Young José

Here are some Pre-NHL photos of José. I prefer "aged José" but he was a cutie then too.
Wee José

He played for the Hull Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League between 1994 and 1996 (approx. ages 18-20.)

He played for Team Canada at the 1996 World Junior Championships, winning gold and the tournament's Best Goaltender Award.

José Still a Free Agent

There have been rumors of José and his agent talking with the Chicago Blackhawks (since they seem to be having salary cap troubles and don't know if they can keep Niemi.)

As much as I want José playing in the NHL next season...the Blackhawks? I hate them. Blech. But I want what's best for him, so I'll swallow my distaste and support him no matter where he goes.

Another great photo

Ok, I can't seem to wait a full week to post photos of José...too many good photos out there. I love this photo of José, because it shows him helping out the yutes at one of the D.C. area schools. He seems to really care about kids, and it's nice to see when athletes do stuff like this. What a thrill for these kids!!

My 2nd José SportsPick

Today I received the mini (3 inch) figure of José from when he was with the Colorado Avalanche. I will call it Baby José, because it's tiny! You can see how small it is next to my hand. Can't see the icicled gargoyles on the mask, because it's too small for such detail.

So I will post another photo of his awesome Avs mask here...

My first José SportsPick (action figure)

Here's my first José figure...this is actually his 2nd one...I have the 1st one on the way.

I think I will take this one out of the package, because the bottom parts of his legs are detached. And it freaks me out...

Articles about José's continuing free agency

First found on bleacherreport.com (by Alison Myers)

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/419922-nhl-free-agents-10-teams-who-would-love-to-land-jose-theodore

Second found on bettor.com (by Scott Smith)

http://blogs.bettor.com/NHL-Jose-Theodore-still-a-free-agent-a16478

José Photo of the Week

Well, it hasn't been quite a week since I posted the last photo...but I love this photo, so I wanted to put it up now...thanks to my friend, H, for sending it to me. It's obviously from an interview in a Quebec-ian gossip rag. It's actually an interview with José and Stephanie, but it's hard to read. Something about how they met and when she told him she was pregnant with Romy, etc. Not really the important thing here...the best thing is this super photo...I can't get over his eyes in it. And the way his bangs come over his eyebrows...wispy almost. Leaves me flustered. ;o)

Edit: After I found out how to edit in Paint, I edited the interview portion out of this photo.

José Photo of the Week

I'm going to post a different photo each week of José...these are all ones I've found online. The first is from a long time ago...you can tell by how young he looks. This was on a website for a limo service, so I'm pretty sure this was the limo driver he's with...It has to be in the early-mid 90s when he was starting out.

http://www.nitelifelimo.com/english/specialevents.htm

Musings on José's Hair

José's hair has changed quite a bit over the years. He had the "hockey flow" going on early in his career. Then by the time he got to Washington, it was pretty darned short. Now it's grown out some more. I must say of all 3 lengths, I'm most partial to the length he had at the recent NHL Awards. I think that length is just right....as if he cares what I think. Hahahaha!! I'm just sayin'.

My first José eBay item arrived today

I got my José action figure in the mail today!! Very exciting...it's from when he was with Montreal. I thought I might leave it in the packaging, but it creeps me out a bit, because  his legs are not attached. You put them together after opening. So I think I'll have to open so I can attach his lower legs...it will creep me out otherwise. Here's the stock photo of it:

Washington Capitals Masks

He switched to Eagles instead of gargoyles when he moved to Washington. I totally respect that and think it's cool that he paid homage to our national bird. But I missed the gargoyles!! ;o) So I hope he goes to a team now where he can bring the gargoyles back. Long live the gargoyles!!!!

Colorado Avalanche Masks

The Avalanche masks are when the gargoyles came into their full glory. His Avalanche masks are my absolute favorites...the icicles hanging on the gargoyles are the coolest thing ever!!!

The artist of these masks was Frank Cipra.

You can also see on the back where he now puts an "R" for his daughter, Romy.

These are also my favorite masks of his because they have silver/chrome masks bars, rather than painted or plastic. I think masks look much sharper with the silver bars.

I prefer the one with the light background versus the dark background. I actually didn't see him wear the dark one much.

It looks like the last photo must have been after he had gone to Washington and had the Capitals neck guard, but his Caps mask must not have been done yet, so he was still wearing the Avs mask.

Canadien's Masks with Gargoyles

It was in Montreal that José first started having gargoyles put on his masks. He has said he chose gargoyles, because he remembered reading of gargoyles flanking and guarding gates to cities. So since goalies guard the net, he thought it would be cool to have gargoyles guarding with him. He has said in the past that #33 on the back of his masks is not because of Patrick Roy. It's because 33 was his number before the NHL, but when he went to Montreal, he couldn't use that number because of Roy, so he chose #60. But he still puts #33 on the back to pay homage to his former number. The elephant is his good luck charm.

Edit on 8/28/10--I found a photo of José when he played with the Canadiens, and he had the gargoyles standing on top of the LX like he did in Colorado. So I'm thinking that mask must've been later on in his time in Montreal, maybe the years right before moving to Colorado. So here it is: