God's fire in the sky.

God's fire in the sky.
No matter how hard man tries, he can't replicate the smallest of God's glories.

The Whole Fam-Damily

The Whole Fam-Damily
". . . and the magic number is NINE, (count 'em 9)" ... l-r, Terry, Dan, Mark, Kevin, Kathy, Tom, Mom, Dad, Eileen, Richard & Tim, but who's counting??? =)

Monday, September 7, 2009

BLAKE'S 2009 LABOR DAY HOCKEY TOURNAMENT


BLAKE TAKMAJIAN'S 2009 LABOR DAY TOURNAMENT, 98 AAA ST LOUIS BLUES.

We were invited to watch Dena's nephew's son, Blake, play in this weekend's tournament at the Hardee's Iceplex in Chesterfiled, Mo. They played a number of invited top teams across the US who were eleven years old. This AAA hockey is purported to be the highest level of play for kids born in 1998. The round robin (?) event was won by Blake "single handedly" (just kidding, but he played very well). Other notables were Braeden (?) Tkachuk, son of their coach Keith Tkachuk who's day job is an NHL St Louis Blues player. I do not know any of the other player, but they were great, too. Since I do not follow many sports (I know, that it is a sin not to), I'm not sure of much about all this, but I was sure proud of Blake and his effort on the ice.

I was told that after he tried-out and was accepted by the club last year, the team traveled far and wide to become the North American AAA title holder for that age bracket. Pretty darn impressive.

The clip above is of Blake's team receiving the awards, after winning the tournament. The last game (which we saw today) was won by a margin of 5 to 2 playing against a very good Chicago team. If you listen closely you will hear the name Takmajian by butchered (as usual). It took me a long time to get the name, and especially the spelling, correct. The photo to the top right is Ray and his son, Blake Takmajian. My hat is off to Gina, Blake's mom and Ray for taking him around the country and paying a small ransom ice time and sporting goods, to give their talented son the opportunity to play at this level.

Through all this Blake is a polite, modest, courteous, happy, funny and sweet boy. Dena and I are proud to be his aunt and uncle. We salute his parents for doing such a good job. I pray the Blake stays the course and becomes the man we all expect of him.

I may never go to a professional hockey game, but I will gladly go to see more games like these. The excitement generated by the players and the fans could light up a portion of a small city.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for all the nice things you said about our family. Blake hasn't seen it yet, but I am quite sure he will like it. Great Job!!!!

    ReplyDelete

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