hockey blog oct08



	Oct 31, 2008 Ten years ago tonight, the four of us decamped from our room in the Minto Suites hotel in downtown Ottawa and returned to our home, which emptied of all the things that made it a home, was now just another house. We had a couple of lawn chairs and boxes of candy, and Laura sat in the empty foyer handing out goodies and I took the boys on a farewell tour of the neighbourhood. It was a warm evening and it was, as you would expect, bittersweet. Chris was born in Ottawa and barely two years old. He has no recollection of ever living there. Pad was five and he still remembers, but it's distant. The next morning, Pad and I were up very early and went to his last Sunday morning Initiation Program ice time with the Canterbury Hockey Association. It was his second season of minor hockey, the good people at the CMHA not willing to turn him away a year earlier when he was only four, too young for the Ottawa association. We skated and scrimmaged and had fun. And we said more good byes and handed in his jersey (Canturbury didn't put names on the jerseys, at least in those days and at that level.) There were hugs and high fives and smiles and we walked out of the rink and that was that. We spun back through the neighbourhood one more time in the old Jeep, saying good bye to the closest friends, loaded the lawn chairs and hit the road for Oakville. We made numerous pit stops to distract the boys in the days before DVDs, but by the time we got to Oshawa (We're almost there guys!! Hang on!!) Chris had had enough and was yelling, as only a two-year-old can, "Out car now!!!" We pulled off and found a small park and let him run and then wedged him back in for the final 60 minutes to Oakville, where movers were already unloading boxes and furniture and the cornerstones of chaos for the foreseeable future. And while I know it's not true, I swear to God someone called and asked Laura to pick up an AP list for a rep team, or run jerseys across town to have sponsor bars added, or to volunteer for something or other. She became such a fixture in the neighbourhood, so fast, it made our heads spin. Patrick never missed a week of hockey. The groundwork was laid weeks in advance with MOHA and luckily there was a spot for him on an IP team because of another boy moving out of town. We'll always remember Coach Henry and Coach Mike. Once the TV was hooked up and a sofa put in front of it, Chris found a happy place under a blanket and fell asleep. It's hard to believe it's been a decade. There have been moments, but we have made more friends and memories than we could have ever imagined in that time. It's the longest we've lived in one place since we got married. Laura -- having endured four major moves in the first years of our marriage -- assured me the next move would be on my own. I think she meant it. Happy Halloween!! - - - Chris went to school as the Joker today and looked scarier than Heath Ledger did. I'll post a picture of him on the weekend, but the green hair really did the trick. So to speak. - - - In addition to Halloween tonight, the minor midget AA Rangers play Burlington for the first time this season, 8:30p at River Oaks. The Eagles are in first, Oakville is in second place three points back. So, the Rangers need a win to stay close. The rest of the weekend is the usual blur, with the added bonus of a 6a Sunday practice, tempered by the fact that the clocks fall back on Sunday morning, so really it's a 7a practice, which is far more humane! Drive safely, enjoy the kids! Oct 30, 2008 In two short months the kids of the 1993 cohort -- my older kid and his friends -- will enter their 16th year. Starting in January as their birth dates tick by like life's spinning odometer, they will start to learn to drive. I'll spare you a soliloquy on time flying by and all of that. Today's message is safety. A couple of weeks ago an Oakville parent, hockey mom, educator, and friend sent me a long email. Her family has endured two incidents recently where young people they love fell asleep while driving and ugly things happened. In one case there was no serious injury, in the other there was but hopefully there is a path to recovery with time and love. This woman is a regular reader and she is lucky to be blessed with a heart as big as a truck. She said she knows lots of the kids stop by here, so maybe if I could try to address cars and safety and rest and . . . well, I'll try. Where I grew up, there was no bus service and no taxis. We barely had street lights for the lone strip of pavement that ran through the village. The only way out to socialize or go to work or a sporting event was to drive, or be driven. It was a constant source of worry for my parents -- for all parents. It's hard to imagine going to sleep until the car is back in the driveway, and the driver is in bed or at least in front of the TV watching something inappropriate. Because parents worry. It's what we do. We didn't know we would before we had kids, but then you have kids and you worry about everything. Every cold. Every ache. Every bruise. Every missed phone call. Every slipped grade. Moms especially. Moms REALLY worry. So guys, if you're reading this, remember two things. First, the clear way to know if you're doing something wrong is to ask yourself one question: Would my mother cry if she knew? If the answer is yes, stop immediately because you are, 99 times out of 100, doing something you should not be doing. Second, always remember your mother will worry, regardless of the answer to the first question. In university I burned the candle at both ends. At one point I had two jobs as well as school and what commentators today would euphemistically call an active social life. I went off one summer weekend with friends to attend one of those outdoor-sleep-under-the-stars live music festivals. It rained. A lot. It wasn't fun. I made the unusually wise decision to get in my car, navigate through the mud, and go home. I called my parents from a gas station pay phone and asked them to take the deadbolt off the door so I could get in. It was 1 a.m. or so and I was worried they'd be pissed off that I called so late. Ten minutes later I was home and my mother greeted me at the door, clearly elated I was home. I know now that my coming home meant she didn't have to stare at the ceiling wondering if I was in a muddy field drunk, dead, or some combination of both. She would be able to sleep. Anyway, I'm rambling. Kids and cars. Parents worry. Get the drift? More than once in those days I got behind the wheel so tired that I didn't know if I was coming or going. And that's not a good thing. It can have deadly consequences. And what brought that recent email back to the front on my mind today is a Page 1 story in the Globe and Mail on the hazards of driving while tired. A lawyer whose wife was run over and killed, on a sidewalk, by a fatigued driver, is fighting to have the condition criminalized. Drive while drowsy? It would be no different than drunk driving. You can read that story here. As for all you guys who are turning, or have turned, or soon enough will turn 16, listen up and stop rolling your eyes. Cars are liberating. They are also not weapons. They have to be treated with respect. They are not to be used while overly tired, and never, ever after drinking. (To their great credit, I think kids today understand that on a level that their parents and grandparents took a long time to understand, if at all.) Understand that we trust you. But we're gonna worry. Because as smart and clever and talented as you are, you can't control the weather. You can't control the guy in the other car. And inevitably, one of your doofus friends is going to do something in the backseat to distract you. As that mom said in her email to me: "Sweet 16. Learning to drive. They are all so busy, so beautiful, so young, so invincible. It would never happen to them." Right. So, stay alert. No more than two friends in the car, ever. No blasting the music too loud. ~~Play the man, not the puck.~~ Get your rest. Eat your veggies. And don't make your mothers cry. - - - The rumble you felt last night was a rip appearing in the space/time continuum as the Leafs won a shootout, and beat the Devils 6-5, in New Jersey, in a wildly entertaining hockey game that must have had Lou Lamarillo wondering what the hell happened to 15 years of stressing defensive hockey. It had something for everyone -- unless your a Devils fan and the something you wanted was a win. Read the story here. - - - On the other channel, the longest World Series game finally ended and the home team won. The Phillies take their first championship in 28 years (the commentators were obviously not hockey fans familiar with the Leafs, because they seem to think 28 years is a long time.) Read more here. - - - The Raptors win their season opener, in Philly. Do we care? If you do, here's a story. - - - Ok, many of you have followed the link to my grassroots presidential bid. For those of you who haven't, you can see it here. But the people of Teamoakville Nation are way smarter than me. And one of you has produced the dark side of the fruits of my candidacy (and sent me the link!) and my apparent failure to vote at all (like I said, never mind that I'm Canadian -- this is a blog. Suspend reality, OK?) The day before Halloween, the dark side of a dark horse candidate peeling away votes from the presumptive leader. Obama fans, watch at your peril. If you have not watched the first video, you probably should before viewing this one. Oct 29, 2008 The Leafs' winning streak (such as it was) ended last night at the hands of the under-achieving Tampa Bay Lightning. To their credit, the Leafs competed right to the end of the game but this is going to be a long season. Game-over story here. - - - I have railed here periodically on head hits in hockey. I've railed about the way some kids are taught to check (hands together, thrust up under the opponents chin in at the moment of contact) and I have railed about the apparent reluctance of refs -- especially, but not exclusively -- to call the infraction in minor hockey. I would conservatively estimate that in any given rep-level hockey game from peewee up, there are probably 15 to 20 instances of contact with the head in every game. Some of it is incidental. In all of last season, I think I saw two penalties called for a hit to the head. I've yet to see one this year. Now it is absolutely true that some players duck into a check, lowering their head and increasing the odds of contact. That's what we call "stupid" and it is, in my view, a mitigating factor. It is not the fault of a player delivering the check if the other guy decides to lower his head into your shoulder or hip. But. Most of the head hits that concern me (and other parents) are far more calculated. Frontal contact on frontal contact, with the gloves punching up under the chin, snapping the other guy's head back. Or, elbows and forearms to the head. The bigger and stronger the kids get, the bigger an issue this is. This is not about "someone is going to get hurt." Kids are already getting hurt. Every night, in rinks all over Canada. The NHL is aware of the problem -- a generation or four of players moving into the NHL who grew up playing the game in visors and cages and with less respect for the opposition than the generation that came before them. Head shots are a problem at the major league level too. Brandon Sutter laying motionless on the ice after a shoulder hit to the head from Doug Weight in what most people would call a clean hit. Andrei Kostitsyn of Montreal laid out by Kurt Sauer of Phoenix. Again, not an illegal hit. So, why do the guys on the other end of the hits have concussions? The NHL is looking at some equipment changes to hopefully absorb more of the energy from such hits and reduce brain injuries (that's what a concussion is.) You can read about that here. And me, I wish refs in minor hockey -- especially at the rep level -- would crack down in a big way on head contact and maybe try to instill a little respect into the game. I suspect such action would have to come in the form of a directive from the top (ie -- enforce the rules that are already on the books) but I won't hold my breath. I wish coaches and associations would teach the proper way to check. And maybe explain the consequences of head hits. Maybe if kids had to sit a game (or three) for a hit to the head, the way they do for checking from behind, the problem would largely disappear. More likely a year from now nothing will have happened, which is the case over the last 12 months. - - - Luke Schenn is staying with the Leafs. After he dropped his gloves with Chris Neil the other night, it was a fait a complete. You can't teach heart. You either have it, or you don't. Read more on Luke's most excellent 19th birthday present here. - - - The World Series resumes -- weather permitting -- tonight in Philly. Tied 2-2 in the 6th, Philadelphia and Tampa will attempt to finish the only suspended game in World Series history. As a result, the much anticipated NBA season opener for the Raptors and 76ers (I'm kidding, ok?) has been moved ahead to 6p. Laura is supposed to have book club tonight, but I bet she doesn't go so she can watch the game with me. Ha! - - - Joys of minor midget rep hockey, chapter 32. Practice tonight. Off the ice at 10:50p. - - - If you have kids, or kids at heart, in your house you probably also have Guitar Hero. It's a video game that challenges players to "play" songs on a plastic guitar, matching the color-coded dots flying by on the video screen to the colored dots on the neck of the "guitar." Talent at guitar hero does not, in any way, translate to talent with a real guitar, or vice versa. Anyway, in an era where the music industry has fairly successfully alienated an entire generation of future music buyers (my kids NEVER buy CDs. They do sometimes buy single songs off iTunes) games like Guitar Hero and Rock Band have created a marketing niche for old fat white guys trying to move music and make money. And it works. The newest version of Guitar Hero -- World Tour (and oddly, just in time for Christmas!!) features the Sex Pistols. So keen were the surviving members of the legendary British punk band to have a song on the new game, they agreed to return to the studio to re-record Anarchy in the U.K. The original master tapes were long ago lost, smoked or otherwise consumed. Read more here. And rock on. - - - People were talking on the radio this morning about snow being a real possibility here on Friday -- Halloween. The first Halloween we did with one of our kids was in Edmonton in 1994. Pad was 13 months old and basically we just took him to a handful of neighbourhood houses because as young parents, that's what you do. You dress your toddler up in some ridiculous outfit, you let the other moms oooh and aww, and then you order pizza. Pad didn't get the concept at first. He was indifferent to the outfit and he was curious as to WTF he was doing outside at night. But when it started to snow -- and it snowed quite a bit -- he really got into it. When he found out people were going to GIVE him candy, he started to run from house to house. Never a slow learner, free food has always remained a priority. A year later we were living in Ottawa, and Halloween was the day after the 1995 Quebec referendum. (Refresher course -- the federalists won by like seven votes or something. I was our Ottawa bureau chief then and it was a very long night. Actually, we sort of never stopped. Evening morphed in night into overnight into morning.) Anyway, I promised I'd be home for the trick or treat run, come hell or separatists. And I was. And it snowed. And I was carrying one of those brick-sized cell phones from that era and all I remember is it kept ringing as the fallout from the nation's brush with mortality continued to pile up. Around 8p that night, Parizeau resigned as premier of Quebec. It was a long night. Pad had a great time and I'm glad I was there and that I worked with a great news editor who indulged my moments of parenthood and a Montreal bureau chief who loves my kids. Here's hoping Friday night is less dramatic. Oct 28, 2008 Late update today. First, a technical problem here at teamoakville.com. So, pictures and videos from the last month are gone, for now. Second, strange and exciting opportunities have opened up for me. Yes, I know there are barriers (like, for example, not being an American citizen.) But maybe now is the time. If not now, when? If not me, who? Click here to catch the fever! Oct 27, 2008 I've been a Mats Sundin fan a long time. He is easily the most consistent performer the Leafs have had, year in, year out, since he arrived here in 1994. He’s been captain since 1997. He is the first and only player to score 400 goals as a Leaf. He is the team’s all-time leading scorer. He was the first European drafted number one overall. He holds the record for most NHL overtime goals. He is the first Swede to score 500 NHL goals. He is a nine-time NHL all star. He was an Olympic all star in 2002. He was captain of the Swedish Olympic champion team in 2006. And the news wires continue to buzz with speculation about if and where he will play, eventually, in 2008-09. Clearly, it was time for me and Mats to have a chat. Time now for one of those Wayne's World-style transitions, where the screen goes all wavy and the scene is a Toronto Street bistro in the city's downtown. . . . a song plays in the background. Tired of lying in the sunshine staying home to watch the rain You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today And then one day you find ten years have got behind you No one told you when to run, you missed the starting gun. Time, from Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd (1973) Hey big guy. How are things? How was your summer? I bet your long-distance phone bills took a beating , what with all those calls from agents and hockey teams to return. Um, yeah. Anyway. Look. We. Need. To talk. I know. I know. Don’t look at me that way, ok? Just let me talk. Sit down. Get a glass of water. Look Mats, we’ve had some good times. Heck, we’ve had some very good times. When the Leafs traded Wendel Clark to Quebec for you back in 1994 I was stunned. You were one of a small handful of guys who were the future of hockey. And the Leafs did well on that deal, only giving up Sylvain Lefebvre, Landon Wilson (who?) and a first round pick used by the Nords to get Jeff Kealy (who?). Wilson was a journeyman, Kealy another first-rounder who never played an NHL game. And Wendel? Wendel was back in Toronto a year later and suddenly we had Dougie and Wendel and you and Cujo and, man . . . the sky was the limit. After Dougie was shipped out they hung the C on you. And you never disappointed us Mats. You always came to play. But . . . Who would have thought that 1998 to 2002 were the good old days? OK – I’ll just say it. Mats, we’re done. I’m breaking up with you. Wait. Hear me out. Do you get to watch Seinfeld re-runs in Sweden, Mats? You ever see the one where a woman dumps George and she tells him, “it’s not you, it’s me.” (He gets mad because he says that’s his line, but you get the drift.) Anyway, that line fits, Mats. It’s not you. It’s me. You did everything a fan could ask of a captain. You showed up early and stayed late. You played hurt. You led by example. In bad times, you shouldered blame. In good times, you praised the others. I saw you score buckets of goals, big ones, too. On TV, and in person. The top of the red circle to the left of the goalie in the offensive zone, that was your office, man. Get the puck to Mats. He’ll bury it. Pad and I were there the night in 2001 when you guys swept the Sens in the first round (have I mentioned I hate Ottawa? I do. Sorry. That’s another topic. Your buddy Daniel is about the only guy on the team with a heart. Anyway . . .) Like I said, Mats, you did it all. All but win. It’s not your fault, mind you. Those trained chimps at MLSE wouldn’t bring in someone to play on your wing. You needed a trigger man. Other than Alex Mogilny, they never even came close. And Alex, well, that star burned out. Too little, too late. Twice, though, you carried the Leafs to conference finals. (Have I mentioned I hate New Jersey, too? Yeah, I have issues. No doubt about it. Being a Leaf fan will do that to you. Mats.) Anyway, we used to dream of the day you’d skate around ~~Maple Leaf Gardens~~ the Air Canada Centre with the Cup, your ~~long, blond hair~~ your ~~tight blond crew cut~~ your shining bald head smiling, and us pounding the glass, lining Yonge Street, doing it all. But it never happened. Not your fault, but still . . . Did I ever tell you one of my kids has posters of two NHL players on his wall. One is Saku Koivu, who for some reason was his favorite player when he was like a Timbit. I think he liked the way it sounded. We did what we had to do – went in debt, paid for the counseling, and got him off the Habs. A VERY bad habit for a young person. Anyway, the poster is still there. He talked about taking it down, then Saku got really sick and we decided we respected him as a player and we were not going to turn our backs on him when he was down. Saku and the Habs are back, and the poster is still there. The other poster? It is you, Mats. It’s you. It’s you from 1997 or 1998. You had hair on your head, fire in your eyes and a big C on your chest. Me and my boys would run to the family room on Saturday nights to watch the games, listen to you guys warming up to BTO’s Takin’ Care of Business . . . it all seemed so possible back then. That poster captures that hope. And it’s still on the wall, too, looking across the room at Saku. But like a 60s song says, years go by. They just do. The front office got worse. They never found anyone to play with you. And a team that aspired for most of a decade to be at or near the top of the conference was once again excited just to be in the hunt for 8^th place. You know what that is, Mats? It’s depressing. So I’m just gonna say it. I deserve better. I’ve spent more than I could afford on tickets. I drank the $14 beer. I ate $8 popcorn. I bought hats and jerseys and everything but Leafs tea cozies for the kids. What did I get in return? John Ferguson Jr. and Pavel Kabina. I mean, really. So, as you can see Mats, it’s not you. It’s me. I just can’t do it any more. You always answered the bell. Remember when I asked you and the Leafs to sign some photos for player on our team who was hurt in a car accident? That was almost 10 years ago (years go by, right Mats?) and I STILL can’t tell that story without almost crying. The boy’s dad told me they took down their wedding pictures and replaced them on the mantle with the signed photos from you and the others. Talk about Leaf Nation. You guys have no idea. You’ll never know what that meant. But even still. It’s time for you to go. I’m going to ignore all the teasing headlines in the Toronto papers. Because I think the best thing is, if you want to keep playing, you should go play for some Western conference team that almost never comes to Toronto (think Minnesota, Mats. GREEN helmets!!) and . . . get on with your life. I’ll get on with mine. There’s no one else, Mats. Well, there is this new guy – Luke. He’s all blond hair and confidence and he seems really nice, Mats. And the team is doing OK, considering what they have, and what they lost (YOU, Mats.) So, I hope this all makes some sense. I’ve spent the last decade waiting for it to make sense, but those tumblers are not going to fall into place any time soon. We’re not going to hear the magical click, like the one they keep hearing in Motown. Go West, Mats. It will be for the best. I hope you get a Cup. You deserved one in Toronto, if only they could have found a few more guys like you. So, just go Mats. Go. And just in case you were wondering, the poster will stay on the wall. Oct 26, 2008 The mighty Sunopta Gators dropped a close 2-1 decision in their league game yesterday. Frankly, the other team played way better and deserved the win, so no quarrel there. One of the highlights of the game for our side was our lone goal -- a rush by Dylan from our blue line through the other team, right to the crease and then in. As he cruised by the bench with a winger on his side, the coaches kept waiting for the pass. It never materialized, the goal was scored. When he returned to the bench, Dylan was met with high fives and congratulations. It was also suggested he keep a keen eye as to where his teammates are on a play like that, a look for an opportunity to move the puck. Cole, the other kid on the rush, said next to Dylan on the bench, gasping for air and listening to the conversation. He looked at Dylan. "Don't worry about it, man. I'd have done the same thing." We all cracked up. - - - Pad was too ill to play in the Ranger game Friday night at home against Orangeville, but they didn't miss him, flying to a 6-0 win. Jack Gillis got the goose egg. - - - OK. I've acknowledged many times how bad I expect the Leafs to be this year, and they're not disappointing me on that score. I give them full credit for competing hard -- guys who don't show up ready to work hard and embrace the system get to sit and watch from the press box. (I would guess that this, incidentally, is why Tucker and McCabe and others left. They had no interest in being on a team run by the coach, not by the loudest inmate in the asylum.) So, last night the once-mighty Senators come to town. In years past, these early season meetings between the Leafs and Sens were about as much fun for the Blue and White as an evening watching town council meetings on community access TV. Ottawa would beat Toronto by embarrassing scores. The Leafs would quit after the first three shifts. Joe Bowen would put away the thesaurus and just watch the Ottawa goals pile up. Last night, the short-on-talent, long-on-work ethic collided with the fading comet that was once the powerful Sens and his now more like pitiful. And the Leafs won 3-2 in a game that was nowhere as close as the score. Luke Schenn cemented his place on the Leafs blueline (I hope whoever he billeted with back in Kelowna has someone lined up to take his room) going toe-to-toe with Sens enforce Chris Neil in defence of Mississauga Matt Stajen. At 18, Schenn is the future of Leaf hockey. Pick a number and start counting backwards because as soon as he's ready, they will hang a C on his jersey and he will become the poster boy for the next generation of Leaf Nation. A move like that is likely two or three years off at least, but he's The One. As for the Sens, there is something terribly wrong with that team. So much talent, so little to show for it. Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch of guys. Read more on the Leaf win here. - - - Tomorrow: a break-up letter. Oct 24, 2008 Feeling neither witty nor informative this morning, I have thinner gruel than normal to offer. Sorry. I know the Leafs won in Boston last night, which puts them ahead of Ottawa in the standings. Never mind making the playoffs, just do better than Ottawa and all will be forgiven. Chris and the Sunopta Gators will be playing an exhibition game tonight against a Red peewee team (no hitting), and they will be horribly overmatched and short on players. And short on a trainer, too, come to think of it. Pad and the AA minor midget Rangers host Orangeville, but they will be doing it without my kid, who is sick, a victim of a bug that seems to be ricocheting around the hockey teams and landing on my kids at two-week intervals. I will be at a corporate gig, smiling broadly and wearing a tie, wishing I was on the bench at Glen Abbey, smiling broadly and greeting all my good friends in black and white stripes. - - - I actually tried to drive in today instead of taking the train. I had an errand to run on the west side of town and having to stay in Toronto late tonight, I figured in made sense to take the car. The QEW was like parking lot so I bailed out and took a later train. The GTA is completely dysfunctional. I don't know how all the people who have to take their cars into the city do it without getting the urge to climb a clock tower at the end of the day. - - - The Rays win game two of the Series. Is anyone watching? - - - I won't go through chapter and verse, but the people at Bell Mobility overbilled us almost $500 this month, in spite of several conversations over the last two weeks to confirm details of a service change on our plan/hardware. I spoke to seven different people on three different dates and they still couldn't get it right. I think if their reps spent less time wandering around groaning and feasting on the brains of the living and more time on customer service, we'd be better served. At every instance, Bell agreed I was right. At every instance, Bell assured us not to worry, they would handle it. And they STILL f*** it up. The good news is that the last guy I spoke to assured me it would never happen again (HA! At least they didn't take almost $4,000 too much like the last time) and said that the circumstances created a good instructional opportunity for training service reps. An instructional opportunity? I'm an instructional opportunity? This is it. I've hit rock bottom. The point of my life has been defined: my life serves as a warning to others. Great. - - - Tiger Woods watch: Tiger says he'll be back for the Masters. He better be. - - - People walking around downtown Toronto are taking Gravol to avoid motion sickness from the market convulsions, and wearing hard hats to avoid injury from plummeting stocks. And big league sports in no different. Major League Baseball is bracing for a bad year in 2009, with some teams already cutting tickets prices. More here. At Formula 1, they're reining in spending too, trying to level the playing field, and hoping not to run out of sponsors. Ditto for NASCAR, if you're into that. I think it's a safe bet the Leafs will put prices up. Wait and see. Icing a team that can miss the playoffs four years in a row costs money! - - - Still with sports and money, the Tampa Bay Rays are hoping to win the World Series. And they are doing it with the second lowest payroll in baseball. And they got there my taking down Boston, the second highest payroll in baseball. The Rays' payroll for 2008 was $43.8 million (which is less than the Leafs.) The Yankees had the highest at $209 million. That's a lot of money. Even in Oakville. Read more here. - - - There's a chance of snow in the forecast so I hope you enjoy the weekend. I'll be at a rink tomorrow. And Sunday. I'll see you there. Go Rangers! Oct 23. 2008 The Leafs are in Boston tonight, where's it's probably safe to bet that one of the teams is going to lose in a shootout. Early in the season, both the Leafs and the Bruins have three shootout losses (by comparison, the entire Western conference has two.) Read more on that here. It must also be difficult for Jason Blake to even get on the plane for the trip, carting around the dog house that coach Ron Wilson has him in. Read more on that here. I find it a bit rich that Wilson is so critical of his players when he pulled a move like the one he did Tuesday night, bizarrely changing goalies for the shootout and watching ice-cold Cujo promptly give up two goals on two shots. This doesn't feel like Cujo's fault. The point being, there's lots of blame to go around. - - - The very good news is that the Sens still suck. After the first 20 games or so of last season, Ottawa began a race to the bottom that almost resulted in the then-defending conference champs almost missing the playoffs. When the playoffs started, Pittsburgh beat the snot out of them. And the whiniest roster in hockey have picked up where they left off, underachieving in a big way relative to the talent they have on a line by line basis. How underachieving are they? They're tied with the Leafs. Read more here on the moribund Sens. I hear they may fold the franchise soon. Or Jim Balsillie may buy it and move it to Fergus. Or Punch Imlach may step in as GM to chart a new course. Or . . . - - - Mats Sundin got up of the couch yesterday. He had a medical. He's prepping for on-ice training in California. All and sundry are a-twitter. I think Sundin is one of the greatest players of the last 15 years. I wish him well. I hope he doesn't hurt his back carrying the money he's going to make off to the bank. I just hope it's not the Leafs that give it to him. It's time to move on. More on our captain here. - - - So we're having a relatively light hockey week -- the Rangers' have no road game this week, and Chris's team had their practice on Monday. And even cooler, Friday night was wide open. You have no idea how rare that is for us. And that was a good thing. I have a corporate function that I really need to attend. And Laura had a road trip planned with her book club to a friend's country house where they would . . .well I don't know exactly. I know the people at Yellowtail sent two tractor trailers of product. There may or may not have been plans to involve a book. Open Friday nights are rare, so plans are made way in advance. So, then we get a call from the Tri County ice scheduler -- things have changed. Our Saturday night game at Oakville (and for some reason the boys all wanted to play at Oakville) has been moved back to their usual spot on Friday night at River Oaks, on four days' notice. These things happen. Ours is not to question why -- we just deliver hockey players. Fine. We'll manage. I'll make an appearance at just the reception of this corporate thing, shake some hands, tell an off-colour joke, and show up for the last period of the Ranger game. We'll arrange to have Pad get a drive to the game with another family. Chris can stay home alone for a couple hours. Then Chris's house league coach emails everyone on the team that he has arranged an exhibition game for Friday night for the peewee Gators. Um, Great! Um. Yaa! The hissing sound you hear is the air coming out of the previously vacant Friday night, which now has two hockey games. The book club road trip has been gassed. The abbreviated approach to the corporate function will continue. We're looking forward to the next free Friday night in 2013. - - - The World Series opened last night, with the Phillies taking the the first game after they knocked the Rays on their heels early and protected the lead the rest of the way home. I kinda think the Rays will win this thing, but as with most things I don't really know what I'm talking about. The series feels like it has all the sex appeal of Bea Arthur (everyone who would have preferred Red Sox-Dodgers, raise your hands) but it is what is now. You can read up on game one here if you're interested. Oct 22, 2008 Another Leaf game, another loss. A shootout loss, but still a loss. With a bit of an odd goalie change for the shootout. Read more here. - - - The pot is still boiling on the whole 2nd NHL team in Toronto idea. The Star reporting here today that the Globe story from Tuesday isn't worth the sum of the Leafs' offence. The Globe's estimable columnist Steve Brunt takes on the issue here. A Star columnist thinks it's a good idea here. And The Sun weighs in here. Lots of reading for those who care. - - - Way out west last night, a hockey story of a different kind in Calgary. Career minor leaguer Tyler Sloan, 27, finally got to play in an NHL game, with the Washington Capitals. In his home town, Calgary. His parents and brother were there, and all thoughts were with his late older sister, an aspiring Olympian who died after a car accident several years ago. She inspired her younger brother to chase his dream. A footnote on this story for younger readers who might not follow the link through: From his dad, Fred: "Here's something else you should know about Tyler. He was never drafted at any level of hockey — not bantam, WHL, NHL, never." So, for every kid who ever felt slighted or overlooked, here's proof that dreams can come true. You just have to skate through the check. Keep your feet moving, as I say to Chris over and over and over. Read the Globe and Mail story about hockey's Cinderella Man here. - - - If your house is like our house -- and I know many are -- video games and online gaming are not just a reality of life in 2008, they are a fixture. What is unfolding in Barrie, Ont., with the disappearance of 15-year-old Brandon Crisp, is terrible for his family, his friends . . . for anyone. I hope this story has a happy ending. I cannot image how his parents must feel. You can read more here. And here. - - - Tiger Woods was back on the golf course yesterday. Not yet recovered for surgery to fix his wounded knee, he wasn't swinging clubs, he was lugging them. Sort of. Meet the world's highest paid caddy. Yep. THAT Tiger Woods. Read more here. - - - If you've ever taken your kid to the rink, then you also know the look that a kid can have on his face when he's forgotten a piece of equipment. It's not a good look -- somewhere between "run for the hills my dad is gonna freak" and simple sheer panic. I saw that look last night at ice2ice where young Chris arrived for is Decloe session with only one shin pad. Our boys have, almost since day one, been trained that their gear is their responsibility. Unpack it, pack it, hang it, put the jerseys and socks and Under Armor on the washer. Hang it on the equipment tree. If the tree is empty, you know you packed everything (unless your helmet is still in your lacrosse bag, but that's another story.) Anyway, Chris had The Look. I did my best Father Knows Best thing. "No sweat. Wait in the room. I'm on my way home." I call home. Mom confirms the missing shin pad is HANGING ON HIS EQUIPMENT TREE. Oh well. No sense in ranting now. Mom will meet me halfway for the hand off. I race back to ice2ice. Chris misses only five minutes and (I hope) learns something in the process. And dad never lost his cool. Not once. The summer before last, Pad forgot his helmet for a field lacrosse practice. I did a drop-and-run (which I usually don't do but I had an errand or something.) I come back with 30 minutes left in the practice and Pad is sitting out the contact drills. I ask the coach what's up. "He forgot his bucket. He apologized. I told him not to sweat it and congratulations -- he's human like the rest of us." I never forgot that. - - - Regarding yesterday's posting about my wardrobe: I got another email from another mom who is familiar with my game-day attire. She said sports coats and blazers don't win championships, but black jeans do. I'm not sure that's true, but I appreciated the note. I might have to start ironing my weekend clothes if this keeps up. Oct 21, 2008 So, no great surprise. The NHL board of governors has figured out that maybe Toronto could support two NHL teams. Personally, I'd be happy if we had just one (rim shot) but seriously folks . . . try the veal. I'm here all week. The notion that the world's largest single hockey market could be home to more than one franchise is way overdue for serious consideration. Add in the context that Los Angeles has two NHL teams -- the Kings and the Ducks -- and you are quite right to scratch your chin and whisper WTF . . . It would be interesting to know how much of this rethink is because of the powerful governors realizing that Jim Balsillie is standing on the doorstep with a bag of money that they all really need. And that maybe a Canadian owner with an interest in putting a winning team on the ice will be more exciting to Toronto fans than an ownership that is perceived by its supporters and the media as being more focused on charging fans $8 for popcorn. And maybe if you've been to a Leaf game recently and seen the number of non-Leaf jerseys in the stands (as I did at the Montreal game a couple weekends ago) you would think, people in Toronto are looking for an alternative. The Leafs themselves have market research that shows that they are losing connection with the city as it becomes more multicultural and a chronically losing hockey team competes for peoples' interest with, say, watching the Gardner Expressway crumble, or, watching the lights on the CN Tower change colour. Forget all that stuff about territorial infringement fees. It's never been challenged in court and a lot of smart people think it would lose. Barrier to trade and all that. And you can bet the NHL doesn't want to see it tested. The ACC will always sell out for Leaf games. But whether people will continue to subscriber to Leaf TV, or tune in for broadcasts on sports cable channels, that will become the issue as the team misses the playoffs, again. This year will be the 4th straight year. Counting the lockout year, that means when the 2008-09 playoffs start, Toronto fans won't have seen a playoff game in five years. (Pop quiz: when the Ottawa Senators joined the NHL in 1992, how many consecutive years did they miss the playoffs as an expansion team? Answer: Four.) Not even in the darkest days of the Ballard era did that happen in Toronto. Actually, it's never happened in Toronto. Butn it's going to. How much is a TV contract worth for a team that hasn't played a playoff game since before the Tories were in power? So. Is Toronto ripe for a second NHL team? You bet it is. Read more here. - - - For the first time since Ronald Reagan was in the White House, a woman paid me a compliment last night. At least, it's what passes for a compliment in my world. I showed up for Chris's team practice last night at Glen Abbey, too late to go on the ice. I came right from work -- dress pants, dress shirt, shoes (not sneakers), a sports coat. Friend and hockey mom: "Wow Gerry. You actually DO have nice clothes!" Apparently the warm up pants, hockey helmet, water bottles and sweat shirts don't send the moms into a dizzying swoon. Who knew? The funny part was that the comment came right in front of Laura too, who almost busted a gut. I'll take my compliments where I can find 'em! - - - There's another great baseball piece for those of you who appreciate such things. This one's in the Globe and Mail, and it's on the fans in Philadelphia. The fans there are a rare combination of home town enthusiasts and tormentors. The fans at an NFL Eagles' home game actually booed Santa a couple of years ago. Talk about a tough crowd. The piece is written by a hometown boy who bring a nice touch to the issue. The context is, of course, the Phillies preparing to play Tampa Bay in the World Series. No city that has major league franchise in four North American big leagues -- MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL -- has gone longer without a parade than Philly. You can read the story here. Another must-read for aspiring writers. - - - Pink laces for hockey skates. You want 'em. You need 'em. You can't live without 'em. Only the very coolest teams will be outfitted in Kyle K.'s laces in November. Just a reminder. You can read more here. Oct 20, 2008 A few years ago -- the fall of 2005 -- me and other coaches were going through the careful work of drafting teams in minor atom white. When we got to the final round -- there was just red and white divisions in those days -- each of us had to select one more player. Each of the remaining kids was someone who had never played hockey before. It was more or less random. I selected a player named Ryan O'Dowd for no other reason than his name sounded like someone who might help me out in a bar brawl years from now. Our notes from the evaluation skate simply said, "Big. New to hockey." Ryan is a good athlete and quick study and he picked up hockey pretty fast. All blond curls and smiling eyes, he was a great kid in the room and on the bench. He was much loved by his teammates and coaches alike, especially since we knew his dad was likely to be transferred back to New Jersey in short order and it was up to us to make Ryan as much a Canadian as possible in the time we had. Ryan (and his parents and sisters) ended up being a very important part of our championship team that year -- and his parents hosted the only season-ending team party I ever went to that featured professional musicians and ran over two days. And when hockey season was over, Ryan followed us to lacrosse where he learned even more about Canada and a new sport that suited his natural inclination to throw an elbow first and ask questions later. His first summer love was baseball, but he squeezed in enough lacrosse to matter. About six months ago Ryan and his family left for New Jersey and we are all the poorer for their absence. Last night the big guy sent me an email and since I know he has many friends who read this space, I thought I'd give you the O'Dowd Update. Ryan played AAA rep baseball this summer and played in the national championship tournament, with his team finishing top 70 in America. His highlight was a game-winning homer vs. Minnesota. This fall -- to know one's surprise, least of all mine -- Ryan made a rep hockey team, the New Jersey Renegades. They compete in a peewee AE loop and play tournaments as an A team. He also plays for his school team. Yesterday, he scored four goals and had one assist in a 6-2 win over the Red Bank Generals. Ryan wants to say hi to all his friends and former teammates and coaches in Oakville. He says he thinks of us all the time and he misses Oakville. He's very glad to have learned how to play hockey in CANADA. I laughed out loud when Ryan said his current coach told him that Ryan makes his living in front of the net. For those of you who don't know Ryan, sorry for the long post. For those of you who know him, you know exactly why I'm posting it. We're all thinking of you too, big guy. Have fun and fill the net. - - - Another hockey player of note had a good weekend, too. Steve Yzerman (who I never coached) is the newly minted executive director of Team Canada for the 2010 Olympics. It's hard to think of a better choice. Perhaps the most respected player in the game when he retired, he has moved to the executive suite to learn the other side of the hockey trade. He's under no delusions about what's on the line. Read more here. - - - Chris got his iPod Touch. It's very cool. But I can tell you this. There are none in Oakville, Mississauga, Burlington, Brantford, etc etc. But. Brampton. We found the jackpot in Brampton (now there's an odd sentence.) Chris was very happy last night. And that's why I'm here. - - - The Red Sox lose. But guess what? Tampa deserved to win. Congrats to them. Oct 19, 2008** It was 21 years ago today that the stock market crash of 1987 happened -- 20 per cent drop in the Dow, etc. etc. I prefer to think of it as my honeymoon. Twenty one years is a long time. Our plans for a quiet dinner out last night were traded for nine peewee-age boys celebrating Chris's flu-delayed birthday. But Laura did cook a spectacular dinner (rack of lamb, leek-and-stilton soup) -- it just wasn't a quiet meal. But it was a good one. As we sat in the dining room listening to the boys downstairs (and a viewing of The Blair Witch Project in the dark made them very quiet for a time), I remarked that I have trouble remembering anything significant we did before we had kids. - - - Pad missed the meal, the party and the Leaf game as he was conscripted into three hours of firing pucks at rep goalies at a clinic at River Oaks. The training sessions for the rep goaltenders is a build on the successful house league clinics implemented a few years ago and they seem like a great idea. Pad came home the way he does from all such things -- smiling and bouncing off the walls, and in search of red meat. - - - Chris's team won their game Saturday morning and the AA minor midget Rangers rallied to tie Ancaster 2-2 on Friday night, so I guess that was all good. Balancing discussions for our division have taken place and parents are being briefed. It's a tough weekend when those calls are made, but when moves are needed they ensure a better more competitive season for everyone. - - - I'm in my usual Sunday morning perch at Joshua's Creek, where Chris is timekeeping. Novice Blue rocks. And the heaters are on. AND the restaurant is open. It's the first time I've been here this season that it has been open. I don't know what to do with myself! - - - I got an email today from someone asking for a rate card to advertise on my site. I rolled on the floor with laughter. Rate card? Advertising? That sounds like work. - - - Having diligently saved his money, having added two hours of paid work as a timekeeper each week and now being the bearer of some Future Shop gift cards courtesy of his birthday pals, Chris and I will leave here and go directly to Future Shop, where he is in search of an iPod Touch. Obsessed doesn't come close to describing where he is on this one. But we created the music monster in our house so far be it from us to stand between his money and a shiny new gizmo ~~that I can use too~~. - - - The kids at our house ranged in hockey experience from none at all up to peewee AA with virtually every level in between. Before they thundered (and like bison, this is what peewee boys do -- they thunder) they sat around the dining room table eating pizza, chicken wings and cake and talking hockey. And from the way they talked about their weekend hockey exploits it sounded more like the panel discussion at the Hockey Hall of Fame induction weekend than a peewee's birthday party. "He tried to go outside on me and I destroyed him." "Yeah, I scored. Top shelf." "Remember the year we won it all? You were awesome." "The ref sucked." "We won." "We lost. I forget what the score was." Like I said, I don't really remember what we did before we had kids. - - - While Laura cooked I did what passes for helping in my world -- emptying beer bottles of their troublesome content, and flipping the kitchen TV back and forth between the Leafs and the Red Sox. The Leaf result was predictable. A loss to the Pens. The Bosox also won, forcing a game seven thriller tonight in Tampa. A TV highlight though was when I flipped over to the ball game, Sportsnet was showing the Miss Hooters beach parade or something. My first thought was, gee, I'll have to commend Bud Selig on the new marketing approach. And then a crawl came across the bottom of the screen saying the Tampa feed was delayed because of technical difficulties but please, stay tuned. Please stay tuned? Do they really think they had to tell me to stay tuned? When the ball game came on I picked up the phone to call Rogers to complain that they had interrupted the Miss Hooters beach thing, but Laura reminded that I was actually looking for a ball game in the first place. Oh. Right. Red Sox. Play ball! - - - Regardless of whether you are a baseball fan, what the BoSox did Thursday night to rally from a 7-0 deficit to win a do-or-die game 8-7 ranks as one of the great sports comebacks ever on one of its greatest stages, Fenway Park. Bill Simmons, an ESPN columnist who wasn't even at the game but rather was watching on TV while on the phone with his dad lamenting the failure of their heroes to properly defend their World Series crown, captures the essence of the Red Sox rally on an almost pitch-by-pitch basis that is one of the finest free-form pieces of baseball writing I've seen in a very long time. You can read the entire opus here, and it's worth your time. Here's a sample, where the writer reflects on the of trade Manny Ramirez and acquisition of Jason Bay. No, like many in Red Sox Nation, he's not over Manny yet: Jason Bay came up to lead the bottom of the eighth. I like Bay. He has been very good. But if you honestly think I wasn't swearing at Manny Ramirez and Scott Boras at that moment, you don't know me well enough. Manny would have had Fenway swaying like a bridge during a hurricane. Manny would have had the Rays' fans quaking in their boots. Manny absolutely, positively, unquestionably would have gotten on base. (Of course, Manny would have hit fourth, not fifth, but whatever. I can't look at Bay and not think of Manny. At least not yet. Bay is like the dutiful, pretty second wife who does everything right … and yet, I can't stop thinking about the soul-wrenching tramp who married me first and broke my heart. I wish it wasn't that way, but it's going to take some time. If you have a kid in your house who wants to write, show them this. Tell them if they can learn to write like that, they will never miss a meal and they will very likely lead an interesting life. Oct 17, 2008 Sorry there was nothing here yesterday. The news that Madonna and Guy Ritchie were getting a divorce left me too rattled to type. Mr. Ritchie can be found celebrating with Paul McCartney at the London chapter of What The Hell Was I Thinking?? - - - The minor midget AA Rangers lost a 4-2 decision to Stoney Creek on Wednesday night, immediately after the midget AA Rangers beat Stoney Creek 3-2. Stoney Creek has a nice collection of rubber garbage cans, but the rink has a screen all the way around it. So, any attempt to -- for example, hypothetically -- throw a rubber garbage can over the glass would mean it would simply catapult back at the person who threw it. There's a remarkably deep analysis of this probability. Oh well. You never win them all. They are at home tonight to Ancaster. - - - Gasoline prices fell below $1 a litre overnight -- the first time we've seen that level in what feels like an eternity. The bad news is that the prices are being pushed down by slowing demand, because the economy is heading south faster than Oakville retirees in January. - - - In my role as chauffeur to my kids, I get to spend a lot of time in rinks and standing on sidelines watching them compete in various things. And in the course of doing that, you meet people, make friends, learn who to avoid, etc. You see which people volunteer to do things, and which ones never do. You develop respect for the people who put in the long hours to make the system work, whether it's hockey or lacrosse or soccer or Frisbee golf. People past and present. (All of them like to yell at me on occasion, BTW.) And obviously, it's not just Oakville. You develop certain attitudes about certain communities (let's shout out to beautiful Georgetown right now!) but you also start to see the same faces over and over. You don't always know their names, but you know they are doing things that make it possible for the kids to be playing their games. Every community has a core of people that make things happen. Now, the Tri County Hockey League where Pad's team plays has three divisions -- Harrison (AE), Smith (A) and Bowen (AA) and I have to confess that it never occurred to me once to wonder who these people were to have divisions named after them. If I had thought about it for a minute, I might have wondered, but, I just never did. So, it was in all that context that a story from the Oakville Beaver leapt off the page at me this week. Joyce Bowen died recently. The Beaver story says she was known as the Godmother of Minor Hockey in our town. I didn't know her but it is obvious that her commitment and dedication to the game, the kids, and the community was beyond impressive. She was a former president of the Tri County Hockey League, and the Tri County Bowen Division, where my kid and the rest of the smelly boys who populate the minor midget AA Rangers, compete is named for her. I hope that sometimes when they take to the ice they might remember not just Mrs. Bowen, but all then people like her, past and present, who put in thousands of hours so they can go out on a Friday night and play the games. You can read more about Mrs. Bowen and her impressive contribution to Oakville hockey here. - - - No lacrosse this weekend? What on Earth will I do with myself? Actually, that's an easy question -- I'll finally go take my place on the bench with the peewee Sunopta Gators, where I allegedly serve as trainer although my near-complete absence and inconsistent loyalty to the team this year (through no fault of my own) makes me more or less a stranger in the room. But tomorrow I'll be there. And then I'll sprint downtown for something I have to do at Ryerson University. And then I'll race home where Chris is having a bunch of pals over to eat pizza and watch scary movies. The Leafs are on the road this weekend, the Bosox will try to stave off elimination in Tampa after their miraculous comeback last night, the Rangers have dryland tomorrow and a late practice Sunday night. - - - Chris (who is 12) wants scary movies for tonight with his pals. I asked him what he had in mind. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Um . . . I don't think so. They want scary? I suggest, in no particular order, Bambi (the mother is gunned down in cold blood!!!), Charlotte's Web (a pig and a spider, tragedy in the offing . . .), Snow White (comatose chick in a glass case stalked by creepy guy in tights) or, Cinderella (step sisters!! How scary is that??). OK. I know I won't win this one, but the chainsaw movie will not make the cut. I will report back Monday on what his mother agreed to let them watch. - - - The effort by AA minor midget Ranger Kyle Kokotailo has caught the attention of the OMHA, who now feature his drive to raise money for breast cancer research on their news page. You can see it here. If you are interested in more information, scroll down or click here. - - - Oct 15, 2008 Loyal readers: see below. If you want, you can place orders and money through me to Kyle and I'll make sure it happens (he and my son Patrick are on the same team.) This would be a nice thing for you to do-- you can email me here and Kyle's email is in the message below. FYI, the minor midget AA Rangers will ALL be wearing pink laces in November. Do you need a lecture from me on what a worthy cause this is, and how little it costs for you to participate, and what a great gesture it is by this young man to take this on? <I didn't think so. > This isn't a team fundraiser or money for a class trip or cash for team jackets. This is money to help brave people fight on. Don't just sit there. Join the fight. Read more about the Komen Foundation here. HOCKEY PLAYERS AGAINST CANCER Kyle Kokotailo, is a defenceman on the Oakville M Midget AA Rangers. Last spring, he embarked on a project to raise money for Breast Cancer, and obtained pink skate laces to sell to friends and hockey players around Town. He started by selling to friends at his high school, but has found that it may be beneficial, given the interest, to broaden his horizon. While the players may not wish to wear pink laces year round, he is hoping the laces will be worn by the Oakville players for the month of November, as that is Breast Cancer Awareness month. He is asking for $5.00 per pair and all money raised is being sent to the KOMEN BREAST CANCER FOUNDATION in November. He is about to order another batch of laces and would like to see what level of interest there may be with Oakville teams. Kyle will be having a table at the Blades game on Saturday evening to sell the laces. Teams/players can contact Kyle should they wish to participate and purchase “The Pink Laces” for Breast Cancer Awareness. Kyle can be reached at hpagainstcancer@gmail.com Let’s throw our support behind Kyle and show support for Hockey Players Against Cancer by proudly wearing a pair of pink laces in November, Oct 15, 2008 Well. Did you vote? Are you feeling like the $300 million or so of taxpayer money it took to have an election was worth every penny to replace a Tory minority government with a Tory minority government? - - - Did you ever notice how on election night, and at leadership conventions, when it's all over and the candidate or leader or whoever is getting ready to speak, the TV guys always say -- always -- that so-and-so is "making his way" to the podium or microphone. Politicians never, ever just walk to the podium. They make their way there. Every time. Just like when one party wins almost all the seats in a region -- like the Prairies -- it's a tide. A Blue Tide in this case. Clichés, clichés, clichés. Anyway, I went to bed too late and got up too early. So I'll make my way to the office now. - - - Joining the continuing array of been-there, done-that Toronto sports management, Paul Beeston is back (again) with the Blue Jays in a sort of Cliff Fletcher-like cameo to find his own successor. WTF is it with this town? Read more here. - - - In case you haven't noticed, the MLB playoffs continue and the Boston Red Sox are on the brink of golf season, thanks to a team that everyone has taken for granted since April. Maybe, just maybe, it's time to take the Tampa Bay Rays seriously. Read more here. - - - First possible sign that the Leafs will will the Cup this year: A woman in Memphis is claiming to be Elvis's half sister and entered into evidence in court an envelope licked by a man named Jessie Presley. She claims Jessie is Elvis's assumed name, and the envelope has the DNA evidence from The King, where he licked it. In other words, according to her, Elvis LIVES. I have often said that there's as much chance of the Leafs winning the Cup as there is of Elvis being alive. So, if Elvis is in fact alive and bagging groceries at a Costco in suburban Memphis or something, well, then, you know . . .let's book a parade for the Leafs. This is the big break Cliff Fletcher has been waiting for. The pieces will all fall into place now. You can read more here. In related news, Marilyn Monroe will be on the next edition of So You Think You Can Dance. With James Dean. - - - There are allegations of negligence around the death of 19-year-old Russian hockey prospect Alexei Cherepanov, who died tragically after collapsing on the bench during a game. Read more here. - - - Johnny Bower may be the most iconic living sports figure in Toronto. The man is loved. Everywhere he goes in Toronto, he is mobbed by fans. A touchstone to an era now four decades removed from the glitter of the ACC and seven-figure average NHL salaries, Johnny Bower still represents everything Leafs fans wish their team could be. He has a book out, The China Wall: The Timeless Legend of Johnny Bower. When I think about Johnny Bower, I think about watching the Leafs in black and white, cold games of pond hockey until well after the sun was down, the smell of wool mittens drying on a furnace duct. And winning. I remember the Leafs winning -- but I just barely remember. The Toronto Star recently published an excerpt and you can read it here. Old time hockey. - - - The minor midget AA Rangers are in scenic Stoney Creek tonight for a 9p start. Oct 14, 2008 It's election day. Or as we say in my business, Election Day. Do your country a favour and go vote. The first election that I participated in coverage of was the 1978 Nova Scotia general election, where the Tories ousted Gerry Regan's Liberals. I was a part-time "stringer" as I worked my way through college. The next spring, in 1979 I got my first taste of a federal election when Joe Clark was elected prime minister. Again, I had a bit part. Over the years I've been involved with more elections than I can even remember now, in almost every province in Canada, as well as the 1995 Quebec referendum and the 1992 constitutional referendum. And the one thing that always amazes me is when people don't bother to vote. Sometimes there's a good reason. But more often than not it's laziness and disinterest. We're all the poorer when that happens. This will be Canada's third federal election in a little more than four years. I have a funny feeling you may not have to wait a real long time for the next one, either. But, who knows? - - - Terrible news from overseas -- young New York Rangers prospect Alexei Cherepanov collapsed on the bench during a game in Russia and later died. He had just finished a shift with former NHL star Jaromir Jagr. He was only 19. Read more here. - - - Under the topic of, who'd a thunk it, a small-town Nova Scotia dentist has sunk his teeth into a a shot at the big time. Dr. Anil Makkar invented and developed a high-end mouth piece for athletes. Baseball star Manny Ramirez tried it out and liked it so much (he's on the cover of Sports Illustrated wearing one) that he offered to sponsor it. It's all pretty heady stuff for a dentist in Truro, NS. If you'd like one, bring your cheque book. They cost about $2000 each. Read more here. - - - I actually got up and washed and vacuumed my car yesterday. And then I cleaned up the garage a bit. Mindless guy work. I had my iPod on, a cold Diet Pepsi, and a very loud Shop Vac. Five bags of garbage, a big cloud of dust and three hours later, I was done. And the next time we have a federal election, I may do it again. - - - It was Thanksgiving Monday and the turkeys were on the ice at the ACC again. After building a 3-0 lead against the truly lamentable St. Louis Blues, the Leafs did dumb things, let them off the carpet and lost 5-4 in a shootout. Priceless. Ryan Hollweg now officially has a reputation as a player who doesn't think very well in game situations -- his second hitting from behind penalty in as many games allowed the Blues to score a pair of goals during the five-minute major penalty. And that was that. And Hollweg gets three more games of suspension. And. And. And. Hapless. Leafs. Get used to it. It's the new normal. - - - No hockey for us tonight which is good since I'll be working. The minor midget AAs are in Stoney Creek tomorrow night and host Ancaster on Friday. Oct 13, 2008 Having eaten our way into a stupor last night, today we slept in a bit and marveled at how quiet our corner of Oakville is when no one is moving. Our street is as silent as a church. It's weird. I did a lot of dishes last night, had one of the great meals of my lifetime, had an illuminating hockey-related telephone call, and then relaxed in front of the TV. Having already updated you all yesterday on our various weekend travels, I have thin fodder for today. But since the forecast is for it to be 25 and sunny, I'd encourage you to get away from your PC and go outside. Rake some leaves then jump into the pile. Wash your car, then mine. Play street hockey. Eat some turkey. Enjoy a great Canadian weekend. - - - Hockey Night in Canada has a new theme. We heard it Saturday night at the ACC. I've listened to it a couple of times since then. It makes me kind of shrug. I have no doubt it will grow on people -- especially younger people who, over time, will come to recognize the REAL HNIC theme as being a song you hear only on TSN, not on Saturday nights on CBC (or on Wednesday nights on CBC if you're old like me.) I think my view is that the CBC could have done a lot worse. Some of the anthems they sampled over the last few weeks were pretty awful, even to the untrained ear. So, all in all, not a horrible result. I have a feeling the CBC was shooting for something more than a shrug and "not a horrible result" but given that they booted the handling of the old HNIC song, I think Canadians will be circumspect for a while. You can read more about the song and the gentleman who wrote it here. Click below to play the song and decide whether it inspires you to . . . um, sit in front of the TV for six hours on Saturday night. - - - I think I'm going to wash and vacuum my car today -- a few weeks of rep hockey games and fall field lacrosse has turned it into a bit of a travelling land fill (my older son is not terribly big on the the whole "clean up your crud" view of the world.) Tonight is one of the two best meals of the year -- hot turkey sandwiches with fries. The other great meal is boxing day, when we do the same thing. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving Monday, whether you're eating, hanging out, or cleaning your car. Oct 12, 2008 Happy Thanksgiving to all. At the risk of sounding corny, those of us in Canada are in a position to be thankful for a great many things, most of which we take for granted every day. Maybe for a few minutes this weekend we can all take a minute in our own way to reflect on what we have. - - - Take the Leafs for example. I bet they're thankful they beat Detroit the other night because Saturday night at the ACC they looked very much like a hockey team that won't win again this year. There was a word used to describe the Washington Capitals of 1974 to 78. Or the Islanders from 1972 to 1975. Or the Senators from 1992 to 1996. Hapless. These Leafs are on the cusp of being that bad. The good news was that Cujo got a shutout. The bad news was he only played the third period. Luke Schenn looked nervous and unsteady, fighting the puck. There was no offence to speak of. The defence was a dead mouse for the Habs to toy with. They had no opportunity to execute the trap that worked against the Wings. There was little comfort to be found in what I saw. - - - All that being said, we had a great night out. The Leafs season opener is a big deal in Toronto, we had great seats and the boys and the boy cousins from New Brunswick (beer swilling university students who are highly entertaining) got to meet Walter Gretzky, who threatened to kick my nephews' asses for wearing Habs jerseys to the game. It was all in good fun, and lucky thing for them too, because I think Walter could have taken the two of them. I got to see the 48th Highlanders (as viewed below from my seat) pipe in the new season in person, a ritual that I used to watch on black and white TV as a kid. For me, that was a thrill and it's hard to imagine any Leaf fan feeling otherwise. Oh -- I sung the national anthem too. Actually, we all did -- in honour of Canada's medalists from the Beijing Olympics who were introduced before the game, there was no soloist for the anthem. Instead, PA man Andy Frost asked the crowd to serenade the Olympians. And we belted it out as best we could. It was a cool moment. It was a fun night. So much to be thankful for. - - - The minor midget AA Rangers beat Guelph 4-3 on Friday night, just barely missing giving the game away after falling asleep with a 4-1 lead in the third period. Guelph -- winless this season -- showed a lot of heart and frankly could have won this game. Matt McLaughlin scored twice to pace the attack. That's him, below, but I don't think he scored on this one, although it is a nice picture. - - - Chris's peewee house league team won a 4-3 squeaker on Saturday morning to stay near the top in their loop. And the big guy -- who celebrated a birthday and got to see the Leafs this week, scored his first goal of the season with his aunt, uncle and two cousins all cheering him on. Of course, I missed it. Because . . . - - - The Oakville Hawks U-16 field lacrosse season ended on a sunny field in Orangeville yesterday, pretty much as I expected it would. Having drawn Six Nations and the host team the odds weren't good. Six Nations -- who will win the championship -- beat Oakville 11-5 I think (a big improvement from 19-1 the last time we played) and Orangeville prevailed 11-6. But the weather was perfect, I burned the left side of my face in the sun, the autumn colours were great and I set a new Peel-Dufferin-Halton speed record for getting from Orangeville to the ACC in downtown Toronto. The great light made for some nice photos -- the first shot is my kid bearing down on a Six Nations' athlete. The second shot is just to give you an idea of the day. Bright sun, clear air, and the trees exploding in color. It was a fun day, in spite of (yet another) sun burn. The third is more of the same, this time vs. Orangeville. - - - It will come as no surprise I'm sure that I'm in a rink as I write this. Chris is timekeeping a couple novice blue games. The current game -- Sharks vs. Hound Dogs -- is scoreless late in the third. It's novice blue and the game is more entertaining than what I saw last night at the ACC. Or Friday night at River Oaks, for that matter! (It ended in a tie.) - - - Oct 10, 2008 In a stunning turn of events, federal police agencies on both sides of the Canada-US border have been called into investigate how the Toronto Maple Leafs stole two points in Detroit last night and then made it back across the border. I don't know what to say except, the trap works, and, the Leafs are in first place. I might not get to say that again for a while. The home opener is tomorrow night and me and the whole famn damily will be there as they take on the Habs. How does one get tickets to the Leafs home opener against their most hated rival? You pick one: A. Save prudently for years to buy tickets off the Internet. B. Inherit them from a wealthy relative. C. Have a brother in law who does a lot of business with Italians in the construction industry and he called in a favour. Read more about the Leaf win in Hockeytown last night here. - - - OK. Getting to the hockey game will be a bit of challenge given that Pad is playing field lacrosse tomorrow in Orangeville at 3p. It's provincial championship weekend and the Hawks have a tough draw. Actually, that's sort of like saying the stock market had a tough week. They play Six Nations (who invented the game) and Orangeville (who act like they invented the game) and both squads are very good, and both beat us during the fall season. The Hawks need at least one win to advance to play on Sunday. I figure the second game will end at 4:30p, if it starts on time, which almost never happens. Then we have to find a rink with acceptable showers, let him clean up, and then head right for the ACC, because I really enjoy watching the pre-game warmups. I figure it's an hour from Orangeville to downtown Toronto -- with luck, we'll make it there by 6:20p or so. It's a good thing Cam Wooley retired. Meanwhile, Chris has a hockey game tomorrow morning but as of last night he was still fighting a fever, so right now his status is "maybe." Plus he's down to be timekeeper for a couple novice games Sunday. Pad and the minor midget AA Rangers host Guelph tonight at 8:30p at River Oaks. The Rangers are 5-1-0 in league play, Guelph is 0-3-0 according to the online standings. Come on out and see the boys! - - - Technology moment: I have a couple of those fancy Harmony remote controls for our TVs. They are a wonder -- you use an Internet program to list all the devices you want the thing to control and in what sequence (ie: use the HD box to change channels, use the amp to turn volume up and down, etc) and download it all into the remote. From there, it's just idiot proof. Want to watch TV? Press "Watch TV." Want to watch a DVD? Press "Watch a DVD." The remote turns on the appropriate devices, puts the TV on the right input, etc. The older of these two remotes operates on four AAA batteries and it chews through them like Kirstie Ally chews through the Sunday buffet. So I went out and bought two sets of rechargeables, figuring if I get a week out them I'd be lucky and I'd alternate as each expires. That was six weeks ago and the first set is still going strong. Nickel-Metal-Hydrogen rechargeables have come a long way over the old nickel cadmium rechargeable. Admittedly, you really have to be a tech nerd to care, but if you find you go through a lot of regular batteries on some device, you might want to give these things a try. I'm impressed. And if you don't have a Harmony remote, get one (preferably with the built-in rechargeable battery!) Read more on them here. - - - Two videos -- yes, I know, I know, you love the videos -- to send you into the weekend. One poignant, one silly, and neither featuring Tiger Woods. The first is the new MasterCard commercial that traces the career of hockey great Bobby Orr via the scars on his famous left knee. Orr said the spot almost made him cry because it made him think back on a lot of things. Me and Bobby Orr share two things in common -- we've both had a lot of work done on our knees, and we're both carbon-based life forms. After that, the comparisons end. Anyway, click below to see this spot. Yes, I know it's a credit card commercial. But it's a really good one. You can also read a little about the commercial here. OK, the second video um, celebrates the aromas of hockey. Now, here's a warning: if you don't care for grown men vomiting, then DO NOT CLICK ON THIS COMMERCIAL. It's for a service that cleans hockey gear and it goes to some graphic length (it's only 42 seconds long) to make the point that hockey gear gets really, really foul. The hockey gear in our basement render the rec room virtually uninhabitable sometimes, so I understand where they're going with this. If you want to just read about the spot, go here. If you (and I am confident that the entire AA Ranger minor midget squad, who I call the smelly boys, will want to) then by all means, click below. But, you've been warned. And on that note, enjoy your weekend! Oct 9, 2008 Busy day so, sorry. You're gonna have to wander around the Internet and find something else to amuse you today. My commute was consumed with reading documents and sending emails, which is as much fun as it sounds and left little time for this. - - - The NHL season -- well, the North American portion -- opens tonight and yes, it's a dream come true. The Leafs open the season watching the championship banner being raised to the rafters. Of course, it's in Detroit and it's the Wings' banner. Details, details. Lots of hockey on TV tonight. - - - The baseball playoffs continue to roll along. Question: why do baseball teams break out the champagne for simply winning a league divisional series? Do hockey teams celebrate like that when they win a conference semi-final? No. Do NFL teams celebrate like that when they win a wild card game? No. What's up with that? It looks goofy. Wait till you win the pennant, at least. Then by all means, go nuts. - - - Chris was supposed to have a bunch of school chums over tonight to eat pizza and watch scary movies (tomorrow is a PD day in Halton) but he's been laid low (again) by a fever and lethargy. As for scary movies, maybe he could just watch the Leafs play. That would be scary enough. Pad has dryland with the smelly boys. It could be a second consecutive arena-free night (although technically, the dryland training is at a rink, so there's that to deal with.) - - - As noted yesterday, the Marlies visit to Oakville for Oct 15 has been moved to Joshua Creek. The fun starts at 6:20p. The last five minutes of the session will feature a local atom or novice team doing drills with the Marlies, and then the team will sign autographs for the kids. I remember as a kid going to watch the old Nova Scotia Voyageurs practice at the Halifax Forum, and it was a big thrill. Those Vees teams were better than most of the NHL teams of that era -- Larry Robinson, Yvon Lambert, Bunny Laroque, Mario Tremblary, Steve Shutt (who dissed me and Pad at the 2000 All Star game when I had the temerity to mention I saw him play in Halifax) and many others. I remember the only autograph I got was from Dave Gardner -- a kid who played for the junior Marlies, son of Hall of Famer Cal garnder, and a player regarded as a can't miss prospect. Who knows which Marlies' player will be the next big thing? Regardless, it's a great opportunity to see the pros up close. Take your kid and one other. Have some fun. It will be a great night for the kids. Oct 8 -- A rare update The Marlies practice for Oct 15 has been moved from Kinoak to Joshua Creek Twin Rinks. That makes sense. More tomorrow. Oct 8, 2008 Minor midget AA Rangers beat St Catharines 8-3 last night. Cory Camilleri led the way with three goals. Incredibly, they have the night off tonight. Next game is Friday at home vs. Guelph. I missed this one, and given that the 8:15p start time was pushed back 45 minutes, I can't say I'm sorry about missing the late night out. I need my sleep. Chris had a blast at Dick Decloe and also ran in a Halton cross country meet yesterday, advancing to the next meet in a week or two or whenever. He slept very well. - - - One of the gifts bestowed upon sports fans by the market crisis enveloping the planet will apparently be some confusion about the names of various arenas and stadia around the continent. As banks and insurance companies implode, things change. Like, Wachovia is now owned by Citigroup, so what does that mean for the home of the Flyers? Anyway, there will be confusion in the toy box as fans show up at the something-something Centre. Maybe it would be easier if they renamed everything as The US Taxpayer Bailout Centre? Read The Associated Press story on the issue here. - - - Monday night a bunch of dads were talking about plans for the Toronto Marlies to hold a practice at Kinoak this winter. Two observations: first, a great idea to let kids (and coaches and parents) get to watch a pro team work out. There's a thrill in just being there for the kids, and the coaches might learn some things. Second, I'm guessing the Marlies didn't do a lot of advance scouting on the Kinoak Ice Palace and Recreation Complex. If there's two places in Oakville not suited as a venue for this thing, they would be my laundry room and Kinoak, and not necessarily in that order. Poor sight lines. Small dressing rooms. Awful showers. Limited spectator space. Small ice surface. And then there's the shortcoming of Kinoak. <rim shot> Kinoak is fine for minor hockey and holds a bunch of (chilly) memories for lots of us. But Oakville has a ton of facilities that would be better suited and safer for the Marlies, plus allow a lot more people (and kids) to watch and enjoy the event. I don't get it. PS -- the ice isn't in yet in our laundry room, but a few more mornings like Tuesday might change that. - - - I've posted links to the MOHA house league standings on this blog as well as the three pages in this site for red, white and blue peewee house league results. My devotion to the 1996 cohort is pathological. Apparently I wasn't the only one looking for the link. From the nifty program embedded in this site I can tell how many people followed the digital yellow brick road out the door from here to the stats. And yesterday, that number approached 300. Once again, with feeling: if you are looking for MOHA house league stats, click here. I will be asking the host of the service for a large royalty check for sending them traffic and billing MOHA 37 cents for this public service. - - - Speaking of standings, if you are interested in looking at Tri County rep standings (AE, A, and AA) click here and navigate to the division you want. For AAA standings, go here and poke around. - - - Apparently, if the email I get is any indication, everyone loves a good Tiger Woods video. So, here's another one where the world's greatest golfer masters the Rubik's Cube, but not in the way you think. Happy hump day. The long weekend is getting closer. Visitors -- family!! -- coming for our Turkey Fest '08! I may even shave and change my shirt! Oct 7, 2008 So we were sitting in The Keg last night, engaged in the sort of end-of-meal silly family talk that generally comes with such an outing. We are not in the habit of pre-arranging birthday sing-songs in restaurants, where the wait-staff all gather round and sing to the lucky soul. But the waiter had obviously picked up on the fact that it was Chris's day and came over with a big slice of Billy Miner pie (ice cream pie, caramel and chocolate sauce, shaved almonds) with a sparkler on top blazing away. Chris was, of course, thrilled. And his first question: "Am I allowed to eat it?" His older brother has a serious peanut allergy so it is our practice to never eat dessert in restaurants. The risk of peanut contamination in ice cream and baked goods is very high. There's no risk to us but it's more of a show of solidarity for the benefit of Pad. Chris gets it completely -- it's part of the family DNA. But last night, Pad got it -- basically saying that just because he couldn't eat it didn't mean Chris could not. So Chris got his first taste of The Keg's special dessert and it was a big hit. He ate it like it was a race, and after every mouthful he apologized to his brother, and giggled. Within minutes his face was a bit of a chocolate/carmel/ice cream mess. He looked fairly pleased. You had to be there. You had to know what 15 years of "we don't eat that" feels like. It was a moment for a big brother to step up and waive the rules. It was a good moment for both of them. - - - After we went home and had (mom's home-made peanut-safe) cake and Chapman's peanut-free ice cream, and Chris opened his presents, Pad and me ran out the door to Glen Abbey for his 9:30p practice (have I mentioned recently how glamourous rep hockey is at this age?) Anyway, it turned out to be a great night to be at Glen Abbey, as it was also minor midget house league red game night. And there were only, oh, 400 people there we knew. It was like old home week and while Pad skated drills on the Blue rink I watched a couple of games on the Green rink with lots of kids we know from rep hockey, rep lacrosse, former house league teammates, etc etc. The minor midget AA Rangers were keenly interested in what was happening on the green rink too, and the second their practice ended, a couple of them didn't even change, but walked over to watch their friends play. It was a long day, but a good one. - - - On Saturday, the CBC will announce the winner of the contest it's having to come up with a new theme for Hockey Night In Canada. While I am not quite so much of a stick in the mud to believe things should never change, in this case I am of the opinion that the old HNIC theme was just fine, thanks. And you can count on the good folks at CTVGlobemedia, who scooped up the rights to the song when CBC missed out, well, they will club CBC over the head with the old song about every three minutes between now and the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Get ready for it. Time was, when our boys were smaller, that all hockey was played or practiced on weekends at an hour so early that it was still dark outside when the games ended. That meant Saturday nights were spent at home, literally in front of a fire and a TV, with a bowl of popcorn and the HNIC theme. That tradition more or less died when rep hockey came along, but on the odd Saturday night when we all have clear agendas, we will still gather for the first half hour of HNIC, at least until the phone, MSN, Facebook, a teen social event, or some other gathering pulls us in different directions again. But those Saturday nights when the boys were small (eds note: were your boys ever small??) were special. Our connection to HNIC was strong, and the theme to it and Labatt Saturday Night were the soundtracks for our weekend. Which brings me back to the new theme. I have no idea what's nominated and nor do I care. Over time, a new song may catch on and build the same comfort, anticipation and assurance for a new generation of viewers. But for me, there's only one real option. Hal, queue the tape: - - - Pad and the smelly boys are in St Catharines tonight and Chris has Dick Decloe, which will sorely test my ability to be in two places at once. I suspect I will have to take a pass on St Kitts. I understand the Brampton-Oakville AAA minor midget game at River Oaks was postponed last night because of an ice problem at River Oaks. No word on a new date. Oct 6, 2008 Chris is celebrating his 12th birthday today. He was still in bed (everyone was still in bed) when I left for work, but I called him before he left for school. He told me there was a trip to The Keg in my future. Should be fun. Chris was born in 1996 on the same day that Tiger Woods won his first tournament as a pro. I tried calling him Tiger for the first few days, but it never took hold. Plus Laura kept smacking me in the head. The name didn't stick because Chris is as much as original as Tiger is. In fact, Tiger should be so lucky. Happy Birthday. - - - At the St Mike's game on Sunday, most of the boys got these silly cardboard helmets that look a lot like something Butch Goring might have worn while playing for the Islanders' dynasty back in the early 1980s. Wearing these contraptions the boys looked like the hockey version of Dumb & Dumber -- and they clearly revelled in the silliness of it all. There's nothing less self conscious than a group of 12 year olds in a rink, and our guys were no exception. Chris and a teammate watch the action closely at rinkside. Please note, the helmets are not CSA approved, but I don't think Butch's was either. - - - I could find no sign of a link or announcement, but MOHA's house league stats actually have a home now. It's not a bad site -- I have no idea how much work is involved for the conveners or whoever gets to input the data. One of them was good enough to forward me the link. And it's here. Just use the pull down menus to navigate to your division of choice. This means I will likely not need to bother hosting peewee white and blue stats anymore. I hope the new site has an email address for the parents want to point out that Billy actually had an assist on the third goal and he only has four penalty minutes, not six. I could say I'm going to miss those emails. But I won't! - - - It's looking more and more like one-time longshot Luke Schenn is going to be staying with the Leafs. Looks to me like he earned his spot. And I hope that there may have been consideration given to the fact that the Leafs' fan will need something to cheer for this year, and the big kid gets top billing in that regard. The Buds lost their final pre-season game of the year last night, 4-3 to Columbus. They won just two games in the pre-season. Read more on Luke Schenn here. Read more on the Leafs' dismal pre-season here. - - - Months and months ago I wrote here about Thema Blade, a company building a revolutionary new skate blade that is heated up by a small battery to increase the amount of water between the blade and the ice, reducing friction and making the skater go faster. The company is anxiously awaiting word from the NHL on whether they can crack the big leagues. Read more here. - - - My weekend scoreboard: Saw one midget rep game, two rep lacrosse games, two novice house league games, one peewee exhibition game, one junior hockey game and bits and pieces of stuff on TV. Had no trouble falling asleep last night. Dinner out with Chris and kin tonight, then a late Ranger practice to tee-up a road game Tuesday for the minor midget Rangers in St. Catharines. Oct 5, 2008 Later that day . . . Majors win 3-2 over the Sault. Kids had a blast, the Gators edged the Vikings in a great exhibition game on the big ice. - - - Just a quick note to say that MOHA peewee blue stats are now, here. I've built a page for white stats (here) but owing to data collection irregularities and issues with regulatory reporting and compliance, it's not filled with data yet. I will also post the red division data if the convener would like me too. Oct 5, 2008 Good morning from Twin Rinks, where Chris is being tutored on the fine skills of MOHA time keeping. We were up and bumping into each other at 6:30a, but I give him credit. He wasn't deterred by the early hour or the darkness. He was excited and keen to get to the rink. So far things seem to be going well -- he's doing a pair of novice house league games, and it's safe to describe things as well in control. The only people more excited to be at the rink are the kids playing the games -- and the novices are just bouncing off the walls (literally) and the parents are holding on to their Tim's cups, shouting encouragement and pretending they're happy to be here at 7:30a on Sunday. Actually, I kid. Most of them are glad to be here. Hockey season is well and truly on. - - - Pad and the minor midget AA Rangers beat what's left of Milton 7-0 on Friday night. I say "what's left" of Milton because apparently there was a bit of a fracas in a recent game with Guelph and a whole bunch of Milton kids were suspended. So they had a short bench and a bunch of AE call ups (no A team in Milton) and the result was a bit of a blow out. This obviously wasn't the real Milton team, so we'll have to wait until later in the season to meet those guys, once they're served their debt to society. - - - Yesterday I missed Chris and his team -- the Sunopta Gators -- make their regular season debut (and I'm the trainer and already labeled a deadbeat missing in action.) The Gators won without me, so maybe I should just stay away? No chance. They're too busy. The team practiced last night, and has an exhibition game today at the Hershey Centre before the St. Mike's Majors home game, which the team will attend en masse. Dads will sit with legs draped over seats and talk about how much better the convener is this year compared to the loser who did it last year. - - - I missed the Gator game because Pad had to be away all day at field lacrosse, and I shouldered that load so Laura wouldn't have to. The midget Hawks fall field team played the final two games before next weekend's provincial tournament in Orangeville (hmmm . . . I may by real estate in Orangeville because I'm always there). The Hawks swept both games, beating Caledon 9-3 and Toronto Beaches 14-3. I think that ranks them fifth heading into provincials, which means, in essence, they're in the top division and will in all probability face a tough couple of games next Saturday. Six Nations, Barrie, and Orangeville are the teams to beat, and we haven't. - - - One cool thing about the weekend was the opportunity to see the boys play on the new Cherry Street Sports Fields at the east end of the Gardiner Expressway, just on the edge of downtown Toronto. What a beautiful facility. Two artificial turf fields, permanently lined for soccer and lacrosse. Great landscaping, parking, short walk to the lake . . . it was very nice. Here's a look at the view as the Hawks suited up for their game with Caledon in the crisp morning air. (A downside of fall field is that there are no dressing rooms. The players -- blessed to not have a modest bone in their bodies -- peel down to their Under Armor and change on the sidelines.) I've spared you that image. - - - Another cool thing was the food. The Toronto Beaches Lacrosse Club wins hands down for providing the best concession stand of the fall season. For breakfast they served western sandwiches and pea meal bacon on a crusty bun. For lunch they offered foot-long dogs, home-made hamburgers and spicy Kitchener sausage. They even offered a penne dish! Only in the Beaches. I tracked down some of their volunteers and thanked them as it was obvious they put a lot of work into the day. Thanks to them all. It was wonderful. Oct 3, 2008 OK, just for the record, I didn't exactly ignore this place yesterday. While you were all sleeping I was up early reading binders of data and scrambling around the house to fly to Halifax for the day for business meetings. So fast was this trip to be that I might not even get to visit the homestead and retrieve the obligatory shipment of Nana Brownies (tm) for the boys. But I did cobble together something light to hold you over -- but I never got a chance to upload the mess for you to read. So today's offering will include what I had for you yesterday, which kind of takes the pressure off me to be churning out something today. It's not like you can stop payment on your subscription, right? - - - The minor midget AA Rangers won 2-0 in Orangeville on Wednesday night, moving to 3-1-0 in league play. Jack Gillis gets the shutout, Scott Corbett gets a goal and a helper. They actually looked like a team, breaking open a tie game in the third with a pair. The last time I was in Orangeville I got home after midnight and then had to get up at 3:30a in the morning to drive the family to the airport to fly to Nova Scotia. This time we got home after midnight -- the 9p game didn't actually start until 9:20p) and I had to get up early to get myself to the airport. Enough of that. - - - Thursday really was a whirlwind and I didn't get to drop in on my folks, which sucks. But I needed to get back to Oakville in time to attend the Abbey Park High School honours society ceremony/reception. I will confess that this was not high on my list of "must do" events -- it's sort of like a convocation ceremony, where all the students who made the school honour roll from the previous academic year are recognized. And now I will confess I actually enjoyed it. I was impressed by the number of kids -- many of whom I know. I was impressed by the six or seven kids who were not only honour students but also won multiple awards for achieving the highest marks in a particular subject. They must be remarkable students. And I was very impressed by the number of kids who made the honour list who are also active in other things that chew up a lot of their time. There were many rep hockey players. There were kids who I know participate in music and jazz band and that sort of thing at a very high level. There were lots of school athletes -- like football players -- who practice a couple of hours a day five days a week yet still were honour students. I guess my point is that as impressive as they are as a group, they are equally or more impressive as individuals. The teachers and administrators at the school are right to honour them for their achievements. The parents are proud for obvious reasons. Mostly, the kids should feel the proudest and is invariably the case at things like this, what struck me the most was the way the kids support and honour each other. It was cool to see. I was really glad I rushed through Halifax and got home in time to attend. Note to my kid -- I'd like to go again next year! - - - The baseball playoffs are in full swing and I've seen virtually nothing. The French and English Canadian election debates are history and I saw little of either. I saw almost nothing of the Biden-Palin debate either. I had a hot dog for dinner in Orangeville (and BTW, if you need have your kid in Orangeville by 8p, and you don't get out of the office till 6:30p, you better have a backup plan) and I had pizza last night. Good news is the Rangers have a home game tonight -- 8:30p, River Oaks B, vs Milton. Good seats still available. - - - EA Sports is the video game giant renowned for such titles as Tiger Woods '08, and soon, 09.. It features something called, apparently, The Jesus Shot, in which Mr Woods' animated character hits a ball while standing on water, a feat previously thought reserved for the Son of God. It's meant to be funny and poke a little humour at the barrage of hyperbolic adulation that generally follows his every move. (I have no doubt that some corners of the world will soon be burning the game in protest, but that's his problem.) OK, so click on the first video, right here, to see a gamer reviewing this feature. Anyway, EA Sports has as you might expect some smart marketing people and they got wind of this gamer's comments about the Jesus Shot. And they introduced what's known in the business as a viral -- a video clip distributed by users voluntarily through a network like facebook or youtube -- that is actually an advertisement intended to create buzz about a product -- Tiger Woods '08 in this case. And it is brilliant. Below is that viral, starring Tiger Woods himself. Click and enjoy. I - - - Another brisk weekend: house league peewee hockey, two rep lacrosse games, timekeeping for Chris at two games, a team outing to a St. Mike's game Sunday, and exhibition hockey game for Chris, the Rangers at home tonight, and a dryland training session for the Rangers. Other than that, it's quiet. Have a great weekend. Oct 1, 2008 So much for September. And I can't say I'll miss it much. Here's hoping October is better for us, great for you, and at least an improvement for the banks. I'm not counting on that last one. - - - The federal government launched its new do-not-call directory for consumers yesterday. You can call, or go online, register all your phone numbers, and within a few weeks the direct marketers will be told to buzz off. As if there were any doubts about whether Canadians wanted such a service, the system crashed on Day One from people trying to register to get their names on the list. I actually feel bad for some of the poor souls who call my house offering deals on duct cleaning, windows and doors, lawn care, bulk purchases of weapons-grade plutonium, credit cards, driveway sealing, loans, and any other manner of good or service. I feel bad for them for two reasons. First, I know this is probably not their dream job. No one grows up aspiring to call people at dinner time, get yelled at, and then have a phone slammed down on their ear. Second, I know that some Steve Carell-like character is ordering them to call, telling them when to call, telling them the script to read. They are foot soldiers in the War of Annoyance and Generally Pissing Us Off. Unfortunately for them, not many of us are buying. I would rather take a flaming spear to the chest than talk to a telemarketer. Sorry. I find it hard to picture someone racing from the dinner table to answer the phone, standing there with a table napkin in one hand chewing on their three-bean salad and suddenly becoming so obsessively concerned about dust in their furnace ducts that they decide then and there to negotiate terms. Personally, I am likely to do one of three things: hang up immediately, ask to speak to someone to have my number removed from their call list, or, feign interest, ask them to hold for a second while I get a pen and a credit card, and then leave them on hold and resume my evening. If you are a minor hockey parent, official, volunteer or fan and you like getting calls from people who don't want to discuss house league evaluations and why my their kid should be playing <insert level here> instead of <insert one level lower here> then you should take no action. If you are a minor hockey parent, official, volunteer or fan and you need more time to field parental calls, or to gossip with other parents, or to talk to parents about house league jersey numbers, sponsor bars, and names being added to jerseys, you might want to consider having your phone numbers added to the do-not-call list. You can do that here. Click to the site and, as they say in Orangeville, have at 'er. If for some reason you punch in some info and then get an error page, keep hitting refresh. It will work eventually. At least it did for me. If you want to read about the system crashing, click here. - - - Speaking of Orangeville . . . Tonight, Laura is hosting her ~~wine~~ book club at our place. The good news is that Pad and the minor midget AA squad have a road game in Orangeville at 9p tonight. So I'll be long gone before the intense discussion of contemporary literature overwhelms the neighbourhood, and they will be long gone by the time me and Pad get home after midnight. I often joke here about the glamourous lot in life that is the rep hockey player, and tonight is a case in point. Orangeville on a Wednesday night in October for a 9p start. It's a tough one for the kids. And it's no picnic for parents who have to be on an airplane the next morning either. If anyone can recommend a friendly, fast place to eat in Orangeville, I'm going to need dinner and it would be a novel change not to rely on a vending machine at a road game. It's no treat for the Orangeville kids when they have to come the other way, either. Regardless, I'll be watching hockey again tonight. Go Rangers. - - - Speaking of Orangeville, they're having some problems with the Alder Recreation Centre, where mould was discovered about two weeks ago. One of two rinks is still closed. We're not playing there (we're at Tony Rose for those of you planning tailgate parties for the pre-game) but it must be playing havoc with minor hockey and recreational skating schedules. Read more here. - - - Chris was laid low last night by the same bug that ran through his brother's hockey team 10 days ago, so I was spared a run to Dick Decloe last night. But there was still dryland training for the minor midget. While he did that I sat in the bar at Ice Sports -- I didn't even get a diet cola -- and watched beer league hockey. I live life on the edge. I was going to offer to track the plus-minus for the teams, just before I go out and get a big "L" tattooed on my forehead. - - - It wasn't quite a Bucky Dent moment, but big Jim Thome provided all the clout needed as the Chisox edged the Twins 1-0 to capture the last remaining MLB playoff spot last night. Baseball's sudden-death, one-game playoff is one of the great playoff formats in all of sport. And now the Cubs and the White Sox are both in the playoffs -- the first time that has happened in 102 years, or, just before Kinoak Arena opened. You can read about the Chisox's big night here. *August 2008 and other archives here*