Jan 31, 2006

 

The last day of the month. It hardly feels like we just zipped through January -- the weather was crazy, Canada won a world junior hockey title, and the Leafs were great and then miserable, and the Christmas lights are still on the house (but not turned on). When February starts I'll get back to the silly and trite of my life and minor sports.

 

Today, I'm going to sign off on January with this note from Wayne Moorehead, the VP of House League at MOHA, that was sent around to conveners and coaches last night. Wayne knew Gary White well. It says better than me what a lot of people are thinking.

 

 

 

Jan 30, 2006

 

Gary White died Sunday after a courageous battle with cancer. Our thoughts and prayers today, and for a long time to come, will be with his wife Jeanette and young children Sydney and Christopher.

 

To the hundreds of people who bought wristbands, and the many MOHA teams who generously gave of their time and money, and those who volunteered to help with this drive, thanks. Those who have not contributed but would like to may visit any branch of the Toronto Dominion Bank and make a donation to branch #1020, account #6463395.

 

The money will be held in trust for Gary's kids to help pay for summer camps, recreation programs, education, etc. If you need more information, email me and I can have someone get in touch with you.

 

Jan 30, 2006

 

Pop quiz today: who is the most dominant athlete in the world today is his/her sport? Tiger Woods? Maybe, but I don't think so, even if he was handed his 47th career win on Sunday.

 

Nope, I'd argue that it's not even close, and the most dominant athlete today is Roger Federer, a Swiss tennis sensation who may be the best to ever play that game. Only 24, he won his 7th career Grand Slam title on Sunday and is on track to match or beat the record set by Peter Sampras.

 

Tiger Woods could not walk down Yonge Street without causing a riot. Most people on this side of the ocean couldn't pick Roger Federer out of a lineup and he would need to provide ID to cash a cheque in North America. It's a funny world.

 

Jan 29, 2006

 

A Sunday, and a rare hockey-free day. The cold wet weather has effectively dampened down all forms of ambition in our household but everyone was glad to have a sleep-in day to recharge a bit for the week ahead, especially Pad.

 

He made the basketball team at Abbey Lane. Congratulations. You have practice Monday morning at 7:30a and your sneakers don't fit. Then he has hockey practice Monday night, band practice Wednesday morning, hockey practice Wednesday night, band practice Thursday morning, dryland training Thursday night, band practice Friday morning, and a big hockey game Friday night. Oh, he attends classes in between sports and music.

 

We went to buy sneakers today for basketball and a separate pair of runners for training. He's 12 and he more shoes than Imelda Marcos had at the peak of her rein. Except I'm pretty sure she didn't wear size 12. And the scary thing is, we were looking at 13 too. Sheesh

 

Jan 29, 2006

 

Montreal 4 Toronto 3 (OT)

The horror. The horror.

 

 

Jan 29, 2006

 

The AE Rangers beat Flamborough 4-0 last night. It was a very efficient victory. (There will be some pics on the photo page later today.) Matt Reagan was again very solid in goal, Les freres McLaughlin both had strong nights, Jake Cussen was tenacious in his penalty killing and the defence gave Flamborough very little opportunity to get clean shots. Ryan MacAdam also skated his guts out and scored twice.

 

Sam See was the recipient of an ugly hit to the neck and head -- the kid who did it got a minor, which makes no sense. Anyway, Sam knew he was going to get hit hard and he stayed in there and made the play anyway. I hope he's feeling better today than he was last night. (UPDATE: A blow to the read under OMHA rules is supposed to be two plus ten, or, five plus 10, at the ref's discretion. I've not seen a single penalty this year for a blow to the head. It wouldn't take too many of these types of calls to make it stop. It happens way to much at the rep level.)

 

And Grant MacIntosh had a penalty shot. I haven't seen one of those yet this year. He didn't score, but Grant had a  pretty good night anyway.

 

Next up for the Rangers is Georgetown on Friday. Georgetown lost 2-1 to Caledon (Rangers beat Caledon 3-1), and Georgetown beat Flamborough 5-0. So, it will be a tough game. It's worth a reminder to everyone that the AE Rangers are playing ABOVE their division in these OMHA playdowns. And they're doing pretty well. It's more entertaining to watch, and more competitive for the kids. They're adjusting fine.

 

Jan 28, 2006

 

Well, the Wings won today, which was a pretty cool trick given that the Sharks pretty much chased us out of the building for the first two periods. Actually, to be chased, my players would have had to move. And what they did for most of the first two periods was stand and watch. Admittedly, the Sharks were worth watching -- they played in a tournament last weekend and as I expected, the experience really had them flying. But generally we prefer our team to compete and the Sharks took no mercy on our failure to keep up.

 

We were down 2-0 well into the second period. Brendan Dickie scored with less than a minute to go in the second and that spark, combined with an array of "motivational phrases" from the coaching staff as we reviewed the team's effort to that point in the game, got the team pumped up.

 

Scottie Cece tied the game early in the third and then Brendan Dickie scored again, and then he scored again. A hat trick for Brendan, who is a relentlessly hard worker, and we held on to win 4-2. Brendan was our player of the game.

 

The Sharks played great -- they did an impressive job getting the puck deep and working it to the front of our net and they had a ton of scoring chances that just missed clicking. They were also strong at keeping the puck in our end. They will compete hard in the playoffs, which start in three weeks.

 

Did someone say lacrosse?

 

The Sharks also feature Mitchell Anderson, who I've been lucky enough to coach in lacrosse, which made me think of lacrosse, and the need to remind you that today is the first day for registration for the Oakville Minor Lacrosse Association at Glen Abbey Recreational Centre. Click here for details. There will be waiting lists -- lacrosse is growing very fast in popularity. Register early!

 

Jan 27, 2006

 

The AE Rangers play Flamborough tomorrow night at Twin Rinks. Both teams are 1-1-0 in the OMHA playdowns. We lost to Orangeville and beat Caledon. They beat Milton and lost to Georgetown. This is a game the Rangers need to win, and should win. You can see the playdown results thus far at a very poorly laid out grid here.

 

BTW, the A Rangers who blew the three-goal lead in the late minutes against Dundas last Saturday night redeemed themselves by beating Dundas this week 6-4. It was a must win game for the guys and hats off to them, they won when it mattered to keep their season alive. I wasn't there but they deserve a ton of credit for beating a top team in their own rink. Sweet.

 

My house league minor atom Wings play at 8a Saturday against the Sharks. If you look at the standings, we should win. But as I will say here again, on any given day, any team in that league can win and I fully expect we'll have our hands full.

 

Full, like the people at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment have their hands full. They finally took a step toward fixing the Raptors, but honestly, does anyone care about the Raptors? The Leafs are in freefall and nothing much seems to be happening with the Rip Van Winkle set at Bay and Lakeshore.

 

Blow the team up. Start over.

 

 

Jan 25, 2006

 

I had reported earlier that the hockey moms had gassed their plans for a dance this year. Apparently, they've changed their minds (moms are allowed to do that.) More details later. But the opportunity to observe large men moving awkwardly while music plays appears to be resurrected.

 

Jan 25, 2006

 

MEMO

FROM: Hockey Blog Standards and Practices

TO: Gerry Arnold

Re: Poetry on a hockey blog

 

No more poetry.

 

--30--

 

Jan 25, 2006

 

I'm able to monitor traffic on the blog and teamoakville.com in a number of ways. Nothing too specific or Big Brother like, but I can tell when traffic's up or down, etc etc.

Anyway, there's a small country called Seychelles -- it's actually an archipelago, a bunch of islands. In the Indian Ocean. Someone there is reading this site.

And so is someone in Norway. I mean, how bored would you have to be?

Anyway, as a service to my loyal Norwegian reader, I offer Go Rangers Go in his/her native tongue:

Drar Rangers Drar!!

The official languages of Seychelles are Creole, English and French. So I figure that guy can keep up without my help.

 

 

Jan 24, 2006

 

Anyone -- I mean ANYONE -- who has ever coached kids knows that if you coach the same kid or kids for too long, sooner or later they stop listening. There may be rare exceptions, but they are rare indeed. Once they stop listening, it's lights out.

In that spirit, some fearless predictions for the Leafs.

1. Pat Quinn will be gone, and soon. The team just isn't buying whatever it is he's selling.

2. The Leafs will trade Mats Sundin before the season ends. They traded Gilmour. They traded Clark. They traded Sittler. They were all captains too. I love the guy, but this team needs to be blown up and started over. Biggest impediment to a deal is his contract, but he's a terrific player and someone will want him for a serious playoff run, which won't be happening here.

3. Ed Belfour won't be back.

 

This team doesn't work.  Blow it up.

 

Jan 24, 2006

 

Gary White Update. I told you about Gary several day ago.

The white wristband drive is taking Oakville minor hockey by storm. The support has been amazing. Some people have asked if they can do more. The answer is, yes, you can. The following email was circulated by Gary's colleagues at Toronto-Dominion. I post it here FYI.

By now you are aware of the unfortunate turn of events in the lives of our friends and colleagues Gary, and Jeanette White. Despite a noble battle with cancer, Gary will not have the opportunity to see his children go to hockey tournaments, soccer, swimming, summer camps or university.

After a recent opportunity to spend time with Gary I found myself asking "what can I do to help" and I am sure many of you have the same thoughts. By focusing our intentions down a single path, it is hoped we can help in a significant way.

A trust fund in the name of Gary's children, Sydney and Christopher, has been set up. I am hoping that we can make deposits to the trust as our way of addressing "what can I do to help". I think the trust fund will let Gary know we are all here for him and that we also support his wish to focus on his family and his thoughts for their future. Hopefully, one less thing occupies his concerns over the weeks to come.

The mandate of the trust fund will be to address the costs for summer camps for the children and their sports activities over the years to come or to help with the children's education costs. I know Gary takes both of those very seriously and I am sure he will be touched to learn we have supported his view of those. I spoke with Jeanette last Friday to let her know of this activity. She agrees that this will be a wonderful way to honour Gary's memory.

Donations to the trust fund are just deposits and as such the depositor remains anonymous. I ask those who want to let Gary know they have him and the family in their hearts and have made a donation to please email my home address ( grantv@ca.inter.net ) with the subject "Wishes for Gary". I will copy all the notes and put together a booklet for Gary and the family.

Those wishing to contribute can do so at any TD Bank location, asking to deposit to branch #1020, account #6463395.

Please forward this note to anyone who may have an interest and I thank you in advance.

 

Jan 24, 2006

 

That rumble you felt last night was the big right winger from Calgary scoring on the power play. I have voted almost every which way in my life; I'm not terribly doctrinaire. But I did enjoy seeing a guy closer to my age than my dad's age standing with his young family in Calgary ready to mark a generational change in Canadian politics. But he will have enormous challenges both in doing his job and in keeping it. It will be interesting times.

 

The rest of this post is real inside-baseball media stuff. Read at your own risk.

 

I got home after 2 a.m. last night. My job was supervising a team of "callers." All those election results don't interpret themselves, so we had two large groups of journalists and smart people (not that these are mutually exclusive) monitoring groups of ridings and, at the appropriate moment, declaring someone elected (and as a consequence, others defeated.)

 

There's a complex group called the Elections Consortium that represents all the TV networks and newspapers and radio stations in the gathering of election results for the media. It's a lot cheaper to have one group do it than have everyone put a representative in every returning office in Canada, which is the way it used to be done. CP -- who I work for -- manages the consortium.

 

All the members of the consortium -- CBC, Global, CTV, etc. -- get the same raw data feed and from there it's up to them how they interpret it. Everyone has their own combination of technology and people to interpret the results. As you probably know, it's a very big deal among the networks to be first to declare a government of some kind elected. The US election debacle of 2000 (GORE WINS! BUSH WINS! FLORIDA DECIDES! SUPREME COURT SAYS BUSH STILL WINS!) kind of tempered that somewhat as people started figuring it was better to be really, really right. But it's still very competitive.

 

For CP, a lot of news outlets -- newspapers, radio, TV, online, wireless -- rely on us to tell them who wins and who loses. So we use a secret recipe of Pentium-powered computers, human experience and intuition, proprietary software, Starbucks coffee, Timbits, Diet Pepsi, Red Bull and extraordinarily creative profanity to see us through the "calling" phase.

 

It's a pressure-packed few hours that's taken very seriously and it's tons of fun. If you call someone "elected" too soon and the results shift, you have to issue a "kill" and that's bad. It happens -- sometimes it's bad data, sometimes a series of poll results vary wildly from historic and/or real time trends. Sometimes there's human error. Too many KILLS hurts our credibility. I think there was one one last night, and one or two are inevitable in a federal election. We did well.

 

Unlike the thoughtful chin scratching and whatnot you see on TV, what goes on at the calling desks is akin to a sausage factory. Not always pretty. When I was Ottawa bureau chief CPAC asked if they could put a live camera on the calling desk and in the Ottawa bureau to show the sausage factory. We warned them that unless they had a 10-second delay, and someone listening to beep out what they didn't want viewers to hear, they should be prepared to have CPAC tagged with an ADULT rating. So it never happened.

 

Anyway, given last night's result I expect it won't be all that long before we're doing this again -- maybe summer of 2007? We'll see!

 

Jan 23, 2006

 

Parental perspective is everything in hockey. Rick MacIntosh, assistant coach of the Peewee AE Rangers, forwarded the following to me and it's worth a read:

 

PARENTS GAME DAY

WE ALL LOVE THE GAME!

  Author Unknown

 

“ Keep shouting! Keep skating!”

Words we’ve all heard,

Along with “keep scoring!”

The all holy word!

 

A goal a game

Is the ultimate most!

Have we heard ourselves?

When it hits the post?

 

“His” mistakes are many

And ours are so few,

He’s only a boy…

NOT AN IMAGE OF YOU!

 

Let him be “himself”

And find his own way,

Or one day we will hear,

“ I don’t want to play”

 

Encourage him, Be patient!

And you will find out…

“Understanding” means more

Than a scream or a shout!

 

His effort to please you,

And your love for him

Is more important

Than the “ Almighty Win”

 

 

Jan 23, 2006

 

Chris came home early from school today, sick. Apparently felled by the bug going around. Or perhaps the political developments in our country today are overwhelming him.

 

Because of the election I'm working tonight, which means I won't have to watch the Leafs play the Sens again. As a Leaf fan, I can confidently say that I'd rather take a flaming spear in the chest than watch them play Ottawa tonight.

 

Jan 23, 2006

 

I love it when House League teams from Oakville do well in tournaments. I love it even more when they compete above their station and do well. And such was the story this weekend for the Minor Atom Red Bell Canada Flyers, who won the Humber Valley Select Tournament.

 

My buddy Dave Santangeli is head coach, ably assisted by Chris Over and trainer Sean Lippay and hockey mom Star Lippay. Winning a select tournament is a big deal for these kids.

 

A recap:

Saturday:

11:20 am: 3-0 win over Caledon. Will Santangeli is player of the game.
4:00 pm: Head back to Oakville, 4-3 win in a regular season house league game. Evan Lippay is player of the game.
6:30 pm: Head back to Etobicoke, 4-0 win over Warren Park, again, no contest. Michael Finlay gets his second straight shutout and is player of the game

Sunday:
11:20 am: 4-2 win over George Bell. At one point they're down 2-1, but they fight for a win. Andrew Feric was player of the game.
2:30 PM: Finals: 3-2 nail biter over Georgetown, who were also 3-0. Also down 2-1 at one point. Alex Lamont ties it up, Will Santangeli scores the winner with a backhand to the top shelf through traffic. Brandon Hughes was the game MVP.

16 tired kids and a bunch of happy parents.

The Flyers are Quentin Allen, Ryan Bessant, Andrew Feric, Michael Finlay, Liam Gooden, Brandon Hughes, Brandon Jardine, Alexander Lamont, Evan Lippay, Kieran Mathew, Mitchell Over, Carter Sanders, William Santangeli, Ryan Stanbury, Dionysis Stergiotis, and Julian Wyrwa.

Editor's note: six of the 16 kids on this team played for me in the last three years. Kids who played for me have an amazing record of success once they're away from me.

Jan 22, 2006

 

Election day is tomorrow. Go vote.

On that topic, I read something interesting in the Oakville Beaver this morning -- the Beaver plans to post live election results on its website -- unofficial numbers phoned in by its reporters and then posted at www.haltonsearch.com . A brilliant idea, except that if it is really going to be done "live" than it's against the law. I don't know a lot, but I do know the Elections Act. It's a violation of federal law to make results available on the Internet before all polls are closed in all parts of the country (that means 10 p.m. Eastern time.) TV broadcasters get around it by limiting their broadcasts regionally. But the Web is the Web.

You can learn more here http://www.cbc.ca/story/canadavotes2006/national/2006/01/13/election060113.html

Maybe the Beaver missed the whole thing about the guy being charged and taking his case to the Supreme Court which has agreed to hear but hasn't yet. Maybe they don't really intend to post "live" results. Maybe they'll only do it after 10 p.m.

Or maybe they just don't know.

 

Jan 22, 2006

 

It's Sunday. No hockey today for us. You know how I know it's Sunday? Because I can't see the kitchen table for newsprint. Saturday Star. Saturday Globe. Sunday Star. Two Oakville Beavers. And I actually cancelled our subscription to the Sunday New York Times because with all the hockey around here, I couldn't keep up. And I still can't. Before that, it was the subscription to The Economist that had to go. If this keeps up I'll be reduced to sitting in the backyard playing banjo and reading Chicks n' Ammo Quarterly.

 

AE Ranger players/parents -- there are some new photos up from Jan 7 and Jan 20 games on the team photo page at http://www.teamoakville.com/ranger_pics.htm . Hopefully we'll get some more from future games too.

 

Jan 22, 2006

 

Has anyone seen King Kong yet? There's this scene where a bunch of dinosaurs are stampeding down a canyon and they start falling over one another, big ole dino-butts in the air. This picture reminded me of that. These guys are actually stretching before a game. But I mean, really.

 

 

Jan. 21, 2006

 

Gary White bracelet update.

I told you about Gary White a few days ago. 

Larry Bennett, coach of the Bantam Ranger AE team, has challenged all Ranger teams to match or beat his team's $100 donation. Larry did this at a rep coaches meeting today and indeed, several teams have already taken him up on it.

So, if you haven't -- get with it.

And if you have -- thanks.

 

Jan. 21, 2006

 

Late breaking news -- Pad's been called up to the A team for a game with Dundas tonight. Dundas is really, really, good and really, really big.

UPDATE: Oakville 3 Dundas 3. That's the good news. The bad news is the Rangers led 3-0 with five minutes to go. Dundas tied it with 24 seconds left.

 

Back to Top

 

 

Jan 21, 2006

 

I went out to breakfast with Chris and one of the Wings' families after our game against the Wranglers on Saturday morning, only to return home and find the Ontario Provincial Police standing on my doorstep. They wanted the two points back that we stole from the Wranglers.

 

Honestly. The Wings won 1-0 in a great game. I thought the Wranglers deserved to win. So much so that I named the left goal post on the net at the west end of the rink as our player of the game. My guys were very excited to have won, but afterward there was no strutting or cockiness or overconfidence. They knew they were lucky to get out of that game with a win.

 

Cameron Poirier in goal for us was the difference. The Wranglers had more good scoring chances and rang one hard off the post in third period. It was a big break and we'll take it. Shutting out the highest scoring team in our league is no small feat.

 

The Wranglers are well coached and really well balanced. They'll be back.

 

 

Jan 21, 2006

 

From this day to the ending of the world,
But we in it shall be remembered-
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition; 
Make him a member of the gentry, even if he is a commoner.
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.

--On the eve of the Battle of Agincourt, Oct 25 1415

Henry V, Act 4, Scene 3

William Shakespeare

 

 

And lo, Caledon sent unto Oakville its fearsome Harrison Peewee AE champions, champions of the Ontario Silver Stick even. The same talented Caledon squad (22-2) that struck down our more junior Russell AE Rangers in Chatham at the Silver Stick.

 

And Caledon went unto River Oaks with joy and lightness in their hearts knowing our AE Rangers lost to Orangeville only two nights earlier. Confidence reigned as it should; their intention being to smite our Rangers.

 

And a battle ensued of epic proportion and when men and women and children thus speak of this day in future years, as they shall most certain, they will cast their gaze downward in piety and humility. For such was the enormity of the challenge. For such was the size of their hearts and their fight, on both sides of that battle.

 

And Matt R. went forth unto his net and thusly stood upon his head, both figuratively and literally, stopping cold the attacking hoard of champions from the northern village of Caledon. And Matt M. -- his reputation as a warrior firm and unchallenged -- laid down upon Grant's stick a pass. Nigh! Not A Pass. THE Pass. A pass of surgical precision and thus did the crowd rise as one and implore young MacIntosh:

 

"Bury that sucker!"

 

His aim was true that night at River Oaks and the court's troubadours now labour feverishly to put the legend to song lest the memory of the night not be passed from generation to generation.

 

Oakville 3 Caledon 1. Who'd a thunk it?

 

Jan 20, 2006

 

Last night the Peewee AE Rangers and the Peewee A Rangers shared the ice for an hour at River Oaks for "Mitron testing." Basically what happens is, early in the season the rep players are put through a bunch of standardized on-ice tests and timed, etc. Then, later in the year (last night in in this case) they do it again and measure any improvement (or absence thereof). The utility and effectiveness of such an effort is widely debated among parents and coaches, but that's not the point of this posting.

 

Pad thought it was fun to have the A and AE teams on the ice at the same time, which pretty much never happens. After the session was over, Laura -- referring to Pad's team -- asked him: "Who looked good out there tonight?"

 

Without missing a beat, his reply: "The A team, mom. The A team."

 

Cracked me up.

 

Jan 19, 2006

 

What's more fun than hockey? I'll tell you -- lacrosse, that's what. Young boys and girls running with sticks. Hitting each other with sticks. Sticking each other with sticks. Imagine the thrill of sitting in Maplegrove Arena wearing just a t-shirt and shorts!! Enjoy the ambiance of Glen Abbey on a humid June day. What could be more fun than that?

 

In all seriousness, a lot of Oakville hockey players also play lacrosse in the Oakville Minor Lacrosse Association.

 

I know what you're thinking. "Hey Gerry. Lacrosse sounds swell but after the hectic winter of ice hockey I was looking forward to the off season to get a valuation on my beer bottle collection and start work on my new synchronized swimming routine in preparation for the 2008 Summer Games in China."

 

We know. And that's why there's a lacrosse solution to fit every busy schedule.

 

The house league box (indoor) season runs for about nine weeks, ending when school gets out. One game and one practice a week.

 

The rep season starts earlier and is split between field lacrosse (think an artistic melding of hockey, ballet, and Australian rules football) up to about the end of May, and box, which runs pretty well through July. The rep experience is completely different than in hockey. The field teams typically play two games on the same day each weekend (Saturday or Sunday, not both), visiting such exotic locales as Bronte, Brant, St. Catharines, Burlington and many others! Picnics! Tailgate parties! Jokes about Orangeville!

 

Yes, there's hitting. No, it's not as rough as it looks. Yes, your kid will like it. No, the coaches aren't mean. Yes, the playing venues are conveniently located close to Beer Stores.

 

The first registration date for 2006 is coming up Jan. 28 at Glen Abbey Rec Centre. Click here to get more information. Drop by the registration desk from 10a till 2p and see a lot of people you know from hockey. Some of them may be hitting each other with sticks!

 

Jan 19, 2006

 

The trip to Orangeville was less than successful. The AE Rangers went down 6-4. My scout at the game said she felt the Rangers coulda-shoulda won. But they dug themselves a hole, were down 4-1 and it was an uphill battle from there. They did tie the score but Orangeville went ahead and added an empty net goal. At home Friday night vs. Caledon, who will be a much tougher opponent. They were 22-2 in the stronger Harrison division.

 

Meanwhile, the Leafs lost again. I'm not going to drone on and on. But things look very shakey in Leaf Nation. When's McCabe returning?

 

Jan 18, 2006

 

Gary White is the Novice White convener for MOHA. He's courageously fighting cancer. Friends of Gary's, and friends of his friends, are selling bracelets to raise money to help with his battle. I'm sure you'll see folks around the rinks this weekend selling them. They're $4 each or three for $10 and it will be the best money you'll spend in a while. If you can spare a prayer and a positive thought for a valued member of Oakville's hockey community, that would be good too. If you are interested in buying a bracelet or three,

Tammy St. Jules ( tammy.stjules@ypg.com  ) will be at Kinoak Arena this Saturday from 1:30p-4pm selling them.

Anyone interested in selling bracelets can also contact Tammy.

Jan 18, 2006

 

The Leafs lost last night. And guess what? New Jersey is now tied with them. Maybe I'm making too much of my obsession with the Devils. But if the Leafs finish behind New Jersey, there's a good chance that means the Leafs will miss the playoffs. Tonight's game with the Wild is now a must win. Why did I have to be a Leafs fan? It's just not a lot of fun some days.

 

Since the NHL expanded in 1967, the Stanley Cup has been won 21 times by expansion teams. We all know the Leafs record since then. Four of the six original six teams have also won since then. Only the Leafs and Chicago have not. Sheesh.

 

Jan 18, 2006

 

For a funny take on the election, visit http://www.derision2006.com .  

 Some witty stuff there.

 

Jan 17, 2006

 

Random thoughts on random things:

 

1. People ask me, "Hey, hockey blog guy. How come if the AE Rangers won every game they suited up for, their record is 23-1?" Easy. New math. No one gets it. New math. It's just complicated. New math. But trust me. They never lost a regular season game on the ice. I'm told they had the best record of any peewee AE team in Ontario.

 

2. OK, let's call this useless interpretation of statistics, Minor Atom White. If you're a leading scorer in minor atom white, there's a good chance you wear either number 3 or number 9. Exactly half of the top 16 scorers in minor atom white wear one or the other of these numbers. What's up with that? Especially since my kid wears number 2? I'm going to start a lobby group for all the even-numbered kids. Reminds me of the days when everyone wanted to wear number 9 (Maurice Richard, Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe).

 

3. Much discussion of televisions, remote controls and TV viewing of hockey at the Ranger practice last night. Yes, it's officially the silly season. Apparently some hockey dads are more gifted at hooking up TVs and cable boxes than others. (Other dads are better at leveraged buyouts and IPOs and that actually pays better.) Anyway, simplify your lives people. Go to Future Shop, or better yet, your locally owned independent electronics retailer, and get a Harmony remote.

 

It will change your life. Basically, you use your computer to program the remote so it knows exactly which appliances you want it to control (and this sucker can control ANYTHING that you have that works via remote control. I mean anything.) The web program then asks you a series of simple questions (which device do you use to control the volume when watching TV? Which channel is your TV on when you watch TV? When you watch a movie? Etc.) We've had one for a year and it's so simple that even the less technically inclined in my house have no problem using it. Click here to learn more.

 

4. The Leafs really need a split on their mini road trip that starts tonight in Colorado. New Jersey and Montreal couldn't go on losing forever, and now both are back on track. Big Blue needs some wins.

 

5. The AE Rangers open the OMHA playdowns Wednesday night in Orangeville. Remember the giddy humid days of September when the season lay in front of us like a carefree highway on a long weekend? Well, that's over. It's the middle of January. We're going to Orangeville. On a Wednesday night. And, the AE Rangers have been moved UP a bracket for the playdowns, so they will be playing much tougher competition. The line from the movie Fame comes to mind. "You want fame? Well fame costs. And right here is where you start paying."

 

6. The hockey moms aren't having a dinner-dance-auction this year. That's a good-news, bad-news thing. The good news is that I won't be coerced into spending money I don't have at a live auction of hockey collectibles. (And I was really hoping to score a Jim Dorey-game-worn jersey this year.) And it's good news because the dinner-dance takes a hell of a lot of work to organize and some of the moms actually have real lives. But it was also a good time and people got to enjoy the spectacle of large white men dancing, or doing what passes as dancing, with very attractive and much more talented wives and/or girlfriends. (Ever notice that the more you drink, the better you think you dance?) Anyway, no dinner dance this year.

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Jan 15, 2006

 

The AE Rangers won the final game of the regular season over Hespler 5-2 last night. So let's just say 24 times they took to the ice for a league game and 24 times they won. The stars of the game last night were the goalies -- the kid in Hespler's net was fabulous. If it had been an ordinary mortal like Ed Belfour, the Rangers would have won by 10. The shots on goal were three-to-one in favour of the Rangers.

 

Meanwhile Matt Reagan played solid for the Rangers and was outstanding in the second half of the game when Hespler would attack in flurries. He made one sequence of saves -- including a sliding stack-the-pads on a SECOND rebound that kept Hespler from clawing back into the game.

 

The game, by the way, was at Dominion Twins rinks. It's a great place to have our home games -- nice new facility -- a restaurant and bar even. So we all went early to have dinner before the game. Except the restaurant was closed for a private function. Again. This is the second Saturday night in a month we've show up and could not use the restaurant. And last night there was also no pizza or hotdogs for sale in the main-floor canteen.

 

And there have been three times we showed up looking to have skates sharpened but couldn't because the pro shop was closed -- including once on a Saturday night when three rep hockey games were scheduled for the rink and everything was closed for the STAFF XMAS PARTY!

 

I think the people at Twin Rinks need to decide whether they are an ice rink complex that offers it's on-ice customers a menu, or a catering business with arenas attached. All I know is that I'm not spending another nickel of money there -- not that they'll let me, anyway.

 

Ever been to Ice Sports and been told your couldn't get into the Thirsty Penguin?

 

Jan 14, 2006

 

The Wings won today 5-2 over the Wolfpack. The game was actually much closer than the score would suggest. The Wolfpack started fast (the Wings, it seems, NEVER NEVER EVER start fast) and were up 1-0 early. We tied them then got ahead, but the Wolfpack never gave up and certainly gave us all we could handle.

 

In other action, the Eagles, Lumberjacks and Wranglers all also won (so I was told) so nothing much changes in the standings. I don't know what happened in the 8a game. Also, it was picture day. There seemed to be less chaos than usual. Maybe I'm just getting used to it.

 

Speaking of teams that will give us a tough game, we play the Wranglers next week. We've each won four in a row and they have made quite a run up in the standings. Many things to work on in practice this week. Many, many, many, many things. The Wranglers lost two of their first four games and have been pretty solid ever since. We played to a 2-2 tie the last time we played.

 

Pad's team plays their final regular season game tonight at 9:10p at Twins Rinks vs. Hespler. I think there are still tickets available

 

 

Jan 13, 2006

 

Friday the 13th. Stay under your table till midnight.

 

Jan 13, 2006

 

Now less than 10 days to go till the election and the only federal leader I've seen photographed in or near a rink for the purposes of minor hockey was Stephen Harper -- at least one of his kids plays. For the record, I don't think not being photographed with minor hockey players disqualifies anyone from national office. This entry has nothing to do with hockey really. It's about the importance of getting out and voting.

 

Because of my job and where we've lived, people often ask if I know any of the aspirants to 24 Sussex Drive. The short answer, no. Not really.

 

I first met Paul Martin when I was a political reporter in Ottawa for The Canadian Press from 1990 to 1993. He was finance-minister-in-waiting then and he was always a friendly, almost avuncular guy -- at least to me. Those who worked for him said he has a manic attention to detail, was demanding of those around him, but they were also very loyal to the guy. Martin used to kid me about a specific tie I had that he called my Roger Rabbit tie. It was (is) colourful. That's part of politics and working with journalists, and while journalists are by nature always a little wary of politios, I also always thought he was a decent guy. He often walked from his residence to Parliament Hill and would chat with folks along the way. I covered a policy renewal meeting of the Liberals in Aylmer, Que., in 1992 and Martin's father was also there and the affection and pride the guy had in his dad and everything he had done for Canada was obvious. I always remembered that.

 

Meanwhile . . .

 

In April 1991, I was supposed to take Laura to see Paul Simon at the Ottawa Civic Centre. Instead, I missed a good concert and went to Saskatoon to cover a seminal convention of the Reform party. It was at this meeting that Reformers voted to take their party national. The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada's days were numbered as of that moment. At that meeting, a young policy advisor to Preston Manning made his first major political address. His name was Stephen Harper and a lot of folks in the Reform party were pretty excited to have someone who wasn't bald or blue haired projecting a voice for small-c conservatism. I remember at dinner that night with three or four colleagues there was much joking that maybe someday when Prime Minister Manning was elected to his fifth term we'd recall the meeting in Saskatoon that started him toward Ottawa (actually the march to Ottawa started well before 1991, but that's another story.) Someone at the table asked if maybe it was more likely that Stephen Harper would be prime minister before Manning. We shall soon find out but a lot of folks bet he'd never get this close. Beyond scrums etc. I really had no contact with the guy, but those who did say he is a much warmer, friendlier, personable person away from the spotlight.

 

I've never met Jack Layton. I knew Alexa McDonough well -- she was leader of the Nova Scotia NDP way back when I was writing about politics for the Halifax Chronicle-Herald and I have nothing but good things to say about her. Audrey McLaughlin was the NDP leader when I was a reporter in Ottawa and McDonough succeeded her while I was bureau chief in Ottawa later in the 1990s and I didn't know her well, either. I was assigned to the Liberals and covered Jean Chretien (ask me about the Freddie Couples story some time) as he was leader of the opposition.

 

We have a lot of choices on Jan 23. A lot of people on much of this planet do not. Get familiar with the basic issues you care about and make sure you vote. The minor hockey players in your house will be glad you did.

 

Jan 12, 2006

 

After more than a decade of parenthood and almost that long coaching, I can say with some degree of authority that kids are funny. Not funny ha-ha, funny as in, they can say and do the darndest things as Art used to say. They are capable of mind boggling acts of myopic self interest and then minutes later leave you slack jawed by an act of spontaneous kindness and generosity. (For what it's worth, in my experience as the kid gets older you're more likely to see the former than the latter, but that's another matter.)

 

The other thing is that kids are like snow flakes. No, I don't mean that if you dump hot water over them they melt. I mean that no two are the same. I have two hockey players in my house. One is more cautious, thoughtful and introspective but also competitive and goal driven. The other is light hearted, devil may care. He's tactile and likes to play and build things. He could well become the comic genius of his generation and seems content to have skills and interests that are the polar opposite of his big brother.

 

Pad plays rep. Chris plays white house league. It's all the same to us -- as long as they have fun. Anyway, I have a point and I'm getting to it.

 

Yesterday, Chris started a new weekly skating session with Cindy Bower. She's very good. (She taught Pad to do backwards crossovers, which he can do better than most players a lot older than him. If the NHL ever decides to change the rules and start playing the game backwards, he's set.) Chris skates as well or better than a lot of kids in white house league. But he doesn't compete as hard as he's capable of. He has lots of skills, just not a lot of intensity about hockey. He is what he is and that's fine with me.

 

Anyway, there was a bit of a numbers problem at the skating clinic so Cindy looked around for kids who would be capable of moving to a later, less crowded hour to attend with kids a little bigger, and for the most part a little better. She needed someone who would physically fit in and who could maybe keep up. Chris is quite big so she asked us if moving to the 6p class from the 5p class would be OK. Sure. Fine with us.

 

After explaining why he was being moved, Chris was quiet for a moment and then asked: "Does this mean I'm closer to playing rep?"  Um, not really. But if you light up the rink between now and April and work hard over the summer at 3-on-3 and then maybe get a shot at playing Red and then work really, really hard some more, you can do anything you want.

 

Who knew that under all those layers of fun the heart of a Ranger was beating? Kids say the darndest things.