Miss Virginia News

Miss Virginia Takes to the NHL Ice

By pucksandbooks - December 4, 2008

Our favorite goaltender, Tara Wheeler, will be making her debut among NHLers next Tuesday, December 9, out at Kettler Capitals IcePlex after Caps' practice, when she'll don her goalie gear and take on Dave Steckel in a shootout. The Big Ten Network will have cameras there for the occasion, as the Ohio State center bears down on the Penn State goalie. Maybe, just maybe, we'll even see Alexander Ovechkin take on Tara.

That could prove to be a shootout mismatch, but knowing Tara as I do, she will be gracious toward Ovi in victory.

On Wednesday I received an invitation from Miss Virginia to attend the Miss America Pageant in Las Vegas next month. Those sort of invites haven't come across my email inbox all that often. The pageant is January 24 -- a Saturday night. I told the beauty queen that I'd do my best to make it out there, and MVN may well be able to secure me a media credential for it. As mid-winter assignments go, there could be worse, right?

Tara then offered what I thought was a terrific Plan B: she said that if she didn't see me at the pageant that I had better be a part of a viewing party back home. So I thought, why not try and organize just that -- a gathering of puckheads, obviously at a Virginia watering hole, the Saturday night of the Miss America Pageant? We could all wear red, as Tara will be rockin' again in a red gown, which she wore when she won Miss Virginia back in the summer.

Oh how I hope one of those Miss America judges asks Tara a hockey question!

So we'll put our heads on this idea. We've got a few weeks. Share with us your interest in such a gathering, and certainly suggest some venue ideas for our pageant-watch.