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Sept 30, 2006

Bantam A Rangers nipped Orangeville 4-3 tonight after trailing 3-1 after two. A three-goal third period comeback is good by any measure (even if you dug yourself a bit of a hole.)

Blair Weyersberg made two stunning saves late in the game that made all the difference and no doubt inspired some of his teammates too.

Tomorrow, home again vs. Ancaster.

 

Sept 30, 2006

The last day of September is the first day of hockey for Chris and the rest of the Atom Eagles, who scrimmaged with the Wings at Maplegrove. It was good to see the kids on the ice again and everyone was talking about . . . the new house league jerseys.

They're nicer than the Ranger jerseys and the kids love 'em!

The three games in my division all went well and the teams look well balanced. Some tinkering is needed -- one of the teams lost a top player -- but the coaches are all good guys and we'll figure it out.

I really like the look of my team. A good combination of size and speed, nice kids, lots of fun.

From hockey we went to hockey -- Dick Decloe for Chris. And from that hockey we're going to hockey -- Pad and the Rangers play tonight at 6:40p at Oakville Arena against Orangeville. No idea how strong they are but we'll find out.

- - -

Laura appreciates all the good wishes from people who are at the same time glad she now has hot water and disappointed they won't get to see her walking around the rink in a bathrobe with her hair done up in a towel.

 

Sept 29, 2006

Afternoon update:

The gas line problem is fixed. We have hot water. You'll have to keep reading to get the whole story.

 

Sept 29, 2006

Regarding the house league red-white-blue thing: I've been getting a lot, a lot, a lot of email and calls. Suffice to say happy campers are in short supply in Oakville's atom ranks right now. Red kids who didn't get drafted aren't happy about being in white. White kids aren't happy about being in blue. Many blue kids aren't happy.

And the kids are coming up with their own communication lines at school, on MSN, etc., to interpret the results. You know -- as to why one kid is in blue and another is white and a third is red.

The good news is the teams all scrimmage this weekend, and league games are a week away. Things will hopefully calm down.

- - -

OK, so a week ago Monday I'm standing in the shower and notice that an odd space has appeared in the floor where the wall of the shower meets the floor. I pushed it with my foot and the whole bottom row of tiles moved.

I'm no handyman, but I know bad news when I see it. Homes in Glen Abbey typically disintegrate after about 20 years apparently, so we're right on schedule.

So, we call in someone who knows what he's doing.

Patch job that will last six months: $300.

Redo the shower stall (our ensuite has separate tub and shower.) $X,XXX.

Or -- rip it ALL out baby. Start new. Pamper yourself. (Yeah, when I think pamper, I think bathroom reno.) Etc. Etc. $XX,XXX. (It's low XX, but still.)

Discussions and negotiations were commenced. And that was just me and Laura, without the contractor.

Bottom line is that yesterday I came home and the ensuite was gutted right down to the pipes. Our new bathroom won't have a tub at all but will have an exceptionally cool (and large) shower I'm told. About a week from now it should be done.

I can't help but think that at the end of the day, it will still be basically just water coming out of the wall, in shower-like fashion, just like it did a month ago. But it will be new and won't run anywhere but down the drain, as opposed to into that other hole where the wall meets the floor.

In the meantime the four of us are using The Bathroom That Formerly Was the Domain of The Kids.

OK, so you would think. "Gee, that seems like enough turmoil for one day."

Well, you'd be wrong.

One of the workmen went to the basement for something and said to Laura, "I smell gas."

I'm hard pressed to think of a situation where you want someone to say that to your wife.

And it had nothing to do with the bathroom reno, so it was probably like this for a while.

Union Gas dispatched their Gas Detection Van and lo and behold, he detected gas. He figures it's a bad valve on the gas fireplace in the basement. He said the leak was so small that only a workman ripping out a bathroom would be able to detect it, and there was no danger of the house blowing up. That's comforting.

But still.

So, because there are government rules governing things like gas leaks, our gas was shut off (the overnight low was 6 degrees and it was 19 in the house this morning, thanks for asking.) The gas won't be turned back on until someone comes to fix the valve and pressure test the gas lines, because the Union Gas guy doesn't fix stuff, he just tells you to either run like hell, or, he shuts off your gas. I'm betting he doesn't get a lot of dinner invitations.

So, not having the furnace is no big hardship because I'm a big fan of trying to go as deep into autumn as possible without turning it on.

But -- the hot water was also shut off. Surprisingly, the water -- which had been without benefit of being heated for about 16 hours when I jumped in the shower this morning, full braced for considerable shrinkage -- was still pretty good. Not exactly hot, but very high-end warm.

We're hoping to have hot water and heat later today. If not, it won't be a happy scene.

- - -

But hey, we could always shower at the rink -- because that's where we'll be all weekend!

Pad has a practice tonight (at 9:30p!) and then Chris plays in the morning and then Pad plays tomorrow night. And then he plays again Sunday. And all those rinks have showers.

So if you see Laura wandering around Maplegrove with her hair wrapped in a wet towel, you'll know our gas isn't fixed.

 

Sept 28, 2006

Just a quick, late-day entry to say I successfully survived the first 6a practice of the Atom house league season, followed by a day of wall-to-wall meetings.

On the home front, renovation horror stories abound. There's more than a blog entry here, there's  book. But you'll have to tune in tomorrow or on the weekend when I get more time to tell that yarn.

 

Sept 27, 2006

Laura's Dad is 63 today, which makes him about two months younger than Mick Jagger. He's a very young, active 63, though I'm pretty sure he's not ready to sing for 60,000 people and dance on a stage. But I could also be wrong.

Anyway, in addition to having one of the most even tempered dispositions of any person I have ever encountered, he knows everyone in Cape Breton. I don't mean most of them. I mean all of them.

When we were at the cottage in the Highlands for a week in July, assorted other Capers came and went. By the end of the week, I'd started a game called "How Do You Know Dave?" Dave was the common denominator when the conversation reached the "Who's your father . . " stage.

Everyone I asked knew him.

"Where you from?"

"We live in Calgary now, but we're from Sydney River."

"Do you know Dave King?"

"The cop or the insurance guy?"

"Insurance guy."

"Hell yes. I know Dave. Great guy. Came to my house when the basement flooded in 1983. <And then, looking over your shoulder> Is he here?"

They were strangers to us, but because they knew Dave they did things like stick a candle in a cupcake and come to our cabin to sing Happy Birthday to Laura. They gave her a Corona too. Because, you know, she's Dave's kid so she must be alright. ("Not sure about her husband though. Looks shifty.")

Anyway, I could go on for ages about the many kindnesses he has extended to me over the years. He's a great father, father in law, and grandfather. He boils a hell of a lobster, broils a great steak and knows more about scotch than I know about news agencies.

Happy Birthday, Grampa Dave.

 

Sept 27, 2006

I hit the ice tomorrow morning at 6a with my new team which is always one of the best days of the year. I already know some of the kids and a couple of those who I coached two or three years ago even called to say how excited they are about hockey season.

We'll see what the excitement level looks like at 6a.

Tonight brings a hockey practice and then meet the teacher night. Then 6a practice, a must-attend all-day meeting at work that overlaps with a must-attend half day meeting, followed by Ranger dry land training and boys night at home as Laura bolts for the first hang out with friends and drink wine book club meeting of the fall.

- - -

This is too funny -- an actual headline from a page on the Detroit Free Press web site about Steve Yzerman's first day in the Red Wings' front office (thanks to KW for the outpoint). Welcome to management, Stevie!:

Yzerman attends meeting, goes to lunch

 

- - -

Another chapter in the "kids are strange" section of the blog. There was a certain teacher at Chris's school that he hoped all summer he would not get. He didn't want to be in this guy's class this year in Grade 5. Mr. X (not his real name) was reputed to have once been in the armed forces. He is apparently a trained killer. He is mean and scary. You get the idea.

Well, Chris decided he would run cross country for the school this year, and guess who the Grade 5 coach is? Mr X, of course.

So last night on the way to swimming class, Chris is talking about school and tells me the big news is that Mr. X is leaving the school for another job at a high school. He says it's too bad that he's leaving.

"What? I thought you didn't like the guy?"

"That was back when I thought he was mean and scary. He's not. He's nice. I wish he would stay."

I almost drove off the road because over the summer, Mr. X had become Chris's version of a recurring bad dream.

Not wanting to miss the chance to be Ward Cleaver, I asked Chris if he had learned anything through this.

"Yeah, yeah dad. I get it," he said about the old "don't judge a book by its cover" lesson here.

The best hockey coach I ever had was also the scariest, and there was a certain four-letter word that he could use as a noun, verb, pronoun, adverb, conjunction . . . you name it. That's a story for another day. When the kids are older.

- - -

And now, a public service announcement: I know someone who is looking for a good home for some kittens. Send me an email at garnold4@gmail.com if you are interested.

 

Sept. 26, 2006

The Bantam A Rangers opened the season last night with a 3-0 win over Burlington, in Burlington. On balance, a good effort. A strong showing by Burlington's goalie, especially in the third, kept them in reach. It was a nice bounce back for the boys after the third period letdown a day earlier in the Markham tournament.

 

Meanwhile, my friends on the Atom A Rangers also won last night, 4-0 over Brampton. Speaking of which, here are the boys with their hardware after winning Sunday in Markham:

 

Sept 25, 2006

"Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job."

There could be a very rare moment on sports television tonight that not even a network promotions department can screw up. The city of New Orleans officially gets back up on both feet when the Superdome plays host to Monday Night Football (on TSN).

The Saints host the Falcons, but that's really a side event. The main event is the fact that football will once again be played in the 'Dome, which became synonymous with the human disaster that befell New Orleans in the hours, days, weeks and, sadly, months after Hurricane Katrina.

Katrina demolished not only much of the Gulf/delta states, but also any comfortable notions Americans had about race and class in their country.

U2 will perform tonight and Bono never misses a chance to deliver a lecture. 

I expect it will be a very public and powerful statement by the people of New Orleans and Louisiana that they are back. Still hobbled -- the city's population is less than 200,000 today, compared to about 460,000 13 months ago -- but back. And it could make for great TV.

There will also be a football game. And it will be sold out, just like the seven other home games the Saints have this year.

I'll be at a Ranger game in Burlington.

 

Sept 25, 2006

It was a very busy weekend for a lot of families. House league evaluation sessions. Rep tournaments. Hornets hockey. Soccer wrapping up.

It was great to see the Rangers Atom A squad win the championship in Markham. I know a lot of the kids on that team, as they are the same age as my Chris. I coached some of them along the way and it's always fun to see kids you know enjoying success. They looked very cool in their Ranger jackets and ties. As soon as I get a picture of them with the trophy, I'll post it here.

The AE Bantam Rangers are showing that they will have to be taken seriously this year. There's no shame in losing in overtime in a final.

The Bantam A Rangers had a long drive home from Markham and there's no sugar coating to put on it. They gave up five in the third period of a 5-0 semi-final loss. I can't offer commentary beyond that statistical reality because I wasn't there, and even if I had been there, this piece of Internet real estate has never been, nor will ever be, about criticizing kids. As a parent I'd offer what I said to Pad last night. Yes, it's only September. But . . .

On the other hand, it's September already. The season opens tonight in Burlington.

Play hard. Enjoy the games. Compete like every shift is the last shift of the season. The next 45 seconds is yours. What are you going to do with it?

- - -

Given that I asked several times over the weekend, "What the hell's a Waxer?", a regular reader gave me via email the history of what a Waxer is.

"A waxer, by the way, is someone who plays hockey for an association that was, at some point in history created by, and for an extended number of years, fully sponsored by, someone who also owned a wax company. So if you bankroll an entire organization you get the benefit of people from other suburbs saying "what the hell is a waxer?"

As they used to say on TV, now you know.

- - -

Shifting gears to house league, the atom coaches assembled 20 teams in three divisions on Sunday. I know there are going to be kids and parents unhappy with some things. Like the Blue division. Or not getting drafted by a Red division team. Or whatever. I've heard from some of them.

There was a lot of work by a lot of volunteers and the season starts rolling now.

My team is the Eagles. I didn't get every kid I wanted but no one else did either. We bear a startling resemblance to last year's team, the Wings. And we're on the ice this coming Thursday morning at 6 a.m. at River Oaks B.

Game on.

- - -

Last week I mentioned -- and lightly poked fun -- at a friend who lugged his golf clubs all the way to Calgary only to get snowed out. Subsequently, I learned that blog entry was incorporated on the big screen and made the intro of his western Canada business presentation. I thought that was pretty funny.

I assume a royalty cheque is in the mail.

 

Sept 24, 2006

More Ranger updates:

Hats off to the Atom A Rangers, the 2006 Markham Waxers Early Bird Tournament winners. They won 3-2 over Cobourg to take it all.

 

The AE Bantam Rangers lost 3-2 in OT in the final -- but I don't know who to. A good showing though.

 

The Bantam A Rangers played Bellville in the semi finals and it was scoreless for two periods and then . . . I'm told it kind of got away from them. They lost 5-0.

 

Sept 23, 2006

Waxer updates:

Atom A Rangers win 6-5 to advance to Sunday semi final.

Minor bantman AE Rangers 3-2 in OT to advance to Sunday semi final.

Minor bantam A Rangers win twice -- 5-3 over Pickering and 5-3 over Cooksville to advance to a Sunday semi final.

A good day for Rangers -- and the bantam A team finally wins some games and scores some goals.

Long day for all of us here, and many of you out there too.

More later -- tomorrow sometime.

 

 

Sept 23, 2006

Things I learned yesterday:

  • Markham is a long way to drive to lose.

  • Two of the three Ranger teams in the Markham Waxers tournament aren't thinking about the first point

  • I need to keep more food and beer in the house for spontaneous Friday-night, post-tournament bull and analysis sessions.

  • Some guys are unlikely to "monkey" around with the refs anymore.

Thing I didn't learn yesterday:

  • I still don't know what the hell a Waxer is.

I will do an end-of-day summary of the Ranger performances in Markham, but it won't be till after 9p as I will be sequestered at Kinoak Arena most of the day doing the missionary work of minor hockey.

The bantam AE Rangers (1-0-1) and the atom A Rangers (2-0-0) played twice Friday so they only play once today, while the bantam A Rangers (0-1-0) play twice.

 

Also, there are few photos of either bantam Rangers games because my crumby camera didn't shoot so well through the glass at ice level, where I watched the game. The Scarborough Ice Sports is not a fan-friendly facility.

 

But . . . here's one of the Atom A  Rangers swarming a Markham Waxer goalie. Whatever a Waxer is . . .

 

 

 

Sept 22, 2006

First Markham Waxers tournament update: bantam AE Rangers win 3-0, over Aurora. Austin James gets the shutout. More news as it becomes available, right here.

 

Second Waxers update: atom A Rangers beat Nobleking 7-0 this morning. Logan Gauer posted the goose egg.

 

Third Waxers update: Atom Rangers win again, 2-0 over Markham. My very good pal Lucas Marek posted the shutout.

 

Fourth Waxers update: minor bantam A Rangers blow the Ranger streak, losing 3-0 to Aurora. D'oh! We didn't deserve a win. But the boys will be better tomorrow.

 

Fifth Waxers update: AE bantam Rangers tied Brampton 1-1 after a five minute OT of three-on-three.

 

Sept 21, 2006

Interesting night of hockey last night. The Leafs beat Ottawa 3-1 in an exhibition game, which is noteworthy only for the play of  Mikael Tellqvist and Bates Battaglia. Otherwise don't go booking the parade just yet. It's still going to be a long season, the goaltending looks like it has been upgraded.

- - -

A loyal reader in Nova Scotia -- my dad -- asks rhetorically if TSN is positioning Tie Domi to be their Don Cherry. Good question. There's lots of talk that BellGlobemedia is going to take a serious run at cleaving Saturday night hockey away from the CBC and they have added a lot of on-air muscle in that regard. I don't see Domi as Cherry. He's an Ontario brand for one thing, whereas Grapes -- love him or hate him -- is national. My guess would be that if CTV gets NHL rights away from CBC, Don Cherry will be the next Don Cherry.

- - -

Evgeni Malkin of the Pens was injured in his first game. If you saw any of the highlights of things he did with the puck before he got hurt -- wow. I hope the injury is nothing serious because this kid is going to be fun to watch.

- - -

Teeing up the weekend, the Ryder Cup will be played in Ireland and I won't be watching. It's not that I'm not interested in seeing how badly the Europeans thrash the Americans. But the ambling gait toward hockey season hits a full-on gallop in our house starting tomorrow. Or tonight. Depends on your view.

Pad has practice tonight and then he and the rest of the minor Bantam A Rangers are off to Markham for a pre-season tournment starting tomorrow night, with two more games Saturday. The minor bantam AE Rangers are in the same tournament, as are the atom A Rangers. So, Markham will be the site of a mini Rangerpaloza.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I'll be spending six (6) glorious hours at Kinoak Arena on Saturday helping out at the annual Atom house league evaluation skate. The skate is conveniently timed so that I will miss both of Pad's games in Markham. Chris will be on the ice somewhere in there.

And then on Sunday, me and a dozen or so hardly souls will fuel up on Tim's coffee and bear claws and assemble 20 house league atom teams across red, white and blue divisions.

- - -

Permit me a small rant after a busy week of calling kids and lining up volunteers for six hours of evaluation skates on Saturday.

If you've ever had the pleasure of calling parents to let them know what time their son/daughter needs to show up for a house league evaluation skate, then the rest of this entry will ring true to you.

First -- 98 per cent of parents are pleasant, helpful and grateful for the heads up. You love talking to them, answering any questions as best you can, and all of that. It reminds you why you volunteered to make 40 to 60 phone calls, including more than one call to many homes where no one answered. They thank you for calling.

The other two per cent can be an interesting experience, to put it politely.

First, there are the bored teen daughters who answer every phone call to some houses and if you aren't Chip from the volleyball team or Trish with the latest dish, all they want is to get you off the phone so like Chip and Trish can, like, call. 'K? Dude? 'K?

NO, my parents aren't here. (sigh) YEAH, I could take a message, but (HEAVY SIGH) couldn't YOU call BACK? (HURRICANE FORCE SIGH). The words justifiable homicide come to mind.

Then there are the parents schooled at the What Do You Mean My Kid Wasn't Drafted Yet Academy. So, even though you as a white coach had NOTHING to do with the Red draft, you have to listen to a lecture which includes a summary of, in no particular order: the general incompetence of MOHA, the general incompetence of MOHA volunteers, the inherent incompetence of all house league coaches, the general brilliance of their own insights into hockey, the undisputable greatness of the child's talent, their confusion as to why John Ferguson Jr. has not called and offered them a tryout . . . you get the idea. Oh -- and they are so busy in their professional and personal lives they can't help out/volunteer in any way, shape or form.

I wish I had a rich, fulfilling life like them. (HA!) Anyway . . .

The sad thing is, I'm not making it up (except the part about Ferguson. I haven't actually heard that yet, but it's coming.) I could cut and paste emails I've received on this, or regale you with details of conversations. But I won't. It's not the kid's fault if the parent is a twit.

And I'll repeat -- 98 per cent of the parents are wonderful. Brilliant. A joy to deal with.

But for the other two per cent, food for thought. I have a son who plays rep, and one who has always played white. So, is the one who plays white deficient in some way? I assure you, he is not. And further, he gets as much pure joy from hockey as any kid at any level. He's made great friendships, played on a truly bad team, played on a few pretty good ones. Been to tournaments. Laughed out loud a lot. And learned along the way.

The guys making these calls and hearing these lectures are inordinately patient listening to the two per cent.

After three minutes, the standard line (from me, anyway) is: You sound unhappy. I'm guessing your son/daughter would be perfectly happy playing white/blue etc. Kids just want to have fun. But if you can't get past it, the hockey office is located at 1026 Speers Road. We have a waiting list, and the office will be happy to give you your money back. See you Saturday. Or not.

 

Sept 19, 2006

Yeah, I know it's only exhibition hockey. But the Leafs losing 4-0 to Buffalo is an ominous signal for the months ahead. Losing that badly to a team in a jersey as ugly as Buffalo's just adds insult to injury

- - -

The good news is that the Atom A Rangers were busy beating Burlington 4-1 last night while the Leafs were losing.

- - -

The early buzz on Sidney Crosby is that he is bigger, faster, stronger and generally a scarier all-round opponent than he was last year, when he scored more points than any 18-year-old in NHL history. It's because he's from Nova Scotia. Really.

- - -

The bantam Rangers swapped some ice time and now have a practice tonight, as well as Thursday as they prep for the Markham Waxers tournament this weekend. What the heck's a Waxer, anyway?

 

Sept 18, 2006

Pad and the Rangers are prepping this week for their first tournament of the year on the weekend in Markham. They open Friday afternoon against Aurora and then play Pickering and Cooksville the next day.

Sadly, I will see little or no hockey on the weekend.

Actually, I'm going to see lots of hockey players, but little hockey. Me and the rest of the MOHA atom world will be evaluating players and drafting teams on Saturday and Sunday.

I really hate missing any of my kids games and Pad hates it when I miss games because then there's no one to rant in the car on the drive home. (I'm actually kidding. I usually offer a 60 second opinion and then shut up.)

But I find his games really entertaining so someone better take good notes for me Saturday and Sunday.

- - -

As I have mentioned here before, the package I have with this site provides all sorts of cool but ultimately useless data, since I don't sell ads.

But as a time killer, here's some useless facts:

  • 95 per cent of teamoakville visitors use Windows. One per cent use MacIntosh and the rest are others, mostly Linux.

  • 90 per cent of the visitors to this site use Internet Explorer. Five per cent use Firefox, and the the rest are a soup of other browsers like Netscape and Safari.

  • Someone, somewhere set up a direct link to this site from the New York Times books section. Hmmmm.

  • The most popular search string drawing people to this site is "Bob Langley".

  • Number of references on this site to Dave Reagan dragging his golf clubs to Alberta on a business trip, where upon his arrival it snowed: 0 (till just now.)

  • After Canada and the USA, the country sending the most visitors to this site is Great Britain, followed by Australia, Thailand, Egypt, the European Union and Taiwan. I want to improve the hits I get from Egypt so I'm going to develop a page on Pyramid Repair Made Easy from Old Hockey Sticks, or maybe, So Your Sphinx's Head Fell Off and All You Have is a Bucket of Pucks . . .

  • Within 24 hours of posting a page of photos from a Rangers game, number of visitors to that page correspondent almost exactly to the number of Rangers who played in that game.

I'm going to assume you're bored now.

- - -

John Ferguson Jr. has a Leafs training camp blog going at http://www.mapleleafs.com/news/ferguson.asp . So far it's pretty lame but I suspect the GM of the Leafs has bigger fish to fry than entertaining the populace of Leaf Nation.

 

Sept 17, 2006

The bantam AE Rangers lost 7-3 to Humber Valley's A team last night. It was a good game for the Rangers
I thought. The Sharks are reputed to be one of the better teams this year in the west GTHL and the Rangers were playing their first game as a team. So there was lots for them to take away as positives.

- - -

The skate sale was a success and the MOMS say thanks to all who took part. No idea on how much money was raised, but they sold a lot of used gear.

 

Sept 15, 2006

A hockey coach I know and respect once said something that I've never forgotten.

"Failure is a harsh teacher."

His point at the time was that kids moving away from their home districts to play on weak AA teams that were going to have dismal seasons was a poor proxy for hockey development versus staying at single A, or even in a strong house league, and enjoying some success.

Success breeds confidence breeds success, goes the theory. (Exhibit A would be Tiger Woods, who even though he competed in a handful of PGA events before turning pro did go to Stanford for a year and won three US Amateur titles before turning professional.)

Maybe high school age golfer Michele Wie should consider that thinking and instead of taking on PGA Tour pros and measuring up very poorly, she could play more LPGA events and try to win there first.

Having given up her amateur status, she finds herself without a peer group. Kids her age are competing in state amateur championships and vying for scholarships. All that is lost to her now, but she does have some cool endorsements for very big money.

The problem is she is not eligible for a full-time spot on the LPGA tour for more than a year because of her age.

Wie missed the cut today at latest men's tour stop, shooting 77-81. This comes on the heels of her dead last finish in the men's European Masters.

She is an amazingly talented teenager and maybe someday she'll be the next Anika. In her last 10 women's majors she finished in the top five six times. Tiger didn't have a record like that when he was 16. Even so, maybe it would do her a world of good to win a tournament -- even one against other women (obviously when she plays on the LPGA tour, she is a very serious contender) -- and stop worrying about the men's tour for awhile.

 

Sept 15, 2006

I took Chris to swimming last night at Glen Abbey and intended to sleuth about the new arena and get a couple of photos to post . . . but they had glue down all over the floor as they laid tile so I couldn't get in. I can report that the ice at the old pad at GA is in the early stages of installation.

- - -

Random encounters with kids are the best. Unless they are swarming you I suppose.

But this was a good encounter.

After swimming, I was waiting for Chris and chatting in the locker room with my buddy Joe M, who I coached three years ago on the not-quite-awesome Wranglers in minor novice. (Joe hated to lose, which made him ill-suited to play for the Wranglers who kind of perfected that stat. But Joe has a huge heart and doesn't know how to quit. He's one of those kids that as a coach, you never forget.) Anyway, several other kids who I didn't know starting quizzing me on how I knew Joe, what levels of hockey I coached, had I won a championship, where was I coaching this year, how many kids I had, what was my favourite hockey team, etc. There were about seven of them and it quickly turned into a sort of Q-and-A on MOHA (when does hockey start? what's the new rink going to be like? do I know Dick Decloe? ) and hockey season. It was pretty funny, and they were smart, articulate kids, whoever they were and they were not going to take any bull.

One kid asked me about the new house league structure -- red, white, blue -- and what that meant. One kid offered a loud, indelicate pronouncement that blue was for, um, the not skilled. (It sounded like his opinion came from an adult.)

I said it was for the kids newer to hockey and for kids whose basic skills needed a little more development. I said it was all about making sure the players were sorted so that everyone had as much fun as possible. He wasn't buying.

He said he -- and all his friends -- wanted to play red.

I said I would too -- it's only natural to aspire to the next level. But I asked him if he'd rather score some goals and assists and make big plays in white and be one of the three guys his team looks to as a leader, or be a supporting player in red. Or the same in blue vs. white?

He said he'd rather be The Man and have the puck more often. The others nodded sagely (or what passes for sage with nine year olds.)

Eventually, they all ran off in a whirl of towel snapping and chatter.

- - -

The best part of the chatter, if you care to know, was a conversation about what would happen if the CN Tower fell over. One kid offered dryly that "millions would die." His pal said sure, but only if the Jays were playing at the time. I bet Ted Rogers hasn't considered this possibility.

As for what would actually cause the tower to tumble, there was no discussion. It was purely hypothetical I guess but obviously they had given it some thought.

They are the Discovery Channel generation and the stuff they know blows my socks off.

 

Sept 14, 2006

Happy Birthday to Pad. He's a teenager now. Times flies. I droned on about my recollections on this point earlier in the week. Scroll down to Sept 11 if you care.

- - -

Time to look ahead to the weekend. It's always good to enjoy your downtime.

Last night I helped out at the first round of the MOHA Atom Red draft and then sprinted to the Niblick for a fundraiser for the Atom A Rangers. The place was packed and it looks like they did very well.

Tonight Chris has swimming lessons to be followed by the usual parades and small arms fire to mark Pad's birthday. Well, there will be cake at least.

Tomorrow night, Laura has setup for the MOMS Skate sale, which goes Saturday morning, to be immediately followed by cleanup of the MOMS Skate sale. You can find details on this year's event here.

I think Friday night will also feature a sleepover of manly young men struggling with PlayStations, electric guitars and DVDs until dawn.

All day Saturday I will be attending a clinic to renew my trainer's certification, which qualifies me to step into the breach in all kinds of situations during hockey season. You'd be amazed -- really. There are times where I've served as a trainer for two teams at the same time that I'm not even affiliated with simply because I was at the rink and available (there has to be a trainer on hand for a game to be played.) So, it's a worthwhile thing to have.

Also, it qualifies me to fill little bags with ice during lacrosse season and tell injured players writhing on the floor in pain to try "walking it off."

After cleaning up at the MOMS sale, Laura has to take Chris to his Dick Decloe hockey camp.

From the trainer's clinic I sprint to Maplegrove to watch our friends on the minor bantam AE Rangers take on our friends on the Humber Valley Sharks A team. With any luck, I'll see Laura there and we will exchange pleasantries.

After the Rangers-Sharks game, Pad's team has a practice, also at Maplegrove. I may be bringing my laptop because I have to organize NEXT weekend's house league atom evaluation skate for all the kids who were not drafted last night at the first round of the red draft.

And then Pad's team also has a practice Sunday morning at River Oaks.

Other than that, we have nothing planned.

- - -

The official opening of the new and improved Glen Abbey Recreation Centre is this weekend. Details are here. What's not clear to me from this agenda is whether the new ice pad is actually ready. The minor bantam A Rangers practice scheduled for the new rink this weekend was moved to Maplegrove, and I'm not sure if that's because the new rink is not actually a rink yet, or whether it was moved just to avoid the crowds. But you will note the agenda makes no mention of activities on the ice.

 

Sept 13, 2006

The minor bantam A Rangers lost 3-2 to Port Credit in pre-season action last night, but there were a lot of positives to take from the game.

The Rangers dominated play, virtually controlling all of the second and third periods. They outshot Port Credit by a margin of 2-1. The offense came alive, creating a raft of opportunities -- it's just they didn't all click and the Port Credit goalie did a good job smothering rebounds. The defence played a smart game in our end -- quick to the puck, setting up the breakout well, making good choices in selecting the outlet pass. And lots of clean body-on-body contact, using our size advantage effectively.

The team just seemed more confident overall.

A pair of power play goals for Port Credit was the difference and the new way of calling penalties was on full display in this game, at times challenging players and coaches on both benches to make sense of some of the calls. Not sure how many penalties overall, but a lot.

But this is the new normal, The players are going to have to find the boundaries and adjust accordingly (I am certain these boundaries will move depending on each referee's view of the world.)

This game was a big step forward from the first loss on the weekend. Sorry guys, no pics for this one. Laura left the camera home, which was a good thing because Meadowvale is a brutal venue for taking photos.

- - -

Things get quiet for a few days for the Rangers now, nothing till practice on Saturday night. That practice at Maplegrove will follow a 5:20p exhibition game between the minor bantam AE Rangers and the Humber Valley Sharks A team. As I've noted before we have friends on the Humber Valley team from Oakville, and we know almost everyone on the AE Rangers. So, we'll be lining up early for tickets.

- - -

My favourite non-hockey story of the day is that some Aussies are apparently killing stingrays in retribution for the death of Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin last week. Do you suppose stingrays are swimming around wearing t-shirts that say "Crikey! I killed Steve Irwin!" or something, thus provoking the attacks? Or that a few louts in boats fuelled by a couple too many Fosters are taking a "that'll show 'em" attitude toward the fish? Irwin's manager is appealing to those who are committing these acts to stop, as well he should. It's such boneheaded thinking you have to suspect that maybe the New York Islanders management team is somehow in on it. Anyway, you can read about the attacks on Aussie stingrays here.

 

Sept 12, 2006

Off to Meadowvale tonight for another pre-season game, this time versus Port Credit's A minor bantams. Film at 11 -- or details tomorrow, or whatever.

- - -

When the New York Islanders made backup goalie Garth Snow the general manager, a lot of people wondered if that was a great idea. No experience, franchise already in turmoil, etc.

Today comes word that the Islanders have signed goalie Rick DiPietro to a 15-year, US$67.5 million contract.

Well.

Fifteen years is a new NHL record for a player contract, perhaps the only record the Islanders will set this year.

As for the money? Well, DiPietro is a first rate NHL goalie. Right now. Today. (Last year, actually.) He's 25 next week, which means he'll be making $4.5 million annually when he's 34. And 35. And 36. And 37. And 38. And 39.

So, for all those managers who thought the new NHL is all about short-term contracts and tight fiscal management and bang for the buck, there's a new kid on the block. Meet Garth Snow, contrarian thinker. (For the record, I love contrarian thinkers -- different perspectives on all subjects sometimes result in a lot of goofball ideas, but they also sometimes result in creative solutions that no one dared to approach.)

So, which is this?

The Islanders are famous (infamous?) for running their hockey operations by committee, which was why Neil Smith got fired because apparently he couldn't do business that way. So, it's unlikely Garth pulled the trigger on this one alone.

But just the same, picture trying to trade DiPietro and the 12 years remaining on his contract three years from now. (Presumably after the Isles have won a couple Stanley Cups?) Maybe the Leafs will be in the market then -- that's what the Islanders are counting on!

Way to go, Garth!

 

Sept 11, 2006

There will be a lot of memorial services today and hopefully some thoughtful discussion on Canada's place in the world. Kids may ask questions. Be ready for that, because they should ask and they deserve honest answers.

It certainly all still seems very vivid and the sacrifices being made by Canadian men and women in Afghanistan and other places underscore the changes we have seen in five years. In terms of our security, I suspect change will be constant for years to come.

- - -

Back to hockey:

The Humber Valley minor bantam A Sharks -- with three Oakville boys in the lineup -- lost in the finals of a weekend tournament to Brampton in a game where the new penalty rules I've spoken about in recent days kicked in big time.

According to a loyal correspondent, the 32-minute game featured 38 minutes of penalties (Correction -- that was 38 minutes for the Sharks alone!). The Sharks played 16 minutes of the game short two players.

This will be the new normal so get ready for it.

Interesting side note: The Shark lost to the Brampton AE team. The Brampton AE team beat the Brampton A team 2-0 earlier in the tournament. Hmmmmm.

- - -

Patrick becomes a teenager later this week, which also means Conan O'Brien will have been on the air at NBC 13 years this week. O'Brien's first show was broadcast early on the morning of Sept 14, 1993. I remember this because I was trying to watch the show and Laura was complaining about sharp pains and being uncomfortable. (Hey! It's Conan. Keep it down, OK?) OK, I'm kidding. But -- I was right not to rush off to Edmonton's University of Alberta Hospital too quickly -- the big guy didn't make his appearance till some 10 hours later.

We were just hopeless as new parents. The first 24 hours we spent at home alone with Pad were an adventure unlike anything we ever experienced. No user manual. No FAQ. No product support web site. And no family in Alberta to help out. Laura got the hang of it after 24 hours because she's the smart one.

I'm still trying to figure it out.

 

Sept 9, 2006

Later that night . . .

Rangers lost 5-1 in a game in which they were pretty thoroughly beaten. Jack Gillis was outstanding in goal and if not for his effort the score might have been further run up. Jack stopped a ton of rubber, a lot of it on difficult shots.

But . . . in spite of the score, I saw lots of signs that the kids are buying what the coach is selling. And if I may torture this metaphor a bit, I'd say that while they are buying they just haven't found their way to the checkout yet.

There are guys on this team who a year ago played house league, AE, A and AA and no one had this coach before. So I'm guessing it may take a bit of time to get them all on the same page in game situations.

This is what pre-season exhibition games are for. (And we have another one Tuesday!)

BTW, the refereeing was a non-issue. They seemed to call the game by last year's rules. I dunno, I'm just confused now.

- - -

FYI, the Atom A Rangers lost a 6-4 squeaker in Whitby today. And the Humber Valley Sharks -- who have three Oakville minor bantam sons -- tied Brampton 3-3.

This is starting to feel like a sportscast.

 

Sept 9, 2006

Off to Cambridge this afternoon for the first look at the minor bantam A Rangers, and the first look at the officiating under the new rules. Any guesses in advance about the story line for today? I'll report in later.

First, I have to take Chris to a hockey camp.

I'll be back . . .

 

PS -- teamoakville has added a site for the minor bantam AE squad here, in addition to the minor bantam A team here.

 

Sept 8, 2006

Too much work, too many hockey meetings, no time for frivolities like a blog.

Wednesday night was the convenors' meeting, and as atom white convenor, I was there.

Last night was the big MOHA house league kickoff -- coach'es' meeting. As an atom white coach, I was there. Tons of volunteers out last night, which is to be expected. But sitting there looking at all the people gives you a pretty good idea of the staggering logistics involved in staging a hockey season for 4000 kids from five to 18 on 224 teams.

Two big topics of conversation and speeches -- the new red-white-blue alignment for house league, and the new CHA rules on obstruction that mirror the NHL's moves last year.

On red-white-blue, there is no doubt some people are going to be bent and twisted if their kid doesn't make it to white, or to red.

The MOHA rationale, and it's a good one, is as follows:

  1. There are too many kids to have 12-team red and white divisions. Teams may only play each other once which sucks the competitive edge out of the division.

  2. It's tough to get volunteers to convene and spend six and seven hours at the rink.

  3. The skill range in a large white division, for example, is vast. At the high end there will be borderline red kids. At the low end there will be kids who have never played. Creating a blue division sorts the kids more equitably according the skill. And that means, to use just one example, that the kids in blue will touch the puck more.

We'll all be hearing a lot more about red-white-blue. Just FYI, MOHA had red-white-blue years ago, and still does as far as I know in the IP program. In Mississauga, they have red-white-blue-green.

So this really isn't all that radical.

 

The other big issue is the obstruction rules. No using the stick for anything other than playing the puck or whacking it off an opponent's stick. Use the stick on the body, or to slow a guy down, or otherwise interfere with an opponent, and you're going to get a penalty.

This will add roughly 2,000 minutes in penalties to every house league game.

Parents are going to pop arteries from screaming at the refs.

Coaches are to to have aneurysms.

Referees are going to feel unloved. Wait -- that's the same as last year.

I don't think minor hockey is so rife with stick work and obstruction that we need NHL rules (anyone care to list 10 things the NHL has done for minor hockey lately?) But as I like to say these days, it is what it is and the CHA isn't going to change its mind based on my opinion. Or yours.

Pad's Bantam A Rangers play Saturday in Cambridge and I figure we'll get a good taste of the new rules there. I'll report back then on how it goes.

I'm expecting it to go poorly, from a penalty box perspective. The team itself looks fine so far.

 

Other than the Ranger game Saturday evening, we have Ranger practice tonight and Ranger practice Sunday. So, it's kind of all Rangers all the time this weekend, but thankfully there are no early mornings. Chris hits the ice for the first time next weekend.

 

Sept 6, 2006

As I have noted from time to time, kids constantly surprise me. In a locker room, or during lunch, or en route to a game, they occasionally say things that all at once make you feel like you are getting through to them, they are paying attention, they do care, etc.

I can't speak for your kids, but I 'm sure it's the same in all homes. I can only talk about what I observe with my kids, and maybe Noah from down the street, who always seems to be in my basement.

After the first day of school, I asked whether there was any homework and Pad said he had to be able to speak today about a protest song.

Moments later, I'm assuming a pose as the all-knowing dad who knows the words to a variety of songs that would get one pushed away from any of the office towers on Bay Street.

My first recommendation would have Bruce Springsteen's version of Pete Seeger's We Shall Overcome. Or Bob Dylan's Blowin' in the Wind, or A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall. Or Neil Young's Ohio.

But before I could even open my mouth, he said he wanted to talk about the U2 song Silver and Gold, which I had played for him, once, months ago. We talked last night about apartheid, and what it was, and the role Canada played in helping bring the hateful policy to an end through international trade sanctions.

The idea that someone could be prevented from voting, or working, or getting an education, simply because of the colour of their skin, is so completely foreign to Patrick it struck me very hard. And while it's great that the world continues to evolve in often good ways, every parent knows there's a long way to go.

But for a minute he seemed vaguely adult and I seemed very, very old.

As expected, Chris had a lot to say about Steve Irwin's death on the weekend. He found it odd that a guy who made his name wrestling with crocs was done in "by a fish." His questions weren't glib or superficial, but at the same time when you're nine, the death of a guy from a favourite TV show seems a bit intangible, I'm sure.

 

Sept 5, 2006

Steve Irwin, the Crocodile Hunter, was killed on the weekend by a Stingray while shooting a program off the Great Barrier Reef.

If you have kids 15 or under, then Steve Irwin probably cast a long shadow in your home. My boys loved his shows, his energy . . . everything about the guy. He made his mark doing dangerous -- some would say stupid -- things around dangerous animals. That the generally docile Stingray did him in seems odd. But wild animals are unpredictable and Irwin knew the risks better than anyone.

A committed conservationist, those who knew him best said he was generous with his time and considerable wealth for many worthy causes, especially those to do with animals and habitat.

Regardless of what you thought of the wisdom or propriety of his act -- wrestling crocs, picking up poisonous snakes, etc. -- he brought images and information into our living rooms that my kids would not have otherwise learned and seen. The loss of someone who dedicated so much of his life to the entertainment and education of young people is a big loss indeed.

- - -

For Pad and Chris, the first day of school was as welcome in our house as a busload of gangsta' rappers on the altar at the pope's Christmas Eve mass. Chris got up on his own just after 7a, complaining he couldn't sleep -- he said was too nervous about having a teacher whose name he couldn't pronounce.

Pad had no such difficulty and was still in bed when I left the house at about 7:15a. Pad has a practice at 8p tonight, so I have no doubt he'll be back on a school bedtime schedule very quickly. Chris will generally fight and complain past 10:30p that he can't sleep.

- - -

Tiger Woods wins again. The guy is off-the-charts phenomenal, there's no question of that. Talent, drive, work ethic -- he has it all. But it would be nice to see two or three guys step up and challenge the guy consistently. 

- - -

Have you seen that Holiday Inn commercial on TV? The one with the three guys standing in the lobby, and two of them are talking about all the "points" they collect and the stuff they redeem them for? One guy just redeemed points and got his kid a unicycle. The other guy redeemed points and got gold-plated golf clubs. The first guy is getting a 10-gallon hat. Finally, the third guy says he doesn't have any points, causing one of the other guys to comment  that "that makes it harder to redeem 'em." The first two guys laugh.

Is it just me, or could that commercial have been taped in Oakville? And the first two guys are bankers, and the third guy is usually me, or someone like me.

Gold-plated golf clubs and a unicycle for your kid sound very Oakville to me.

 

Sept 4, 2006

Well, golf was rained out on Saturday but we played Sunday -- and got wet. It didn't rain much though and we had a very good day so long as you don't total up the scores.

Vijay Singh, on the other hand, had a very good day -- 61. That's an amazing number.

Anyway, the weather has kind of dampened down the level of activity around here.

Our neighbours around the corner did invite us over for an impromptu dinner party Friday night -- one of the kids left the door open on their basement freezer, allowing a lot -- I mean, a lot -- of sausage to thaw out. So we enjoyed a feast of sausage.

Not sure what today will bring.

Back to the rink tomorrow night. Coveners meeting Tuesday night. Big coaches meeting Thursday night at Halton Regional HQ on Bronte Road (6:30p for police checks, 7:30p the meeting starts) and  then house league hockey is just around the corner.

 

Sept 1, 2006

 

I'm going to start September by repeating two items from late last night -- when it was still August:

  • Have you heard? Wayne Moorehead, VP of house league at MOHA, is running for town council in Ward 3. More on this later.

Also . . .

 

I have been horribly negligent in not acknowledging the Oakville Buzz, the 2006 Canadian Jr. B Lacrosse Champions. I promise to wax poetic on this later, but it is a wonderful achievement. Read about them here. For readers of Oakville Today, check out the Jordan MacIntosh fan club (his uncle Shawn is the ruggedly handsome coach of the minor bantam AE Rangers -- Pad's coach last year -- assisted by Jordan's dad, Rick.) Jordan's mom Lil is the MOHA timekeeper scheduler. How they all found time to win a national championship is beyond me, but ....

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE 2006 OAKVILLE BUZZ, NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!!!! This team is a true Oakville squad, connected to the community, they participate in minor lacrosse clinics, and, well, this is just SO cool.

Well done guys. We're all proud of you.