Dec 29
I promised last night to be wildly entertaining. I think I bit off more than I can chew there. But I enjoyed the Corona.
Niagara Falls is just . . . I dunno. How can a place endowed with so much natural beauty also be drenched in junk culture? On the other hand, the kids love it. We had dinner yesterday at Planet Hollywood which the kids enjoyed, only because they didn't have to pay the outrageous prices for mediocre food and poor service. We parents did.
Here's the thing. If four groups of four people each walk into a restaurant at the same time, all will get their orders within three minutes of each other and be in and out of the place in an hour. But, if 16 people walk in as a group it will take three times as long for anything to happen. It's as if kitchens work backwards when sports teams are involved. Or maybe they think the parents will drink more as the kids get rowdier. Or maybe they just don't know what the hell they're doing. And two orders will get lost (mine and Pad's). And the staff will automatically add 15 per cent to the bill regardless of how bad the service was. Yes, I HAD to pay a 15 per cent bonus for the privilege of having the staff lose our orders. And that's how you send a customer home happy. I plan to harass the corporate HQ of Planet Hollywood via email until what's left of their company collapses, or, they get a restraining order.
Anyway, stay far, far away from Planet Hollywood. The staff were friendly. The food was iffy. The service was poor. The people I ate with were nice though.
Afterwards most of the team wandered up Clifton Hill to enjoy the neon, which is quite neonish this time of year. Pad and I went the other way and walked along the rim of the gorge, looking at the falls. With our backs turned to Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls was spectacularly beautiful. A cold rain was falling and it was dark and if we had wanted to talk we'd have had to yell over the roar of the churning water. But neither of us wanted to talk. We just looked out at the undeniable spectacle. That's the thing about natural wonders. They're naturally wonderful. They don't need casinos and Ripley's and neon and soundtracks. I'm glad Pad wanted see the falls and not the world's largest spleen or something.
The hockey was great, especially the Buffalo game. The team was pretty listless against Hamilton. The "A" level is a big step above AE. Everything happens faster, players hit harder, and everyone makes decisions more quickly which means the play moves faster. A very big thank you to the "A" Rangers for extending the opportunity to Pad. He learned things and had fun.
Today was spent mostly doing nothing, which I'm apparently good at. Pad's team had floor hockey, Chris had a buddy over. She's reading and I'm doing a little work and writing this. I'm scheduling in a nap for later.
Dec 28
We lost to Buffalo 4-3 in one of the best hockey games of any level I've seen in a long time. More on that tomorrow. The loss to Buffalo made the evening game with Hamilton a meaningless affair and we both were already eliminated (although Hamilton had yet to win a game.)
We sleep walked to a 2-0 win. I sleep in tomorrow. But tomorrow I promise wildly entertaining blog entries on Niagara Falls, Planet Hollywood and other stuff. Right now, I'm just tired.
Oh, Pad played fine. There were no standing ovations or anything, but he did great. More tomorrow. For now, Corona!
Dec. 27
Home again. The Peewee A Rangers beat Niagara on the Lake 4-1, and then beat Amherst, NY, 4-2. Pad had a great day and everyone made him and us feel welcome.
Tomorrow, we play Buffalo and then Hamilton. Win both and we go to the final on Thursday.
The A team plays faster, hits harder, and passes way, way more. But I'd also say the dads are just as good-naturedly sarcastic. The moms all gasp the same at the big hits. And the refereeing was appalling. If I lived in Amherst, NY, I'd be asking for Judge Gomery to bring his circus to town to investigate the refs, who were consistently inconsistent, and they got the short end tonight.
We'll take it.
And, the Leafs won. More on that later.
Dec. 27
Off to Niagara on the Lake this afternoon for games at 4p and 8p, so won't be home will late. Check in later for all the scores and highlights!
Dec 25, 2005
Merry Christmas. The boys slept until 7:50a so that was nice and then it was the usual pandemonium of presents and phone calls to and from Nova Scotia. Things are quiet right now -- Laura is snoozing, the boys are playing, and I'm manically looking at the cool big screen TVs at www.futureshop.com .
We were looking forward to a quiet, hockey-free week. Until mid afternoon on Christmas Eve, that is, when Pad got a call from the Rangers A team looking for a defenceman for a tournament Dec. 27-29 in Niagara-on-the-Lake. So, we're off to NOTL on Dec. 27. He's very excited about getting to play with the A team. We know a lot of the guys and their families from lacrosse so I'm sure it will be fun. Laura's very excited that I won't be in middle of a Boxing Day sale at Future Shop.
Dec 24, 2005
I'm such a dork. We had a small skating party yesterday for family and a few friends. Everyone had a good time. I would have enjoyed it more if I had remembered to bring my skates. Can you imagine forgetting to bring your skates to a skating party? I'm making arrangements to be tested for Mad Cow Disease.
Merry Christmas everyone. I hope it's fun and safe for all. The Leafs even managed to win one last night.
Dec 23, 2005
First, the Leafs. Brutal game last night. It's as if the Leafs' copy of the new NHL rule book is written in urdu or some lost and ancient language and the rules are thusly a complete mystery to them. Actually, if it was in urdu then at least there'd be lots of good people in Toronto who could translate for Bryan McCabe. Does anyone know what the urdu word for "can opener" is?
Second, more on the Olympic hockey team. Forget about Todd Bertuzzi. I don't think he's played well enough to make it, but on to other things. Pretend for a minute you get to pick the team. Who would you rather have on your team: Shane Doan, Kris Draper and Simon Gagne (who has cooled off big time since the first six weeks of the season) OR Eric Staal and Jason Spezza and maybe even Sidney Crosby.
See, I knew you'd say that. Go buy an expensive suit and become an NHL general manager. You're ready.
Dec 22. 2005
I've yet to talk to anyone -- anyone -- who says without any reservation at all that Todd Bertuzzi is a no brainer for the Canadian Olympic hockey team. And it has nothing to do with the ugly incident. He hasn't played himself onto the team.
Jason Spezza and Eric Staal as alternates? I know Canada is deep at the centre and these two are regarded as pure centres, not suited to power forward duty. But come on. You have enough depth to keep the fourth and sixth leading scorers in the world's best league off your starting team? No way.
Oh yeah -- disclaimer. I'm not Wayne Gretzky and I'm willing to concede the point that he has earned the right for us all to acknowledge that he knows what he's doing.
But I'm also not thrilled about the goalies. So there.
You can see all the Olympic rosters so far at www.nhl.com . Sweden looks very good.
Dec 22, 2005
Somehow the Rangers managed to win in Elmira last night even without the sax player, so there will be no pre-Christmas listing on eBay for the favoured instrument. Rangers 11 Woolwich 0.
Dec 21, 2005
Today
is Dec. 21 which in addition to being the first day of winter is also
when Christmas season -- for me -- gets serious. I've been busier than
normal at work this fall and the Christmas spirit has been slower to
infect me. Until last night. Both of our household's hockey players had
school Christmas concerts and they were a lot of fun.
Chris sang in the chorus and Patrick was part of a 10-member jazz ensemble that entertained parents while sets were struck etc in between portions of the show.
Tonight, Patrick's concert band and jazz band both play. And, I hope you're sitting down, he's going to miss a hockey game for it. He loves hockey and music and hates to have to choose. Tonight his team (first place - scroll to the bottom for Russell Peewee standings) is playing Woolwich (last place) so the coach graciously gave him a pass.
If the Rangers lose, we're selling the sax.
Dec. 21, 2005
I just wanted to say what an ugly debacle the Leafs' win over the Islanders was on Monday. The Leafs are in real danger of missing the playoffs, a victory over the Islanders by a field goal not withstanding. The Leafs play six games in the next nine days, and then again on Jan. 2. All the games are against eastern conference teams. On Jan 3, we'll have a good idea whether the Leafs have the stuff to make the playoffs.
Still with the Leafs, I laughed out loud in the car this morning en route to the train. AM 640 -- which carries all the Leaf games -- is doing something pretty funny on Christmas Day. They're rebroadcasting the entire 2001 eastern conference semi-finals in which the Leafs swept the Sens 4-0. (Patrick and I were at game four and it remains one of the most fun experiences I've had at a rink.) Given that the Sens have outscored the Leafs 16-2 in their last two meetings this year, I guess Leaf fans will enjoy the memories. Because it's hard to imagine the blue and white sweeping the floor right now, let alone the Sens.
Dec 18, 2005
Silver Stick Update:
The Peewee AE Rangers lost 4-2 to the Caledon major peewee AE squad today. So that's the end of that, but it was a good experience overall, I'm told. I asked Pad how he felt about it. "Well, I'm disappointed but we went there to learn and improve."
A personal highlight: I spent 40 minutes cleaning up the kitchen before Pad and herself returned from Chatham (just before Chris and I ran out the door for Mississauga.) The kitchen, she said upon my return home, was a disaster area. I'm crushed. Really.
Meanwhile . . .
My MOHA house league minor atom white team, the Wings, played a minor atom white team from Mississauga today. We're in first in a 10-team league, they're in second-last in a seven-team league. They beat us 8-0. Beat us like a rug. Beat us like a red-headed orphan. Beat like the Sens beat the Leafs. Scoreless after one, but we were just hanging on. They scored five in the second and that was the game. The score flattered us frankly. It could have been worse.
The MHL has a ton of kids and they have four levels -- red, white, blue and green. MOHA has two -- red and white. So what that means is the very weakest kids in Mississauga get sifted down four levels. In Oakville, they go to white. The result is that the four or five weakest kids on my team were challenged a lot more than the four or five weakest on the Cooksville team. But the Cooksville team was stronger at the top of the lineup too. And their goalie -- who I think could have slept on the top of his net the whole game and still won -- was massive. Huge. Did I mention I saw King Kong yesterday?
Having said all that, I told my team parents after the game I wish we could play Cooksville every week. My guys would learn more if they were pushed more. The parents looked at me like I had too much eggnog. Anyway, it was fun. The coaches, referees and parents from Cooksville treated us royally. They had a girl come around between periods and offer the coaches chocolates, which is something Pat Quinn doesn't get I bet. And the kids all got candy after the game.
That's it for the Wings till 2006. Merry Christmas to all of them!
Dec 17, 2005
OK, so we decided on King Kong. While there's no hockey in the movie, I did take two hockey players with me. The movie is spectacular. Kind of an Indiana Jones Goes to the Zoo with Really Big Animals (and Bugs). If you don't like bugs to begin with, you might want to consider another movie.
And if you're betting -- don't take any action on the ape. It ends very, very badly for the monkey. All of us who are hooked up with blondes should take note.
Dec 17, 2005
The Wings won today in a squeaker over the Vikings, 2-1. Our whole season is a squeaker but we enter the Christmas break in first place. Not sure how that happened. Anyway, the league is extraordinarily well balanced. "Upsets" are becoming common. Like the Wolfpack beating the Flyers today 5-1, and the Eagles losing a tight one to the Wranglers, 3-2. I don't think they're really upsets. I think anyone can win. The Vikings could have beaten us today just as easily as we won, but them's the breaks. When the playoffs start, all 10 teams will have a shot at it.. As it should be. But I may need a doctor on the bench to get me through the season of one-goal games.
Silver Stick Update:
Meanwhile, Pad's Ranger team beat Essex today 3-0 at the Silver Stick qualifying tournament in Chatham. So tomorrow they play Caledon and the winner goes to the final. They are playing the Caledon "major" peewee team. Pad's team has half a dozen minor peewees on it, so they will be in tough. Caledon is in first in their league, as are the Rangers.
- - -
Dec 16, 2005
Laura and Pad are off in Chatham with the Peewee AE Rangers in a Silver Stick qualifying tournament. The Rangers beat Sarnia 4-1 today, so -- so far, so good. If anyone knows what Silver Stick is, and can explain it in two sentences, please email me.
In the meantime, Chris and I are baching it. Eating pizza over the sink. Leaving the toilet seat up. General reckless abandon. I should go shopping and I sort of did. I picked Chris up at school and we went to Future Shop and bought Polar Express on DVD. Then we went home, picked up a pizza later, watched the movie. Big argument now -- movie day tomorrow after his 11a game -- Harry Potter? King Kong? Chicken Little? Apparently the movie title has to have two words. So the Chronicle of Narnia (and that's the CONDENSED title) didn't make the cut.
Go Rangers Go. Essex tomorrow.
- - -
Dec. 16, 2005
Went to Oakville Place today to see Pad's school jazz band. It's bad enough that these kids are better athletes than me and my generation was. But they play music too.
Seriously, the thing that touched me most was the way they cheered for each other. There were two bands -- the jazz band went first, then the concert band. The kids in the concert band cheered like crazy for the jazz band. I found that really cool. When I was in school, we'd push each other down the stairs. And then we'd cheer.
The teachers deserve some credit for this. It was a chest-puffing moment.
- - -
Dec. 14, 2005 -- A Word About Minor Atom White
I’ve coached a long time. I’ve never been in a division as well balanced as MOHA’s Minor Atom White. There’s the sense that on any given Saturday anyone can win, whether you’re in first or 6th or 10th. As a coach, I’d like to think that’s a credit to the coaches (as if!). As a parent, I know it has more to do with the work put in by people like Reggie Nasu and Barb MacRea. Reggie Nasu spends more time at the rink than the five leading Zamboni drivers in Oakville combined.
- - -
Dec. 14, 2005 -- A Word About Rep Hockey
Often as I stand around rinks waiting for my kids’ game-practice whatever, I see some of Oakville’s rep teams in action – playing or practicing. I recently saw the Bantam AA Rangers practice. It was a jaw-dropping moment for me. These kids are very, very good. Remember how good you thought you were in Bantam? These kids are way, way better than that. If you don’t have a kid in rep, do yourself and your son/daughter a favour sometime soon and go to a Rangers game. Any Rangers game. First of all, it’s free. Second of all, you will be amazed at how good these teams are, as are the teams they compete against. It’s very entertaining. Call the hockey office and find out where you can get a schedule. I couldn’t find a link on the MOHA site, but if someone sends me one (or more than one if teams have their own links), I’ll be happy to post it/them. These kids, and the adults who coach/manage the teams, deserve some support.
- - -
Dec. 14, 2005 -- Minor Hockey and the Election
In case you haven't noticed, and five bonus points if you haven't, there's going to be a federal election on Jan. 23, 2006. Most people are so busy shopping/drinking/arguing (in that order) they haven't noticed. I did notice the Tories have pledged a $500 tax credit per child under 16 to help offset registration fees in minor sports, including hockey. You can read more about it here: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051212/elxn_tories_sports_051212/20051212?s_name=election2006&no_ads=
Harper calls it modest. It is. The impact of the tax credit will be inversely proportionate to your income tax bracket. The more you make, the more likely you are to get a couple of large double-doubles courtesy of a Tory government. Is it going to make people who are not already signing their kids up for sports do so? No. Is it going to help a middle class family with three kids playing hockey? I bet it will. Will the election turn on it? Um, no. Anyway, it's something I guess. A recent water cooler poll at my office broke down this way:
76% -- Get back to work
10% -- It's something, I guess
8% -- There's an election?
6% -- You're blocking access to the water cooler
You don't want to know about the margin of error.
- - -
Dec. 14, 2005 -- MOHA Food and Toy Drive
My premiere posting, (insert drumroll) is that this weekend the fine people of the Minor Oaks Hockey Association and the Minor Oaks Hockey Moms are holding their annual food and toy drive. As my team’s mom wrote in an email today to the parents of the minor atom white Wings, this is a worthy project. Not everyone in Oakville is an investment banker, it just feels like it some days. Her note:
Hi everyone.
The MOHA is once again holding its annual food and toy drive. This Saturday, Dec. 17 is the day to bring unwrapped toys and non-perishable food items to the rink. Large boxes will be set up in the hallway outside the dressing rooms that morning in which to deposit your donations. Please consider gifts for older children and teenagers as there is always a need for that age group. Your kindness and generosity are greatly appreciated.
At the end of the day on Saturday, the boxes of donated goods will be taken to the MOHA office on Speers Road. A little closer to Christmas, Oakville firefighters will pick up the items from the hockey office and distribute them to organizations that need our support. If you are able to help with transporting the large boxes to the MOHA office on Saturday afternoon, please let me know.
Let's all try to help out with this very worthy cause!
Thanks to MOHA, and thanks to the MOMs, for taking on this great project. Dig deep, help out. Bring something more to the rink than skates and a stick.
- - -
Dec. 14, 2005 -- A Blog is Born
If you have a computer (and if you’re reading this, I’m assuming you do or at least have access to one) then you know what a blog is. This is going to be sort of like a blog, but in all likelihood much less interesting. It will be updated sporadically. I'll alternately whine and brag about my hockey team.
My name is Gerry Arnold. I have two sons playing hockey in Oakville – I coach a team, too, and have every year season since 1996-97 when I started with the Canturbury Hockey Association in east Ottawa. (We lived in west Ottawa, but only Canturbury would take Patrick because he was young. The day he hit the ice for the first time was the day before his fourth birthday.)
I digress. I spend a lot of time in rinks. Less than some, but more than most. Sometimes I need an outlet to talk about what I see and hear. This will be that outlet. Most of what I write about will be about the good things in and around hockey in our community. Occasionally I’ll talk about the bad stuff. And sometimes I'm going to write about things that have nothing to do with hockey or sports. I don’t really care if anyone reads it, or, if anyone agrees. I just like to write.
So, on with the show.