Juggling Chainsaws

A lot can change in 3 years.

Back in October 2009, when I launched Without a Peer, I was a recently returned from deployment veteran who was suddenly unemployed, still single, and for all intents and purposes living at home out of necessity. Needless to say, I had time on my hands. Lots of it. It's one of the reasons I started this blog, to be quite honest.

Today, I'm quite settled back into civilian life, employed, seeking a new home while renting, and engaged to be married. On top of that, I'm now a semi-regular commentator on WRPI for Engineers hockey. Whew. Quite a difference.

Don't worry, this isn't an elaborate goodbye speech. Without a Peer isn't going anywhere, and neither am I. But the reality is that there are certain things that I just am not going to have time for in the near future - which, hopefully, is an opening of opportunity rather than a closing door.

In 2010, when I added podcasts to the list of services WaP provides, I was basically still largely stuck in the same situation I had been a year earlier, only now I was living on my own. I had plenty of time to produce podcasts, scheduling guests, setting up content, and the like. Last year, now gainfully employed, I had a lot less time to do that. This year, beset with all kinds of planning to do for a new house and a wedding, I seriously doubt I'll be able to set aside time to put together a quality product - and rather than produce something that isn't worth listening to, I'd rather open the opportunity for others to take on a role.

I'm willing to help produce a weekly podcast, but I will be quite unavailable to host it this season - so if there's any interest out there, do drop me a line. Check out the link in the bar to the right.

I noticed last year that with the loss of time last season, not to mention the tough year both teams had on the ice, the frequency of crappy photoshops decreased significantly. I never intended for WaP to be a 100% straight-faced news and insight blog - I wanted to be sure to be making biased and humorous opinions as well. It's certainly not as easy to find the humorous side when the team's struggling and we never want to kick our guys and gals when they're down anyway. So in the future, I don't expect to be focusing as much on trying to put up zingers - unless, of course, the opportunity and inspiration arises.

You can, however, continue to expect the same type of analysis and coverage of both men's and women's hockey that we've offered in the past. We're still planning to have our groundbreaking live tweets (something which we pioneered for RPI hockey) as in the past, and don't forget to like us on Facebook, too.

Finally, I would like to thank you, our readers, for your continued support over the last three years. Gary and I couldn't have done it without you, since otherwise, we're just rambling to ourselves on the Internet. 

We don't often mention this, but we do have some relatively minor costs associated with running the site - WaP will always be free and free of outside ads, but if you want to help out, feel free to hit the tip jar on the right.

The season's right around the corner, and we can't wait.

The Spirit of Podcast

Invisible airwaves crackle with life - bright antenna bristle with the energy


Today at 11:05am, catch WaP's Tom Reale who will be Rodger Wyland and Ken Schott's guest on the "Slap Schotts" segment on Wyland's "Big Board Sports" on Fox Sports 980, WOFX-AM. Tom joins Clarkson play-by-play announcer Bob Ahlfeld to discuss this weekend's playoff showdown between the Engineers and the Golden Knights.

If you're in the Capital District, feel free to tune in at AM 980. If you're not, or you lack a radio (you obviously don't lack a computer, or an internet connection), listen by clicking here and clicking "listen live."

A podcast edition will be available after the broadcast.

UPDATE (1:40pm): And here it is.

Today's Podcast: Perry Laskaris

With just four games left in the season, the women sit in 9th place in the ECAC despite a tie with Brown for 8th (the Engineers lose the tiebreaker based on head-to-head results). Essentially, if the Engineers can pick up just one point more than Brown in the next four games, and can stay ahead of Colgate (just a point back), the 8th position could be theirs.

Meanwhile on the men's side, three weeks after a turnaround appeared in order after RPI swept a road weekend with a favorable schedule going forward, the Engineers remain in last place after just three points in four consecutive home games. With six games left (four on the road), RPI is five points behind Dartmouth and Yale for the final home playoff position. That doesn't look good.

We'll talk to WRPI's Perry Laskaris for his analysis on both the men and the women as the teams head down the stretch on what has been a rough year for both teams. Without a Peer Radio goes live today at 6:30pm. Just click on Listen to Without a Peer over on the upper right hand side of the page to listen at the appropriate time, or listen any time on demand.

Today's Podcast: Joe Yerdon

No, you aren't reading that wrong. We're having a podcast today!

After a month of technical issues, we're confident we have the means to produce a stable podcast, and we do so this afternoon at 5:30 pm ET with our guest Joe Yerdon, who writes for NBC's Pro Hockey Talk.

Since NBC began airing college hockey on the newly christened NBC Sports Network (formerly Versus), Joe has added a bit of NCAA knowledge to his usual NHL repertoire, penning the weekly "Back to Class," recap on Mondays and providing a preview of the Friday night game of the week on Friday mornings. And look who's starring in this week's edition - it's Cornell at RPI, marking the second time in five weeks that NBC's cameras will be at Houston Field House.

We'll talk with Joe about the Cornell matchup and get his thoughts on the 35th annual Big Red Freakout! which is this coming Saturday against Colgate. Can Seth Appert, fresh off his first Freakout! victory last year against #1 Yale, make it two in a row against ranked opponents in the BRF?

To listen in, click Listen to Without a Peer in the upper right hand corner of the page at the appropriate time, or listen on demand at any time.

Glad to have Without a Peer Radio back on the air.

I Shall Call Him... Mini WaP

For your reading pleasure (or pain - we make no judgments here about your lifestyle), you can now take Without a Peer on the road with you.

We are delighted to announce that WaP can now be viewed with relative ease on your mobile device. Simply surf on over here with your smartphone and it'll automatically appear in a mobile friendly format.

Lookin' out for the little guy.

Also, not much has happened lately worth blogging about. Shoot us an email if you've got any ideas or news, or maybe if you're just bored... tomyousieve (at) gmail [dat] com.

Oh... one other thing... the podcast for yesterday's Slap Schotts (featuring WaP's Tom Reale) is available on demand at this link.

The Spirit of Radio

In lieu of this week's podcast, tune in to Fox Sports 980 on Thursday at 11:05am as Without a Peer's Tom Reale joins Union radio man Brian Unger to discuss the Festivus Faceoff with the Daily Gazette's Ken Schott on "Slap Schotts," the weekly college hockey segment of Rodger Wyland's "Big Board Sportstalk."

Union is coming off a disappointing two tie weekend, which isn't horrible considering how beat up they were, but... they probably still should have picked up four points. And of course, we know RPI's troubles. Last year in Lake Placid, these teams had another classic, with Union scoring in the last 10 seconds of regulation to earn the tie. Then again, both teams were doing pretty well heading into that one.

Anyway, we'll be talking about that and I'm sure we'll probably talk a little bit about the Engineers' struggles to date as well.

If you're away from your computer, that's AM 980 on your radio dial - click here to see if it'll work where you are.

Today's Podcast: Chris Lerch

We are happy to welcome back to Without a Peer Radio USCHO's Chris Lerch, who covers Atlantic Hockey for the longest-running college hockey website on the information superhighway. He also does play-by-play for RIT hockey on WITR-FM and is a fantastic resource for all things RIT.

We'll talk to Chris about RPI's first ever trip to Rochester, a game featuring a couple of teams that seem to be going in opposite directions. The Tigers have scored more goals in the last four games (all Atlantic Hockey wins) than the Engineers have scored all year - is this RIT's year to pick up their first D-I victory over RPI, and their second all time? We'll also ask about goings on in Atlantic Hockey and the underlying issues with conference realignment - including RIT's relatively well-known deigns on ECAC membership, which may hinge on a 12th member of Hockey East.

Today's podcast gets underway at 4pm Eastern. You can listen live by clicking "Listen to Without a Peer" on the right hand side of the page at the appropriate hour, or you can listen on demand by doing the same after the show.

Today's Podcast: Ed Weaver

With the ECAC schedule ready to open up in earnest (say hello to first place Quinnipiac, who beat Princeton 5-2 last night) on Friday, it's time to check in with the Record's Ed Weaver to get his thoughts on the league picture this season. We'll ask him about the Engineers' tribulations of the last month, get an injury update, and see what lies in store in the North Country this weekend.

We'll also get his thoughts on the women as well, forced last weekend to walk away from a pair of home games with just one point to show for it - and a tough home weekend to come with the North Country coming into town.

Today's podcast gets underway at 4 p.m. Eastern. Click Listen to Without a Peer on the right-hand side of the page to listen live, or click it any time after the broadcast to listen on demand.

Today's Podcast: Ken Ralph

Sorry about the short notice, but we worked right up to the last minute to make sure we had everything arranged for our second podcast this week.

Former RPI athletic director Ken Ralph, who now holds the same position at Colorado College, is our guest this afternoon. We'll talk about the CC-RPI meetings, naturally, but we'll also get caught up on how he's been doing out in the Centennial State and get his opinions on the happenings at his old stomping grounds.

We go live this afternoon at 5 p.m. Eastern, and you can check us out by clicking Listen to Without a Peer in the right margin of the page - and feel free to listen any time on demand if you arrive too late for the live broadcast.

Today's Podcast: Joe Paisley

I admit, we're playing with fire this week.

Last year, we tried on two different occasions to get Colorado Springs Gazette writer Joe Paisley on our podcast, and both times failed due to problems on our side.

Here's hoping the third try's the charm. We'll talk to Joe about the high-flying Tigers, now ranked #3 in this beautiful country of ours, and see just what it is that makes them a dangerous team. We'll get his thoughts on the advent of the NCHC, given that the Tigers will be a charter member of the league in 2013, and we'll talk about CC-RPI, of course.

We go live at 6 p.m. Eastern today. To listen live (or on demand after the show), click Listen to Without a Peer in the upper right hand corner of the page.

Today's Podcast: Seth Appert (for real this time)

Last week the SNAFUs that occasionally plague our operation popped up to stop our weekly podcast in its tracks. Today, we try again, with the last SNAFU fixed and on guard for the next one.

Since we didn't get to talk to Seth Appert last week, we'll talk to him this week instead as the Engineers prepare for a big game at Notre Dame, the first in their fancy new arena. We'll get his thoughts on the offensive famine, the defensive strengths, the team's start, and, yes, the injuries that continue to impact the team - with an injury to Jacob Laliberte the latest in a string of problems plaguing the forwards.

After we talk to Seth, we'll get up to speed with women's hockey, also as promised last week. Like the men, the Engineers had a couple of games last weekend that weren't horrible per se, but they did lose both regardless, a speed bump that ended a 4-game unbeaten streak to start the year. We'll get our first real-game look at RPI this weekend as they come home to face Robert Morris in a pair of non-league games.

We go live at 5:00pm this afternoon, and you can listen live (or on demand if you miss the live broadcast) by clicking Listen to Without a Peer over to the right.

Today's Podcast: Seth Appert (CANCELED)

Without a Peer Radio has a very special guest on tap today - men's hockey coach Seth Appert. We talked to Mr. Appert two years back, when he mentioned that he was hopeful to get some games scheduled against his alma mater. This weekend, those games finally come to fruition as the Engineers travel to Big Rapids, MI for the second time in school history for a weekend set against the CCHA's Ferris State Bulldogs. We'll ask Seth about his days in rural Michigan, the team's outings last week against Minnesota State, and a few other topics, including the Great Western Shuffle.

Since we are no longer doing a call-in format (since we don't have enough people with access to the lair to screen calls), if you have a question for Coach Appert, shoot us an email at tomyousieve (aht) gmail (dat) com before the show. If we like it, we'll ask it.

Also, since we haven't had much time to talk women's hockey on WaP Radio, we'll run down the early season results for the 2-0-2 Engineers, who travel to Western New York this weekend to conclude their season-opening six-game road trip against the Niagara Purple Eagles.

We get underway at 3:00pm, and you can listen in live or on demand after the show by clicking Listen to Without a Peer on the right-hand side of the page.

UPDATE: Technology, once again, fails us when we need it most. The transmitter at the lair is once again on the fritz, and therefore, we reluctantly have to cancel what we hoped would be a great podcast. Our deepest apologies.

Today's Podcast: Ken Schott, Shane Frederick

Without a Peer Radio is back, and with the Engineers about ready to embark upon their 2011-12 journey, we'll talk to ECAC Hockey Media Association honcho Ken Schott of the Schenectady Daily Gazette to get his impressions on the coming ECAC season to be, and maybe get his impression of the second straight summer with no off-season. Since we'll be on the air scant hours following Notre Dame's big announcement, we'll talk to him about the big Hockey East scuttlebutt as well.

The Engineers face off with a new opponent this week when Minnesota State comes to town. To get you up to speed with the Mavericks, we figured there'd be no one better than their local beat writer, Shane Frederick of the Mankato Free Press. We'll ask Shane what to expect with MSU-M, and find out what's in store in the WCHA this year.

We get underway at 5:30pm, and you can listen in live or on demand after the show by clicking Listen to Without a Peer on the right-hand side of the page.

Today's Podcast: David Kilfoil, Mike McMahon

The Without a Peer podcast makes its 2011-12 debut this afternoon with a couple of format tweaks, but nonetheless, we're back on the air.

Today at 3:30pm Eastern, Without a Peer Radio (our new name) goes live with a good half an hour worth of interviews.

Our first guest will be David Kilfoil, from the University of New Brunswick. We talked with David last year before the Engineers' tangle with the UNB Varsity Reds, and he provided some very solid insight into his team. This year, with RPI set to take on the Acadia Axemen from the same Atlantic University Sport conference as UNB, David will return to give us a quick primer on Acadia.

Our second guest is Mike McMahon, who covers Merrimack, Hockey East, and college hockey in general for the Eagle Tribune of North Andover, Mass. Mike has had his finger on the pulse of the Notre Dame saga as it has played out within Hockey East, and we'll get his take on the whole affair, what it means for RPI, and if we have time we'll get a quick Hockey East preview as well.

This year, our podcasts will mostly feature interviews with players, coaches, members of the media, and other relevant and interesting guests. We hope you'll continue to listen as we bring you some great interviews from around the college hockey world.

Click "Listen to Without a Peer" on the right side of the page at 3:30pm to listen to Without a Peer Radio!

UPDATE (4:15 p.m.): Did you miss the podcast? Never fear. It's available on demand. Just click the "Listen to Without a Peer" icon and check it out.

Répondez s'il vous plaît (We Appreciate Input)

First off... an apology on the lack of updates in the last couple of weeks. A number of factors to blame - an extended stay in California combined with what finally looks like a little bit of national calm (relatively speaking) making for very little to update.

A while back, we asked for opinions on our podcast series that we had last season. A few SNAFUs notwithstanding - perhaps most famously, the ghost in the machine keeping us from having a successful chat with CC beat writer Joe Paisley on two different occasions - they seemed to go very well and we were able to have some outstanding chats with coaches, players, and members of the media.

There's a bit of work that goes into a podcast - there's pre-production, finding guests, looking at topics of discussion, etc. It does cost money as well (which, thankfully, we were able to defray with the generous donations to our tip jar that we received over the course of the year, and we don't thank you enough for those).

Last season, the amount of time available for that pursuit was in great supply, since I was, erm, seeking employment for much of the season. Thankfully, that's no longer the case, but my awesome 9-to-5 cuts down on the ability to put in that extra work and still be able to maintain WaP's main element - the website.

When last we asked about how people felt about the podcast, we got... well, we didn't get any response. Which is OK, it was kind of asked in an "oh, by the way" manner. But now, we'd really like to hear from you. Did you love the podcasts and want to see them kept somehow (perhaps, in a different format, or with a different host with more available time)? Did you dislike them and avoided them like the plague? Were you indifferent?

Please, do comment... there are plenty of ways to do so: hit us up on Twitter... leave a message on our Facebook page... hit the comment button below... heck, send an email (tomyousieve [Shift+2] gmail [dawt] com).

I did enjoy the podcasts, personally, and would love to be able to continue to offer them, but ensuring that they're something people actually want... well, that's fairly important, too.

Social Media - Helping RPI Students and Alumni Have A Social Life Since 2004

Just a quick and friendly reminder... if you're only following us here at the blog, you really aren't getting the full Without a Peer experience - social media plays a big role. Our Twitter and Facebook presence isn't just superfluous, but rather, it enhances our ability to get news out to you, our loyal readers, on a timely basis.

We try to update three times a week (Monday-Wednesday-Friday) during the offseason, at least, after the hangover from the previous season wears off sometime in June. We try to update at least once a day during the season.

However, when news breaks, we aren't going to quickly blog about it unless it's something worth going into detail about. That's why we've got Twitter and Facebook as integral parts of WaP.

Follow us on Twitter for the latest, most up-to-date news on RPI, the ECAC, and the college hockey world. If it's news and you're reading it here on the blog, chances are pretty good we may have mentioned it on the Twitter feed already. Tweets occur on an as-needed basis. During the offseason (if it ever starts), there could be weeks without tweets. During games, there will be regular updates on what's happening on the ice as we live tweet the action. Got a comment? Tweet to us! If it's something we can answer or is more than just snark or trash-talk, we'll probably tweet back.

Like us on Facebook (which you can do by clicking the "like" button over there on the right side of the page), and get updates when WaP has a new blog posting worth checking out, get (mostly) exclusive multimedia like video and pictures, and participate in poll questions about RPI hockey.

Then of course, there are the podcasts. We tried to bring on guests we thought you'd like to hear from once a week throughout the season. We'd hoped to be able to continue them through the summer on a monthly basis, but unfortunately the time required to put into them hasn't been readily available over what's been a very busy summer.

What are your feelings on the podcasts? Did you get anything out of them last year? Would you like them to continue or would you not miss them if you went away? They are a bit time consuming to put together, so if there's not much demand for continuing them, it might be a case where we could put our time to better use improving other parts of the site. Please, comment below.

Thanks again for your loyal readership through the summer and into the 2011-12 season... let's go Red!

Tonight's Podcast: Joe Paisley

With the Engineers off to the NCAA tournament, it's time to bring back the podcast - and who better to talk to than Colorado Springs Gazette reporter Joe Paisley? After all, he's one of the few guys out there that have seen both RPI and North Dakota this season. Besides, we owe him an appearance, since we tried to have him on at the beginning of the season before the RPI/CC series and failed due to technical issues.

Before the season started, few observers would have pegged that RPI/CC series as one between teams that would still be playing in late March, and yet here we are. Joe is in St. Louis getting set to cover the Tigers' game against Boston College. We'll ask him about the Engineers, the Fighting Sioux, the Tigers, and the Denver Pioneers, who lurk as a potential opponent on Sunday if RPI can pull off the upset. We'll also break down the NCAA tournament and provide a wrap-up on the women's NCAA tournament.

We hit the "airwaves" at 9pm Eastern tonight, and we'll talk to Joe around 9:30. Don't miss it! Click "Listen to Without a Peer" in the upper right hand corner of the page at the appropriate time to listen in live.

Today's Podcast: Ed DerGurahian

With the women's season in the books and the men's season about to get dangerous (yeah, I went there, Darkwing Duck anyone?, we're going to talk to WaP and WRPI contributor Ed DerGurahian. We'll chat about the conclusion of the women's season and their prospects for next year, and discuss the men's well-defined road to Atlantic City and beyond.

We go live this week today at 3pm Eastern. If you can't make it live, be sure to listen on demand, you can click "Listen to Without a Peer" in the upper right hand corner, whether you're here and listening live or just want to get the latest episode. You can also download podcasts from our feed on iTunes.

Last week, we talked to Kendra Dunlop and John Kennedy - if you missed that one, be sure to go check it out.

Tomorrow's Podcast: John Kennedy, Kendra Dunlop

It's a tough task facing the women this week, but it's better than being where Colgate and Yale are - done for the season. Our guest this week is RPI captain Kendra Dunlop. We'll hopefully get a quick valedictory on her four year career at RPI, and ask her about the Engineers' readiness to face off with the second best team in the nation, the Cornell Big Red.

Our podcast this week is today starting at 11:30am Eastern. We'll talk Bracketology and look at the men's final home weekend, as well as the playoff race on the ECAC side - not to mention a brief look at who's doing what elsewhere.

You can listen to today's podcast by clicking "Listen to Without a Peer" in the upper right-hand corner at the witching hour, but if you miss it, no sweat. It'll be available 24/7, on demand. And don't forget... we need your help to keep offering our podcasts! Hit the tip jar!

UPDATE (2:00 pm): OK! So, I'm sure astute observers will notice that we didn't go live when we'd originally planned to today. Thank our internet provider here at the secret underwater lair for that - they decided to do some maintenance with telling anyone, and killed our connection in the process. Those responsible have been sacked. We are on instead Thursday at 11:30am, and thankfully, the problem has at least allowed us the opportunity to bring on another guest, who will kick off the show. We'll have both captains on this week as John Kennedy will be our guest at the top of the show to talk about the last weekend of play in the ECAC and get his thoughts on four years at RPI.

Tonight's Podcast: Jason Klump

It's been a tough week for RPI fans, but fear not... Allen York is expected to play this weekend, and Mike Bergin is might be back as well. Keep your fingers crossed.

Of course, the big news around here has been from the fallout of last Saturday night. Our guest this week was at the center of that story - Jason Klump. He was the reporter that was the subject of verbal abuse from the ECAC's Paul Stewart for asking about the refereeing job that led the Houston Field House crowd to begin resembling an angry mob. We'll ask him for his insight on the whole matter and what he's learned from the whole situation. Since he's been to all kinds of ECAC games, we'll get his impression on the league, find out who's been the most impressive, and get his take on who might be up for awards in the ECAC.

Both the men and the women are taking on St. Lawrence and Clarkson this weekend, and for the women, it's do or die. If they don't pick up some points at home, their season could come to an abrupt, disappointing end. For the men, it's an opportunity for redemption after a lousy weekend. We'll talk about the Golden Knights and Saints as well.

We are live tonight at 8pm. Come check us out by clicking "Listen to Without a Peer" in the upper right-hand corner. You can use that link, or the iTunes link, to listen to our past shows as well. For instance, last week we talked to USCHO's Jayson Moy and got some insight into the PairWise Rankings and bracketlogy. It's a must listen if you haven't already experienced it.