April 28, 2010
I didn’t write on the train today. And that was largely because I was in a bit of a daze, lost in my own thoughts about hockey and lacrosse and the adventures I’ve been blessed to experience with my sons, my wife, their friends.
I was lost in memories that started in Timbits in Ottawa with the Killer’s son Billy. And then Pad’s first wonderful coaches in Oakville and on through the years and guys named Henry, Mitch, Sean, Neil, Dave, Shawn, Mike, Dave (a different one), Brian, Rick, Bob, Wally, Hunter, John, Lou, Charles, Bob (another one), Tony, Greg, Mike, Darren, Gil, Jeff, John . . . .I’m sure I’ve missed some.
All these guys and more who have swung a gate to send my kids on or off the ice, or the floor, or the field. Who ordered him over the boards in a vote of confidence. Who contributed in part to what those boys are today.
I just want to say thanks. I have always said thanks, but I’m saying it again today.
The reason I was so lost in such thoughts was because of something I read and if you don’t read it, well, your loss. Truly.
I was in a rink last night.
I’ll be in a rink twice tonight.
I’ll be in a rink tomorrow night. And several times on the weekend.
But I’m acutely aware that in all probability, I have fewer such trips in front of me than I do behind me.
And when I allow myself to think about that reality, it’s not a happy moment. It’s not a sad one either, but it is a gnawing melancholy that’s hard to put into words.
Sometimes you never see it coming.
Click here. Read it. Wonderful.
April 27, 2010
I barely left work last night before the Blue Jays game had started. And then I got off the train and went to pick up Pad at the gym. Got home, changed, caught up with Chris on his day.
I made sure the recycling got put out, handled a few more emails and then sat down to have a conversation with Laura while dinner cooked. (Don’t ask about our evening eating habits. The kids can’t wait until I’m home to eat. It just doesn’t work. So they eat a normal hours and I eat when I can.)
It well was after 9p when I got up to call my parents and flipped on the ball game, because I knew my dad would be watching the Jays, and while we’re on the phone each night we enjoy watching the game and lamenting what’s in progress on TV.
Remarkably, it was still only the 4th inning and the score was 211-198 or something. I figured at that pace I’d be able to watch the final inning this morning while I had my orange juice.
I wasn’t far off the mark.
Read more here.
- - -
Stephen Hawking is a brilliant physicist who has all sorts of nifty theories about the universe and black holes and stuff like that, which apparently qualifies him to opine on the existence of intelligent life elsewhere in the universe.
And his opinion is that yes, there’s almost certainly other beings out there, and it would probably be a good idea for us to stay out of their way. They’re probably up to no good.
So, I’m good with staying out of the way.
The gist of his reasoning is that if ET is out roaming the universe and as the technology to find us, the creature is probably way smarter than humans (like that would be tough?) and more likely, looking to use Earth as an open-pit mine because it needs the resources back home.
I’m pretty sure War of the Worlds went something along these lines and that was science fiction.
Read more on what the good doctor has to say on this point here.
- - -
The Montreal Canadiens are causing Washington fits, and it’s kind of fun to watch.
I still think the Caps will win the series, but it’s now down to a one-game winner-take-all match in Washington tomorrow night.
The Habs tied the series 3-3 with a convincing 4-1 win at home last night (while some of us were flipping around looking at baseball.)
If I can throw a tangent out here – there’s a bar room debate over which NHL star you’d pick to build a franchise around: Crosby or Ovechkin. Compelling arguments can be made either way. I’ll take Sid, thanks.
Ovechkin is earning a label as a guy who has never won anything, whereas Crosby has a Stanley Cup and an Olympic gold medal. His play against Ottawa was inspirational.
Discuss amongst yourselves. And read about the Montreal win here.
- - -
There’s a lot of hockey in the forecast for the next three nights, and not just the stuff on TV. I may or may not blog but somehow, life will continue.
April 26, 2010
I’ll spare you the weekend review in detail.
In summary: I didn’t manage to get to either Buzz game on the weekend (they won both) and Saturday was the usual blur. I think I fed the boys better than usual (or at least as well as they would have managed if mom was home) and we all got to the places we were supposed to be, when we were supposed to be there.
Saturday evening was spent watching the Pens-Sens and exchanging BB pins messages with Laura who was trapped at an airport in the American midwest under a massive storm system. She ended up only being about an hour late, which was a blessing given air travel these days.
Friday night me and the boys were home – me watching hockey, Chris playing a game, Pad and a friend watching a movie downstairs. After retrieving Pad from training/hockey and then feeding him it was too late to make the Buzz game, and my energy level was low anyway.
Later that night . . .older son called from down below.
“Dad, there’s a mouse down here.”
Hmmm.
A quick investigation resulted in no visual sighting by me, but both parties in the basement rec room confirmed seeing a small, scurrying creature. Neither were too fussed about it.
Laura was still away at the time, which reduced the need for a full military response, if only temporarily. The clock was approaching midnight and finding a mouse trap in the garage would have required moving a car, so I decided to leave it until Saturday.
The morning dawned mouse-free as far as I could tell, but once I found the mouse trap I set it.
By this time Chris – not a fan of undomesticated household creatures – was also aware that the hunt was afoot. He watched as I looked for bait for the trap.
I put a small piece of cooked bacon in the trap, which Chris thought was brilliant.
“Everyone,” he said sagely, “loves bacon.”
Maybe not.
As of this morning, still no mouse and I suspect that it’s likely no longer in the house (he said optimistically.) Maybe this mouse doesn't like bacon, or is watching its cholesterol or something.
Or, if it’s still in the basement, it could be the smell from the hanging hockey and lacrosse gear have overwhelmed the bacon bait. Or, it could be that the smell actually killed the mouse, in which case I expect to hear from PETA shortly, and they’ll have a good case to make.
I never was much of a hunter.
- - -
In the big leagues, the first round of the NHL playoffs slowly wrap up. The Pen dumped the Sens in OT Saturday to put a bullet in those guys finally. The Canucks have eliminated LA. San Jose actually won a series, beating the Avs. And Philly already advanced.
The rest of the series remain undecided. Stay tuned.
What's up with the Red Wings?
- - -
The Oakville Blades won the Central Canadian junior A hockey title on Saturday night, edging Fort William, ON, 2-1. The Blades now move on to the RBC Cup national tournament next week in Dauphin, MB. The tournament goes all week, concluding on Sunday, May 9.
You can read more on the Blades win here.
- - -
Golf fans should be familiar with the Nike ad featuring Tiger Woods' dead father providing a creepy voice over for a commercial that we're left to surmise is meant to address Tiger getting caught doing all sort of a reckless things that married folk ought not to do.
Some bright spark turned the video into a Homer Simpson lecture, and America's wisest dad gives his unique commentary and well . . . Homer gives Tiger a bit of a dressing down.
Happy Monday.
April 23, 2010
OK, I’m still tired but this time it’s from staying up to watch the Pens lose in triple overtime to the Sens.
I recognize I’m jaded on this topic, but to me it was the most one-sided playoff game won by the wrong team this year. I wouldn’t want to be the Sens coach and count on that happening again.
Read more here.
- - -
The slap-your-forehead-and-say-huh team in the East is the Flyers – the last team to qualify for the playoffs and the first to make it to the second round.
Lou L. hates to lose, and losing in the first round two years in a row really bites, I’m sure.
Expect a shakeup in New Jersey.
Read more here.
- - -
The Oakville Blades won their third game in a row at the Dudley Hewitt Cup, beating Fort William 2-1 in OT. The win gives the Blades a bye to Saturday’s final and a day off today.
The winner Saturday advances to the RBC Cup tournament.
- - -
As you may have figured out, I didn’t watch Avatar with the boys last night. I had to work some more when I got home and they didn’t wait for me. So I watched the game once I finally did get clear of work and they watched the movie for three hours.
Maybe I’ll watch the blue people on the weekend.
- - -
The Oakville Buzz open the 2010 season tonight at Glen Abbey Rec Centre at 8p.
I want to be there and it was looking good until I found that a variety of driving-cooking-parenting things may hold me up until well past the start time.
But I understand that some people – some – actually go to these events to watch the games and not simply to enjoy my company and witty banter. (Ahem.)
So, with that in mind you should drag your carcass out tonight and support the team, which I understand will include several 1993s on the roster for the first time.
We’re getting old when that happens.
- - -
The rest of the weekend will be house league lacrosse reffing, timekeeping and playing (Chris) on Saturday, and ice time Sunday (Pad) so I’ll be at a rink.
I’m especially looking forward to the lax games moving to Glen Abbey this weekend because there’s always two games going on, there’s always people I know to annoy, and it’s really close to home.
Enjoy the weekend folks. The chilly mornings are here for a few more days but the sunny afternoons are a worthy trade off.
Good luck in all your sporting and other travels. Hug the kids.
April 22, 2010
I’m tired. And I’m not the most fatigued member of the household – that party had to be out the door to the airport at an hour so early that it practically qualifies for a late night, not an early morning.
What will we three lads do without her for a couple of days?
- - -
What indeed.
For starters the Pens and Sens are on the tube tonight for what will be the inevitable conclusion to what passes for an NHL playoff run in Ontario. The Leafs can’t make the playoffs and the Sens . . . well, I’m not sure if I’ve ever mentioned this before, but I don’t care for the Sens, so their demise will not trigger much reflection here.
And it wasn’t always thus.
Back when we lived in Ottawa in the early days of this incarnation of the Sens, I used to love the opportunity to use someone else’s tickets and watch the team at the old Civic Centre at Lansdowne Park. Young ladies in tight short shirts would serve us beer in our seats and we’d cheer on the hapless home side in a losing effort.
Not so much now, where the fans boo perhaps the best Canadian player of his generation just because he’s great and their own smug team leaders spend too much time talking and too little executing.
Anyway. That’s one option.
And if I like that option, I’ll be relegated to one of the home’s outer regions because Avatar comes out on DVD today and Chris pleaded with me to bring it home tonight so we could order in Swiss Chalet and have a boys’ night watching a blue movie.
(See, I said “blue” because the characters in Avatar are all blue, see? It’s like a clever turn of phrase to make you confused and wonder if I’m watching adult films with my teenage sons. No, I’m not. I think they do that without me.)
So, Swiss Chalet is on speed dial for the next three days.
Hockey will be on various TVs and yes, a "blue" movie is in the cards.
- - -
While I was in a rink watching Son 1 skate at a second consecutive three-hour session last night, Laura participated in an impromptu tour of the Great Arenas of Oakville, trying to find Chris’s lacrosse practice.
An apparent communication issue left us a bit in the dark and we didn’t really know for sure where he needed to be, or when. While men get malaigned for
They finally got to the right rink but at the wrong time.
The good news? It wasn’t my fault.
High five!
- - -
The Oakville Blades won again yesterday at the Dudley Hewitt Cup, beating the Soo 3-1. It was 3-0 until there was less than three minutes to go and the Soo snapped the shutout.
If the Blades can beat Fort William today they get a bye to Saturday’s final and a much needed rest with a day off Friday.
Good luck to the team.
April 21, 2010
The Oakville Blades stormed out of the gate to a quick start at the 2010 Dudley Hewitt Cup championship in Sault Ste Marie yesterday, pasting Abitibi Eskimos 6-0 in the tournament opener.
The southern Ontario champs take on the Soo Thunderbirds tonight.
The winner of the tournament moves on the RBC Cup, the national tier-2 junior A championship.
- - -
I didn’t get to see much of the Pens-Sens last night, but it says volumes about Ottawa fans that they boo Sidney Crosby ever time he touches the puck.
Booing the other team’s villains and/or best player is a long hockey tradition. Leaf fans boo Alfredsson for his mocking of Mats Sundin a few years ago, to cite one example.
But other than laying waste to their hockey team and incinerating the notion that the Senators were worthy of a spot anywhere in the NHL post season, let alone in a matchup with the defending champs, Crosby has done nothing to incite such ire.
Crosby, off the ice, seemingly has the demeanour of one who might otherwise be putting out saucers of milk to wayward kittens.
Sens fans should feel blessed that they got to see a guy of this calibre, who has been double teamed for the entire series, and still leads all NHL scorers with 11 points in four games and is plus-seven.
Even though the scoreboard says the Pens lead the series 3-1, this one ended last night just as surely as Brian Burke kicks his dog every time someone says “Taylor Hall.”
Read more here.
- - -
The other series are all showing signs of dragging on for a while, except for the Devils-Flyers. What did they put in the Flyers water bottles?
The Flyers may become the surprise in the East.
More here.
- - -
You want eclectic? I’ll give you eclectic.
Since late January I’ve been trying hard to get to the gym regularly, and for the most part I have, probably averaging four or five times a week since then. It’s better than foraging through the food courts of the downtown office towers at lunch time, the end of hockey season has given me a little more time to workout on weekends, and by gar, I’ve lost some weight.
I take my iPod, put on a playlist of songs that help keep me moving, and after 45 minutes (week days) or an hour (weekends) on a step machine, I’m generally ready for the Creator to call me home (and hopefully She will have pasta and sausage for me).
That feeling of impending mortality passes after a hot shower.
Anyway, what I’ve learned is that “Baby Hold On” by Eddie Money, “Uprising” by Muse, “I Gotta Feeling” by the Black Eyed Peas and “Things Have Changed” by Bob Dylan all have basically the same beat and if you’re on level 12 for an hour, the music will pull you through an array of cardiac events.
At least until the EMS guys get there and yell “CLEAR”.
- - -
Speaking of exercise, the New York Times says don’t bother.
OK, that’s not exactly what the story says. It says that unless you exercise AND (there’s always an “and” on these things and it’s never good) change your diet, then chances are you won’t lose any weight.
Change your diet. Like, no more pasta and sausage. Less beer. More grass and twigs. That sort of things.
Those who know me know that I have the strength of 10 men and an Olympian physique – oh wait, that’s my kid – never mind.
Yeah, I need to exercise. And change my diet. (Pass the sticks and twigs, I’m having seconds.)
And I need to make more quirky playlists.
You can read the NYT piece here.
- - -
Regular readers (especially the school teachers) sometimes take great joy in pointing out the typos in this space. Since I have a very thick skin and I’m used to criticism, I politely thank them for their attention to detail, and then send letters to the government urging it to shut down all the teacher pension plans while I stick pins in voodoo dolls.
I’m kidding.
We have a saying in my business – “Everyone needs an editor” – and this space is a shining example of why that is true.
But some typos are more dangerous than others.
For example, while prognosticating on the outcome of a hockey game, one might write that his guess was a “shot in the dark.” But an unfortunate typo in the word “shot” could entirely change the impact (if not the intent, necessarily) of that sentence, with perhaps even some hilarity, depending upon your sensitivities on such things.
An even more real-life example happened in a cookbook published in Australia.
Penguin Books’ Australian subsidiary has been forced to spend $20,000 to reprint 7,000 copies of the Pasta Bible cook book, after the instructions for preparing spelt tagliatelle with sardines and prosciutto told readers to add “salt and freshly ground black people.”
Pepper. They meant to say PEPPER.
Mortified, Penguin moved quickly to address the error. Honest mistakes happen. Good for them.
Read the story from the Sydney Morning Herald here.
- - -
April 19, 2010
I’m not sure if it’s ever happened before, but it’s interesting that all eight of the NHL’s first-round playoff series started out with a 1-1 split after the first two games. The trend doesn’t look like it’s going away, either.
Pittsburgh looks like they have some momentum now vs. Ottawa, but from what I’ve seen of the other matchups, they could go on for a while.
For example, after the Red Wings scored seven times on Phoenix in game two, I figured they were off and running. And then the dogs win game three.
Washington-Montreal? The Habs could just as easily be up 2-0, but you have to also wonder how much self-loathing will be inflicted for the squandered lead in game 2 if the Caps win tonight in Montreal.
On and on. It’s utterly unpredictable and very entertaining.
- - -
Spring tryout season for minor hockey is winding down – there are some minor midget and midget skates still happening, but because of the yet-to-come junior tryouts, many major midget AAA candidates won’t know their status until August or even September in some cases. (Midget teams don’t lock down their rosters until after they know who failed to catch on at junior.)
In the younger ranks though, a couple veterans of the 2001 Timbit Big Blue Machine made AAA rosters this week. Will the Thrill will be wearing the khaki kolours of Brampton while Sean cracked the Oakville lineup.
Congratulations to both, and take it easy on each other in those SCTA matchups to come.
- - -
And on the junior tryout front, junior A spring prospect camps start this week at various tier 2 centres.
In my limited experience at this level it would seem that these camps serve a couple of purposes.
First, they let teams see a range of players with varying experience from about age 15 right up to 20, looking to make an impression. Sometimes, they find a gem.
Second, the teams charge the aforementioned players around $200 for several hours of ice time over three or more days, thus raising some cash for the chronically money-losing venture that is commonly known as tier 2 junior hockey.
As a result of the above, I expect to be sleepier than usual with less pocket money for a while.
- - -
House league lacrosse started Saturday at Maplegrove and all the usual suspects were out in force making things work.
We only had to make the run to MG three times between 11:30a and 3:30p, and with next week’s games moving to Glen Abbey (for the rest of the season) the dropping off and picking up of refs and timekeepers and players will become more manageable.
For the record, Chris’ team dropped their opener 3-2 in a terrific game.
- - -
Yes, I’ll be sleepier, but not sleeping.
Outside my window this week, four floors below on Victoria Street, they are filming the remake of the 1982 horror movie The Thing.
No, they haven’t asked me to play a role, but anything’s possible.
Anyway, there’s a guy yelling “action” every few minutes and they have gear set up to make it rain and spray water (it’s a lovely sunny day here, BTW) and they’ve taken over the coffee shop downstairs and turned it into what looks like a New York Deli.
I haven’t seen any big-name actors wandering the street. But I’m not sure I’d know them if I saw them anyway.
You can read a little buzz on the movie here.
April 16, 2010
This whole NHL playoff prediction thing is really going well for me so far, if you like unmitigated disasters. I’m trailing in five of the seven series that have started. Hmm.
But it’s early – too early to panic, right? – so we’ll watch the weekend games and see where we are on Monday.
- - -
I found it interesting that the Penguins have pinpointed the ingredient they were missing in game one with the Sens as “hatred.”
Hate is a strong word but you’ll hear it around a rink a lot.
There are teams that other teams hate to play.
And players will say they hate a particular player.
And coaches will sometimes advise a player to compete hard and be the guy the other team hates to see on the ice and hates to play against. If you can become that guy, chances are you’re going to have a decent run in hockey.
Read a good column on the Pittsburgh hate factor here.
- - -
We have a rare Friday night at home, which means the TV will be on hockey and I’ll be feeling the hate. Or something. From the game I mean.
Never mind.
- - -
Forbes Magazine has updated its list of the 15 richest fictional characters. The list contains 1960s TV icons Jed Clampett (oil) and Thurston Howell IIII (industrialist) as well as cartoon characters Montgomery Burns (The Simpsons), Scrooge McDuck (Walt Disney) and Richie Rich (comic books).
You can escape reality and read the story here.
- - -
Another terrible crowd for the Blue Jays last night – again less than 11,000 at the Dome to see them beat the Sox. This could become a problem, but the Stanley Cup playoffs probably are not helping.
- - -
Chris Bosh is saying he hasn’t figured out whether he will be back in Toronto next season, after he becomes an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Well, I have.
I think there’s about as much chance of Bosh returning to the Raptors as there is of me starting for the team in its 2010-11 season opener. (Phone rings, Brian Colangelo asks how my knee is holding up these days . . .)
Bosh can earn millions of dollars more if he decides to stay in Toronto. But why would he?
As a free agent he can earn up to $100 million over five years; if he stays he can get up to $130 million over six years. Apples to apples, the difference isn’t as big as it sounds and the chance to jump to a contending team looking for a guy to put them over the top?
Well, like the ads say. That’s priceless.
Read more here.
- - -
It’s the weekend and the start of house league lacrosse in Oakville. This week games are at Maplegrove and Kinoak before moving to Glen Abbey for the rest of the season.
As such, I think we have to make 211 trips to Maplegrove tomorrow with one son timekeeping, the other refereeing, and then the first guy playing later in the day.
As usual I’ll be there yelling at the people who yell at the youths who are officiating.
Around town, I see the baseball fields and rugby and soccer pitches are in better shape than usual for this time of year, and rep field lacrosse is lurching into action.
The junior B Oakville Buzz home opener is a week from tonight at Glen Abbey, and four of Pad’s teammates from last year’s Oakville Hawks midget 1 squad will be in the lineup on opening night. I plan to be there.
Until then, let’s get through this weekend.
Drive safely wherever you’re headed. Go easy on the refs. Remember that the kids are there to have fun.
And don’t forget to hug the kids. Even the big smelly ones.
April 15, 2010
OK, OK. I’m standing by all of my playoff predictions. (Reaches over and grabs his weathered copy of Playoff Clichés Vol IX).
It’s a marathon, not a sprint. It ain’t over til it’s over.
Your mileage may vary.
Etc etc.
Last night I was standing in a rink for two hours for the third night in a row – sadly, it started so late that I was able to see most of the first two periods of the Pens-Sens game, but missed pretty much everything else.
But I still expect things to shake out as I predicted. Unless they don’t.
- - -
While I was enjoying a lovely spring evening in a rink watching dads fret about tryouts, Laura took Chris and a pal to see the final Raptors game of the season (courtesy of corporate tickets from a friendly lawyer), which they won but missed the playoffs anyway.
They got home a little before us and Chris clearly had a good time.
The one blemish on the evening appears to have been that his pal managed to score a free Raptors cheerleader calendar and Chris did not.
He would have like to have one, to which I say – that’s my boy.
I can take or leave the Raptors – mostly leave – because I find the constant in-your-face nature of the game experience annoying.
The announcers never shut up.
They play music and sound effects during the play.
And large swaths of the game are frankly boring, sprinkled with occasional demonstrations of terrific athleticism.
But for kids like Chris, the non-stop entertainment value is great fun and I’m glad they had a good night out. I suspect he’s dragging his tail today.
For me sitting in a rink for a couple hours was a good deal by comparison.
- - -
After having an opening night crowd of nearly 50,000 on Monday, the Blue Jays barely drew 10,000 yesterday for their game (maybe a good thing since they got pasted 11-1 by the Chisox.)
It was the smallest crowd to see a Jays game since they moved into the Dome 21 years ago.
The Jays are not expected to have a strong team this year and igniting fan loyalty will be a challenge akin to making the GO trains run on time.
How do you get people in Toronto to turn out in droves to scream in support of a perpetually under-performing team with a losing record?
Put them on skates and charge way, way more for the tickets.
That always works.
- - -
My younger son is the household techie. He represented his school at a tech fair in Burlington this week, and he is more comfortable with an electronic gizmo than he is with a pen and paper.
He has more gaming platforms than I care to list here, but to his credit many of them have come from his own efforts in timekeeping at hockey and lacrosse and making effective use of birthday and holiday gift cards and cash.
(One of the lacrosse officials always jokes when handing out the timekeeper pay that when he gets to Chris, he pauses to call and alert EB Games first.)
Anyway, the new Apple of his eye is the iPad (pun intended.)
Mostly because it’s new and shiny, he’s attracted to it the way a crow has to swoop down on a piece of tinfoil on a country road. He can’t help himself.
I’ve already cautioned him that the iPad may not be all he wants in such a device – no USB port, no built-in camera, doesn’t run flash, limited Java capability, properly kitted out the price will likely be higher than an entry-level laptop, and, um, what exactly will it do that you can’t do already on a device you already own?
He’s having none of that sort of Luddite talk.
The good news for those of us who pay for the growing bandwidth consumption in our house – and it is growing, by leaps and bounds – is that Apple is delaying deployment of the iPad internationally because demand in the US is so high.
And I want to thank Apple for showing Canadians such respect, saying basically that they’re too busy hosing Americans to gouge us for a device we don’t really need.
PS – my advice to Chris on this one was to wait a while anyway. The next versions of the iPad will likely be cheaper and have more features incorporated to deal with some of the things early adopters don’t like.
In the meantime, EB Games will still be there.
- - -
No rinks tonight! I’m staying home and ignoring the phone and doorbell.
April 14, 2010
So, the NHL playoffs start tonight and no, I’m not picking the Leafs to win it all. I’m lame, but I’m not that lame.
Without further delay, some predictions that you might not want to rely on:
Washington vs Montreal
As a Leaf fan I’ve developed a sentimental respect for Montreal – a Canadian team in the same time zone that occasionally plays hockey in the last two weeks of April, albeit usually poorly in recent memory.
The gods have not been kind to them and to get to the point, Washington is going to run them out of the rink. The Caps finished 33 points ahead of the Habs in the standings, and they’ll have no trouble winning four more games in this series.
Caps in five.
New Jersey vs. Philly
Hmm.
The team of analysts at Teamoakville think this one has the potential to be an upset.
Brian Boucher – aside from that business of almost shooting the puck in his own net on the weekend – played well in recent games for the Flyers.
But . . .since it’s my blog I’m overruling the analysts.
In spite of a shaky Olympic experience I find it hard to bet against Martin Brodeur. And the Flyers have been just too inconsistent to take down the team that is the model of NHL consistency.
Devils in six.
Buffalo vs Boston
I’m not sure what went wrong this year in Boston. They can’t score and the goaltending slipped from where it was a year ago.
Buffalo won its division and Ryan Miller may have been the best goalie in hockey this year.
I’ll hand you a calculator and let you do the math.
Sabres in five.
Pittsburgh vs Ottawa
Seriously. Like you don’t know what I’m going to say?
I don’t care for the Sens, unless they’re in Mississauga and these guys aren’t. And they enter the post season with the same problem they’ve had in every other playoff tournament they’ve been in, in recent years.
No goalie.
I don’t need to itemize the Pens strengths, and the fact they’ve frankly under achieved all season may provide reason for them to start acting like defending champions.
Did you see Sid circling the net with the puck on Sunday and how no one could touch him? Yeah. Like the old Wings, the Pens have another gear. Stuff like that matters.
At least for this round. For the record, the Sens have another gear too. Reverse.
Pens in six.
San Jose vs Colorado
Every single NHL playoff prediction on this series has to – HAS TO – start with the following question.
Could this be the Sharks’ year, finally?
The answer is no, it is not. But they’re way too good to lose to the Avs, who played like gangbusters early in the year and hung on to make the 8th and final seed.
Sharks in five.
- - -
Chicago vs. Nashville
I love the Hawks. I just love them. They are everything I wish the Leafs were.
But my news bunion is itching right now and it is almost never wrong. I get hunches about things, about people, about stories and issues, and yeah, about the playoffs.
The numbers say this is a no brainer and Chicago will win.
I dunno.
Maybe it’s because they have Marian Hossa, who lost with Pittsburgh two years ago, and lost with Detroit last year, and plays for the Hawks now.
How many times can you cake walk into a Stanley Cup contender’s room and walk away with nothing?
Well, in Hossa’s case, I’m guessing three. A friend of mine once described him as the worst big-game player in hockey history. Harsh but . . . .
As much as I hope the Hawks entertain and inspire, I’m picking this as my upset special.
The Preds are way better than most people give them credit for.
Nashville in seven.
- - -
Vancouver vs. Los Angeles
Finally. A Canadian team you can count on, thanks to its Swedish stars, for at least one round.
I think I had forgotten that pro hockey is played in Los Angeles. I remember a series . . . the Leafs . . . Gretzky . . . .1993 . . .
I digress.
The Canucks still have ample potential to muck things up. Like San Jose, it seems to be in their DNA. But they’ll win this one.
Vancouver in six
Phoenix vs Detroit
Wings in six. Detroit is the untold story of the NHL since the Olympic break. The swagger is back, and so are the wins. This is a team everyone fears.
We won’t start wondering about the goaltending until round 2.
Wings in five.
- - -
For hockey junkies, the New York Times has a decent round up of a lot of predictions here.
Enjoy.
April 13, 2010
The Oakville Blades captured the OHA championship in Newmarket last night with a decisive 6-1 wins over the ‘Canes, taking the series in six games.
The Blades now move on to the all-Ontario championship to compete for a place in the RBC Cup tournament, Canada’s tier-2 junior A championship.
Already a very good year for the team.
- - -
It’s tryout season so good luck to all the kids out there skating this week in the GTHL, or to the others around Oakville and the OMHA will are also starting or will soon.
It can be a stressful chaotic time – and that’s just for the parents.
Depending on where you are it can be a cattle call, or a skate with a walk of shame, or any other number of characterizations. Not to mention being called a “cash grab” for the hosting organizations as parents watch the number of kids on the ice and multiply that number by the dollar figure attached to the tryout. It’s never, ever a “cover your costs” proposition.
Whatever. It is what it is, so just skate.
Generally everyone eventually finds a place to play, although not everyone may end up getting their first choice.
Good luck to everyone. Try and relax and have some fun out there.
That goes for the kids, too.
- - -
I woke up early Saturday – actually, someone else who had to get up woke me – and I rolled over and turned on my Blackberry, where my nifty news app started tossing overnight headlines at me.
It was with muted shock that I digested the news that the president of Poland and 95 other people – including dozens of the country’s top political and administrative leadership – had been killed in a plane crash.
I’ve never been to Poland, but I know that its people have suffered more than enough hardship over the centuries. And while I’m a student of politics large and small, I’m hard pressed to think of a comparative for this tragedy and what implications it might hold for Poland. The future will be stressful.
There was a time in my life when I was a political correspondent warrior, gleefully hopping on planes and crisscrossing the country – and sometimes well beyond – to cover elections, leadership campaigns, prime ministerial tours, national referenda, national unity summits, you name it.
And often in those circumstances you flew on chartered aircraft (disclosure: we always paid the equivalent of comparable full-fare commercial rates plus a premium; we never rode for free) arranged by a political party, government or governmental agency.
As such, while I can’t prove it, we sometimes seemed to fly in circumstances under which normal people/airlines would stay on the ground. Rain and wind or snow and ice or fog, rain, wind, snow and ice.
The imperative inevitably seemed to be to get where we need to go and sweat the details later.
As such, I became a fairly comfortable flyer, which I’m not sure is a good thing. If the flight crew wasn’t bouncing off the ceiling, then things were OK.
I get on a plane now and I often don’t even notice the takeoff. My ritual is simple – I take a window seat usually (so that the shoulder of my 6 foot 3 frame isn’t constantly bumped on the aisle) and I buckle in. And then I count the number of seat backs between where I am and the closest emergency exit – so that if I had to try to get to the exit in a smoke-filled plane with no visibility, I might have at least a chance by counting the seat backs to the door.
And then I turn my fate over to the pros at the front and wait until I land.
One of the more morbid exercises the ink-stained class would sometimes have on these flights was to project, in the event the plane went down, where you would fit in the reporting of the main story.
If the prime minister was on the flight, forget it. You would be summed up with a line saying “36 others died in the crash” or something and then relegated to a sidebar.
Then as you moved down the cabinet hierarchy your odds might improve of rating a mention – or so we speculated.
I figured the best I might ever hope for was a last para alphabetical listing of “Also killed were . . . “
The events of the weekend are simply horrific and I do not mean to trivialize them at all with this recollection of weary gallows humour and silly time-killing exercises from an earlier chapter of my life.
Last night, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra performed an evening of nothing but Polish music – an event that had been scheduled for some time, but under the circumstances became, I have no doubt at all, a far more emotional tribute to that country than anyone could have imagined. The concert was dedicated to those lost in the weekend crash, assuring that no victim was relegated to “last para” treatment while those in attendance were treated to some wonderful music.
You can read more on the crash here.
- - -
A long time ago when my spouse was still occasionally impressed with my cleverness and general utility (did I mention that this was a long time ago?) I was helping her with some project she was doing on the computer and with several programs open I began toggling between programs using the ATL-Tab function on MS Windows.
It was for her a “Eureka!!” moment. She was unaware of this shortcut which is a massive time saving device for Windows users.
So, we then embarked on a short tutorial of other such tips and tricks and I was, for a short time, considered wise and useful.
Years later, we had another such Yoda moment (aside from the fact that I’m much taller, the physical resemblance is uncanny really) using Google. I showed her how to zero in on a special search result by using the “+” sign or “-“ sign, or putting a specific search in quotes. For example, if you search for: Leafs losing seasons, you get results including any of those words. If you search for “Leafs Losing Seasons” inside quotes, you get only results with that exact phrase. If you use Leafs +Losing +Season, you get results with all of those words in it, but not necessarily the exact phrase.
So on and so on.
For a short time, I was considered moderately clever and useful again having shared this insight into Google.
So, with all that in mind, another roadmap – and again with Google.
The New York Times carried a piece this week on the 10 most useful tips for using Google. It won’t change your life, but it might save you time.
And maybe you will think that for once, reading this space wasn’t a complete waste of time.
Click here, and Google on.
April 12, 2010
I really enjoyed the final two rounds of the Masters, more than many people I’m sure.
The right guy won – Mickelson played the best and deserved to win.
Woods’ play was often terrible by his standards and yet his name was never off the leaderboard.
Collectively, the shotmaking on Saturday and Sunday was stunning at times. Eagles and birdies and all manner of fist-pumping fun.
It was a great TV event.
Read more here.
- - -
There was a bit of interesting symmetry to the Masters last week.
On the ceremonial opening tee, Arnold Palmer was 80, his partner Jack Nicklaus is 70.
One of the best rounds of the day on Thursday was from Tom Watson, who is 60.
On the Sunday leader board, the sentimental favourite was Fred Couples, who is 50.
And the winner, Mickelson, will shortly turn 40.
- - -
On other channels, the NHL regular season was winding down Sunday and as has become customary, the Leafs have missed the playoffs again.
Nothwithstanding their quick start to the year, the prospects for the Blue Jays don’t seem a whole lot better.
The Argos? Not expected to contend.
The Raptors? Squandered promise and it looks like they will miss the playoffs too.
All of which got up in the grill of Globe national affairs columnist Jeff Simpson on Saturday, who declared what we at Teamoakville have been lamenting since we pitched a tent in this corner of the world.
Toronto is Loserville, population us.
You can read Simpson’s analysis of what he contends is the worst collection of major-market pro sports franchises on this continent by clicking here.
Today, another Globe columnist picks up that thread, noting that while the Leafs continue to prosper and hold on to fans, the Blue Jays have no such devote following and 17 years of mediocrity has taken a toll on the fan base. Read more here.
Jays home opener is tonight, BTW.
- - -
Chris’s hockey team put a spike in their season on Saturday with a traditional hockey outing – paintball. They could not have had better weather and some of the boys capped off the day at the Go-Cart track.
Sunday morning he traded the hockey and paintball garb for lacrosse, and the change of seasons is now complete.
- - -
If there are women in Oakville out shopping for shoes this week I feel bad for you. I strongly suspect there are no shoes left as I’m pretty sure my spouse bought them all on Saturday.
- - -
Sports pools – good news, bad news:
I was the runaway winner of a Masters golf pool I participated in this weekend. Remarkably three of my four picks finished in the top five, and the other made the cut. I waltzed to a 26-stroke margin of victory.
The bad news is that the peewee Ranger AAA hockey pool will not be sending me a cheque. Teamoakville finished a respectable 4th in a field of 236, but sadly out of the money. But all for a great cause.
- - -
Since it’s playoff time – we’ll review the matchups and fate bad predictions later – I’ll end today’s post with a video of now-rare hockey event: the bench-clearing brawl.
This melee happened late last month between the Fayetteville Fireantz and Knoxville Ice Bears of the Southern Professional Hockey League.
The play-by-play guy on this video is very excited by the brawl, as you will hear if you bother to watch and listen.
The video is more than six minutes long but if you go to about the 1:30 mark that’s where the benches clear and the announcer almost pops an artery, sounding a little like Joe Bowen might if Doug Gilmour appeared at the ACC with the Stanley Cup under his arm.
Click below to view, and have a scrappy Monday.
April 9, 2010
And now, a Teamoakville obituary:
Tiger Woods Sex Scandal, 5 months, dies in Georgia
The Tiger Woods sex scandal, only five months old following a traumatic birth in Florida on Thanksgiving Weekend, died Thursday at approximately 7:25p eastern time.
The scandal had a brief but popular span and seemed well positioned for a long, prosperous life. But very recently it suddenly had been in failing health as millions of people remembered they got interested in Woods because of golf, not his sex life.
The end came in a bucolic corner of Augusta, Ga., under rainy skies and a setting sun as Woods tapped in for a routine par to finish his first competitive round in months with a -4, 68, putting him in contention in the golf tournament and more or less killing the Scandal.
The Tiger Woods Sex Scandal is survived by a really creepy Nike ad campaign, the Jesse James/Sandra Bullock scandal, and a litter of smaller, daily scandals from Lindsay Lohan.
Plans for a memorial service were incomplete.
- - -
Is it just me, or is this new campaign from Nike, featuring a rather blank looking Woods listening to his father prattle on – his dead father, no less – kind of creepy?
In fact, to me it is the creepiest piece of creepuloid to creep onto my TV since Michael Jackson figured out that little kids like merry-go-rounds and unicorns. All aboard the creep-out express, making all stops to Creepsville.
Sheesh. Or should I say, Swoosh?
That Earl Woods’ words are taken completely out of context from whenever he said them for whatever purpose, is stupid and manipulative.
That Woods consented to allow his dead father to be used -- to be used -- to help Nike reposition Commodity Tiger so it can sell more golf balls and shirts and clubs and sneakers? Make your own judgment. But it sure makes me want to put one hand over my wallet and then run for a shower.
One media analyst told the Globe and Mail the ad was akin to a really vile economic rescue mission. (Ask yourself who exactly is being rescued.)
The New York Times was equally blunt. Responding to Earl’s rhetorical question, "did you learn anything?", the venerable NYT replies, yes indeed:
“. . . the answer to the father's question appears to be that serial philandering and addiction rehab can be positioned as a commodity—and that you can roll it out in phases leading to the Nike amendment to the 12 steps: a TV commercial."
Read the Times piece here.
If you haven’t seen the ad, you will.
Or, you can click below and jump the bus to Creepsville.
- - -
Another terrific piece of reporting on the erupting scandal around pardons for convicted sex offenders and why you should care if you have children who do anything outside of your home.
In a nutshell, tighter enforcement of privacy rules around who can access criminal records databases is making it tougher—way, way tougher – for volunteer groups to screen candidates for positions of authority with youths and other vulnerable people. Difficult to the point that some groups are giving up because it's pointless.
It is outrageous and it means that vulnerable sector screenings done for minor hockey associations may well be ineffective.
Read more here.
- - -
The Oakville Blades, who were supposed to roll all over Newmarket in the Buckland Cup OHA final, managed to win last night on the road to square that series 2-2.
The Blades were put through the wringer by Kingston before advancing to this final and clearly have their hands full with the younger Hurricanes.
More games on the weekend.
- - -
That’s it for me this week. Got a million things on today and the weekend is no gimme either, what with the Masters on TV, house league lacrosse evaluations, a hockey team wrap party, and probably a bunch of other things.
The weather is supposed to improve so have a great weekend, drive safely on and off the golf course, and hug the kids.
April 8, 2010
You know hockey season is over when you start getting emails from the lacrosse association reminding you of you kid’s evaluation time for house league lax.
And we’re on the floor Sunday, along with hundreds of other kids so I guess the ice is truly out of the rinks now.
We’re looking forward to lacrosse season.
Incidentally, I hear there’s a need for bantam house league coaches. As they say, experience preferred but not essential.. If you know how to swing a gate, that’s a start. If you have any interest in helping out at bantam or any level, drop me an email and I’ll hook you up with the appropriate person.
- - -
I have lamented this point before, so if you don’t want to read about my angst, then move elsewhere.
But the other night I was tripping over assorted and sundry sporting goods scattered around our basement, laundry room and stairway, and I happened upon Pad’s field lacrosse cleats.
They were his third pair of cleats, I think, and for now they are his last. He made the decision months ago to pack in his lacrosse career to focus on hockey completely for a while.
And that was quite a radical change of pace around here. He was never one of the many who ran from the end of Ranger season to three-on-three or summer travel hockey teams. He tossed his skates in the closet, traded the hooked stick for the webbed one and then set about a summer of recreational violence – first on field, then on the hard indoor cement arena floors.
The transition has been easier for him than me.
I miss standing in a rink in early April, listening to the squeak of sneakers in a building still raw with the cold from eight months of ice on its floor.
I miss huddling with the other dads on the sidelines and making jokes about each other’s kid sliding into a puddle of mud.
I’m going to miss the 5a alarm summoning us to a weekend tournament in Guelph or Midland or Whitby. Yes, all lacrosse roads inevitably led to Whitby.
I’m going to miss the juvenile behaviour at the team meals in between games. (And that’s just the dads I’m talking about.)
And I’m going to miss, and will always be appreciative of, the generosity of time and support from some of the best coaches and mentors my kid was lucky enough to have.
I’m going to miss being occasionally awe-struck by feats of raw athleticism from players on a variety of teams – speed, strength, power, dexterity, coordination, vision – that would make me think these kids were capable of world domination.
What I’m left with after several seasons of rep lacrosse, including a year watching him wear the coveted black midget Hawks jersey, is a trunk load of memories and a bunch of people who are friends now but were once strangers.
In the game of life, that’s a decent deal.
The other thing I’m left with is a weird feeling in my stomach every time I see those cleats. It’s hard to explain.
I have occasionally remarked here about the dwindling number of opportunities we get as parents to spend real, genuine time with our kids, sharing an experience that means everything to them.
And those cleats? Well, those cleats are just another sign of the sand pouring through the hourglass on this phase of life – his and ours.
The good news is that another thing I have is a lot – and I mean a lot – of used sports equipment. Like the hockey gear our guys have outgrown that we distribute to friends and neighbours.
And lacrosse kit, too.
And on the weekend a very handsome, very young guy on the cusp of his first season of summer’s greatest game (remember, the boys of summer play baseball, the men of summer play lacrosse) sifted through one of our tickle trunks of gear and left the house smiling, dressed from head to toe as a complete lacrosse player, including a Toronto Rock jersey.
Mercifully, the cleats are way too big for him, so those are still here.
But man, I’m gonna miss the Hawks. Go Hawks Go.
April 7, 2010
Pity the soul this week that doesn’t enjoy golf. And pity them more if they don’t like Tiger Woods.
The world’s most recognizable athlete is going to be front and centre for the next three days, and possibly longer if he can manage to make the cut and play out the weekend at Augusta National.
In our house, for years and years, the Masters has marked the start of “summer.” I put it in quotations because it’s still a long way from the actual season, but nonetheless the Masters and Jim Nantz and Butler Cabin and throngs of patrons mean summer is here.
When I was younger I played a lot of golf. And then I got married and . . . I still played a lot of golf. And then career and children became priorities, and golf waned.
In the old days I played enough golf that I would have qualified as a very bad parent if I did it while raising children. And now my enthusiasm for golf ebbs and flows, generally until I get on the course and realize I can no longer do the things that we once almost as routine as driving a car. And then it ebbs!
But my fascination and respect for those 25 or 30 guys who practice the sport at the pinpoint tip of the elite of the elite, well, that’s still alive and well.
Imagine standing at the bottom of a hill with a ball and club, looking at a flag 550 yards away, talking with someone who has never before seen golf played. Imagine telling them you know people who can put that ball into a four-inch hole at the bottom of that flag, and do it hitting the ball only three or four times?
It’s an impressive thing, and to do it while the whole world is watching during one of the world’s elite championships makes it even more so to me.
After long consideration, we at Teamoakville have decided that the only people Tiger Woods needs to answer to for his behaviour are his wife, his family and himself. We are free to avoid buying the products he endorses if we think he’s flawed beyond being a pitchman and corporate shill.
But before Tiger gets held to a whole new standard, I suspect the reality is that there are many other untold Tiger-like stories on the PGA Tour. And in the NHL. And in the NBA, and NFL and MLB. And in newsrooms and office towers and malls, too, for that matter.
The safe assumption is, in fact, that until proven otherwise, there are a lot of self-absorbed hypocrites in the world and money, prestige, world-class talent and fawning fans only exacerbate that condition.
So, while I won’t hold out Tiger as someone I want my sons to emulate, I won’t exactly ignore him when he’s on the golf course, either. Until someone takes the crown, he is the king of the course, and everyone knows it.
I hope the guy plays well and is on the first page of the leaderboard on Sunday afternoon, simply because it will make for great drama and TV if he is. I’m indifferent to whether he wins – I’m happy to let him and the other guys on the leaderboard shoot it out. If pressed to pick Tiger vs the field, this week I’ll take the field.
The good news is that if he does win, a lot of the tabloid stuff from the last five months will be swept away as the chase for Jack’s record of 18 professional majors is renewed.
But run as hard as he might, Tiger will never catch Jack even if he wins 25 majors (which I do not believe he will do, BTW.)
Jack Nicklaus overcame the hatred of golf fans when he broke onto the scene in the early 1960s and brought down Arnold Palmer, who the fans adored.
But Jack won fans over with his graciousness, his humanity, his respect for the game and those who played it, and of course, his prodigious talent.
Tiger once had a chance to supplant Jack, but that’s all over now.
Tiger may amass more impressive stats and records and majors and do things between the ropes that could – could – go forever unrivalled when read coldly off a piece of paper.
But in as much as golf is a pastime as much as a sport, a state of mind more than an athletic pursuit, and a venue where the word “honour” is actually a part of the game’s vocabulary, the race is over. Jack wins.
This week, Tiger starts the 2nd stage of his career as a pro, and changing the history of the last five months and trying to secure a legacy as a decent human being will likely be as big a priority as winning five more majors.
By comparison, the first 14 were easy.
- - -
April 6, 2010
Unless you live under a rock then you probably heard the news that notorious convicted pedophile Graham James was granted a pardon three years ago for his assaults on Sheldon Kennedy.
That conviction rocked Canadian hockey at every level up to and including the NHL and triggered the implementation of the Speak Out program and more rigourous screening of volunteers in many associations.
Someone – some group? – have some things to answer for on this pardon and that’s not just my opinion. The Hockey Fan in Chief, the prime minister, has taken a personal interest in this matter and I say that’s a good thing.
You can read the original story on the pardon here.
There will be more.
- - -
I nearly wore out the refresh button on my computer over the weekend, trying to follow the OHF Midget AAA championships in Vaughan. The Oakville Rangers finished the round-robin schedule alone in 2nd place but fell to Ottawa in the semi-finals.
The Rangers AAA midget team was a very strong squad and this marks its second consecutive appearance at the OHF tournament – they lost in the finals a year ago.
The team that won the tournament, the Mississauga Reps of the GTHL, was led by one of Pad’s friends and former lacrosse teammates, Patrick Megannety, an Oakville native who finished tied for 2nd in tournament scoring and is, BTW, one of the nicest kids you’d ever have the pleasure to meet.
Good luck to him and his teammates at the Telus Cup national tournament.
- - -
The GTHL will always be a bit a lure for Oakville kids. One of mine made the leap last season and had no regrets or hard feelings. Megannety left years ago, as did many other talented 1993s, including Stuart Percy (now of the Mississauga Majors of the OHL) and Ben Fanelli (of the OHL Kitchener Rangers.)
Over the years I have been party to, or overheard many, many conversations speculating how strong the Rangers might be at one AAA level or another if some of those kids could be persuaded to stay and play “hometown hockey.”
And it all came back to me on the Easter Weekend when I was told that no fewer than eight (!) players from the novice AAA Rangers are hitting the road for the GTHL next season.
I was told three members of the team will be playing for the Marlies next year, two more have committed to the Mississauga Reps, two to the Toronto Junior Canadiens and one to the Mississauga Rebels.
That’s almost half of the 17 AAA players from the 2001 cohort gone all at once from a team that was on the cusp of a championship.
Kids and families look for different hockey options for a bunch of different reasons – far too many to get into here. But losing eight AAA players from one team seems an unusually high number.
Having said that, they’re just little boys playing hockey and to that end I’ll just say good luck, have fun, and skate hard.
- - -
Chris and I took advantage of the good weather to get the bikes out on the weekend and after a couple of minor tune ups we hit the road – or more accurately, the trails.
I think after three days and several hours in the saddle we explored most of what’s available in the Sixteen Mile Creek ravine north of Upper Middle and south of Dundas, and we had a pretty good time doing it. We saw snakes and fish and herons and lots of other cyclists and hikers, and we resolved that by the end of the summer we’ll be able to stay on the bikes all the way up some of the fairly steep hills that take you back to civilization.
We also did some of the trails around Glen Abbey, but they’re not nearly as scenic or interesting as the Sixteen Mile Creek rides.
Which brings us to this question – where else should we be looking? We’re thinking we should venture further west to Bronte Park and see what’s on offer there.
But do any of you know of other good bike trails nearby? Suggestions are welcome. We don’t mind steep and/or rugged terrain. But we don’t like vehicle traffic is we can avoid it.
Let me know.
April 1, 2010
Happy April Fool’s Day. Be careful.
Update: Here's what greeted readers of the Cape Breton Post this morning. Hmmm.
I was going to try to come up with some elaborate prank but I’ve got nothing.
So instead I’ll point you to this summary of all the various Google pranks over the years – for some reason the tech and search megacorp revels in messing with people’s heads. And they do a decent job, straddling the line between complete absurd and “maybe, could it be . . .”
Click here.
In Britain, the tabloids traditionally go big on April 1 and this year is no exception.
The Bard was half French? Ferrets to deliver the Internet? Jet-pack equipped auto-club staff?
All that and more.
Read it here.
- - -
The Oakville Blades beat Kingston 3-2 in overtime (again) to take the OPJHL final four games to three last night in what may go down as the greatest final the O has ever had.
Every game was decided by a single goal. Four games went to OT and one of them to double OT.
The Blades now play CCHL champ Newmarket for the right to advance to the Ontario junior championship tournament and a shot at a place in the RBC Cup tournament.
The CCHL split off from the OP at the start of this year and that league limits the number of 20 year olds per team to five, whereas the OP teams play under the Hockey Canada guideline, which allows for up to nine juniors, I believe.
For that reason, a lot of folks give the Blades a huge edge heading into this next series.
We’ll see.
- - -
Meanwhile the Oakville Rangers midget AAA team is competing this week at the OHF tournament in Vaughan.
The Rangers are 1-1-2 and right in the thick of contention for a playoff spot. The Mississauga Reps are 4-0-0 and leading the way.
The two Ranger ties were both dramatic affairs, with the team coming back from two-goal deficits in the third against London and the host team to salvage important points.
A victory today against the winless Ottawa Sens would do them a lot of good.
Good luck to the team.
- - -
On the home front, Mad Men Season 3 is now out on DVD. Which is to say we’ve stopped communicating and now focus entirely on the life of Don Draper and the world of New York City advertising in 1963. I still marvel at how they got anything done.
Since there are only 13 episodes I figure we’ll be done watching it by about 1a Friday morning, if we really put our minds to it.
- - -
Boy
cousin Mac from the University of Western Ontario is coming to eat
visit this weekend. Chris is already salivating at the prospect of an
NHL10 tournament and woodshedding his older relative.
Patrick wants to know what we’re eating, and when.
- - -
Friday is a holiday, and it is the start of a long weekend. Hockey that matters is still being played around the various rinks (not the least of which is the Erindale IP Festival!) and will soon be replaced by lacrosse that matters as tryouts take place.
For us, it’s a bit of a quieter weekend than we have had in some time, and maybe we’ll get to enjoy the balmy weather that’s coming.
Sorry I’m not wittier or more interesting but I’m busy and I’m a Leaf fan, so there’s little to smile about at this moment.
Enjoy your weekend and your families. Drive carefully. Hug the kids.
March 30, 2010
The Globe and Mail is, in my estimation, as good a newspaper as you are likely to find anywhere. Like everyone in the news biz it has its challenges, but I admire its commitment to chasing down important stories, explaining why they’re important, and doing so when economically there are easier things to do.
Globe readers are generally a savvy bunch too, and they read the Globe because it’s relevant to their working and personal lives.
And in that context I find it oddly amusing that the most popular story on the Globe’s website today is one about a dispute between the Queen’s Canadian “handlers” and organizers of the annual Nova Scotia Tattoo, an entertainment spectacle leveraged off military and historic themes that abound in Halifax.
With the Moscow bombings and the jump in mortgage rates and Hillary in Ottawa, you might think Globe readers would be riveted by bigger things. You’d be wrong.
Read more here.
- - -
I have at least one friend in an Eagle jersey in this picture of the Tyke Red Eagles, MOHA champs.
I’ve seen these kids play and they were full value for the season.
Congratulations to the players and coaches on a great season.
PS – I love the banner over the bench behind them. Those touches – typically done by a committee of moms and other parents – add so much to the atmosphere in Awards Week and it means a lot to the kids.
Well done.
- - -
Leaf GM Brian Burke, who endured professional challenges and horrific personal loss this season, is just back from Afghanistan. He visited with soldiers, coached a ball hockey team of former NHLers in a show for the troops, and got up each day at 6a to go to the Tim Hortons on the base to talk to the men and women.
Healing takes all kinds of different forms.
Plus, the Leafs won five times while he was away, proving as he pointed out that they don’t need him around to win.
Read more here.
- - -
We have a saying in our business (actually, we have a lot of sayings. But that’s another story.)
This particular one is: Everyone needs an editor.
Regardless of whether you’re the most brilliant reporter, or the most gifted writer, there’s nothing you or me or anyone else can write that a good editor can’t make better.
And this old saying has the added benefit of being true.
My wife is a brilliant editor. In much the same way a skilled mechanic can tune an engine on a car, she can take a piece of written copy and do things with it that lift it to another level. I have several friends who are in the same category.
What’s interesting is that sometimes brilliant editors can be found in the unlikeliest places.
Like, for example, the Oval Office.
Barack Obama is no stranger to the red pen and woe be the speech writer who isn’t familiar with that fact.
I’m going to give you a link to a photo that shows a page of a speech marked up by the president. It is remarkable, I think, for two things. First, the level of detail that the president gets into while editing the copy. Trust me, you don’t often see this sort of thing outside of a first-year journalism class and a professor trying to impress young people on how smart and worldly he/she is.
Second, his edits almost without except make the speech better and transform the words into his prose. Knowing how to do that is a political gift and a fairly significant life skill.
Many of you don’t care about words and writing. I do and that’s why I’m pointing you to this.
One simple example of a short sentence that’s easily seen in the photo.
The original: “This has always been our history.”
Obama’s version: “This has always been the history of our progress.”
Sounds more presidential to me.
Click here to see the photo. (At the top of the screen, click on ORIGINAL to see the large version with the edits clearly visible.)
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