Julie Browman

The Birthday Boy

Happy birthday Paul Stastny!  Paul just turned the ripe old age of 26 on December 27^th.  Initially, you have to feel kind of bad for someone whose birthday comes just two days after Christmas.  I mean, let’s be real.  Most of us are out of money, and a little tired from being jovial all month long.  I really hope the people in Paul’s life have put this all aside, and made his day special.  Speaking of special days, I had a little time before the Avs/Jets game, so I did a little internet search and found out that Paul shares the same birthday as the Raiders' Carson Palmer, movie star Marlene Dietrich, and some woman named Chyna who looks like she could crack me in half.

      I may have had a little too much time on my hands, because I went on to look up Paul’s zodiac sign.  I’m not a big believer in this stuff, but maybe it will help me learn a little bit more about number twenty six.  Boy, did I ever!  This Capricorn is practical, patient, careful, reserved, but can be humorous.  Wait!  According to his sign, there is a dark side to Paul Stastny.  He can also be pessimistic, fatalistic, and holds a grudge.  I had better be careful when I ask him questions on the air.  If I ask the wrong one, he may never forget it!  Can you really believe this stuff?  To find out, I checked my own sign.  As a Sagittarius, apparently I am optimistic, good humored, and intellectual.  Maybe there is something to this zodiac sign stuff.  But my dark side?   It looks like I can also be irresponsible, superficial, and tactless.  These people don’t know what they are talking about!  This is stupid!  I have to go now.  I need to look in the mirror and fix my hair while I blow off writing next week’s blog.

 

Winter Wonderland

I am writing this blog on Thursday the 22nd, the day about ten inches of snow fell on Denver (depending on where you are of course).

In my former life, before Altitude, I lived in sunny San Diego.  I remember one year it was about 70 degrees around Christmas time.  While that may seem like heaven to some, it was kind of depressing to me.  I grew up in Evergreen, Colorado and have lived here most of my life.  While I loved my time in San Diego, after six years I had a decision to make.  I had a very good contact at a radio station in Los Angeles.  Working for him would have been fantastic, and there would have been an abundance of opportunities.  Or do I move home and try and catch on with this new network called “Altitude Sports & Entertainment”?  LA was a sure thing, a move home to try and get work at a new station?  Not so much.  But my heart told me to come home to the mountains and the snow!

Seven years later I couldn't be happier.  Especially when I look outside my window.  It's days like this, I know I made the right decision.  Happy Holidays everyone!  I hope you are enjoying the snow as much as I am.

In the Clutch

No…Colorado may not be exactly where we want them in the standings.  We may have expected a bit better performance at home.  However, Avalanche fans, we have something here in Colorado we can be proud of.
 
When push comes to shove, Colorado shoves back.  When it’s clutch time, the Avalanche seize the opportunity.  With the Avs 4-3 shootout win against the San Jose Sharks, Colorado improved to 5-0 in shootouts.   Now only the Avs and the Red Wings are undefeated in shootouts this season.  The Red Wings are just 1-0…so I am not going to even count that.  Plus they are the Red Wings, so I think that’s the only appropriate thing to do.
 
Think about that 5-0 record, and it’s pretty remarkable.  To me, the shootout is the highest pressure situation there is in sports.  It’s one-on-one.  The goalie against the shooter.  All eyes on that matchup.  Somehow, Colorado has figured out a way to make this pressure cooker their specialty.  When other teams and their fans get to the shootout, it’s nerve-wracking.  When the Avs get to the shootout, it’s like a sense of relief and calmness.  So while we all would like to see this team higher in the standings, let’s enjoy rooting for a team that is undefeated in shootouts.  And Detroit…you don’t count.

Incredible Debuts

I am just amazed when I look back at Stefan Elliott’s NHL debut against the Edmonton Oilers.  Elliott was just called up from Lake Erie the night before to fill in for the injured Erik Johnson.  Talk about debuts!  Elliott scored the game winning goal, logged some major ice time, and earned first star status.

It made me think about my own debut in my profession.  It did not quite go as smoothly.  I was in San Diego the first time I ever anchored a sportscast.  I barely remember anything I said!

If it was supposed to be a five-minute sportscast…I think I did it in one minute and ten seconds I was talking so fast.  This made me curious about other people’s debuts.

Kyle Keefe told me the first time he was live on the air he “was sweating like I just ran a marathon. I was sweating and shaking like I was in the principle’s office.”

Debuts off-the-air can also go south in a hurry.  Matt Krol, our Avalanche pre and post game producer, was working in the sports department in Green Bay.  “The first time I ever had to edit anything for a sportscast, it did not go well. I had to edit a fifteen second sound bite and I didn’t know how to do it, so it ended up being forty five seconds.  That blew up the sportscast!”

Think about the first time you did something difficult at your job.  More often than not, you can relate to our stories, rather than Stefan Elliott’s.

So, congratulations once again kid, you did something absolutely incredible out there.  That debut was something.  Kyle, Matt, and I, salute you.

Turkey Day!

I can't believe my favorite holiday is just days away.  I love, love, love, Thanksgiving.  Maybe it's the massive amounts of delcious food, or the family and friends you are surrounds by, or maybe it signals the start of the holiday season.  Whatever it is, I like it!
 
So, in Thanksgiving tradition, I figured I would make a list of what I am thankful for, in no particular order.  Some are Avalanche related, some are not.
 
1)    To be happy and be healthy
2)    To have fantastic and supportive friends and family
3)    To cover athletes that let me do fun stories with the them (see Duchene fly fishing and ryan O'Reilly Elitch's story)
4)    Thing man ice cream, english toffee, and buttered movie popcorn
5)    Good genes (or else I would be a bit larger these days)
6)    To work with the Avalanche, a first-class organization in every way
7)    To have fantasitc and supportive co-workers (even when Kyle makes fun of me)
8)    To live in a beautiful state with so much to do
9)    To work with athletes, who no matter if they are winning or losing, are kind and curteous (this is really a rarity!)
10)    My life!

The Blissful Hour of Yoga

As I think I have mentioned before, I believe I have one of the best jobs out there.  On occasion, I am able to do stories off the ice with players.  They always end up being really fun and insightful.

I am trying to line up a story to do a yoga class with Ryan OʼReilly.

I think yoga is the best thing going, and when I had heard Ryan is a fan of yoga, he absolutely agreed.  He says it’s probably the best thing he can do for his game.  It’s great with core strength and balance, two things that are essential for a pro athlete.

There are those out there that have probably already stopped reading this article.  Yoga can be a really polarizing activity.  Either you think it’s fantastic, or you think it’s weird and for hippies.  I was definitely one of the later.

When I first started, I thought there was nothing normal about being able to put your leg behind your head (I may still not).  I tried to keep at it even though I felt like an absolute idiot many times.  When the entire class was going one way, I was going the other.  When they were doing the splits, I was gritting my teeth looking like I might keel over (I still do).  But the more I practiced it, the more I noticed I didn’t care what I did compared to what everyone else was doing.

I jog, have done triathlons, done the whole boot camp thing, and am well aware it’s just human nature to compare yourself to others.  In yoga, you really don’t care.  You’re too busy concentrating and focusing on what you’re doing.  I’m not going to lie, there are many times I look around and think to myself, “how is she doing a headstand while doing the splits at the same time?” 

While always in constant amazement at the flexibility of some people, I have to say, I always feel great after a yoga class.  Because while I may not have made myself into a pretzel for the class, I did manage to focus just on myself for one hour.  My “to do” list goes away.  My worries are put on hold for the hour, and I don’t think about what needs to get done.  It’s a blissful hour.

However, if I walk in to the yoga class, and Ryan is doing a headstand while doing the splits, I’m walking out.

For Scary Movie Fans Only!

As far as movies go, I love comedies and feel good stories, but this time of year, there’s only one choice for me.  With Halloween just a few days away, I figured I would head to the theater tonight and check out a scary movie.  After much debate, I had decided on “Paranormal Activity 3”.  I have seen the first two, and both of them kept me awake at night.  Despite this fact, I still love to see those scary movies.  The scarier the better!  I want to leave the movie theater freaked out and afraid of what, or who is in my back seat!  I know.  Strange, but apparently I am not alone.
 
As I told the guys in the locker room what I had planned for the evening, I quickly found my go-to people.  T.J.  Galiardi, Paul Stastny, and David Jones all seem to share my philosophy on scary movies.   “I have a love/hate relationship with scary movies.  They scare me, but I still like to see them, ” says David Jones.  The scariest movie he’s ever seen?  “Black Christmas.  I had nightmares about that movie forever.  That was so scary it was ridiculous.”  I have to agree…this is definitely not a feel good movie!  Our conversation quickly turned to the age-old question, which is scarier, clowns or monsters?  David didn’t hesitate, “Oh clowns for sure.  Like that movie Dr. Giggles?”  I have never seen the movie “Dr. Giggles”, but after looking it up on the internet, I am pretty sure I will not be renting that one.  If it involves clowns, I’m out.

T.J. Galiardi also loves scary movies.  Although he also plans on seeing “Paranormal 3”, he already has a favorite.  T.J. Is a big fan of the recent movie “Insidious,” and highly recommends it. “You have to rent that, and watch it when it’s really dark.  No lights…nothing. It’s really scary.”  I’m in.  The scariest movie he has ever seen?  “The Ring.  For sure.” 
 
Paul Stastny is also a big fan of the scary movies.  He goes old school when it comes to his favorites he’s seen, “The Exorcist or Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Both of those movies are true.  Any movie where at the end it says, 'their whereabouts are still unknown' freaks me out the most!”  Paul laughs.    Apparently his love for being scared extends out of the movie theater.  “My junior year we went to a haunted house.  We were so scared, when we saw the guy with the chainsaw, we just screamed and went running out.  We didn’t stop running for about five minutes.”  Now that sounds like a good time!

I am happy to report that not everyone involved with the Avalanche is a fan of the doom, gloom, and gore.  Avalanche senior director of media relations Brendan McNicholas also goes old school when it comes to favorite scary movies.  Way old school. “I like the Alfred Hitchcock movies.  They are not gory, the music builds up the suspense.  You don’t see it, but you know its coming.”  Hmmmm.  May just have to rent one of those.
 
I promise, next time I go see a movie, I will make it a Christmas movie and get the guys recommendations on their favorites.  And Black Christmas doesn’t count!

The Man Behind the Mask

I

t’s Tuesday afternoon.  Tomorrow I am scheduled to do an interview with Avalanche goaltender Jean -Sebastien Giguere at Washington Park.  The premise of the story is to get to know him off the ice.  I just started my research on him.  Of course, we all know of his success with the Anaheim Ducks and him winning the Conn Smythe award. We are fortunate in Colorado to have a goalie who clearly has the hardware to back up his words.  However, the more I find out about J.S., the more I am finding out he is so much more than just the number 35.

Which made me think.  We are all guilty of it.  Just assuming an athlete is just an athlete.  Not understanding that players are actually people too.  To many fans, they are just known by a number or a statistic.  After all, these aren’t normal people, right?  But everybody has a story.  Just like you or I, or the person that works in the cubicle next to you.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s story?  He grew up the youngest of five children in Montreal.  All of the close knit kids were absolutely hockey crazy.  He was the youngest of three boys and two girls.  As a matter of fact, he and his sister Isabelle almost look like twins.  While he faces constant harassment in the nets, she faces real danger everyday as a police officer these days.  His parents Claude and Gisele were loving parents and made many financial sacrifices for their children.  They were a proud and loving family.  J.S. was devastated in 2008 when he lost his father from cancer at just 63 years old.  His mother, Gisele, was also diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.  Before the 2007 Stanley Cup finals, Jean and his wife had their first son Maxime-Olivier.  Maxime was born with a serious eye condition but is doing well now.  J.S. missed the opening games of the 2007 first round playoffs to be with his wife and son.  All of that adds up to a lot for one person to handle.    

I don’t know if it’s just me being a softy, anyone who knows me knows I am, but knowing someone’s story makes me want to root for them just a little harder.  I want good people to have success.  I want Jean-Sebastien Giguere to knock ‘em dead here in Colorado.  I can’t wait for this interview.

This Year on Avs All Access

You might have been one of those folks that have tuned into Avalanche All Access (our Avs weekly show) the past few years and seen some odd sights.  Kyle Keefe and I at an ice cream shop, serving up ice cream with Cody McLeod.  One time we were at the zoo with Milan Hejduk and his children petting the snakes (ewww!).  Then there was that shoot at Coors Brewery, well,  just because Kyle and I are big fans of the Silver Bullet. 

Although we loved out times traveling all over Denver, this year on Avalanche All Access we’re trying something new.  We’re trying to give it that “Entertainment Tonight” feel.  No, Altitude sports will not insure my legs for a million dollars like they did with Mary Hart, nor will Kyle be jetting off to Hollywood to do red carpet interviews, but you will see a substantial change in the look of the show.   We’re hoping it’s a more fast paced, more hockey oriented show, but with a fun flair.  After all, sports is entertainment!  We’ll give you all of your Avs highlights, you’ll hear from head coach Joe Sacco, but we’ll also give you segments like the “penalty box.”  Someone always belongs there!  This week Kyle chose Sean Avery (he should have a permanent seat in there!).  Some weeks we’ll talk about off-the-ice movies, sometimes it’s around the league news, and sometimes we’ll give you a segment called “seriously?”  For example,  former player and now hockey commentator Jeremy Roenick just came out and said that while he loves Sidney Crosby, he’s sick and tired of hearing Crosby say that there’s nothing new to report about his return to the ice.  Seriously Jeremy?  I mean, we’re talking about one of the greatest to ever play the game!  Now that you’re a member of the media, you have to know we’re going to ask him.  People want to know.  If you have anything you think we should address on our “seriously” segment, just e-mail me at jbrowman@altitude.tv

Just don’t ask us to serve ice cream at the zoo, with a Coors Light in hand.  Seriously.

The College Years

So I just returned from doing a half hour interview for our One on One show in Boulder with Charles Johnson and Joel Klatt. The two former Buffs will be our experts on the new “Black and Gold” Sports Summit show. They know what theyʼre talking about! They practically bleed black and gold, and both were instrumental in the Buffs success during their years at CU. They are funny too! Youʼll have to tune into the show, and the upcoming One on One. Both will air in September. For one of the segments, we walked on the campus of the University of Colorado. It was a great environment. Kids studying on the lawn, walking, biking, and skateboarding to class. A college campus is such an awesome environment. If you have a little free time, head to the nearest college and walk around. It promises to bring back memories of your college days. Which made me think, why was I in a such a hurry to leave college in four years? I loved my time at the University of Kansas, and looking back, that was surely one of the best times of my life! Why was I so impatient to get into “the real world?” You know, the one with responsibility, bills, and accountability! Really, who needs that? Whatʼs wrong with returning to a world where my greatest responsibility is getting to my western civilization class at 8am? Yes...8am. Not 5am as I complained it felt like. Then there was dinner. Would I order pizza, go to the cafeteria, or try that new sub place on campus? Then there was going out. I mean, going out on the town at 10pm, forced me to sleepthe next day at until least 10am. (That was I when woken up by the school band getting ready for that dayʼs football game.) What a great life. There were imaginative, creative, and hopeful minds around every corner you turned. So many different ways of thinking!  Why would I want to leave that? WHY? Oh yes....thatʼs right. My parents were footing the bill.  Anyone see my water bill that was due yesterday?