Dec 31, 2010
Hopefully everyone is home safe after the week's hockey tournaments. Hope you did well!
- - -
The tyke Blackhawks held a family skate and shinny session at Glen Abbey yesterday, followed by mini sticks and pizza and pot luck. It was a lot of fun even though I had to bail out early.
We owed Chris a birthday dinner at the Keg -- his birthday was in October, but hockey schedules being what they are, we have been a little late getting to this one.
The Keg wouldn't take reservations so we just showed up and couldn't get in. Minimum one hour wait. In the company of adults I can easily kill an hour in the bar. But not with two hungry teenagers, so we bailed out.
We ended up at Montana's where the boys got big hunks of red meat and everyone went home fed and happy.
Chris is still owed a dinner at the Keg.
- - -
This is obviously the last posting for 2010.
I'm not sure what New Year's Eve holds for us. It could mean ferrying kids around town from movie theatres and rec rooms, or it could mean simply hanging out in the kitchen with a cold beer and hot stove top and spending time as a family foursome.
Our plan is to eventually prepare what we call Ingonish seafood -- there's a specialty dish cooked at a little restaurant in Ingonish (the Main Street Restaurant and Bakery, if you ever get the chance) that is a combination of scallops, crab, mussels, lobster and clams, all done in a very creamy sauce and served on a bed of pasta.
It is best eaten as a take-out dish, on a deck overlooking North Bay beach, listening to the waves crash on the beach while the sun sets as you peel back the foil.
I won't have the luxury of that view tonight but I will have the seafood and the company of the person who enjoys that setting even more than I do.
Laura has come very close to perfecting this dish and it's one we really look forward to every time.
You can buy a cookbook with the recipe in it, here, if you really feel adventurous.
Whatever your plans tonight, stay safe while you have fun. Do not drink and drive.
Take a minute to survey all you have and enjoy those people. May 2011 bring us all peace, health, happiness and prosperity.
Hug the kids.
Dec 28, 2010
There is obviously not a lot to tell you about, and there's no one listening even if I had something to say right now.
The four of us had a very quiet Christmas with some wonderful meals and lots of laughs around the table. Everyone back home is healthy after some challenging times in 2010, and that was pretty much the best gift we could ask for.
Regular readers will know that I often remark on the appetites of my boys, especially the big one. While he is waiting for dinner, Pad is known to snack on a sandwich that would feed a family of four for a day. He likes to eat, he's good at it, and it's a big part of his training regime.
(As an aside on that point, 10 months ago he was about 6-2, 184. Now he's about 6-4, 210. Eating the right stuff helps.)
Anyway, my point here is that our grocery bills are outrageous. I can't even begin to talk about them lest I dissolve in a pool of tears.
But the good folks at Metro grocery stores apparently keep track of these things -- perhaps through debit transactions, or Air Miles accumulation, or something. But they know.
And we know they know
because they sent us a lovely Christmas card and note thanking us for
our money patronage, telling us that we are "Platinum"
level clients. And then they gave us a $50 gift card.
Now, during the regular days of the school year, $50 will cover about a week's worth of sandwich meat for Pad. Maybe. But since he's sleeping more than skating or schooling right now, sandwich meat consumption is way down.
So my clever spouse put the $50 to good use, using it to pay for the 18-pound Maple Leaf Prime turkey we had for dinner on Christmas night.
It was spectacular, no less so because someone else paid for it.
We have been rewarded with frequent flyer points for flying. And Air Miles points for shopping. And other loyalty points for rental cars, and coffee purchases and whatnot.
But I think we've tilled new acreage when someone is rewarding us for eating.
The possibilities seem endless.
- - -
When I was last here, I encouraged readers to get out and enjoy some holiday season tournament hockey -- specifically the Richard Bell Memorial Tournament taking place across Oakville starting today.
The last time one of my guys played in it was two years ago -- and as many of you know, part of the deal was that we hosted three Finnish lads who were three of the most wonderful young men we've ever met. I got an email yesterday (no lie) from one their parents wishing us a Merry Christmas, thanking us (for the 405th time) for letting their kids stay with us, and asking for an update on our family. It's a great friendship.
Anyway, the minor bantam single A Rangers are in the Bell tournament -- and as part of the deal, they are hosting a team from Sweden.
Teamoakville is going to host a page linking to various and sundry photos of things the Swedes and their host do over the coming days in Oakville, just as we did for the Finns two years ago. The parents will provide the content, I'll provide the real estate here.
I don't have a kid on the team but some of the parents have become loyal and/or occasional followers of the antics here.
You can click here to find the Team Sweden page. (There's nothing there yet.)
More importantly, if you're lucky enough to see any of these kids around town, reach out to make them feel welcome (although I have no doubt the Rangers will have that chore well in hand.)
And most importantly, try to get out to see them and the other teams play.
I know many of you are incredibly old with failing memories, but try to imagine how exciting it must be for this group of 13 year old to travel across the Atlantic Ocean to visit Canada -- the home of hockey.
Southern Ontario and Canada knows a lot about the great Swedish hockey heritage. From Salming to Forsberg to Lidstrom to Sundin to Gustavsson -- with literally dozens of others along the way -- the Swedes are a hockey power.
And maybe lurking in the lineup of minor bantams taking the ice in Oakville this week, there's another future legend waiting to breakout.
You wouldn't want to miss that, would you?
See you are the rink.
Dec 24, 2010
We had a couple friends in last night and while your loyal scribe was well behaved, others enjoyed more of both the hospitality and the spirit(s) of the season (hence the cars left in the driveway etc as smart folks found another way home.)
Laura and I were up early for an appointment and then went to breakfast at the Sunset Grill where we ate way, way too much for that time of the day.
Because people often bring a bottle of vino as a hostess gift when dropping by at this time of year, our wine collection runneth over (not that it ever runneth low).
Which, if you listen carefully, you will hear me telling my lovely spouse:
“Hey. Nice rack.”
- - -
The men folk kept close watch on the world junior pre-tournament game last night, then flipped over to hold vigil over the Steelers, while women folk retired to the other end of the main floor and engaged in something like dancing. Or so I was told. I stayed away.
A special men’s club took root in the kitchen, roughly an arm’s length from the tub o’ beer.
I made 74 trips to the garage (“more white wine, please”) to fuel the dancing hockey moms and cart out the empties mysteriously created by the hockey dads.
It was a fun night, at the end of which I think I hand washed 800 wine glasses. Or so it seemed.
I was very glad at 7:30a this morning I failed to put a significant dent in even a six pack.
All the better to greet Christmas Eve, and to enjoy, as the film Christmas Vacation says, “the silent majesty of a winter morning.”
Or something.
- - -
Many, many of you will be hitting the road over the days ahead for holiday hockey tournaments.
Not us. The juniors have shut down for a bit and Chris has no tournaments this season.
But here at home is the Richard Bell Memorial – a great tournament well worthy of your time to venture forth and catch a game or two. Hats off to all the local families who will be hosting kids from overseas journeying to Canada to take part.
I can’t say it enough times – the year we had three minor midget Finns staying with us was one of the best holiday weeks we have ever had, and that’s in spite of much of their team getting crushed by a bad flu bug. When they left after four nights we felt we had just gotten to start to know them and we honestly wanted them to stay longer.
Pad still stays in touch with those kids. Their parents still send me emails. And I still have a small but loyal following of readers in Finland.
You can go to Wayne’s blog to download a sortable schedule of games. You should.
I hope to get out to see some of the action.
Yes, yes. You can buy me a beer.
- - -
For the rest of you heading to London or Toronto or Niagara Falls or wherever for tournaments – have fun, and drive safely.
Standing in the hallway of a motel just off the 401 somewhere, having a cold beer, watching the kids playing mini sticks, and reliving that historic, long-forgotten goal against Port Credit or Welland or Brampton (or Halifax, or Dartmouth, or Truro in my case) all those years ago is part of the magic.
Have fun. Slow down and live in the moment. Don’t tell your kid how to play. Tell him/her three things you saw them do that made you proud.
Trust me – a few years from now, everything you remember about what they did on the rink will make you proud.
Have a great, safe, fun Christmas with your family and friends.
I’ll be back soon.
Hug the kids.
Dec 22, 2010
Well, it’s almost Christmas. I know this because I was standing in a mall yesterday with 10,000 other people. I wasn’t there long. And I’m not going back.
Merry Christmas.
- - -
This isn’t a Christmas story exactly, but it is a tale about the human condition, and the sometimes surprising sources of kindness and patience we find colliding with our lives from the most unsuspecting places.
From a thread on the site askreddit.com regarding hitchhiking (don't ask), is a yarn by a motorist who was stranded by the side of the road and virtually ignored by all who passed, to his growing frustration.
And then, rescue and saviour from someone he who never have expected to help him.
Today you, tomorrow me.
Excuse the language in this one – it tilts a little blue but it’s still a heart-warming read.
Think of it as listening to your gruff uncle Earl telling a story.
Click here to read Today you, tomorrow me.
Then pay it forward.
- - -
We didn’t get to the game in Hamilton on Monday night. Pad picked up a nasty version of what Chris was sick with and he couldn’t answer the bell. And that was too bad because Hamilton is one of the top teams and his team valiantly fought a great battle before losing 6-5.
Both boys have since rebounded – Chris’s only complaint was that he got sick during vacation, so he didn’t miss any school days because of it.
Laura and I are waiting for the bug to hit us – I’m thinking that maybe around 7p on Christmas Eve it will probably strike.
But let’s hope not.
- - -
Because I’m off this week – kinda, sorta – I was able to make the 6p tyke Blackhawks practice last night and it was a blast. I think we had a great workout and Pad came along to help. Suffice to say, there were a lot of little hockey players looking up, waaaaay up at the new guy in their midst.
Pad’s team plays its first game of 2011 against the Blades on Jan 7 at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex. Some of the tykes may be in attendance – cheering for the Oakville guy not in the Oakville lineup.
- - -
One of the things I’m not giving Laura for Christmas (trust me, it’s a long list of things she’s not getting) is a non-stick frying pan.
That’s really just a silly intro into the topic of T-Fal pans and the like.
I would estimate that over the last 24 years we’ve probably had six or seven of these pans, which seem to work really well for the first two weeks and then gradually lose their non-stickiness.
Turns out, it’s our fault, not the pan’s.
As my Grade 11 physics teacher used to say “if all else fails, read the directions.” I confess I have never once read the accompanying directions with a frying pan, but in the case of non-stick pans, the New York Times posits a compelling argument that maybe I should.
If you want to get more enjoyment out of your non-stick frying pans – and really, who doesn’t? – then click here and read more.
- - -
The new Yogi Bear movie is out, featuring the voices of Dan Aykroyd and Justin Timberlake. I have as much interest in seeing this movie as I do in reading user guides for non-stick frying pans.
But an alternate ending for the movie is making the rounds of the Internets – mostly on Youtube.
It’s made independently – it has no connection whatsoever to the movie’s producers.
It is very dark. Let’s just say maybe Yogi trusted BooBoo a little too much and well, it’s Christmas and perhaps BooBoo really needed the money.
Just press play.
Dec 20, 2010
“We’ll help you make the voices go away.”
Yes, those are reassuring words to start your day.
Because – and I’ll be candid here – I’m really keen to make the voices go away.
- - -
The good news is that it was the ADT security rep telling me that this morning, not a psychologist or other medical professional.
Early Saturday morning we were rudely awakened by a beep or chirp and then a weird, muffled, disembodied and hopefully electronic “voice.”
I have no idea what the “voice” said but, like the seasonal poem says, I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter.
You need to understand that we have a lot of smoke detectors in our house.
Laura’s dad is an insurance adjuster and as a young girl growing up in Cape Breton she was regaled (some might say traumatized) with first-hand accounts from the scenes of many, many fires, most of which were caused by human stupidity.
So, now that she’s an adult (and has shared with me her paranoia of what can go wrong), a direct consequence of her upbringing is that we have lots of smoke detectors in our house.
We have three in the rec room and basement.
We have two on the main floor of the house.
There’s one in each of the four bedrooms.
There’s hard-wired combo smoke/carbon monoxide detector in the centre hallway.
And there are four plug-in carbon monoxide detectors in various locations around the house.
So, within two minutes of hearing the “voice” I had run around the house and checked them all, sort of in a half stupor. Chris also got up, somewhat freaked out by the voice, and was equally stupefied, standing in the door of his room mumbling “huh? What?”
(Pad never budged and I’m thinking we need to devise a special smoke-detector headset for him to wear to bed over his ears. It would appear to be the only chance we have of waking him up. But that’s another matter for another day.)
So . . . long story short, I found nothing.
None of the detectors were flashing, beeping, groaning, talking, or otherwise indicating that they had been activated.
I checked the keypad on the security system. Nothing. All normal.
We started wondering if perhaps there was an alarm clock or something among the wrapped out-of-town gifts that have showed up in the last week. Nothing.
So, I did what any good man would do.
I shrugged and said, “oh well.”
Chris was freaked out by the voice and took to Facebook to inform the world that “I think our house is haunted.”
I braced for an overnight reoccurrence but Sunday came and went without an event.
Then at 7:30a this morning – the first Monday I get to sleep in, in ages, it happens again.
I’m faster out of bed. But I still find nothing. I called the security company and I’m told it’s not them.
“But in 99.9 per cent of these cases, it’s a carbon monoxide detector,” he said. “Change all the batteries, and you’ll stop the voices.”
Yes. Let’s stop the voices.
Two of the CO detectors are pure plug in – no batteries. Two others have a slot for a backup battery, but neither has one installed. (Note to Laura – get batteries.)
And then there’s the hard-wired combo smoke/CO detector. Hmmmm.
So I pulled that sucker down and push the TEST button. It cycles through some noises and then . . . starts talking.
GUILTY!
I didn’t even know we had a talking CO detector.
I know now. And while you probably would have to be conversant in some obscure eastern European dialect to come close to understanding what it was trying to tell me, I recognized the voice.
When I installed that unit two years ago I don’t think I was even aware that it talked, that it had a backup battery in it, and that I would one day want to take it outside and beat it with a hockey stick.
But there you go.
We’re replacing the battery – and all the other batteries.
And then we’ll settle in for a long, winter’s nap.
No voices!
- - -
I had the rarest weekend – spoiled only by the Leafs failing to win in Vancouver.
Friday night in Collingwood (PS – if you want a white Christmas, go to Collingwood. Jumpin’ Jiminy, talk about snow . . . ) Pad’s junior team won its game, 4-2.
Cool!
Also Friday night, Chris and the bantam Jets won their game, and he even scored a goal.
Cooler!
Then on Saturday morning (with a sleepy me on the bench) the tyke Blackhawks upset one of the top teams in our loop, 2-1. Ha! Take THAT!
Coolest!
So, by lunchtime Saturday I’m 3-0-0 for the weekend, with one game left – another junior game.
Pad’s team fell behind 2-0 in the first two minutes of the first period. I don’t know a lot about hockey, but I know that’s not how things are supposed to go if you want to win.
The boys fought back and tied it. And then after two periods, were down two again.
And then they pulled within one in the third.
And then . . . there was a riot on the ice (junior hockey is a bit of an adventure that way) and things came as close to a full-on bench-clearing brawl as you’d ever want to see.
No kidding. It got very ugly.
There were a few fights, one particularly ugly one that left the ice so covered in blood that the refs ordered the ice scraped, and then flooded, before the game could be finished. It was honestly quite scary to witness.
When play resumed, the good guys tied it, they dominated the OT and then they won it in a shootout.
Coolerist!
Pad’s team gets their fourth win in their last six games. I get an undefeated “dad weekend” of 4-0-0, and everyone goes home happy.
Well, me anyway.
- - -
On the drive home, Pad said he felt like crap. He looked sick.
Chris was already sick, having spiked a fever and sore throat overnight Friday night.
Great.
All day Sunday, both of them were pretty much miserable. Chris seems a little better today; Pad is still sleeping (in spite of all the fire alarms going off around here) so I have no idea about him.
He’s got a game in Hamilton tonight, so I hope he feels OK to play.
Last game before the Christmas break.
- - -
On Saturday afternoon, before he got sick, Pad helped me put up the Christmas tree.
We didn’t decorate it – Laura likes to do that – but we actually got it in the house and standing upright.
And we did it without adult female supervision.
Like the Gift of the Magi, it was a true Christmas miracle.
Pad and I stood and gazed upon the fine, straight tree and dared not add a light or ornament or tinsel.
Why? Because we’re lazy? Well, yeah. That too.
But mostly because we fully expected Laura to come home and tell us we did it wrong. That the back of the tree should be front. That the pointy end should be down. That the house needed to be moved two feet to the right.
Whatever.
But she didn’t. She asked if we argued while putting it up (no).
And then she said, “good job.”
Good?
How about GREAT?
It was a great job. And with the boys both flat on their backs ill on Sunday, I even helped decorate the thing.
Only a man’s man, a manly man’s man, can put up a tree and decorate it. And make his wife smile, while caring for ill teens.
I’m a multitasker for the new millennium. Yeah.
- - -
If you haven’t read about it, Time magazine named that Facebook creator-nerd Mark Whathizface as their person of the year.
I personally think it’s an outrage.
I mean, I understand that person of the year is not necessarily recognition of something great – it’s more about the person doing something -- creating news and buzz, changing the way we live or lives or some other such thing.
But even at that, I still think Time got it wrong.
Because to me, the person of the year is whoever invented Lululemon yoga pants for women.
If there’s been a greater invention since, oh I dunno, say the printing press, or the internal combustion engine, or penicillin, well I don’t know what it is.
Lululemon is to women’s clothing and male/female dynamics what milk is to rice crispies. It’s a game changer. It’s the snap, crackle and pop.
Time magazine got it wrong.
But you can click here and read about the nerd if you really want to.
- - -
Five days until Christmas. The kids are home.
Enjoy the season.
I hope you’re not hearing voices.
Dec. 17, 2010
This is the last “official” work day of 2010 for me. That’s the good news.
The bad news is that I’m already booking conference calls for next week when I’m “on vacation” whatever that means.
I don’t really mind. It’s more or less normal nowadays.
- - -
I got home about 7p last night and the boys were home and already in holiday mode. Pad was flaked out in the family room watching a TSN documentary on the Edmonton Oilers and Chris was somewhere else on the X-Box, killing aliens or bad guys.
Today is the final day of school but all the teachers basically nudge-nudged, wink-winked everyone that if they didn’t show up today, nothing would be missed.
So, I’m not sure whether they are going or not.
Pad has to board the team bus this afternoon to head north for an 8p game in Collingwood, where there is so much snow they actually closed the ski hill for a time this week.
I’m going to drive up on my own for the game and I’m not really looking forward to that journey into the snow on slick roads, but I don’t want to miss the game either.
I’ll take my time.
Question: is it better to take the 400 north and then cut over west to Collingwood, or, am I better off taking Highway 10 or Airport Road north – slower route, but more direct.
One of Pad’s earliest coaches is now a resident of the Greater Collingwood Area and is going to meet me at the rink tonight to watch the game. I’m really looking forward to that.
- - -
I didn’t stay up to watch the end of the Leaf game last night in Calgary. Giving up three goals to the Flames in less than a minute was really the end of the game for me.
Read more here if you want.
- - -
Aside from needing a Christmas tree, we seem to be remarkably close to being done shopping (he said with stupid, blind optimism.)
Part of the reason for that is that our kids are teens. So there’s no need to be lining up or fruitlessly hunting for the hottest fad toy of the season.
Every parent has done it at some point.
The good folks at the Daily Beast have pulled together a photo gallery of some of the hottest, and hardest-to-find trendy gizmos of the last 30 years. From Cabbage Patch dolls and Game Boys to Barney and Pokemon, it’s all here.
- - -
Pad’s game tonight is the first of three in four nights – two of them on the road -- for him before the league shuts down for the holidays. There will be practice ice during the break but the interval will give all the guys a well-needed break to heal.
It’s amazing to see the physical toll this level of hockey can take on the players and watching him move around the house the day after a game usually leads to a discussion of what hurts, where and how badly.
Chris and the Jets play tonight in the still-north-but-less-northern location of Sixteen Mile arenas, which sadly I will miss because I will be in Collingwood.
Saturday is the usual trilogy of rinks – Kinoak for tykes, Twin Rinks for timekeeping and Mississauga that night for juniors.
Rumour has it that our Sunday is clear – which is probably a good thing because unlike most of the town we don’t have a Christmas tree yet. Sometime over the next 72 hours, that will be taken care of.
- - -
So, fair warning to tyke coaches and parents. I’ll be there tomorrow. I just may be really sleepy depending on how long the drive home tonight from Collingwood takes. I actually may be more effective as a coach when I’m asleep, but that theory has never been fully tested.
I will also pay close heed to my own usual advice to slow down and get where I’m going safely, as opposed to briskly. You should do the same thing regardless of how short or long your drive will be.
The rinks this weekend will be abuzz with excitement: the kids are done school and many divisions play their final games before Christmas. Other than awards week, it is probably my favourite weekend of the season. Everyone is generally in a good mood.
Take a minute to thank a coach, or manager, or game official, or convener, for all the work they do.
And just as it is every other weekend, the stars of the show are the little (and not so little) folks on the ice.
Hug the kids.
Dec 16, 2010
Hi sports fans.
I was so excited about the Leafs beating Edmonton the other night that I fell asleep and forgot to post anything for a day or two.
I’m back.
- - -
It’s just about time to start shopping for Christmas, assuming that Christmas is a big deal on your calendar. In our house, it is.
I have to say the leaps forward in online shopping have spared me from having to engage in too much human interaction. Folks will have to find a way to share the spirit of the season without me there in person.
But the major challenge in our world is handling the out-of-town presents.
Both mine and Laura’s entire families are in the Maritimes. So that means shopping earlier and organizing and wrapping and packing earlier. And spending $$$ on shipping.
And that means Laura is really busy doing all that stuff because if it were left to me, it would not get done.
Ever.
And Laura is really good at it. So, it works out fine.
All I have to do is shop for her, and a little bit for the boys, and I’m good.
I think.
Anyway, here’s a toast to the people who make Christmas happen for all of us.
The shopping, the wrapping, the baking and cooking.
Thanks!
I’ll make sure there’s lots of wine in the house and I’ll stand with my hands on my hips and say things like “I’m pretty sure the tree is leaning to one side” just to be helpful.
You can thank me later. But you’re welcome.
- - -
The iPad may have the most unfortunate product name since the 1980s weight-loss drink AYDS, but it is undeniably an important technological development. It is accelerating the pace of change for the way we consume what folks in my world call “content”: news, books, magazines, blogs, movies, TV, music and more.
I see more and more people in GO Trains using iPads every week, and not just the loser geeks watching Star Trek episodes.
I expect there will be more than one iPad under the festive trees in our town a week from Saturday.
To give you lucky few a heads up on some of the nifty apps out there for the iPad, you can click here.
If you already have an iPad, then just touch the link and away you go!
- - -
There was a headline in the New York Times yesterday that caught my eye:
“U.S. Called Vulnerable to Rare Earth Shortage”
As regular readers know I am a big music fan, so I immediately became very concerned about why our American friends were going to be in short supply of Rare Earth, a 1970s band famous for a number of hits and for being the first all-white band signed by Detroit’s Motown Records.
Their biggest hit was “Get Ready” but they also had a rockin’ cover of The Temptations’ “I Know (I’m Losing You)” and hits with “I Just Want to Celebrate” and “Hey, Big Brother.”
Naturally, the NY Times item had nothing to do with music, which I knew from the outset.
It was about the US being too reliant on China for valuable minerals critical to a number of important growing technologies.
But the headline provided an opportunity to showcase my entirely useless knowledge of 1970s pop music (quick – where is Minnie Riperton buried??) as well as point, again, to my advancing years.
If you really want to read the NYT item, click here.
If you want to learn more about Rare Earth, the band, click here.
And if you want to move on to something really cool, go to the next item.
- - -
This next bit is almost five minutes of video and I dare you to stop watching it.
It’s a visualization of reams of socio-economic data that show the development of 200 countries over the last 200 years. The title could be Three Cheers for Capitalism!
It’s stunning and captivating and contains relatively little nudity or profanity.
OK.
There’s no nudity or profanity, but all the coaches should watch it anyway.
This will be the most entertaining thing you will see today. No question about it.
I’ll be back tomorrow.
Last day of work (or so I’m led to believe) until January 4!
You know what to do: just press play! I DARE you to not watch this all the way!!
Dec 14, 2010
Five years ago Pad was playing peewee AE hockey. It was the first season he wore Oakville Rangers colours and it was a big deal to him, and us.
Five years ago Chris was a part of a minor atom hockey team destined for house-league glory in the form of a double overtime win in the championship game the next spring in front of a full house at Twin Rinks. He still regards it as a highlight-reel moment in his life. (I was behind the bench. So, um, me too.)
And five years ago, to the day, I started this silly blog.
I don’t think I would have imagined back then that this thing would still be poking along.
But here we are.
Admittedly the last few weeks have been a little more inconsistent than is normal, but suffice to say I’ve been busy.
In five years I can count on one hand the number of truly negative emails I have received – none of which bothered me terribly. It’s a free country.
On the other hand, the number of emails and calls I have received from parents, hockey fans, other coaches, etc etc willing to take a minute to share a story, or comment on something I’ve written, or otherwise signal a small measure of support, has been enormous.
With that first December posting back in 2005 I was pretty much yelling into the ether. My family back home checked in almost daily but the readership was well under 100. Well under.
But it found a niche. Today there’s no shortage of readers – to the point that if I miss more than a day or two, I start getting hate mail. I get email from strangers. You never know who is reading.
As Laura says, “who are these people?”
Parents. Usually hockey parents, that’s who.
The whole point of this space was just to have a forum to talk about the things I saw and did at the rinks around town, and then beyond. That sort of evolved into some slice-of-life commentary from time to time.
In the last five years, my involvement in hockey has included Timbits initiation, tyke (Go Blackhawks!!), minor atom, atom, minor peewee, peewee, minor bantam, bantam, minor midget, midget, and junior A.
Ditto for minor lacrosse, which when played on a field is a great, great sport.
Other than the people who live on our street, I would guess that there cannot be more than a dozen people in Oakville who are friends that I didn’t meet through hockey or lacrosse.
I’ve really tried hard to keep the content at a Family-oriented level. My kids read it, so that’s a pretty good filter to keep things on an even keel.
I’ve really tried hard to keep it relevant to a broad audience. The only remarkable thing about my family is that they are mine. In that respect they are precious and irreplaceable. But our journey through hockey and life is no different than anyone else’s.
But it’s ours and that’s why it’s special to me.
Through my involvement in Timbits and Tyke hockey these last two seasons, I see the wheel turning all over again and it is an endless education for me.
Parents going into the machine for the first time ask lots of questions and Dave and I have become resident grey beards. We don’t sweat wins and losses any more. We’re there for the fun.
Parents worry that if their kid isn’t playing rep now, he’ll lag the pack. Wrong.
Some parents worry about all manner of things that, to me, in sum add up to trying to make things happen faster. Faster learning. Faster progression up the ladder from blue to white to red house league. From AE to A to AA to AAA.
To that all I can say is, slow down.
After more than 13 years of this I can assure you that the machine is there to help build citizens, not hockey players. Sure, occasionally a Sam Gagner or John Tavares springs forth.
But really those are so rare that it’s really about keeping the kids busy with something they’re passionate about. If you think your son is the next Sam Gagner, he probably isn’t. But if your son thinks he’s the next Sam Gagner, well brother, you better nurture that dream.
Because minor hockey is nothing without the kids who dare to dream, and dream big.
Great things happen everywhere at every level.
As noted above, one of the greatest afternoons of my life (scroll to the bottom) was coaching a minor atom white hockey game. I saw my other son playing on a Ranger team that lost in the OMHA semi-finals, losing the deciding game of a series that went the distance in double OT. I still wince when I think about it.
In my household I have a career house leaguer and another son with limitless ambition for the game. They want and expect different things from sports but they both love hockey. There’s no right or wrong answer. The kids will walk the path they want to follow and as a parent, there comes a day when you realize you aren’t leading any more, you’re following them. Watching over them, yes, but still following. (As I like to say when torturing a metaphor to confuse my kids, you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it gather moss.)
I’ve been lucky enough to be able to share parts of our journey and tell some stories here about it. From isolated beaches in Cape Breton to garbage-can throwing parents in rinks to a police lock-down because of a gun in the stands, it’s had its moments. The thrill of victory, the agony of defeat.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed over the years through comments, tips, stories, links, criticism, encouragement and good humour.
Thanks to my boys and Laura for their good humour and inspiration as I do that.
Thanks for making this space a part of your routine.
I have no idea what the next five years will bring.
But we’re not done yet.
Dec 10, 2010
I have seen a lot of hockey games in person in my life – counting those I’ve played in, coached, or just watched as a parent or fan, it would count well into the hundreds and hundreds, probably well north of 1,000.
Last night I saw something I had never witnessed in person at a game.
It was a junior A game in Brampton. There was a delayed penalty called against Pad’s team (Editor’s note: he was on the ice, but the penalty wasn’t against him.)
Brampton’s goalie rushed to the bench so an extra attacker could hit the ice while they had possession.
And . . .you guessed it.
An errant pass. A bouncing, rolling puck. A desperate lunge to no avail.
Brampton scored on their own net and suddenly Pad and the guys are up 3-1, not 2-1.
There was a real sense at that moment – even though it was still the first period – that the game was over. It was simply devastating to the other side.
The good guys scored one more with 10 seconds left in the period to take a 4-1 lead into the second. It was 6-1 after two. The final was 7-2 with a late Brampton goal.
In terms of goal scoring, I suspect that play is almost as rare as a goalie scoring a goal. It might even be rarer.
It was very cool, if only because it helped the right team. We’ll take our breaks where we can find them!
- - -
Happy weekend everyone.
Busy time of year, busy time of the week.
I may check in over the weekend to make up for this feeble entry. But I just wanted to say drive safely this weekend. The roads will be slick, there’s snow in the forecast, and nothing you have to do and nowhere you have to be is as important as the people waiting for you at home.
So slow down.
Have fun in the rinks. I am, and I will.
Hug the kids.
Go Blackhawks!
Go Jets!
Go Chargers!
GO!!
Dec 9, 2010
Just a follow up to the John Lennon anniversary yesterday. Laura said Chris came down dressed for school on Wednesday morning wearing his Beatles Abbey Road t-shirt.
And I read on Facebook about a friends’ son – about the same age as Chris – who sat by the radio last night listening, transfixed, to Lennon’s final interview.
These guys weren’t born until 15 or 16 years after Lennon died but they’re aware of who he was and what he did.
It’s kind of cool.
There were lots of dead rock stars from earlier generations when I was in high school – Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin, Brian Jones (and Buddy Holly from even earlier) to name but a few.
But no one on that list transcended music into political peace activism and pop culture like Lennon.
- - -
Years ago I was standing in a fast food place in Cape Breton getting lunch for the kids. The woman behind the counter asked me if I wanted ketchup for their fries and I said yes, please. She asked how many packets I wanted. I said four, please.
She pushed her hand into a bag filled with packets and pulled out exactly four.
She was clearly quite pleased with herself.
Now, what she wanted to say at this moment was: “Wow. I must be psychic!!” (Perhaps suggesting she sometimes has special powers allowing her to divine the future, etc.)
What she actually said was: “Wow. I must be psychotic!!” (Perhaps suggesting that she sometimes shoots randomly at passing vehicles from an overpass.)
I’m too much of a gentleman to correct a lady.
So I smiled widely and shared her enthusiasm!
“Yes!!! You must be!”
Then we both laughed maniacally, but clearly for different reasons.
Since then, for Laura and me if someone does something that coincides with a random event to create the illusion of Kreskin-like powers, one of us will say to the other: You must be psychotic!!”
And now you’re wondering why I’m telling that story.
- - -
I predicted yesterday the Pens and Sid would take apart the Leafs.
Hmmm. <All together now>
I must be psychotic. Would you like ketchup?
Read more here.
- - -
Further reading on Crosby: the Globe’s hockey writer makes the case that perhaps the numbers that young Sid is starting to accumulate suggest he is better than Gretzky!
<I quickly jump out of the way so as to not get hit by lightning.>
You can read it here and a) nod sagely in agreement b) bang your fists on your keyboard in disagreement c) wonder who these whippersnappers are making all these wild comparisons if they never saw Eddie Shore play the game.
- - -
Because my dad can’t get to Patrick’s games, and because I have little else to do between periods, I email pre-game notes and between-period summaries to him back in Nova Scotia so he can follow along. (Once a reporter, always a reporter.)
They are sort of real-time mini-blogs, but with more typos and less wit. For the pre-game I let him know how we’ve done against the opponent before, that sort of thing. Between periods I give the score, how is the team playing, any relevant highlight material about his grandson, and general review of proceedings. Usually these updates are like three sentences, tops.
Over the months several names have been added to the distribution list for these missives, always called “Game Night”.
Last night I called home and the first thing he said was “where’s Game Night? I kept checking but there were no updates.”
Well, that’s because there was no game. It’s tonight.
“Oh.”
Simple schedule confusion, I assumed.
First email I get this morning, at 6:21a, is from another member of the distribution list.
“Did Pad play last night?”
No. It’s tonight.
Maybe it’s me.
But for the record, I’m not sending off-day game reports from practice.
Well, not yet.
- - -
And yes.
Game night tonight.
Dec. 8, 2010
“I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me.”
From Norwegian Wood, by Lennon-McCartney
It was 30 years ago this evening that a maniac killed John Lennon in New York. I won’t pretend that I was a Lennon worshipper or anything like that but I was a fan of his music and admired his unflinching devotion to promoting peace and protesting war. Yeah, he was a hippie. But it’s pretty hard to argue against peace and for war, and 30 years on it makes more sense than ever.
I was actually visiting my sister, who was living in Cape Breton at the time, when I heard the news. Now kids, you’re going to find this hard to believe but there was no Internet or home computers then. No cell phones. No laptops. No wireless. CNN existed (barely) but wasn’t available on legal cable in Nova Scotia. So, you got your news twice a day – supper time and bedtime. And it was late in the evening when I heard.
That lyric I started with today is apropos of nothing other than Lennon wrote it – there’s nothing McCartney about that line – and I think it’s witty and clever. I think you have to be a guy to understand it, but maybe not.
Thirty years have flown by and if Lennon had survived he would be 70 today.
I remember years later listening to Paul being interviewed.
In 1976, as a joke, Saturday Night Live producer Lorne Michaels came on stage with a cheque and offered the Beatles $3000 if they showed up and performed three songs. (Michaels famously said John, Paul and George could give less money to Ringo if they wanted, that was up to them.)
Ironically, Paul, John and Yoko were actually sitting in John’s apartment in New York watching the show and Paul and Yoko wanted to jump in a cab and go to the Rockefeller Center where the show was being staged – they thought it would be wildly fun and entertaining and whatnot. Lennon vetoed it. He just wasn’t interested.
Too bad.
You can click here to watch the clip of Michaels issuing that invitation, which I remember watching live almost 35 years ago.
Oh my. 35 years.
“I grow old, I grow old. I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.”
Just FYI kids, that’s not a Lennon line. It’s T.S. Eliot – kind of a Lennon for an earlier generation.
- - -
The first days of December have some grim anniversaries.
In addition to Lennon’s murder, there’s the Dec 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, and the Dec 6, 1918, Halifax Explosion, and the Dec 6, 1989 massacre at Ecole Polytechnique in Montreal.
- - -
Speaking of grim, the Leafs take their sparkling two-game winning streak into Pittsburgh tonight to be mauled by Sid & Co.
Crosby is playing the game at a different level than the rest of the league’s mortals right now which is great fun for the Pens and not so much for anyone getting in their way.
I was lucky enough to see Orr in his prime, and Gretzky, and Lemieux, and Yzerman, and a few others. Crosby is going to be on that list, too.
Tune in tonight to see why.
Read more here.
- - -
We had no hockey last night so I was dispatched to pull Pad out of BTNL while the proprietors tried to turn out the lights and go home.
But on-ice practice resumes tonight, we have a junior game tomorrow, a bantam game Friday, the Greenbriar Hat Trick of Tyke hockey-Peewee Timekeeping-Junior A game action on Saturday, and another junior game Sunday afternoon.
Bring it on!
Dec 6, 2010
The good news is that the lights stayed on Friday night at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex.
The bad news is that the bantam Jets lost their first game of the season. The other team was better, and that happens sometimes.
Interestingly, the mayor was in the house on Friday night. Perhaps he came to see if the lights would stay on.
More likely he came to see the Blades game, watch some minor hockey and have dinner with his wife.
But still. He was there.
And the lights stayed on.
- - -
Interesting piece in the weekend Star about the Shelburne Red Wings – a junior A hockey team made up mostly of Russians.
The team plays in the Hockey Canada-outlawed Greater Metro Junior A loop and has become a lightning rod for debate in the otherwise quiet farming town north of Toronto.
Read more here.
- - -
We do not have a single Russian national on our Tyke house league team. I just wanted to stop the rumours before they get out of hand.
And we lost 7-6 on Saturday morning in a game that was perhaps more fun for me than it was for the kids, but only because the kids would prefer to win every game.
But this game had everything and then some other stuff too.
Tyke hockey rocks.
- - -
The presence of two MOHA officials at our tyke game substantially increased the average age of the audience.
Marshall Snowball and John Lee were staffing the annual toy drive initiative, Fill The Net and they couldn’t wait to tell me how good the hockey league team they coach is doing and yes, they chalked it up to good coaching.
My own view is that if you’re old enough to take credit for inventing ice you probably can take credit for almost anything that happens in a rink.
On a serious note, there’s a pretty short list of people in MOHA who consistently, year in, year out, give as much to minor hockey as Marshall and John and it was fun to see them at our game. I congratulate them for having that much energy, and I thank them and the others for all that they do so the kids in our town can play hockey.
- - -
Pad’s team played Huntsville on Saturday night in a cold, cold barn. Their usual venue – Port Credit – is being rebuilt so the team is enduring a nomadic existence this year.
One of the parents from Huntsville – no stranger to the cold – asked me if the city pipes cold air into the building to make the audience miserable.
I said I wasn’t sure about that, but I did think that our rink is the only one in the league where the game starts with a coin toss to see who wants the wind at their back for the first period. (I’m here all week. Try the veal!)
But hey – we won. Enjoy the drive home.
- - -
And while we were freezing, the Leafs were pulling off the unlikely – defeating Boston in a shootout.
Huh? What?
For the Leafs, that’s one in a row.
Read more here.
- - -
Our drive home Saturday night was slippery and slow the closer to Oakville we got. When we reached the QEW and Trafalgar the highway was snow covered, the off ramps were icy and I was really glad I put the Christmas lights up LAST weekend.
I went out Sunday to put my snow tires on and discovered one of the tires has a shiny screw in it, so I didn’t bother. I’ll let the pros fix the tire and throw the winter boots on the car tomorrow. Winter is here.
- - -
Weekend box score:
Bantams: lose 4-2
Tykes: lose 7-6
Junior A: Win 3-2
Leafs: Win 3-2 in shootout.
Net-net it was a pretty good weekend.
Dec 3, 2010
Happy Weekend. Sort of.
- - -
I didn’t watch all of the Leafs’ game last night and that might have been the best decision I’ve made in 25 years. The little bit I saw of it gave me reason to think our tyke Blackhawks would rout the blue and white if ever they met.
In any other world, a coach in the third year of a contract with nothing to show for it in that time would be gone now.
Read about the debacle here.
- - -
Perhaps the Leafs are distracted.
While I’ve been busy with my real life, news has broken that Rogers is keen to buy out the teachers’ pension fund as two-thirds owners of the Leafs and their parent money-making machine, MLSE.
Off the top of my head I can see two reasons why this would be good:
- The Leafs would perhaps all get really good cell phone deals and could call freely for help.
- I would be able to stop booing teachers at parent night at my kids’ school. I boo the teachers because they own the team and the team stinks. So, accountability being what it is, I boo. It’s unfortunate that I get pepper-sprayed and my kids have to repeat Grade 10 forever. But it seems like a small price to pay.
- - -
It’s Friday and we only have one hockey game. This is so cool. I actually get to attend bantam white night at Sixteen Mile, and we’re all hopeful that the lights will stay on so everyone gets to play their games.
Some members of my family will be in the bar at a not-particularly special pre-game reception. Actually, it’s called “meeting friends for a beer.”
If you’re there, you can buy me a drink. But just one – RIDE programs started last weekend and it’s simply not worth it on about 20 levels.
Do not drink and drive.
- - -
From the news reports it looks like my drive to and from Buffalo the other night in torrential rain was actually a bargain. The junior Sabres were supposed to be in the GTA last night to play Newmarket and couldn’t get out of Wingville because of snow. Tonight they’re supposed to be . . . at Sixteen Mile playing the Blades, just down the hall from Chris’s game.
I hope they can make the trip safely.
And I hope they leave the American referees at the border.
- - -
Saturday is the usual – tyke hockey in the morning, ferrying Chris to timekeeping in the afternoon, junior hockey at night, chicken wings and post-game beer and review in the kitchen at a way-too-late-for-a-guy-my-age time of the day.
But I can’t help it.
The only thing better than watching our tykes and my kids and their friends play is talking about watching our tykes and my kids and their friends play.
It never gets old.
- - -
I’ll sign off now with a pledge to be more interesting next week. Of course, I said that last week and it didn’t work out very well, but at least I showed up.
Time to start thinking about Christmas shopping if you’re into that sort of thing.
Parking lots are dangerous so be careful, but have fun.
Hug the kids.
Dec 2, 2010
Hi. Yeah. I'm a little swamped, so . . . sorry. I'll get back to this soon.
- - -
Quick observation #1.
Last Friday night most of the bantam white games at Sixteen Mile Sports Complex were cancelled because the lights wouldn't stay on at Rink 4. Chris's game was eventually completed, but not until after six (6) delays because of darkness.
Apparently the problem has been going on for more than a week. A call to the town by the convener got an indifferent response, although the "engineer" who eventually showed up got there when the lights were on and declined to stay.
Of course the lights went out again shortly after he left and dozens of kids were sent home.
If you're annoyed about this, you may wish to ask someone about it.
Like Mayor Rob Burton.
You can email the mayor here. I've never met his worship but I know for a fact that he would be interested in hearing from you on this matter.
You paid for the rink. And salaries of the people who work there.
Speak up.
- - -
Quick observation #2.
In between work and sleep there was hockey this week, and Tuesday night found me racing down the QEW at rush hour trying to get to Buffalo for Pad's game at 7:30p. It was dark and rainy and slow, but I managed to get to the rink just in time to see him introduced as a starter for the third game in a row. (The lineup is pocked with injuries and rookies are finding all manner of opportunity among the wreckage.)
Anyway, the good guys jumped to a three-goal lead before the US refs -- somewhat notorious in this loop -- started calling every trivial offence again the good guys ("Two minutes for complicity in the WikiLeaks scandal? Come on stripes!! There's two dysfunctional democracies out there!! Call it both ways!!") and things quickly degenerated.
I try not to stand and yell at refs because a) it doesn't help b) we need refs c) one rarely looks urbane and cool while shrieking at game officials.
But after one particularly heinous series of calls, all on the same stoppage of play, I simply stood and applauded. See, it was an attempt at sarcasm. Sort of passive opposition to the tyranny of cross-border officiating.
After the game Pad said the refs were appalling. I told him I thought so too, but I didn't want to yell.
Him: "Yeah, I saw you clapping."
Me: "Well, I didn't want to yell and look like a dick."
Him: "Yeah, I get it. But you still looked like a dick."
Me: "Oh. So you don't want me to clap for the refs anymore."
Him: "I don't really care. Go nuts."
- - -
I hope to be here tomorrow.