quickly. One afternoon, Vinny had a real bad seizure. As we were tending to Vinny, Miles sensed something was wrong with his friend. He laid on the floor next to Vinny offering unseen but powerful healing vibes. When Vinny was able to walk and went outside, Miles stayed right by his side since his Beagle brother was still shaky and walking like a Saturday Night Drunk on Monday.

Miles' dog momma was a white Jack Russell Terrier and the daddy was a black and tan colored Miniature Pincher. Weighing in at a stout 16 pounds, he displayed big dog attitude in a little dog body. Our two boys loved to run and play in the back yard, with the Beagle initiating the chase. I reckon it is the Beagle instinct to chase rabbits and other small game that came to life in our boy so Vinny (who is the puppy that never grew up) always initiated the chase. Both boys are very equipped at run and chase as proven time and again in the confines of their fenced yard. Although Vinny had no problem keeping up with the fleet footed JackPin, Miles could turn inside his brother to prolong the game until on Que they both stopped from sheer exhaustion.

Through all of that tough guy exterior, Miles was never really comfortable unless he was next to one of us. That was his true nature, make sure his family was safe. Part of his protective nature was to attack any animal seen on TV. As we would watch TV, he would bark and run towards the TV. We believe he thought he was looking out of a window as he would often times run to the window in the front room and continue his protection barking at the perceived threat.

Miles in his Merecat impression

Super hearing was strong with him also. I was asleep in the bedroom one evening and of course my buddy was right next to me. All of a sudden he leaped from the bed in full on attack-danger mode. The threat? Was a neighbor walking down the center of the street, wearing sneakers. All this while the AC was running and the TV still on in the living room. To this day I am still amazed by his super hearing.

He gravitated to me and we formed a bond. Anytime I was away, he always greeted me at the door and then would jump on the bed as I changed. This was our special time, he would get a good back rub and I would get a kiss on the chin and then he would curl up and let me hug and love on him. Once the ritual was completed he would leap off the bed in an apparent effort to show me how far he could jump. He sure was proud of himself when he showed off to me.

He was also fond of jumping on the bed, trying to get us to play. A game of walking fingers to attack his feet would inevitably lead to some growl- barks, running in circles ending in double paw pounds from our little energetic buddy. That was his favorite game. He would look you right in the eye as if to say, "come on do it again dad, this is fun". A jump from the bed began a lap around the front room and a running leap back onto the bed to do it all over again. Those were good times.

Miles also had a thing for pillows. If there was a pillow in the room he wanted to lie on it. Every morning as I am drinking my coffee and reading, I have to put a pillow in my lap so he could jump up on the pillow. One of his silly ways.

It was always interesting when a friends dog would come over to stay. After Miles let them know he was the boss, all was fine. It didn't matter how big they were, he was always top dog. There was Gracie the Great Dane (Vinny's girl friend by the way) Riley the Black Lab, Roscoe the German Shepherd, Apollo the Jack Russell, Diesel the Min-Pin, Bea the Belgian Malinois and of coarse Bama. But if any of these dogs started to mess with Vinny too much, Miles would protect him. It was really quite interesting to see this dynamic play out before us.

L-R Gracie, Vinny, Bama, Miles

Miles and Apollo

Rosco, Miles and Vinny

Miles and Bea

As a short haired dog, Miles had a tendency to get chilled quickly. He loved to go outside and just lie in the yard to let the sun warm him up. However, we were cautious about letting him do this without supervision. Why? Well because there were some large birds of prey which would fly very low over the yard sizing up Miles as a meal. This was to horrible a thought for us so when he was sun bathing, we kept a close eye on him and the sky above.

Miles soaking in some rays

Sitting on the couch was only comfortable when both boys were curled up next to us. Typically, Miles next to me and Vinny next to mommy. Working in the office, Miles was always by my feet. When watching movies in the office, Miles like to watch with me by jumping onto my lap. Working out in the Man-Lounge always included Miles. Relaxing in the Mike-Lima, again always included him as well. I am fond of sitting in my Man-Lounge recliner, reclined, while watching a sporting event and enjoying a nice cigar with my buddy in my lap.

Miles in the Man Lounge with me

I endured multiple leg surgeries in the time Miles was with us. I certainly won't numb your brain with the surgical details, but suffice it to say, he was next to me in bed when I came home every time. He instinctively knew not to jump on my legs as I lay in the bed. As I navigated the house with the tactical walker, he stayed out of the way so I would not trip. He was next to me on the bed while I rehabbed on the CPM six hours a day.  He was in the bed with me when the physical therapist came. Even when I took my morphine induced naps, he stayed with me.

My rehab partners

Tactical Walker

I recall one instance as the home health nurse was examining my leg after the last surgery. The leg was dark purple and yellow down the back side. It had never looked like that before and she was immediately concerned and began making arrangements to have me examined that night, fearing a blood clot. Miles sensed the seriousness of the tone in the room and he came up in the bed and laid down  in my  left arm as if to tell me not to worry, it would be OK. And it was, no blood clot just some nasty post surgical bruising. But that was how he was.

Miles did suffer a life threatening bowl perforation in 2013 when he swallowed a piece of plastic in the back yard. Sensing he was not well, I decided to take him to our Vet. Within minutes of the X-ray, Dr. Mathews declared he would be performing surgery right away to remove a blockage. Had we waited even a few hours more, he would not have survived. From that point on, his tummy was always sensitive to the touch and he did not like to be picked up. He also had to be on a special digestive food for the rest of his life.

May 2, 2017 was a terrible day. My son called to inform me that Beagle #1, Bama, had died in the night. All seemed normal at 0600 as he arrived home at the end of his 12 hour over night shift. He is a K-9 cop in Alabama.  As he put up his work dog, Mali, he noticed Bama was not stirring as he normally does. As he went to check on him, he discovered his lifeless little body. That adorable Beagle pup that sat on our couch on his first day with us, had crossed the Rainbow Bridge. We were very saddened by this news.

Just six weeks later, we noticed a growth on the upper inside of Miles gums. We made an immediate call to Lake Wales Veterinary Hospital. Dr. Matthews who normally sees our crew was not available to examine Miles, but a Dr. we had not seen before, Dr. Dowling was. We made the appointment to have him examined. Dr. Dowling indicated surgery was necessary and was concerned about the growth. The growth was removed successfully and the mass sent off to be pathologically examined. A few days went by and she called with the news that the  removed tumor was cancer of the worst kind, bone cancer.

We were stunned with the description of how aggressive this cancer is and that it had a mortality rate of 100%. We instantly began researching how to slow the growth. Even our good friend Sandi invested many, many hours doing research as well as talking to her business' Veterinary advisor.  We changed his food to a grain free formula. We doubled the anti oxidant vitamins we were already giving him. I was hopeful our boy would beat the odds. He had to.

 Dr. Dowling indicated no firm time line could be established. She did an X-ray examination two weeks after removing the tumor  and there was no sign of cancer in his lungs or extremities. Great news. Though there was a pinpoint sized shadow at the front of the upper jaw which was cancer. Although Chemotherapy was not effective at curing this horrible type of cancer, there was anecdotal evidence that the Chemo used in conjunction with steroids could shrink the growth thus slowing it down. We ordered the drug before we left the office. By the time we received the bottle of Chemo, the cancer had produced another tumor in his mouth. It grew at an unbelievable rate, seemingly doubling in size each day. It moved into his sinus cavity and began pushing his nose to the side. He was miserable, we were giving him pain pills three times a day to keep him comfortable.

August 4th, 2017 at 5:02pm, my sweet boy died in my arms wrapped in his favorite green blanket. I was kissing his head just below his right ear telling him I loved him when his heart stopped. Even within the last 30 minutes of his life, he still jumped up on the bed as I changed. I gave him one last back scratch and rub and he curled up in my arms one last time just as we had done nearly every day for the ten wonderful years we had together.

They say Dogs are mans best friend. I did not want such an extraordinary dog, like Miles to be forgotten because he was my friend. Our lives were enhanced by his presence in our family. For that we are thankful for the time we had together.

And last but not least, we are blessed to have such a great Veterinary Hospital in our little town. Dr. Matthews is the only Dr. Vinny has ever seen. His work with Vinny's condition has been patient and filled with compassion. And although Dr. Matthews was not the Dr taking care of Miles at the end, Dr. Dowling's enthusiasm and thorough explanation of what was happening gave us a bit of peace. Erin and Lisa who we have known for 12 years certainly provided us the necessary time to say goodbye to my buddy and for that, we say thank-you.

 I would suggest there are many great dogs languishing in shelters and rescues in every city today, ready to give healing vibes and unconditional devotion to you and your loved ones. All they ask in return is to be loved and cared for.

LET THE SPECULATION BEGIN:

The goal of all 30 NHL teams is to win the Stanley Cup when the season pucksoff in early October. Making the playoffs and winning 16 hard fought post season games is all it takes hoist the Silver Chalice.

As the 2016-2017 NHL regular season ends, the speculation surrounding my beloved Tampa Bay Lightning now begins. After going to the Stanley Cup Final two seasons ago and the Eastern Conference title game last year, this team was projected to compete for the Stanley Cup in 2017. However, the team failed to make the playoffs, missing by 1 point.

So what went wrong?
The season started with 4 wins but they were come from behind jobs. Everyone just chalked it up to being tired from so much post season hockey the previous two and the fact 11 players played in the World Cup of Hockey right as the season began. I was one of the people saying, "oh they will be fine". But then some really bad hockey games followed. The first loss to Columbus was a 5-3 stinker that could have been much worse. The team was in a funk, lethargic and the results were showing as the losses mounted. By the start of February, the team was dead last in the East. When you couple the six games played against the three worst teams in the league, Arizona, Colorado and Vancouver which netted a 1-5 record, the writing was on the wall. Those losses as it turned out, were the difference in not making the playoffs.

One of the best goalies in the league was in Tampa Bay's net, Ben Bishop. Big Ben had come up big over his seasons with the Lightning and the team seemed to play with confidence when he was backstopping.

Phil Esposito has often been quoted as saying "you win championships from the net out" That means solid goal tending is key to any teams success. Bishops most memorable performances came in game 6 and 7 of the Eastern Conference Championship against the Rangers, when he pitched two consecutive shutouts including Game 7 in Madison Square Garden. However, Bishop was hurt three  seasons during the post season though. The Vezina Trophy finalist went into this last off season with a torn groin and as the new season began, he never really seemed to be the same. His pending UFA status was the subject of much off season speculation. Would he or team Captain Steven Stamkos be offered long term deals to remain a Bolt? As it turned oat, Stamkos was resigned to an 8 year deal to remain in Tampa and this spelled the end of Bishop in Tampa's net. #30 was traded to Los Angelis on February 26 just days before the NHL trade deadline.

Also traded was the teams best face off winning centerman, Valtteri Filppula who carried a cap hit of $5 million for another season. GM Steve Yzerman also traded rugged forward Brian Boyle who was a UFA at seasons end and was obviously not going to be resigned. The loss of both of these players who were experienced and reliable in the faceoff circle appeared to take a toll on the team's psyche. Boyle's presence on the ice helped keep other teams honest in their play. His play and leadership will be will be missed.

Injuries certainly played a key role in the disappointing results. To quote the Hockey News's article "Evaluating Our Pre-Seasons Standings Projections" published April 14, 2017: "Their entire team was on the IR.....blame the injury bug". Injuries are a part of the game and all teams have to find a way to manage through. At last check, the Lightning had over 300 man games lost to injury. At one point nearly one third of the rostered players from 2015-2016 team were either no longer on the team through trade or injury. The aforementioned Steven Stamkos played 17 games before a knee injury ended his season. Ryan Callahan had off season hip surgery and missed the first two months, came back for a few games and was re-injured only playing in 18 games. Defenseman Jason Garrison, Tyler Johnson and Cedric Paquette also finished the season on the injury list.

There were some bright spots though. Most were wrapped in a furious end of season push the team made. The Lightning won 20 of their last 30 games, amassing 44 points of the teams final total of 94. We saw the type of play we were accustomed to seeing, fast, end to end aggressive play which just came in waves, rush after rush.  The Power Play surged to one of the leagues best, spurred by the skill of Braydon Point and Nikita Kutcherov.

The window for winning it all is very small in this salary cap era. Once in a favorable cap position just three years ago, the Lightning had Salary Cap issues as the season began, like most successful teams do. The team had a little a little over $1 million of room under the cap in October and have several key players who will need new contracts. The trade deadline moves, however, have provided the relief necessary to add needed pieces. Center Tyler Johnson, wingers Ondrej Palat and Jonathon Drouin,  blueliners Jake Dotchin Andrj Sustr are RFA's. UFA status belongs to Greg McKeegg, Gabriel Dumont, Cory Conacher, Yanni Gourde, Luke Witkowski and Peter Budaj.

SO WHERE ARE THE NEEDS?
That answer is easy, the blueline. Tampa's best defensive pair, Hedman-Stralman, rarely played together this season because of poor defensive performance from other pairings. Gone from last year's team is Matt Carle whose contract was bought out by the team over the summer in an effort to fee up much needed cap space. Carle was a number 7 defenseman, but experienced and reliable enough to play 60 games last year because of injuries. Nikita Nesterov was a forward playing defense and seemed to always be on the ice when something bad happened. He was traded to Montreal for a bag of skates. Garrison and Sustr pairing really fell off this season and graded out as one of the worst pairings in the league the first half of the season. Rugged defenseman, Luke Witkowski has never seemed to play consistent enough to break into the top six. Former first round pick, Slater Koekoek started the year in Tampa but finished in Syracuse. Jake Dotchin was a surprise after his call up from Syracuse, is a rugged stay at home defender who skates well but needs to be paired with an experienced partner to cover up his inexperience. Defensemen who played at least 20 games, only two defensemen had positive +/- rating. Victor Hedman +3 and Anton Stralman +1. Braydon Coburn was next best at -1. Sustr and Garrison had the worst +/- ratings on the blueline at -10 and -8 respectively.

What does that mean? Do not be surprised if a forward is traded so the team can make a run after an experienced defenseman. The surprising play of Braydon Point, Yanni Gourde, Gabriel Dumont and Adam Ernie makes this possible. Point looks to have solidified the center spot on the second line. Dumont proved to be reliable on defensive zone faceoffs after his call up from Syracuse. Coupled with the return of Seven Stamkos, the Lightning are solid and deep up the middle. Odd man oat is Tyler Johnson.

TJ is a quality NHL center and part of the once vaunted Triplets line. He is gritty, he scores, he has good hockey instincts and a key member of the team. He epitomizes what the Lightning are about these days. Undrafted, signed as a free agent and relegated to the minors, Tyler worked hard to improve as a hockey player. His coach in the AHL was none other than Jon Cooper, current coach of the Lightning. One of the consequences of the Salary Cap era in the NHL, good players get moved for no reason other than they make a little too much money.

WHAT ABOUT GOALTENDING?
Veteran Peter Budaj who was acquired from the Kings in the Bishop deal is a UFA but has a cap friendly salary of $600,000. Syracuse Crunch goaltender, 24 year old Kristers Gudlevelkis has RFA status and will probably be resigned. In Budaj, the Bolts have a back up goalie who was in the AHL last season after being shed from the Canadians organization. However, he performed at career levels filling in admirally for Jonathon Quick when he went down with an injury this season. He did pitch 7 shutouts which led the league. He may seek to parlay his recent good play by looking for a bigger paycheck else where.

Andreji Vasilevskiy is the heir apparent backstop for Tampa. He was the first goalie drafted in the 2012 Entry Draft when Tampa selected him with the 19th pick. Only 22 years old, Vassy has the tools to be an elite goalie in the NHL. Once Bishop was traded, #88 seemed to play with more confidence and the team responded. He is not the puck handler or quarterback Bishop was, but look for both of those areas to improve as Lightning goaltending coach, Franz Jean works with him.

WAS IT COACHING?
Nope. Jon Cooper is one of the fine young, elite coaches in the game today. His approach is fresh and exciting. Coop knows how to handle young players and was never more evident when he pulled Vasilevskiy in the first period of a game against the Chicago Blackhawks after allowing three goals on eight shots. "The Coach" sent his young net minder back into the game to start the second period. Tampa went on to win the game in over time and sent a message to the team that Vassy is our goalie. A truly gutzy move made by a fearless coach.  Assistant Coach Rick Bowness, has coached in more games than anyone else in the league and ain't going anywhere.

General Manager, Steve Yzerman has made shrood moves (come on, he conned the Flyers into taking Fillpula off his hands) is a bulldog negotiator (remember the Drouin standoff and the resigning of Stammer) and a tremendous evaluator of talent (Johnson, Palat, Kucherov, Kilorn, Vasilevskiy, Dotchin, Gourde, Dumont and Point to name a few). No doubt, Stevie Y has a plan and is daily taking strides to work it even though we don't know about it. And that is fine. He has gained the support of team owner, Jeff Vinik, because of the teams success.

Rest assured Tampa fans and haters, this team may have had a mild set back in 2017, however the entire org-an-iz-ation will rebound and contend in the coming season.