May 28, 2010

Friday morning.

I was up early for no reason other than I woke up.

The NHL final doesn’t start until tomorrow night – thankfully a night game at least. Last weekend’s action – Saturday “Hockey Night in Canada” at 3p on a long weekend – made me shudder.

I like hockey and cheering against Montreal as much as the next guy.

But the whole idea of pulling the curtains closed on a warm spring day and watching hockey on TV feels anti-Canadian, given the winters we’re forced to endure.

Fortunately, this weekend no such challenge.

- - -

Pad reffed again last night at Glen Abbey and it was hotter than Wednesday evening, but since the game was novice he wasn’t challenged the way he would be with the older age groups. In Novice, kids are known to apologize on the way to the penalty box, whereas in midget they are more likely to threaten to vandalize your house. Oakville won over Halton Hills, which is always a good result.

After the game he had his second dinner of the evening (the first, chicken Caesar salad, followed his workout at BTNL. The second meal was steak and rice. And I’m fairly sure he had a big turkey sandwich before bed. Does anyone else negotiate loans with grocery stores? Everyone does. Right?)

More reffing tonight.

- - -

Chris attended the final fun fair he will see as a student at Abbey Lane Public School last night. I’m happy to say I missed it.

Chris and a bunch of his buddies will gleefully say goodbye to the school when they graduate in a month from Grade 8.

Although this is the only school he has ever attended – nine years in all – he’s not the least bit sentimental about moving on and I don’t blame him one bit.

The Ontario practice of grouping kids from primary to Grade 8 and then Grades 9 to 12 puts a strain on kids in Grade 7 and 8, I think, because their needs and priorities are so far removed from those of the younger kids.

In Nova Scotia we have junior high school – Grades 7, 8 and 9 – and I think as a transition to high school that worked better.

Just as an aside, in my first year of junior high school, our school had Grade 7 to 10. I made the hockey team when I was in Grade 7 and I learned more, faster about life by being in the dressing room listening to the Grade 10 guys than I ever learned elsewhere.

- - -

Attention all geeks.

The iPad is now available in Canada. No, I don’t want one but one of my kids really does, although he can’t really explain why.

A 32gig version with wifi and 3G capability (I can hear my dad grumbling now, “what the hell is he talking about . . .”) will cost $780 before taxes and any other add ons.

Rogers is selling an HP netbook (a bare-bones laptop for Internet and email with a two-year data plan commitment) that costs about $300 and includes imbedded 3G capability.

I’m not convinced the iPad is going to be the game changer the way the iPod was, and to a lesser extent, the iPhone – which is also an amazing device, but not nearly as dominant in its market as the iPod.

Some think the fight for the electronic tablet is just beginning and that Apple, while still the king of cool, may not prevail over the long haul.

Read more here.

My counsel to my younger tech-obsessed boy (who has the money saved to almost get one) is to get a netbook and wait and see what the next generations of the iPad will bring.

For sure, prices will come down, features will be added and bugs will be worked out.

Why pay $800 to be part of Steve Jobs’ big lab?

- - -

Rinks of all temperatures in our future for the next four or five days.

Sweltering box lacrosse and chilly summer workouts on the ice.

Given that the good people in our HR department advise me that I have a stupid number of days of accumulated vacation, I may take some time off next week to accelerate the progressing work on Operation Fat Dad and stand in the backyard with my hands on my hips, stare at the lawn and garden and say “hmmm.”

When it comes to gardening, I can kill almost anything. And so I shall find healthy plants to adopt into our nice home where a bizarre combination of benign neglect, healthy indifference and rampant incompetence will render them unto compost in fairly short order.

And at the end of the day, it just doesn’t matter . . .

- - -

Which brings me back to where I left off yesterday – the plea for hockey gossip (yes there was some, but while I like to hear gossip, I’m far too knowledgeable in the areas of libel and slander statutes to actually get into all that here.

So, you have to wait, or get your own blog and explore the legal system on your own.

But back to where I was.

Meatballs.

Best. Summer. Movie. Ever.

And me and my boys are going to view it again, soon. Real soon.

Sure, Bill Murray was in a drug-addled state for most of the production.

And sure, some of the clothing and music doesn’t hold up all these 31 years later.

And sure, back then Chris Makepeace seemed like a no brainer to one day rule Hollywood like Tom Hanks. So what happened to that kid anyway?

But if you ever went to summer camp (and, for the record, I never did) I’m told that this movie was only a slightly over-the-top recounting of what may have been involved.

And for all of you people lucky enough to have gone to summer camp, but not to the best summer camp, well this bud’s for you.

And for the people who never got to summer camp at all, well, ditto.

Witness Bill Murray’s bizarre soliloquy for the little guy on the eve of the athletic showdown with the rich, beautiful kids from Camp Mohawk.

It’s a kind of latter day St Crispin’s Day speech, for all you Shakespeare fans. (In the play Henry V, the king inspires his vastly outnumbered English army to take on the French in the Battle of Agincourt, which they won. It was like the Stanley Cup final of its day. Sort of.)

Anyway, Bill Murray counselled the kids at camp somewhat differently than King Henry did; that no matter how hard you try, no matter what you do, and even if you win . . .it just           . . . doesn’t  . . . matter . . . .

And that’s because the guys at Mohawk still have more money and will still get the hot girls.

It’s called “life.”

(Ironic side note: The next king Henry, Henry VI, pretty much pissed away the gains of the hard fought victory at Agincourt, proving that Murray ultimately was right. It didn’t matter. You know, if I was in high school English, there’s a term paper in all this somewhere . . . Imagine Henry V telling the troops, "sure, it would be nice to win. But even if we win, the French will still have better wine, and nicer food, and  . . .)

Anyway, how the academy overlooked this movie for an Oscar . . . I’ll never know.

Before you start your weekend, stop and view the best two minutes and 28 seconds of video you will see for a while.

And remember the core message while racing around trying to get where you’re going faster than you really need to go.

Show up safe, not fast. It just doesn’t matter.

Have a great weekend. Hug the kids. Roll the tape!

May 27, 2010

It was hot last night and it’s hot again today.

Pad had to ref a pair of rep lacrosse games at Glen Abbey and it was very warm and humid and for a variety of reasons he was not at all in a good mood at the end of it.

Meanwhile, Chris had a practice at Kinoak – the coveted 9p start! – and it was even hotter there.

Laura was otherwise tied up so I was on shuttle duty between the rinks, which I actually enjoy. It’s not that tough so long as you’re not the one responsible for running a practice or working a bench. And I wasn’t.

A friend stepped up and invited Pad over for a swim after he finished, so that helped his mood a bit.

And Chris was having a sweaty good time at practice when I got back there. I tried to grab him a slushy at the local convenience store (red or blue?) but the hot weather had taken the proprietor by surprise I guess, and the machine wasn’t set up yet.

So he had to settle for a cold orange juice, but it seemed to do the trick.

More of the same tonight, then hopefully the hot weather will ease up a bit but the sunny skies will stay for the weekend.

- - -

The oil leak/spill/disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is a gruesome thing. Gruesome things inevitably lead to gallows humour.

The following logo – which is actually the real BP logo with a clever slogan added – is available on t-shirts for sale on the web.

Also, read some interesting news on British Petroleum’s safety priorities here.

 - - -

Where do you want to go when you retire? (Personally, I find the whole idea of even contemplating retirement a bit of a farce but that’s just me.)

Anyway, the question has an obvious answer for many, including the space shuttle Atlantis, which finished its final mission yesterday by landing in the land of matching white shoes and belts and 3p dinner specials, Florida.

After 120 million miles Atlantis is done and the US shuttle program as we know it is in its final days.

Read more here.

- - -

Interesting news on the business pages that Apple is now more valuable in terms of market capitalization than Microsoft. The reason it is interesting is that only 10 years ago Apple was basically given up for dead, regarded as road kill after losing the war to the PC for home and office platform dominance.

But Steve Jobs and other deep thinkers had a pretty decent vision of the future and realized that if you could dominate the way people get content to run on your software and provide the hardware to do it all and make it hip, well, there might be a buck to two to be made.

In ways that the music industry could never get its head around, Apple led the digital content revolution, hooking us to iPods, and then iTunes and now iPads (which, incidentally go on sale tomorrow and no, you can’t have one unless you have the best part of $1,000 and several hours to wait in line.

The rebirth and sprint to dominance is the sort of case study that makes editors at Harvard Business Review giddy with excitement.

But I’ll spare you the long academic treatment.

You can read about it here.

- - -

The MOHA annual general meeting is scheduled for June 10 – two weeks from today for the calendar challenged.

Gossip, Gossip! We want gossip!

Whenever I see members of the board around town I ask (before they nervously walk away) who’s running for what, but so far no one is confirming candidacies and I haven’t heard if the incumbents are planning to reoffer for another team.

Heard anything?

Anything? Anything? Bueller?

Email me if you have and are willing to share.

In the meanwhile, enjoy your sweltering Thursday with a clip from perhaps the greatest summer move of all time – Meatballs.

Yes of course. It’s the “WE WANT GOSSIP!” scene. (Go to about the one minute mark to get right to the legendary chant.)

Later folks. Stay cool. Literally!

May 26, 2010

You might think that after a long weekend with mostly good weather, some great lacrosse and general laziness, I’d have some witty new prose to offer.

You’d be wrong.

Other than the bantam lacrosse Bandits reeling off their third win in a row, and Patrick showing up intermittently to referee some games, the weekend was uneventful and skates and sticks were not part of the equation for the first time in a long, long while.

My weekend was highlighted by a death match with a couple of garden shrubs – one of which was already actually dead but needed to be extracted, roots and all. The other is a spiny, ill-tempered beast that was in need of trimming.

Both tasks were done successfully, although my forearms now look like they were gnawed upon by angry ferrets.

- - -

It came as no great surprise that Montreal finally went down to defeat to the Flyers. The only surprise was that it took this long and that two teams before Philly couldn’t get the job done.

More than one blog reader has commented to me on the behaviour of Habs fans – and not just the window smashing hoards. Their point was that it is surely a sign of how far this franchise has fallen when losing in the conference final is considered an achievement.

It’s a point I’ve made before and it is worthy of repeating, only because it is exactly, precisely the sort of thing that Montreal fans for year taunted Toronto about – and with good reason.

Let there be no doubt that if Toronto manages to ever make the playoffs again, and if the Leafs could ever win a single game in the playoffs, the exodus of Cameros from Woodbridge to Bay Street with horns honking would be worthy of an NFB documentary.

But for now, those are two very big ‘ifs” and all is calm at the ACC.

So we settled for the spectacle of Montreal fans doing the silly work of the Leaf fan, overreacting to a modestly successful playoff run that ended in a loss to the 7^th ranked team in the East.

Not sure there’s a banner for that accomplishment, but there are plenty of cars to burn.

- - -

Hey, I was 2-0 in the conference finals, successfully predicting both series. On to the final:

How can you not pick the Hawks?

Ideally, the Hawks would be playing the Penguins or the Caps in the final so all the games top stars could be on display.

Not that Mike Richards and Chris Pronger and Jeff Carter and Simon Gagne and Danny Briere, among others, are not among the best in the game. Richards, in particular, seems like a guy born and raised to play in Philly – gritty, selfless, hardnosed and highly skilled. He is, to me, one of the best three or four all-round players in the game.

But, there’s a reason this team needed a shootout goal in the last game of the regular season to squeeze into the playoffs in a year when the standard for making those playoffs was exceptionally low in the East.

And that is, they’re not very good. Yes, they captured some magic in winning four straight to stun Boston. And yes, they did what Pittsburgh and Washington could not do in stopping Montreal.

But this is a 7^th place hockey team, playing with baling wire and binding twine in goal that could, and probably will, give way at any moment.

No disrespect to Michael Leighton, but I’m declaring his 15 minutes over.

Why? Because the Chicago Blackhawks are not Montreal, as he is about to learn.

A large part of the reason that the Flyers knocked out Montreal is that they ran into them, a lot. They played a physical game that Washington and Pittsburgh did not and it worked.

Chicago is different. On the one hand, you can’t hit what you can’t catch.

The Hawks attack moves at such velocity that it almost seems ready to sometimes go airborne.

And they are not without toughness – Dustin Byfuglien is a fire hydrant, albeit a very large one with soft hands. And Dave Bolland. And . . . well, we’re not really getting to the meat of it here.

Jon Toews. Patrick Kane. Brent Seabrook. Patrick Sharp. Duncan Keith.

And yes. Even Marian Hossa, who I have derided as possibly the worst big-game player in hockey history. After bouncing haplessly to teams in hopes of a Cup – Detroit, then Pittsburgh and now to Chicago, he’s finally going to get a championship.

From where I sit, Philly is a bone to be chewed by the young Hawks, a team looking for a coming-of-age event just like the Pens last year.

I’ll be stunned if this takes more than five games. But we have to wait until Saturday for it all to start.

- - -

The Oakville Hawks peewee 3 field lacrosse squad marched to the Ontario championship on the weekend, taking down Toronto Beaches in a two-hour marathon that went unsettled after regulation time, and then two timed overtimes, and then a period of sudden death. In the second sudden death frame, the Hawks found sudden victory from a goal off the stick of Andrew DeRyck. My scouts tell me that goalie Kyle Moniz was outstanding in the run to the gold.

I know some of the guys on the team and some of the parents and it’s a thrilling victory for them all, I’m sure.

Trust my raspy voice of experience -- some things you never forget and this weekend will be one of them.

Congratulations to the 2010 gold medalists in peewee 3 from the Ontario Field Lacrosse Championships. What a day it must have been!

The team is: Coaches Tyler Davies, Curtis Davies, Assistant Coaches Ron Milford and Paul DeRyck. Players: Justin Capizzano, Harrison Clarke, Ryan Churchill, Reese Cooper, Andrew DeRyck, Matthew Gorman, Francis Guay, Justin Inacio, Zack Landau, Emerick MacDonald, Jack MacDonald, Matthew Milford, Daniel Moll, Kyle Moniz, Jacob Ristivojevic, Andrew Tymkiv.

May 21, 2010

It felt like Friday would never come this week, and I’m not in the habit of wishing away the days. But I’m glad to see the weekend ahead of me.

- - -

Presto Card update:

Having straightened out all the technical issues around my acquisition of the new payment system for GO trains, I’ve been successfully using it without incident for most of the last two weeks.

One of the first questions I had when I got the thing was how will the conductors know whether I’ve paid when they do one of their inevitable spot checks? The answer: they are equipped with a card-reading device about the size of a debit-card machine that can, allegedly, tell them when I last used the card.

I say “allegedly” because three times this week I was asked for proof of payment (an unusually high number of spot checks, BTW.) And three times when I presented the Presto card, I was met with a wave of the hand.

Twice the conductor said his hand-held reader wasn’t working. The third time the guy just laughed and said “you don’t want to put your card in my machine.”

In all three cases I had paid, so I didn’t care whether they read my card.

But it makes one wonder if there’s a larger issue here that we train warriors don’t know about – a hardware/software problem, or perhaps resentful conductors not thrilled about carrying another apparatus around on their belts.

Hmmm.

- - -

I worked late last night and by the time I got home older son was already gone to Glen Abbey to ref a couple rep lacrosse games. I missed the first one but managed to get there in time to see about half of the game where the Oakville Hawks peewee 3 squad dismantled Orangeville 3 by A Really Big Number to 1.

I saw the last period of the Habs game – nice to see them finally score a goal, which is a key element of winning hockey games. With the 5-1 win Montreal climbs back into the series and I’m sure the fans blazed up a couple of Toyotas to mark the occasion.

- - -

That picture I showed here earlier this week was of my older guy at the London Knights spring prospect camp last weekend. I wasn’t going to get into it, but I’ve had calls and emails from friends in the hockey community urging me to at least mention it so, well, I’ll at least mention it.

My kid played exactly one year of AAA hockey and had to leave Oakville to even get that chance (if he was a HL goalie perhaps they'd have given him cab fare). A year ago, he had just finished up a year of AA minor midget and, as is the case for virtually all AA players, went undrafted in the OHL draft. We were not surprised.

He moved to the GTHL last season, played AAA and long story made short, someone saw him and the next thing you know, he’s skating at the London camp. Yeah, I’m proud of him and the work he did to get invited.

Every major junior team has a spring camp for prospects. Unlike the tier-2 junior A spring camps, where anyone can sign a cheque and show up, the major junior camps have no cost to participants (other than getting there) and are invitation only.

“Prospects” generally means all of their draft picks for the last two years, plus some invited free agents (like my guy.) It means you are on the radar, but in reality not much more than that. What a kid makes of being on the radar is a combination of luck and work that plays out in the future.

The folks who encouraged me to talk about our trip had two reasons for thinking it noteworthy. And I’ll add a third.

First, not many kids get that experience and they suggested a lot of parents would find it interesting knowing what happens at these things.

Second (this is my addition) there are a lot of good hockey players out there. I mean, like, really a lot. It’s a good reality check.

Third, there’s a lesson here for a bunch of kids.

So, on the first part let me say the experience was wonderful.

Starting mid-morning Saturday the kids – men, really – were put through a battery of physical assessment tests. Two-mile run. Situps. Bench press. Body fat calculation. Flexibility test. Vertical jump. It tells them who the athletes are, and identifies fitness issues to be addressed.

(All that money spent at BTNL paid off I guess, as my guy was top 10 in four of the six categories.)

After that the kids were fed lunch and the parents were herded into a seminar on educational options, OHL vs NCAA, billeting, travel, team commitment issues, etc, as well as a deep dive on the history of excellence around the London Knights. It was really well done and informative.

Finally that afternoon the boys hit the ice for a two-hour scrimmage that included four or five younger Knights players among the 48 players at camp.

That evening the Knights held their awards dinner, and then the next morning it was back on the ice for another two hours.

I can’t really say enough about how well the camp was run. It was professional in every respect and every kid was treated royally. If you want to win our hearts, treat our kids like kings. Those things may sound little -- fresh towels, apples and fruit everywhere for the kids, a great lunch, barrels of bottles of ice water and Gatorade – but in the context of minor hockey, it felt like the pros.

Parents were encouraged to wander through the John Labatt Centre and ask a lot of questions of everyone. Other than the locker rooms, nothing was off limits. At the end of it, every player got a detailed exit interview with team officials where basically a map was laid out of what you needed to work on, what they liked, that sort of thing.

An interesting point for every parent in minor hockey that has paced in a foyer after a rep tryout waiting for your kid to emerge: the Knights insisted that parents attend these meetings with the player. They wanted us to ask questions, too.

It was incredibly positive and suffice to say Dale and Mark Hunter have two new fans.

I got an email yesterday from two other Oakville dads whose sons were also invited to camps, both boys also undrafted. They came away with the same positive experience we did.

Two things that made an impression on me, aside from the quality of the camp and the team personnel: seeing my kid in a visor (unnerving) and watching hundreds of people turn up to watch a bunch of no-name rookies scrimmage. (The Knights routinely sell out their 9,100 seats and interest in the community is huge. When we walked through the hotel with his gear, middle-age men and women would stop my kid and wish him good luck at the camp. Everyone knew why he was there.)

So, the lesson?

Well, for most of the kids, mine included, not much will likely come of it. But . . . you never know.

Every kid has dreams, and so they should. And it doesn’t hurt to remember that, as we learned, you never know who’s watching.

There are lots of good hockey players in our community at every level of every age group, from house league to AAA. And if you do the work, and give your best, someone will notice. Not may notice. They will notice.

It may be the opportunity to move from blue HL to white, or white to red, or red to AE rep, and finally get that Ranger jacket (BTW, the first year you play rep is the best year of hockey you ever have, unless you’re Sidney Crosby, and you’re probably not.) Opportunities come in all sizes and achievement is found at every level. And when someone notices, it’s gonna make your kid’s day.

And maybe yours too.

- - -

I hope the weather holds up this weekend. For once, we have nothing at all on the agenda other than the boys’ refereeing and timekeeping obligations and Chris’s house league lacrosse game.

Pad usually skates for an hour on Sunday and four hours on Mondays with a bunch of junior players but they wisely didn’t schedule those for the long weekend.

If we had a dock we’d sit on it, but probably the kitchen counter will have to do.

A happy Friday night to me is seeing my wife sit on the counter with a glass of wine telling me all the stuff we were too busy to connect on all week. (And that’s why we have a TV in the kitchen too, so I can talk, listen and watch the hockey game all at once. I’m a multi-tasker.)

Every now and then we need a day or two to reset the family circuits and let everyone reconnect without feeling run off their feet. Hopefully, that’s what we’re up to this weekend.

Field lacrosse players are in provincials starting this weekend. Good luck to all of you. I wish I was there.

Have fun and stay safe this long weekend wherever it takes you.

Hug the kids.

May 20, 2010

Sidney Crosby was among the hockey stars that the mouth breathers at the International Ice Hockey Federation called out for not playing at this year’s world championship.

Henrik Zetterberg and Nicklas Backstrom were also singled out.

In an article on its web site entitled “Saying No To Your Country” the IIHF basically says young guys like Crosby are wimps for not showing up for the IIHF clam bake and hockey tournament, using some fairly tortured prose in the process.

You can read the IIHF story here.

Hockey Canada and many, many other people responded in Crosby’s defence, basically telling the IIHF to go shove it somewhere.

Crosby has played more than 180 games in the last two years, going to the NHL finals twice, plus the Olympics.

I’m pretty sure a reasonable person would say he deserves a break if he wants one.

For the record, Crosby played for Canada in the 2006 world tournament, plus the 2004 and 2005 world junior, and the 2003 world U18. And the Olympics.

In total, 33 games in international competition with the maple leaf on his jersey.

You can read about Hockey Canada’s response to the IIHF here.

I think part of the motivation for the IIHF is the fact that their tournament is not a marquee event, not in North America anyway, and probably not anywhere in the world in an Olympic year.

Personally, I think it would have been cool to see Crosby go for a world title to add to the Stanley Cup and Olympic gold – how many guys have pulled that off in the same 12 months?

On the other hand, I’ve seen pictures of his estate in Grand Lake, NS, and that’s where I’d be too after the year he’s had.

- - -

Laura and Chris arrived home last night from Ottawa, so the house will return to a regular routine for the rest of the week and into the long weekend.

That’s a good thing.

- - -

May 19, 2010

Goalies: Part 347

The calls and emails continue. I hope people are calling and emailing board members and the executive, too. Because other than shine a light and express an opinion I have about as much influence on these things as I do on the Leafs’ draft plans.

But, just FYI the latest I heard was that parents/players on the goalie waiting list would be informed at the end of May as to their status and prospects of playing hockey in Oakville next season.

Which, if I can make a leap of logic here, would suggest there’s no plan afoot to rethink the current approach which is mightily convenient for conveners and mightily arbitrary for kids whose parents had the temerity to wait three days in May before registering them for a hockey season five months away from starting.

As I’ve said from the outset I have a lot of respect for the volunteers on Speers Road and the work they do. It’s not easy and it’s pretty much entirely thankless. I’m sure my photo is on a dart board.

The trouble is no one is saying what alternatives were considered and rejected. They don’t have to tell me, they need to explain it to the parents of kids on the waiting list, every single one of them.

But so far, no one has. And no one is reaching out to parents of kids on the waiting lists that I’m aware of – most of whom have never played hockey anywhere other than Oakville – to try and find a solution.

Paternalistic “we-know-best-so-write-a-cheque-and-wait” management drives people nuts, and rightly so.

What would I do if my kid were in the crosshairs?

1. Ask for a meeting of all concerned parents to hear the issue explained in a rational setting, with all the issues and challenges laid out, all the alternatives that were considered explained, and to hear why imposing a cap was determined to be the best way forward. If not successful or satisfied, I’d then . . .
2. Go to the AGM on June 10 and bring all my friends, and their friends, and their friends’ friends. I’d get some advice about putting forward a resolution from the floor of the AGM on this matter specifically directing the board to revisit it (members can do that sort of thing at an AGM because it’s their meeting, not the guys at the front of the room.)
3. In advance of the above, I’d call the Oakville Beaver, Oakville Today, the Toronto Star, the Toronto Sun, CITY TV, CFTO and a bunch of other media and tell them what is happening and why it’s unfair to your kid and other kids. Local media LOVE local news.

That’s what I’d do.

Or, I guess I’d start looking for alternative places to play.

- - -

Pad and I have been holding the fort on our own for a couple of days while Laura helps chaperone (“herd” might be a better word) a bunch of kids from Chris’s school to Ottawa for the national music festival.

The band won a bronze medal, but from what I can tell musical performances seem to have been largely tangential to the exercise.

Great life lessons are learned on such excursions, as parents all know.

Like, JuJube candies melt easily in a microwave and smell awful in liquid form. And it’s pretty tough to clean up.

Like, Nikon DSRL cameras don’t bounce.

Like, everyone enjoys an impromptu dance routine. In a restaurant. At dinner time. To the Village People’s YMCA. (Well, some people enjoy it.)

There were other lessons. Suffice to say they’re having fun and all exhausted.

Pad reffed three-on-three hockey last night and then we ate late and watched more hockey.

We didn’t even call Swiss Chalet once this week, a new personal best when mom’s away.

Regular programming resumes tonight.

- - -

Whatever magic Montreal had in the first two rounds seems to have melted away like JuJubes in a microwave.

The hot goalie is at the other end of the rink. The Habs can’t buy a goal. The writing is on the wall and Kate Smith is smiling.

On the other coast, San Jose in finally following the script and heading back to Chicago could be staring a sweep in the face.

May 17, 2010

Sorry for the late update. One of those days . . .

- - -

Something of a nutty weekend in our house but a good and fun one.

A hockey road trip with Pad -- there is no off season any more. This weekend was the first time I’ve seen my kid compete without a cage – he donned the visor. It was weird, but time marches on. I'm told the visor makes it easier for the boys to punch each other in the face.

Charming, isn't it?

Back to top

- - -

Chris and the Bandits won again, although I had to miss it. So his house league lacrosse team are back in the thick of things which makes it all more fun for them.

- - -

Goalies.

I hate to beat a dead horse here, but I’m now getting emails from kids. And I have to tell you there are few things more forlorn than an email from a kid asking me to explain how it is that the registration for his division, for goalies, was capped only three days after registration opened.

And another dad reported the same thing, adding that when he went to the hockey office to get on the waiting list he was asked if his son, who has played goalie since Novice and is entering bantam, would consider a skating position.

A lot of folks continue to shake their heads on this one.

I have to believe the smart folks running things have a Plan B, because this one isn’t working for the kids.

I hear there’s a meeting tonight.

- - -

Playoff predictions:

I think a fella could eventually get rich betting against San Jose, so, I’m betting against San Jose. Hawks in six.

Montreal-Philly is a little more interesting. Last night’s score isn’t close to reflecting the way this series will play out, but it did have the feeling of something that was long overdue. As the Globe and Mail said, Halak rhymes with shellac.

But I’m still picking Philly to win the series in seven long and ugly games.

For the record, I  was 4-4 in the first round and 2-2 in the 2^nd round (I picked Pittsburgh and Detroit.)

- - -

The Oakville Buzz junior B lacrosse team won their first two games of the season.

Then, they lost two.

Then, they won two.

And how do you think they did on the weekend?

They lost two.

Hmmm.

Their record in now 4-4, but they are poised to go on a big winning streak!

May 14, 2010

This goalie registration thing is a big deal.

The calls and emails continue so I can only imagine what sort of things the folks on Speers Road are hearing.

No one I’ve heard from thinks capping goalie registrations is a good idea, and that includes parents who have already rushed to the front of the line and registered their kids.

Question:

Why is it that some families seemed to know this cap on goalie registrations was coming, and most others did not? Was there a public notice to members of this change in policy? Because it seems to me the system isn’t “first-come, first served” if a lot of people don’t know there’s a cap.

At the same time, no one is particularly fond of the idea of platooning goalies in house league.

I understand that, too.

When tackling complex problems you have to stand back for a moment and assess the data (which I don’t have.)

First, what is the current state? How many teams, how many goalies will there be (based on current waiting lists and previous registrations.)

Second, who are the stakeholders most heavily impacted by the outcomes? (That would be the kids.) Who are the other stakeholders? Parents, coaches, conveners, schedulers, etc.

Third, what are the best options for successful outcomes for the stakeholders? Ideally, you want to make all stakeholders happy. If that’s not possible, you start with the most heavily invested and work backwards. (So, the kids come first. The adults cope with the outcome and make it work.)

I’ve been assured by people I know and respect that this issue has been examined from every side, and I have no reason to doubt that.

But if the best solution put forward is to cap registrations, well, I guess I’d like to see a list of what proposals were rejected because this one sucks.

Again, the question I’ve heard most:

Where was the public announcement to members that goalie registrations were subject to a cap? It’s a really, really valid complaint.

Some people seemed to have known that it was coming, otherwise why would the bantam division, which had 20 house league teams and four rep teams last year – already be into a waiting list for goalies after little more than a week of registration?

The system was not fair to all. Worse still – a subtle distinction – the system is SEEN to be unfair.

I do not doubt for a second that the folks charged with looking at this issue spent a lot of time on it.

But perhaps the reality is that some divisions will have to carry more than one goalie per team. And goalies – like other players -- should play in a division commensurate with their skill. And equal access to the opportunity to play should be the overriding consideration.

I offered a couple suggestions yesterday.

Here’s another one: uncap the registrations immediately and look to create HL divisions, where numbers warrant, in which most, if not all teams carry two goalies.

Extend the length of the games in those divisions – say, peewee and up – to accommodate the playing time issue.

The same two issues – money and finding ice time – will surface.

On the former, again MOHA has tons of money. (Sorry to keep saying this but it’s true.)

If this issue proves to be more then a temporary demographic blip, increase registration fees for next season to offset costs.

On the latter? Sorry. There’s lots of ice in Oakville and there’s going to be a lot more in the fall when North Park opens. The times may not always be convenient, but there’s lots of ice. The whole idea of an “ice shortage” is a myth. There could be a “sleep late on weekends” shortage. That’s another issue.

Creativity+money + ice = solutions.

- - -

I got a terrific, heartfelt email from a goalie dad yesterday – triggered by this issue, but sort of tangential to this mess.

I know the player in question, but have never coached him or even been on a team with him. (It has become, apparently, a bit of a weird parlour game in Oakville for readers to try and guess who I’m talking about – so, on this one, don’t bother. There’s no direct link!)

Anyway, this particular goalie dad lamented that he wished the house league draft system worked better to promote kids to the proper level within the system. To be blunt: that it was more fair.

I agree with where his heart is on this.

The cold reality is no convener or VP can make a coach draft a particular player or goalie. There are lots of reasons why coaches draft some kids and not others, and it doesn’t always have to do with talent.  Talent is the top consideration, but not the only consideration:

To name a few:

Sometimes they take their friends’ kids.

Sometimes they take kids because they know the families are outstanding people to have around a team.

Sometimes they avoid kids who have reputations as being a handful to manage.

Sometimes they avoid kids who have parents who have reputations as being more disruptive than they are willing to put up with for eight months.

Sometimes they avoid kids whose parents aren’t committed to getting their kid to practice.

There are others. Is it always fair with perfect outcomes? No, but that also depends on where you land, too.

If you can imagine each of those categories as a dial with a number between 0 and 10, that’s sort of how the house league draft works in many coaches' heads.

Johnny is going to score or set up two goals a game and his parents make sure he comes to every game and practice and they never debate ice time with the coach? He’s a 10. A first rounder.

Johnny is going to score or set up two goals a game, swear at a ref, bucket fight in the dressing room and throw juice boxes at his teammates? Um, the dial goes to one. If he scores four times a game? Maybe a five.

Johnny rarely scores but works hard, is polite, he’s a good teammate and his parents have an indoor pool? He’s an eight.

You get the idea. Hockey season is long and coaches often try to build a community they are willing to live in for eight months.

But . . .

We have a saying in our house about minor hockey.

“Everyone deserves a 2^nd chance to make a first impression.”

And it’s been proven true to me so many times I don’t know where to start.

Parents change. Or your first impression of a parent may have come when they were having a really bad day. And kids mature – they learn life skills, they cope better, they become better athletes and teammates.

That email yesterday was a good reminder to me – and hopefully, all of you – that what you think to be true about a family or player may not actually reflect reality.

Maybe some kids you’ve passed over before deserve a second look.

Think about it.

- - -

A very busy weekend ahead for us but I won’t bore you with the details. Maybe later.

In the meantime, I hope the weather warms up and everyone has safe travels and good experiences this weekend.

Lacrosse, soccer, rugby, baseball, and yes – even hockey.

There’s no shortage of events in the days ahead.

Enjoy the warming weather. Drive safely. Hug the goalies. And the kids.

May 13, 2010

What a remarkable run the Habs are on. I have to confess I continued to cheer for the Pens last night, but it’s getting more difficult to not get caught up in what’s happening down the 401.

I didn’t get to see much of the game, but Chris and I were tuned in on the lousy AM radio reception in my car to and from lacrosse.

But the better team last night won.A Boston-Montreal semi-final, anyone?

What is this? 1975?

- - -

I have to say the Montreal fans are completely forfeiting the right to mock Leaf fans for over reacting to early-round heroics.

The Habs are on a remarkable run. But tear gas?. . . It’s still early.

- - -

A followup to my Presto transit card adventure.

It took GO Transit – not Presto – to inform me that Presto’s web site is a disaster area, constantly crashing and not 100 per cent functional even when it is up.

So that’s why I couldn’t register my card etc.

I’ve since got all that done and the card seems to be working now, making the little machine beep when I tap to pay my fare.

The next adventure will come when I’m asked by a conductor for proof of payment.

They apparently have card reading devices that will show if I’ve paid.

I bet those never break down, right?

I like the Presto name, though.

Presto! We take your money!

Presto! The web site is down!

Presto! Call customer service and get the run-around!

Presto! A whole new suite of technology to annoy you!

- - -

Capping goalies: chapter 2

I got some calls and emails on yesterday’s scribbling about the decision by MOHA to cap house league goalie registration. Almost all of it backed what I said 100 per cent.

There was one interesting piece of intel though. And that was that it is (largely) parents of HL blue kids who made the most noise about this issue last season. Frankly, their concerns deserve a forum, too.

The gist of it is that first, only blue-level teams seem to get saddled with having two goalies. And guess what? Having two goalies on a house league team that only plays once a week and only practices once a week is disruptive, not so much in games as it is in practices. HL practices are done on shared ice – two teams on a sheet. So if one team has two goalies, it’s hard to keep both of them properly challenged in a half-ice practice.

I think that’s a fair observation and concern.

Some comment from me:

First, it’s absolutely wrong that only blue-level teams get saddled with this issue. The intention of three levels of house league was never to ghettoize one or more levels. If it can be done in blue then it can be done at all HL levels. Kids should play in the level that fits their skill. THAT’S the point of tiered house league.

Second, goalies can split games. It’s not traditional in house league, but FYI it’s done in some rep programs and at rep tournaments all the time. Yes, I know it’s not an apple-to-apples situation as those kids get more games.

But skaters don’t get to be on the ice for half the game in house league, so I’m sure two goalies on one team could cope. (Whether the parents and coaches could is another matter.)

Third, the practice issue is a very valid point. One solution may be to compensate teams carrying an extra goalie by allocating them a full sheet of ice for practices. Yes, there are issues with this – two big ones being a) cost and b) finding ice time.

Well, on point a) I refer all readers to MOHA’s million-dollar surplus. The association can afford it. Relatively speaking, it’s nickels and dimes.

On point b) the reality is that when the North Park four-pad opens in the fall there will be a glut of ice in Oakville.

If the association had open HL goalie registration and monitored the number of goalies signing up it would, by mid to late summer, probably know where there are going to be problems and start finding additional ice for that age group. In bantam, for example, they already know in May that there are more goalies than teams.

Are these solutions perfect or bulletproof? No. Not hardly.

But this is just me thinking off the top of my head. There are smarter folks than me on the MOHA board and I’m confident that the collective brain power there could come up with more ideas, beyond telling kids they’re on a waiting list, or go to the GTHL.

- - -

Speaking of the North Park complex, the Oakville Blades (who lost their coach yesterday to the Toronto Jr Canadiens) are going to move in the fall from Joshua Creek to the new facility.

May 12, 2010

The local transit authorities have come up with a new payment system where riders can use a reloadable credit-card like thing to swipe-and-pay fares. It’s all automated, and theoretically means no more standing in line to buy passes and tickets.

It’s called a Presto card and like a sucker, I get one of these things.

I’m encouraged to go online and register the card right away – by doing that I can reload the card automatically online, I can cancel the card if it’s lost or stolen, etc etc.

Fine. Just like a Tim Hortons card.

So when I get to the office and go to the web site for Presto, I click on “Register My Card.”

Then I enter the 17-digit number in the little window as instructed.

And then I press the button and – Presto! – nothing happens, except I get a notice saying the card isn’t activated.

And when you press the “activate my card” button, it asks for a pin number, which you have to register your card to get. And I don’t have a pin because my card isn’t registered.

Hmm. Ever read Catch 22?

I call the Presto customer service line, which offers a range of options specifically designed to make it as difficult as possible to speak with a human. But I manage to find one anyway.

And she – Dawn – is relentless polite and relentlessly useless, the rare daily double of customer service.

She can’t help with my problem because it’s not written down on a piece of paper in front of her. Her advice? Let me have someone call you in 48 hours. PS – you’ll need to line up to get a ticket to get home tonight BECAUSE YOUR CARD ISN’T ACTIVATED OR REGISTERED.

I haven’t lost my temper yet but I’m getting there.

I politely remind her that this is customer service, and that I’m the customer and she’s the “service” end of the equation.

She says she understands that. So far, so good.

I say, well, I have a problem so let’s try to work together and fix it in some way beyond me waiting 48 hours.

She says there’s nothing else she can do. (In my mind’s eye I picture her rolling her eyes.)

Hmmm. How about you let me speak to your supervisor?

Can’t do that. No one here to talk to.

Really? So you’re the boss? You’re in charge of customer service for all of Presto?

No, but I can’t transfer you.

“But I can take your number and have someone call you in 48 hours!” she offers cheerily.

Thanks. I hang up.

I call GO Transit and explain the uselessness of Presto service. They get the manager for GO who is in charge of their relationship with Presto on the line for me. He is incredibly helpful. Takes my information and promises to call me back in an hour. He calls back within 30 minutes. There’s a problem with the Presto web site. He promises to call back again to help further when the site is up. I believe him.

This is a developing story . . .

- - -

One other note of caution for GO riders. It took me 15 or 20 minutes to get my Presto card at Union Station. They have one (1) person to handle this for all of the people using GO Transit. I figure at this pace it will take until about 2234 (the year, not the hour) to get everyone registered for the new system.

Pack a snack.

- - -

Speaking of frustration, I got a call from a house league goalie dad. His son played on a team I coached three years ago, and his son and Chris were teammates last year.

As Oakville families go, they are what I’d call great citizens and participants in all the things our town offers. Hockey, lacrosse, etc.

They’re supportive of all the kids on the team, they play by the rules, they don’t expect favours or shortcuts, they respect the time and efforts of the volunteers who make the trains run on time (GO Transit and Presto notwithstanding.)

He was calling because he tried to register his son for house league for next season (online registration has only been open for 10 days) and couldn’t, because the goalie registration for bantam is full.

To which he rightly asked, WTF?

And to which I’m adding my equally stunned, WTF?

Seriously. W. T. F?

In summary, MOHA has capped the number of goalies who can register in house league divisions at the same number of anticipated teams in that division, as I understand it.

So, first come, first served and everyone else goes on a waiting list, which may be the stupidest way to deal with the irksome issue of too many goalies that I’ve ever heard of.

Why is it stupid?

Because it’s punitive to kids, that’s why. Because registering for house league hockey on May 10 is hardly delinquent parenting.

Because the system is being set up to make it convenient for adults to administer, not accessible for kids to participate. Any guesses as to what’s wrong with that equation?

I’ve been a convener and I know some house league divisions become over-subscribed with goalies. It’s a challenge for the VP of HL and conveners to sort it out. Actually, it’s a huge pain in the ass. But they deal with it. Not everyone gets what they want. But goalies get to play goal.

And while this new system looks all clean and cut-and-dried, it’s not. It’s messy and disruptive and the collateral damage here is all to the kids.

Is the message here go play in the GTHL, or MHL or Burlington? Is that the message from an association that, as a point of practice, would rather take flaming arrows to the chest than give rep kids releases?

But HL goalies are expendable?

It was maybe three years ago when I was convening a white HL division, and after the drafts and evaluations and everything else there were a handful of kids left on the waiting list. (Waiting lists are never the fault of kids. They are the fault of parents. Until now, anyway.)

Wayne came to me and asked if I thought we could convince some of the teams to take one extra skater so he could clear the waiting list.

The alternative was to tell the kids they likely wouldn’t be playing hockey in Oakville that year, if they got to play at all.

I didn’t hesitate for a second (and as a coach, I took one of the extras, too.)

Yes, it was a bit of a nightmare juggling lines when all 16 skaters showed up on game day, but we managed. (Seven defencemen? Four centres rotating with three sets of wingers? I get the shakes just recalling it.)

The point being, minor hockey isn’t run for my convenience. It’s for the kids.

In the same way, I’ve seen creative, imperfect solutions applied to deal with too many goalies. Some kids play up a year in a lower division, for example. But they get to play.

This idea of capping house league goalies – with great respect to people who I know work very hard on behalf of the kids -- doesn’t fly with me.

I have a lot of respect for the volunteers who administer minor hockey. I always have. Past administrations and the current one all have acted with honest best efforts for the kids.

In that spirit, I hope this policy gets a fast second look. It’s not in the best interests of kids.

- - -

If GO Transit is able to get me home tonight, I’ll . . . be taking Chris to lacrosse practice and missing the third period of the Pens-Habs. I’m sure nothing exciting will happen.

In the third period.

Of game seven.

I mean, has anything interesting EVER happened in the third period. Of a game seven?

Ever?

Didn’t think so.

May 10, 2010

We had a pretty quiet weekend for a change – no big road trips or business trips to prepare for or conferences to attend.

Just the four of us close to home, some house league lacrosse, some timekeeping and refereeing, and Mothers Day.

Laura got that new mitre saw she’s had her eye on . . .  Not really. But I know the boys surprised her with their thoughtfulness. Actually, we were both surprised.

- - -

Pad and I spent part of Sunday in search of 17-inch shin pads, which aren’t as common as you might think. But I will say this: if you need 17-inch shin pads, a lot of people have to look up to talk to you.

He also needed a new hockey stick and we managed to find a cache of Easton S17s that were selling far below their former usual price as the stick is now out of production, a relic that has given way to the newer S19.

(When I asked the salesman what was the difference, he smiled and said, "well, this one is a 19. That’s two whole numbers higher than a 17.” We both laughed.)

I was talking to my dad last night about the new stick and the price. He almost fainted (it’s been a couple years since my dad had to buy a hockey stick.)

When I was a kid, the sticks were still made of wood and the high-end market was dominated by names like Koho and Titan (anyone remember the fire-engine red Titan hockey stick, or the white ones with red lettering?)

Those sticks sold for about $14 way back when, which seemed like a lot of money to me.

Fast forward to today.

The Easton s19 – the one we didn’t buy – was on sale yesterday for $299, marked down from $309.

Un huh. Wow, what a deal. I'll take a dozen.

$309 for a hockey stick? It would be cheaper to finance a small car.

The thing is that my kid typically needs a minimum of two and more likely three or four sticks at any given time.

So assuming he doesn’t snap one first, we try to buy a new one every five or six weeks and rotate the current model down to back-up status. Depending on the number of games and practices, the blades tend to get seriously chipped and frayed by the time they are relegated to 2^nd-tier status. The sticks are still serviceable but not terrific.

The end result is that I have (almost literally) a garage full of high-end hockey sticks with chewed up and fractured blades, a sort of forlorn sports store that looks as if a pack of rapid wolverines ran through gnawing everything in their path.

The joke in our house is: “Pad needs a new stick, we’re eating KD a lot this week.”

I’ll put the water on . . .

- - -

By my rough calculation, the Pens-Habs game tonight will need to go well into at least double OT if I’m to have any chance of seeing it as I'll be in a rink.

I’m guessing Montreal’s season ends tonight. But then again, I guessed Detroit would win game 5 and Chicago would win last night.

- - -

Lacrosse is as rough and tumble a sport as you will find. Lots of contact, often with speed and intensity, it is a game where winning small battles within the contest are vitally important to the game. The players who succeed usually develop a confidence and toughness that is akin to a swagger. They exude something that can’t be taught. It is almost an aura of intimidation that can only be earned in battle.

So, appreciate that context if you bother to read a story I’m going to point you to about events around the Oneonta College men’s lacrosse team, a Division III school with a reputation for toughness in a sport where that threshold is already high.

Players on the varsity team are learning about tolerance and acceptance after one of their seniors announced he is gay.

Read it here. The team’s reaction surprised many.

May 7, 2010

I was sitting in a meeting in a boardroom overlooking the Don Valley yesterday and I realized I pretty much managed to overlook the arrival of spring. Maybe “miss it completely” is a better description.

The sky was bright and the leaves on the trees were what caught my eye. Everything suddenly looked so green. Maybe it all happened in the last 24 or 36 hours and I hadn’t actually missed the greening of the GTA for 2010. Maybe it just happened.

But for some reason – perhaps months of looking at grey and brown – the green just seemed to pop yesterday.

Just in time for Mother’s Day.

- - -

Hockey was the order of the evening last night and the remote got a pretty decent workout, after I returned from Glen Abbey where Pad was reffing another rep game (and this time the Hawks beat a Mimico squad!)

The Montreal Canadiens continue to ignore all the memos and newspaper clippings that say they shouldn’t be in the 2^nd round of the playoffs and beat Pittsburgh last night 3-2.

It wasn’t just their goalie this time. They played well.

Over in the Detroit-San Jose series, the tables finally turned. I exchanged emails late in the afternoon with a friend who is a die-hard Wings fan and I predicted Detroit would either win big or lose big, and I said I thought the former was far more likely.

In spite of my limited insights into such things, the Wings actually delivered a 7-1 pounding of the Sharks to get up off the mat in this one.

I think they will win tomorrow night too, and at that point the Sharks are going to start tightening up as the “choke” label will resurface in headlines.

We’ll see.

- - -

I’ve heard through the grapevine that Oakville Arena may not be long for the world, once the new North Park four-pad opens. Perhaps it’s been written about in the local papers and I missed it.

Closing the old barn – which has more character and history than the rest of the town’s rinks combined – has been talked about since before we arrived in Oakville.

There’s no denying the place has a certain charm, but that charm is lost on the teams forced into cramped dressing rooms with poor or no showers, and then squeezed onto the small benches. For the little guys, the step down to the ice from bench is too long a step. And there are lots of concerns about the overall safety of the aging wooden roof.

I think it’s probably time for the rink to come down.

But wouldn’t it be great if it were replaced with another multi-use facility, including a bowl arena with seating for 1,500 or so for high school hockey, small concerts and arts performances, etc etc.

I know. I’m dreaming.

The other thing I heard was that for the summer months an indoor skateboard park would be installed at Kinoak Arena (curtailing lacrosse use at that rink.)

Kinoak as a lacrosse facility compares well to me as a brain surgeon, so let the skateboarders have at it, assuming there’s anything to this tale.

Another old barn, Kinoak has stiff, unforgiving arena boards not well suited for lacrosse, poor sightlines, the ventilation consists of whatever air movement parents create by beating their gums, and generally, the only thing less hospitable than Kinoak in January is, um, Kinoak in July.

Which the skateboarders will soon learn if this comes to pass.

But hey. Godspeed to them!

- - -

In case you missed it, Hamilton is abuzz about a sighting of a crocodile – yes, a croc – in a local pond. Officials suspect it was released into the wild by an owner that didn’t like what things started to look like when a small croc became bigger.

(Question: Are you allowed to release your children into the wild?)

So far, no more sightings.

But the legend has been born.

Read more here about the Croc Ness Monster of Hamilton.

- - -

The World Hockey Championship open tonight in Germany, and there’s a chance a new record will be set for attendance at a hockey game.

An outdoor stadium will be the venue for the opening game between the host country and the United States and upwards of 76,000 people are expected.

To which I say: “Huh?”

Read more here.

Canada opens the tournament tomorrow vs. Italy.

- - -

Laura and 350 of her closest friends attended a big shindig at the Dome last night – the Ladies Night Out fundraiser in aid of Halton Family Services.

She said it was fun and very, very loud.

My smarter, better half had a very long week of meetings and dinners and business stuff and I think she might have rather put her feet up and relax last night.

But she answered the bell with her friends and went out because she said weeks ago she would. This morning she was back doing all the mom things she does that the three guys in this house routinely take for granted, in addition to her considerable work and volunteer obligations.

Just like so many other moms around our town, she’s the glue that holds us together and she’s the formidable engine that runs the household.

She’s tirelessly loyal to her friends and causes, fiercely proud and protective of the kids in her life (and not just ours, as many out there know) and endlessly supportive and patient with me.

Of all the stupid, contrived Hallmark occasions that exist, to me Mothers Day is the only one worthy of celebrating.  

And with so many impressive moms and grand moms in our lives here, we will indeed honour them, from Windsor Junction to Ben Eoin to Oakville and all points in between.

So in your whirl of fields and rinks and chores this weekend, don’t forget mom.

Hug the kids. Hug mom. Have a great weekend.

May 6, 2010

Greenbriar Drive . . .  A Day in the Life.

Laura had a meeting to go to and was run off her feet late in the day. I had to catch an early train to get to Oakville by 5p for an appointment, but not without first going to BTNL to pick up Pad, who was squeezing in a workout before reffing a rep lacrosse game last night.

I dropped him home, then ran off to my appointment. Laura fed him and Chris and left for her meeting. Later I pulled into the driveway at the last possible moment and met him in the mudroom. Off immediately to Glen Abbey. . .

I had fun watching the novice 2 Hawks do battle with Mimico.

The home side was competitive but ultimately came up short. As I explained to former bantam 3 Hawks skipper John The Legend (get your Coleman Coolers Here!) it’s hard for Oakville to compete in the running game with a team that trains in the high, rolling alpine meadows of Mimico.

(Sorry. I thought this year without a rep lacrosse player in the house, I wouldn’t get a chance to comment on the Mimico Mountaineers team nickname. But just because Pad may not play now doesn’t mean he’s not at the rink – last night as a ref. And presto! A Mountaineer moment!)

I deliberately went up into the stands and sat among the Oakville parents and that was fun too. Much hooting and hollering. It didn’t take them long to figure out one of the refs was my kid and we talked a bit about the roads I’ve already been down and the ones many of them still have in front of them.

And they were respectful of the refs!

- - -

After I returned Pad home I was off to Maplegrove for Chris’s house league lacrosse practice, already in progress.

After some league rebalancing and growing confidence among the boys, I’m predicting the Bandits will notch a win this weekend.

Kudos to the HL VP, the convener, and the coaches for addressing some of these issues. It’s never easy. Lacrosse at house league level is a short season and there’s not enough time for weaker teams to close the talent gap through practice and hard work (although those things sure help, too.)

The boys looked good last night.

- - -

It was a hot, sticky night, especially if you were running around at the Maplegrove Sports and Entertainment Palace in lacrosse gear. So after practice I asked Chris the really important question of the night:

Blizzard or McFlurry?

He opted for the latter and it was off to McDs for a cold refreshment (for him, not me. Project Fat Hockey Dad (launched Jan 26) continues unabated and ice cream on a school night at 9:15p would kind of render pointless the 45 minutes spent earlier in the day on the Death Master Stairmaster.

When I talk about the adventurers of my boys, often that conversation revolves around the rep-level exploits of the older guy. But Chris is having, without doubt, the best lacrosse season he’s ever had and it’s great fun for us to watch him come into his own and use his size and athletic talent.

He’s also a great guy in the room. Good kid, that one, albeit somewhat obsessed with video games!

And I expect he’d going to be bigger than his brother. Just sayin’ . . .

- - -

When we got home at about 9:30p I was starting to think maybe I should have something for dinner.

Laura was out so hockey was on the TV in the family room and the TV in the kitchen too. Is that a great night, or what?

I cleaned all the dishes and pots and pans that had been left to soak from earlier, made the lunches for the next day, and did two loads of laundry. I answered a bunch of work email, looked through the mail, and pondered food.

Eventually I made an egg sandwich, had a glass of milk and collapsed in a chair.

I intended to, but never did, call my folks. I’ll get them tonight.

Chris went up to his room.

At the end of the day, Pad and I sat silent in the family room with the Canucks-Hawks on TV while I ate, watching the far off southern lightning race across the night sky and preface the inevitable distant rolling thunder, which was actually quite soothing after a long, long day.

My day ended with a smile, which is a god deal most days.

- - -

More rep lacrosse reffing tonight. More hockey on the TV as Laura is out again. More egg sandwiches in my future? No doubt.

May 5, 2010

The Oakville Blades dropped a 5-3 decision to Vernon on Tuesday at the RBC Cup, eliminating the team from contention in Canada’s national tier-2 championship with an 0-3 record.

Bummer.

You can read the game-over recap here.

- - -

MoneySense Magazine has come out with its annual list of the best place to live in Canada, which makes for a breezy review.

Ottawa tops the list – we lived there for most of the 1990s and can attest to the region’s many selling points. Easy to get around, lots of cultural and educational attractions, the benefits of an obscene amount of money spent on parks and green space since it’s the national capital, miles and miles of bike paths, short drives to near wilderness areas, and a hockey team that makes the playoffs.

Oakville ranked 32 on the list. My hometown of Halifax is 14^th, and another former place we lived, Edmonton, is 16^th.

Cape Breton – and I assume that means the regional municipality – ranks 169^th out of 179^th cities.

I guess whoever did the list has been to Ben Eoin!

You can find the list here.

- - -

The Pens hung on to win and for once the best goalie in the game wasn’t the Canadien.

And the Wings . . . what’s up with them? Down 3-0 to the Sharks, this is a huge hole for the Motor City heroes.

On the positive side, even though they’re not playing like it, San Jose is more than capable of losing four in a row.

Read about the Pens win here.

Or, read about the Wings loss here.

- - -

Facebook.

It started out as a social media site for university students and then opened its doors a little further and a little further until it became perhaps the premiere social networking site on the planet, dwarfing older models like MySpace and Friendster.

I have a Facebook account which I opened only to keep an eye on what my kids were doing online. It’s not stalking (OK, it’s stalking) as much as it is prudent oversight. Trust and verify, etc etc.

And 99.9 per cent of what I see going on is harmless noise in a loud universe of braying cyber donkeys. I don’t generally post status updates (“Had a great muffin this morning!”) or put up vacation photos or try to sound pithy and profound on the great issues of our time (“Pamela Anderson kicked off Dancing with the Stars?? OMG! WTF??)

And it was occasionally fun to get a friend request from someone you went to high school with except that in about three sentences you’d hear everything you really need to know about the last 30 years of their life and then continue on as you were.

Some people post updates several times a day, and add vacation photos, and send birthday greetings, and use it to network for business purposes. And while I honestly want to tell them that they’re just not that interesting (like I’m one to talk), overall that’s great, too. I don’t have to read it if I don’t want to (and I rarely do) and I also think people (me included) are inherently voyeuristic and enjoy occasionally peering through the Internet’s digital windows to see what others are up to.

As an aside, not long after I started this space, the dad of a teammate of one of my kids marvelled at my willingness to write about mundane family life here. He said he didn’t know why he read it, but he did, adding “that if you put that stuff out there, people will read it.”

Yeah, I know. I still get people stopping me to talk about the time I put hand sanitizer in my hair instead of hair gel.

I think – aside from the voyeurism thing – that people like being connected to others who share their interests and struggles and successes.

And Facebook is like an uber-blog, allowing people to snap off a few thoughts or a local piece of news without worrying about maintaining an entire web site or thinking too much about broader implications.

Cool.

And like most big corporations, Facebook – like Google, or General Electric, or British Petroleum, or Blackwater – tries to pretend it’s fun and cuddly.

And for many, it may be. But increasingly, Facebook is becoming creepy and slimy. It’s making my information and yours – which we voluntarily hand over – the core of its business model for raking in revenue from other web sites it partners with.

Have you ever actually read one of those “Terms of Use” agreements that pop with programs like iTunes or Facebook? You should.

Using an array of things generically known as data mining, Facebook can or will be able to know a startling amount about what you do online and then share the data with other sites to improve your online experience. By default, as soon as you open an account, Facebook has access to an unsettling amount of your data.

Well, unless they’re sending January Jones over to sit on my lap at the computer, my online experience is otherwise OK, thanks. I can find NHL.com by myself (but if January Jones wants to come over an watch a hockey game with me and Laura, we’re OK with that. Well, I am at least.)

There are ways you can disable much of the data sharing and privacy challenging elements of Facebook. But it is not at all easy and it’s difficult on purpose. Because they don’t want to lose access to tracking all the places you visit or apps you use, or your friend list, or your vacation photos or baby pics.

You can read a startling list of privacy issues with Facebook here.

I may well delete my Facebook account very soon. If you use Facebook, I’d encourage you to become aware of what’s happening to your personal information.

I think this caution is of particular relevance to young people who post everything. Once it is posted, it’s there forever. And forever is a long time.

I am not a privacy zealot or I wouldn’t have created Teamoakville. At the same time, I don’t want my kids to become marketing pawns so the suits at Facebook can high-five big corporations’ profits on the backs of me and my kids.

If you want to know how to shut down Facebook’s “Instant Personalization” feature – which is automatically set to “Allow”, then click here and follow the steps.

Be aware.

May 4, 2010

In the wake of last week’s elimination of Washington in the first round of the playoffs there’s a new drink on the NHL cocktail circuit.

It’s called the Ovechkin – white Russian, no ice, no cup.

- - -

I’m told that the rate to sponsor a MOHA hockey team next season is increasing by 20 per cent to $600 from $500, where it has been for several years.

While we all know that costs only ever seem to go up, as someone with experience coaching, convening and sponsoring, I can’t help but think this isn’t going to make recruiting sponsors any easier.

The sponsorship money, teams are told, goes to offset the cost of jerseys and socks. Wayne has some interesting data on his site on those costs and given his experience I’m sure he’s accurate within a few dollars one way or another. So why the big increase?

Another issue that won’t help the sales pitch to sponsors is MOHA’s million-dollar surplus. Last time I heard the association had north of $1.1 million in the bank and yes, that would buy a lot of sponsorships.

The surplus is old news – it’s been large and growing for years, defended on the basis that if town ice subsidies are removed then the money will be needed to subsidize the transition period to more expensive ice.

To which I say, hogwash.

Me and a lot of other people I know have been members in good standing with one or more children in MOHA for more than a decade. So guess whose money contributed to the building of that surplus?

And my kids are going to be out of the system by the time MOHA figures out what to do with the money (if it ever does.) So, does that mean people involved over the last 15 years will see some portion of that reserve (our money) go to subsidize people who aren’t even in the association yet?

Seems wonky to me.

Further, continuing to carry this surplus could endanger the association’s not-for-profit status. CCRA has rules about accumulated reserves for non-profits and ranges of acceptability. Having a surplus that large relative to the size of MOHA’s operating budget is well outside that range.

All this was raised at the MOHA AGM two years ago and members were assured that a range of options for addressing the surplus were under consideration. Fair enough. But whether anything ever came forward in terms of an action plan, or whether dispensation was sought from CCRA to continue carrying a surplus this large, or whatever, I don’t know.

But I guess they’re questions worth asking again.

On the one hand it's what a friend of mine would call "a high-quality problem." I mean, it's a million bucks in the bank.

But for the record, if ice costs do go up – because of the elimination of a town subsidy, or meteors hitting rinks, or any other reason – the solution is obvious.

User pay.

MOHA should not be in the business of accumulating reserves from its membership revenue to pay for a hypothetical increase in ice costs someday, maybe, if. I know the association went through dire times years ago and some brave folks stepped up to save it. We owe them a great debt of gratitude for their courage in those dark days.

But carrying a million-dollar surplus is beyond prudent. It’s decadent.

If ice costs go up, then the registration fees go up to cover it. And if you or I can’t afford to have our kids play hockey, then they won’t. Families can set their own spending priorities.

There are some very smart people on the MOHA board who give a lot of time and effort to the association. Perhaps there’s a plan to lay this out at the 2010 AGM for the members, which is later this month, I think.

- - -

I was going to do a big rant about Facebook today. I’m ranted out. Tomorrow maybe.

The preview: Facebook is taking your personal data and your friend lists and your photos and anything else it can get its hands on and hocking it to other sites “to improve your browsing experience.”

Un huh. That’s code for “make oddles of money off your personal information by selling it to advertisers.”

Thanks.

My browsing experience is just fine the way it is and I’m thinking I want Facebook out of my life.

More tomorrow.

- - -

It is estimated that every year in North America, about 300 million golf balls are lost. That’s a remarkable number – you’d think with that many missing golf balls (I’m personally responsible for about 10 per cent of that number) finding some would be no problem.

The New York Times golf blog this week takes an interesting look at the environmental issues around lost golf balls and what – if any – impact they have on the environment.

Golf is an industry struggling to maintain a patina of green over its business model. But as a guy who paid his way through university working on the grounds crew at a top Canadian golf course, I can tell you they buy their chemicals by the boatload to keep things looking spiffy.

For those of you who don’t care about golf and lost balls, the NYT piece starts with a funny story about researchers looking for the Loch Ness monster not finding any sign of Nessie, but they did find 100,000 golf balls.

Hmmm.

Was one of them a Titleist ProV 4? Cool! That’s mine!

Read the blog here.

- - -

A video to end things today.

There’s a nifty video on Youtube that, using data from the web site Flightradar24.com (which tracks commercial aviation) shows the airspace over western Europe lurching back to life after that messy volcano in Iceland settled down a couple of weeks ago. (Yes, I know it’s acting up again.)

It a very cool piece of work and will take you less than a minute to watch.

There’s audio with it too, so it your boss is nearby turn down the speakers.

As Steve Tyler says, just press play.

May 3, 2010

Given the humidity we had on the weekend, being scheduled to spend a vast portion of Saturday and Sunday in a cold rink wasn’t necessarily a hardship. It did make for some sweaty lacrosse players though.

And my Sunday time at the rink got ditched after my big guy went down with a back injury on Saturday. It doesn’t seem to be anything too serious, but knowing Pad’s work ethic when it comes to ice time (he didn’t miss a game or practice last year) if he says he can’t skate, well then, he can’t.

- - -

Which isn’t to say there wasn’t competition to celebrate on Sunday.

A friend of Patrick’s – actually, several of his friends, I’m sure – compete with the Abbey Park High School cheerleading team and the senior team won it’s division at the Canadian championship at the Hershey Centre on Sunday.

These are not “two-four-six-eight, who do we appreciate” rah-rah type cheerleaders.

These are bounding, tumbling, human-pyramid-building packages of energy that can kick you in the ear while smiling at you and asking if you had a nice day.

They are athletes.

Anyway, I’m sure I’ve messed up something here but given that we know one of the kids, and given that it was what all the young women on the checkouts at the Glen Abbey Sobeys were talking about last night, I thought I’d mention it.

Congratulations.

- - -

The OHL priority selection draft took place on Saturday – that’s where the Ontario major junior teams draft players from minor midget and older, but mostly minor midget.

So this year was the 1994 cohort’s big day. Some 300 young men from Ontario and the US were selected by the junior teams, including two members of the Oakville Rangers minor midget squad – Matthew Gaetz and Jacob Hand.

There was at least one other Oakville native drafted – Scott Laughton, who played for the Marlies in the GTHL went third overall.

I don’t know the 1994s as well as I know the 1993s but I’m sure they are excited to be heading off to the spring major junior prospect camps of the various OHL teams.

Good luck to all.

- - -

Speaking of good luck, the Detroit Red Wings could use some.

San Jose beat the Sharks again yesterday to take a 2-0 lead in that Western semi final.

Huh what?

The Wings have too much experience to be counted out but the margin for error got very small all of the sudden.

Meanwhile the Penguins got a taste of what drove the Capitals wingy in round one, as Montreal rode a hot goalie, junky hockey and fervent prayer to a big win in Pittsburgh.

Interesting result, and very interesting that the Pens – including Sid – were visibly frustrated.

- - -

It is looking like the Oakville Blades dream run is all but over.

At the tier 2 national RBC Cup in Dauphin, MB, the Blades dropped the opener Saturday 3-2 in OT to La Ronge, SK.

And yesterday Oakville suffered its worst beating of the season, losing 11-2 to Brockville.

The good news is the team gets today off. The bad news is their next game is against defending champs and tournament favourites Vernon, BC.

Good luck to the guys in a must-win game.

You can follow all the RBC Cup results here.

- - -

After winning their first two junior B lacrosse starts of the season, the Oakville Buzz dropped their next two last week – a 10-8 home loss to Elora and 12-10 loss last night in Six Nations.

The boys are in Guelph on Thursday night and then home to Niagara on Sunday.

- - -

Because Pad was laid up yesterday and unable to skate, after I cooked up a massive, artery-clogging breakfast of bacon, French toast, bacon and bacon, he went off to watch cheerleaders, which seemed completely rational to me.

That left me and Chris at home, as mom was off at a conference.

I gave my car a thorough spring cleaning and Chris went off on his bike, after which we decided we’d hit Dairy Queen for lunch – it was hot, humid and ice cream seemed sensible. After eating a burger I didn’t feel like ice cream any more and neither did Chris.

So we’ll have to go back for that part of the meal – or next time we won’t have a burger, we’ll just go directly to the peanut buster parfait.

When we got home Chris suggested we have a Harry Potter marathon, which we did.

It was more fun than watching Pittsburgh lose.

- - -

Montreal is a great city, and here’s one more reason to love it.

The cops there provided a Paddy wagon to transport eight senior ladies (aged 88 to 95) from a nursing home to Hurleys, the famous Crescent Street pub, for the group’s semi-annual pub crawl.

Hint to my kids: I think I know which nursing home I want you to put me in.

Read the story here.

- - -

Yeah, I know I wasn’t here Friday. You can hug the kids today to make up for it.

April 29, 2010

Some uninformed and unrelated observations on Montreal’s stunning upset of the Caps last night in game 7 of that series:

• The right team won, although as we will soon see, it wasn’t necessarily the most talented team. They did what they had to do and they rode a hot goalie into the 2^nd round. It’s tough not to like the character they showed. They looked like a playoff team and their defence was terrific (even Hal Gill!)
• Washington scored more than 100 more goals than Montreal in the regular season, and finished 33 points ahead of the Habs in the standings. I wasn’t the only one to get this one wrong, but where were Ovechkin and Semin? I wonder if they golf?
• Fans in Toronto have a bad habit of getting excited over the smallest things. Now, this next part is tough but – try to remember when Toronto played in a playoff series. Let’s assume it was Ottawa, and that means the Leafs won. Fans in Toronto would celebrate a first-round series win like it was a combination of a Stanley Cup and Olympic Gold and Dancing With the Stars. It’s a national embarrassment (next to not actually making the playoff, that is.) But the really sad thing is, Montreal behaves that way now, too. There was a time when fans in Montreal would applaud politely through the first two rounds because it was a given that there was more hockey ahead. Police in Montreal last night actually had to use tear gas to break up crowds of unruly partiers in the streets. For a first-round series win. Yes, it was a big upset. Yes, the team was full value. But come on. Save the tear gas for games that really matter or a riot involving the Rocket.
• Further to the above point, a true story. In the 1970s, when the Montreal Canadiens won Stanley Cups with a truly irritating frequency, city hall would put out a terse two or three sentence press release congratulating the team on its win and, announcing the date of the celebratory parade, state that it “would be held along the usual route.” THAT’S the mark of a championship franchise.

- - -

And on to Round Two.

First, let’s examine the wreckage from my first-round guesses.

The only series I got right in the East was the Pens over Ottawa, which any moron could predict. Fail on all other counts.

I did manage to go 3-1 in the West to even my record – my upset special of Nashville over Chicago didn’t happen.

So, after one round I’m 4-4, which should tell you I know little about hockey.

- - -

Detroit vs. San Jose

If you look up under-achieve in the dictionary, um, well, actually you won’t find it. In the context I’m thinking it’s a compound adjective you can use to describe the San Jose Sharks. But unless their top guys actually start producing the Wings – with a lot of experience, grit, and a roadmap on how to win – will eat these guys alive.

On paper, the Sharks look better. But the game is played on ice.

The one question mark for the Wings is their age and their goaltending. (Notice how I raised two questions, not one? Hope you got that. No extra charge for that.)

Wings in six.

- - -

Vancouver vs Chicago

I don’t get Roberto Luongo. One day he is great. The next day he stinks. And this has been going on all season. Sometimes, the swing between greatness and beer league happens during a game. He brings new definition to the term “streaky.”

At the same time, since losing last year to the young Hawks, Vancouver players have made no secret that they wanted another crack at Chicago.

Hmm. Is that smart?

When I make wishes, I wish for stuff like health and prosperity for my kids, or world peace, a lotto win, a Leaf playoff game, or a night at home with my wife. I don’t wish to be force-fed an operational chain saw, which may be what the Canucks are about to get.

If pressed to select between taking all the players on Pittsburgh (excluding Sid) or all the players on Chicago, I think apples to apples (minus Crosby) the Hawks are better.

Which is to say, they will beat Vancouver, who struggled to beat LA.

Hawks in six. Maybe five.

- - -

Pens vs. Canadiens.

OK. It was a great victory over Washington. That was yesterday. And tomorrow night the dream dies.

Pittsburgh has experience, depth, drive, leadership. And a Stanley Cup banner from this century.

Montreal has Hal Gill and a hot goalie.

Predictions? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Pens in five.

- - -

Flyers vs Bruins

I think this series will be decided by the intangibles.

To start with, there’s a lot of confusion in the East because both of these teams had booked golf charters for this week before the playoffs started. That’s how little they figured their chances were of hockey in May.

Also, Philadelphia gave the world cheese steak, which created cardiac surgery and a lot of jobs in health care. So, that’s good. (Mmmmm. Cheese steak . . . )

Boston gave the world the Kennedys, which spun off the tabloid news industry and a lot of jobs. Sam Adams beer is from New England, though, so that counts for something too.

Anytime a decent beer is involved, the choices get tougher.

That makes this a hard series to call.

I really like cheese steak. I’m also an amateur Kennedy buff, although I’m not sure I’d want one in my house. And you all know how I feel about beer. (Two, please.)

So, let’s go with the Flyers in seven games.

And I’ll have a cheese steak and a beer. Or two.

BTW, are you hungry, or is it just me?

Click here for Archives

March Archives and other older, stale-dated material here