January

Jan 31 – With a score of 11 – 10., you can guess why I don’t bother watching All-Star games. The pond hockey “pick-em” approach was king of interesting but the game is still just a glorified skate. The funny part to someone with a warped sense of humour (like me) was that Kessel ended up last in the draft. Someone had to but he was clearly not happy about it. The talking heads before the game were chatting about how Kessel would be flying out there to prove a point so watch out! I guess he did prove the point since I believe he was the only one on his team to not pick up even one lousy point. Whoops – I checked – 1 defenseman (Yandle) was also shut out. Way to go Phil – but at least you were a +1 and won a new car for being last!.

FBI – it had to happen. Seems that the Chicago game winning / Stanley Cup winning Game 6 overtime puck is still missing. Seems like in all the excitement after Patrick Kane won the mug, the puck grew legs and walked away. Sort of like the Paul Henderson puck from ’72 or sid the Kid’s Olympic equipment that this kind of item has a habit of disappearing. BUT, never fear, J Edgar’s finest G-Men G-Persons are on it and the always get their man er puck. A plethora of mixed metaphors. There was already a $50,000 bounty out on it but now, apparently some of the FBI’s crack forensic investigators are putting in their own time to look for it. Don’t worry, it’s likely already been iced.

Monday – Playdowns were likely hot and heavy over the weekend. I did not go to any (I think they conflicted with my stick ‘n puck session) but I have done a Monday night update with the info posted. Check the playdown page.

Toronto Sport Futility continues on a strong note with the Raptors dropping their eleventh in a row. They have done an admirable job of keeping the bar low while the Leafs are resting up to head back into the fray – challenging for last again. The Maple Loafs, The Blue Jokes and the Trap Doors, add in the Are Gones and the Toronto Fat Chance and you have quite a poor poor e!

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Jan 27 – countdown to the Super Bowl is on and a number of comments are floating around about big Ben #7 and how his behaviours turn people off of the black and gold. I am not a Ben fan. I think he is over rated as a QB but he does have two rings and has made some key pressure plays to both get there and to win the big one. That’s his job and in a key game it hinges on the QB to get it done, the “O” line to give him and his offensive weapons a chance and the “D” to hold.

Steeler Greats – As a die hard Steeler fan for years, I can’t help but consider the “greats” that have been in the Steeler camp  memories stand out from all over – bradshaw’s 2 minute heroics, franco’s “immaculate Reception” (we will see it again), blier, gritting it out, Swann and Stallworth as unbelievable wide receiver bookends, “Mean joe”, Lambert and Ham just “destroying people and the rock solid Webster at centre who had such a tough and short life after football.

What a franchise!

All but Blier in the Football Hall of fame – plus others.

• Arthur J. Rooney *

• Chuck Noll *

• Bert Bell

• Johnny 'Blood' McNally                                                                        

• Bill Dudley *                                                                                           

• Walt Kiesling *                                                                                       

• Bobby Layne *                                                                                       

• Ernie Stautner *                                                                                     

• Joe Greene *                                                                                          

• John Henry Johnson *                                                                          

• Jack Ham *                                                                                              

• Mel Blount                                                                                              

• Terry Bradshaw *

• Franco Harris *

• Rocky Blier                                                                                              

• Jack Lambert *                                                                                                      

• Mike Webster *                                                                                     

• Lynn Swann *                                                                                         

• John Stallworth *

*- in the Football Hall of fame.                                                          

Good Thing – there is football to look forward to for at least one more weekend as there is not much anything else local to even look at. The Leafs probably couldn’t be happier to have an All Star break even though in their case it is a “No Stars” break. I don’t even consider the Raptors as worth comment.

The All Star game - is also shaping up as a big nothing. Sid the Kid is clearly majorly PO’d with the NHL and will not even be making a token “show the flag”, “Support the Game” appearance as he did the last time he was hurt – that says a lot. Malkin is hurt and not going which sets up Crazy 8 as the only established big star profile, given the game is a joke anyway I doubt if I will watch it or any of the surrounding theatrics.

It seems the most interest, developed through your usual hype is centred on this year’s gimmick – the team draft, to see who is last. Big deal. Here is my take without even looking at who is playing. If goalies are separate, and left to last it will be a goalie. The captains are going to go for firepower since nobody plays “D” so the last skater will be a journeyman “D” who probably got added to the team as a required team representation pick or last on the ballot (unless he is a Swedish friend of Lidstrom).

OMHA – has reported on the Player Movement change that was approved as a motion at last week-end’s special General Meeting. Sounds like a good turnout of over 350 delegates but I don’t know how lively any debate or questions were. With that large a turnout, it is probably a safe bet it was not a rubber stamp session. Especially since the amount of movement being offered is pretty limited when you get right down to it.

Separately, the OMHA is running a trivia contest on guesses as to how many periods of hockey are being played in the OMHA this year. You can enter your “guess” by sending an email to thrm

All entries must be submitted to info@hometownhockey.com by Monday, January 31 at 12:00pm [Noon]to be eligible.

I have sent my estimate in and will let you know after I win (or not) on my logic.

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Jan 25 - Tonight was Sport Oakville's Annual General Meeting so "home late" and not planning a big post. Two items

1. Stress - I am having some internet stress - maybe there is too much BS content in my site and it is gumming up the server or I have butchered too many FrontPage rules but regardless I am having some update troubles. Stay tuned as I am trying to sort it out.

2. Playdowns - as noted in the nave bar on the left I have put up a 2011 Playdown page to summarize ongoing results. Same "stuff" as last year as I just grabbed my 2010 page as a template. So far so good as most teams seem to be doing well.

Over and out!

Oh yeah - my Steelers did get the job done but thank goodness it was not a five quarter game - Yikes!

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Jan 23 – Football Sunday and I finally got a few minutes to sit back and watch the games and through the benefits of multi-tasking post a few thinks in my somewhat spotty posting schedule.

By the way, I am obviously cheering for my Steelers in the AFC game but the Jets are a team to be reckoned with – just ask New England. On the NFC side I would kind of like “da Bears” to win but the Pack is playing well and this may be a game of who is the best smash mouth team and who can hack the cold. Soldiers’ Field will not be a stroll in the park. Good chance that coming out of this game the winner may be pretty beat up heading into the Super Bowl – a Pyrrhic victory.

Go Steelers Go! 

Invasion of privacy – or not? A referee, with the approval of Hockey Manitoba but without either the awareness or approval of the two teams or Hockey Winnipeg (the minor hockey association) “miked-up” for a midget game between Fort Garry and Chalmers. The ref spokesperson says that there was no intent to catch anyone doing anything wrong. The other “participants” don’t agree (and neither do I. (article) There is a big difference between media being in obvious in attendance with mikes and cameras and a referee in the play with a hidden mike.  

One issue is, is it legal to tape people, probably minors, without permission – I doubt it and second – is it ethical and responsible to tape anyone in any situation without their consent – I don’t think so. Fortunately it sounds like nothing happened in the game, but, what if it had?

Shelburne – town divided by outlaw debate or not. Apparently the Orangeville Citizen and the Toronto Star disagree. As per the Citizen, only about 50 people showed up for a town meeting to discuss the “divide”.  The “Hockey Canada side” had a bunch of heavy hitters out to represent the “sanctioned teams only side - Glen McCurdie, of Hockey Canada, Wayne Pries and Michelle Sguigna of the Ontario Minor Hockey Association and Phillip McKee of the Ontario Hockey Federation. From the article, there were not too many local folks who wanted a turn at the mike.  Probably no one is interested in getting even more centered out so – let it ride. It is not going to change in their world this year so why stick your neck out?

Play-offs – It is already that time of year (January) where the Rep (travel) teams are done with their regular season and head into that time of year known as Playdowns in the chase for an OMHA title. The first hurdle Tri-County (AA, A, AE) teams need to hurdle is to get through the fuzzy wuzzy qualifier rounds and into the real playdown series. Fail to do so and many feel the year is over despite the fact that teams go back and compete in what is euphemistically referred to as the “Loser Bowl” AKA Tri-County Championships.

For the last couple of years I have tried to provide a central point update as other people can’t seem to bother, don’t think it is of interest or is too much work. The challenge of hunting through the ever changing links and pages is typically a royal pain in the derriere but with at least the initial goofy grids moved under the OMHA site it may be a bit easier. The qualifying round standings for each of the Tri-County divisions have been placed on a single page for each which is an improvement although they did split major / minor in some and those are the links I have used.

OMHA Playdowns - Tri-County Qualifying Series.       Updated: 1/23/2011

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Jan 19 – I skipped yesterday to post a bunch of pictures on the FSMT site. There are a bunch of bland ones but there are also some shots I like in terms of the action sequences, as they captured most of the goals in all three championship games as well as some interesting situations. Those who were involved will recognize the action and the pictures sequential through the game. There are other shots and content to go up on things like the sportsmanship Awards and we will work at getting these up ASAP. Challenge is that these things take time and there is only so much of that to go around.

Plan on skipping tomorrow as it is the annual Marine Club dinner downtown and "salty" old me will be there and in no condition for coherent thought by the time I get home.  Back whenever.

Competition Bureau – now here is another organization I am familiar with and apparently so is Hockey Canada. The Red Wings team in the GMHL with its Russian Content and local community issues (covered here earlier) is back in the news again with a suggestion that the CB may look into the Hockey Canada treatment of “Outlaw Leagues”. Dragging government into minor sports is never my idea of a good plan but the CB boys have their own rules and if they do get back into the Hockey Canada mix it could be a very challenging time for a lot of people.

What you also have to think about is that CB looking into Hockey Canada under the “abuse of dominance” provisions of the Competition Act, may not be far removed from taking the same line of thought to the OMHA regarding residency rules. Complaints that go in must be dealt with and while many may be summarily dismissed, at some point, the CB guys may think the winds are blowing a certain way and descend upon an unsuspecting governing body like a herd of hippos. The Star had one article today, and there are others.

The Globe & Mail has weighed in on this as well suggesting this is not likely to quietly go away.

KW Heats Up – the proposed merger of eight AAA teams to four Elite AAA by merging MB AAA – M AAA in the Kitchener Rangers / Waterloo Wolves Associations has hit a few bumps in the road. The Record is reporting on words like “betrayal”, “sellout” being used to describe the situation. It also highlights the type of controversy that can come into play when a Junior Team tries / choose to get more active with the local minor hockey group to the extent that who is controlling what or who starts to come into question.

From my read, it seems that the “Waterloo” contingent is most concerned that they are getting the short end of the hockey stick and parents have twigged to the fact that this eliminates 60+ AAA spots for local kids.

And let’s not forget the “bump” factor. If the former AAA players displaced by the dropping of the four teams, elect to stay and play at home they will pre-empt a lot of current AA players who in turn will pre-empt a bunch of A players. . . .  Theoretically that is a potential for 200+ “demotions! Tough pill to swallow.

This is all supposed to be a go for next season – AKA Try-outs which are not too far off. Stay tuned as I can almost guarantee the fireworks are not done here!

Congrats Geraldine – It is nice to see that Geraldine’s hard work as a volunteer in Minor Hockey (Georgetown) is being recognized. Both Geraldine and husband Martin were familiar faces at the MOHA office when I was running the development clinics as this was part of their overall involvement with Minor Hockey and the OMHA. Geraldine has been named as the Georgetown Heritage Hockey award recipient. Good for you Geraldine. Now Martin needs one too!

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Jan 17 – Not being one to make resolutions of any type, I did not resolve to be a more regular blogger in 2011. Therefore, I do not have to worry about my recent performance. However, the run-up to and this past weekend execution of the FSMT would give me a good excuse if I wanted one.

FSMT -   As I have noted before, this was the 10^th Anniversary tournament for the Frank Sabatino Memorial.

By the numbers, the tournament started ten years ago with 8 MOHA internal Red level Atom teams, expanded to become an OMHA sanctioned event with “outside” teams, moved around the age groups a bit, added a second division to focus on both Atom Red and Peewee Red as its core age groups and this year expanded to include a Peewee White (non-contact) division as well.

This past weekend, 48 teams (almost 800 players) from Windsor through Ottawa enjoyed the time of their lives at primarily the new 16 Mile Sports Complex, battling through 81 games to the three championship finals. Bias aside, the FSMT has to be one of, if not the best House League tournament going. Looking at some of the elements explains why:

Divisions balanced as best as possible to ensure competitive play. Of the three championships, two were decided with 2 – 1 scores (one in overtime), and the other was 1 – 0.

A five point per game scoring approach that means that teams can lose a game but still earn points.

A “goody” bag unrivalled in the tournament world – highlight contents this year included a FSMT tee-shirt, a logoed metal water bottle and an official 10^th Anniversary FSMT puck, a logoed foam “hockey stick” hat and other items, all in a reusable cloth bag for the parents

Announcers and music for (almost all) games

Drinks waiting in the dressing room after each game for all players and some thirsty coaches!

A great full colour program including a “lucky draw” ballot for every player and on sale to all. This year’s grand prize draw was for a giant Weber gas barbecue (won by a Brampton family)

Hat Trick and Shut Out awards for deserving skaters and goalies.

Game MVP awards for each game and each team in round robin play.

A “lucky draw” for each division where every player is registered for a lucky draw to win a special prize – this year the lucky player in each of the three divisions won an IPod Nano.

An opportunity for each coach to nominate one of their players to be evaluated to receive a special “Sportsmanship” Award. One award per division with the player’s name added as a plaque on the master trophy and a “keeper” plaque to take home.

A “super” skills session for each division on the Saturday afternoon that allows up to six players (including goalies) to test their skills against the other teams’ champs in fastest skating, rapidfire, breakaway, defense agility and team relay skills.

A 50/50 draw for one lucky winner

A series of Puck Toss events for a chance to win great prizes

An opportunity to contribute to the support of a very worthy and needy cause in Oakville – Palliative Care at the OTMH and Ian Anderson House – with a $3,000  fun raising donation this year.

Great fun for all.

What most “Hockey” parents should realize is that these events don’t originate, grow and become outstanding experiences all by themselves or through “magic”. It is plain and simply hard work and dedication that makes it happen. They need the care, feeding and the commitment over time of outstanding volunteers. The FSMT “beneficiaries” are extremely lucky to have the dedicated crew that has been in place from Day 1 to build this tournament to the huge success it is today.

A tip of the stick and major kudos to Tournament Chair / Master Administrator Shona Compton, Family Anchor / Tireless Taskmaster Debbie Sabatino (and anchoring family), Reggie “Hockey, Hockey, Hockey / Mr. Music Nasu and Wheeler Dealer / Volunteer Dragooner Hans Taal!

None of the above any longer have “players” in the minor hockey system and are “doing” this for all of the right reasons – the reasons it would be nice if more people took to heart in supporting our young people. If you have to ask what they are, you don’t fit the profile and I know the team would like to find a few who do! It is a lot of work to make this happen, especially as you grow from 8 to 48 teams or 120 to 800 participants and still manage to maintain and even continually improve on the quality standards at the same time.

I am very proud to be associated with these people and this event and appreciate the chance it gives me to contribute in creating all of those happy smiling hockey player faces. Win or lose, they leave the event having had a great time, having hopefully heard a few meaningful messages and loving the game even more.

Another special thanks to Len Kula (the power behind the scenes) whose great work on organizing the piles of information pouring in at the last minute for the Skills Competition allows us to make it run like clockwork instead of chaos! Thanks Len!

Coming off the ice after the third session, my only regret was that there was not another one lined up to go on. (That was the mind speaking, the bod had different messages)

Post Sunday is “crash time” but the plan is to post a bunch of 2011 stuff on all the events and activities on the site www.fsmt.ca . Check the site on a regular basis to see what’s new – and think about how YOU can help!

Fun Factoid – As I dumped some stuff on a USB drive last night (I picked up some 8 Gig Kingston drives @ $15 a pop), I could not help but do the math. Us PC Dinosaurs would have had to copy our data onto more than 22,200 5.25” 360 k floppies (at what cost) to achieve the same storage capacity of one of these little $15 beauties. Even with the 1.44 Mbyte plastic 3.5” discs that did not “disappear” too long ago we would have needed over 5,500! Who says progress is not a good thing? (Note: I said progress, not change).

Now – back to the editing room!

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Jan 10 – With both the Frank Sabatino Memorial Tournament and the Sport Oakville ADM coming up, the weekend seemed to blow by and the list of “to dos” never-ending and growing longer. We too experienced the strip mining machines disguised as Benevolent Sidewalk Snow Removers. I hope no little people fall into the pit that used to be the edge of my lawn. The one benefit on Saturday was the morning snow flurry seemed to scare off all the half-milers from “Stick & Puck as Andrew and I were two of the seven hardy athletes hockey wannabes on the ice. Fifty minutes of open ice skating and shooting is a lot of real estate to cover, especially when there is no beer tent setup for intermission. That’s where Slo-Pitch has it all figured out. With the few folks out no one mistook my Brain Bucket for a Clay Pigeon this week to practice their skeet shooting. We will see if the Stick and  Puck time helps this weekend when I am targeted for 3.5 hours on ice for the Skills on Saturday. PUCKZ – Get the Guinness ready – I can see a transfusion coming on!

Midget AAA – A very good time – probably because they have two very good guys at the helm. Had to do a quick reconnoiter re a planning issue at 16 Mile so we stopped off to watch some of their game at RO A against Guelph. Other than RO A being quite a commute from their home rink and dressing room at JCA, ??? the game was “interesting. We only stayed for two periods as I did not want to be in the building if things went the way I thought they might. Oakville outplayed Guelph convincingly in the first and then in the second probably were on power plays for roughly 18 of the 20 minutes. Guelph clearly deserved a number of penalties but Oakville was not squeaky clean and seemed to enjoy the sight lines being tilted in one direction. That is as far as my comment on _____ing goes as the striped animals get all upset when I express an opinion that does not nominate their members for sainthood.. I will say anyone can have a bad day – we were just concerned that Guelph was going to turn a bad day into a S Storm similar to the Welland OMHA Playoff on the same rink many years ago (I think 7 suspended players, 1 goalie and all the coaches that needed special OMHA “papal” dispensation so that they could ice a team for their final game the next day). It was ugly and stupid.

Anyway Oakville was up 4 – 0 after two, went on to win 6 – 0 and I don’t know if Armageddon broke out or not. This runs the Midget AAAs to 21 – 0 – 2 in their 23 games. Not too shabby at all. Continued good luck to Tom, Mario and the squad.

OMHA – Early heads-up if anyone is interested. The OMHA has called a Special General Meeting for Sunday January 23 at 2:00 PM at the Delta Meadowvale Resort and Conference Centre (a popular spot for hearings as well). Details on the meeting are on the OMHA site and were in Friday’s OHMA Insider Enewsletter – you should subscribe. Essentially the entire meeting is being called to ratify the OMHA’s motion to amend the current “Exemption to Play in Another Centre”. In short – the enhanced freedom of player movement that has been featured in the press, ballyhooed by John Gardner and a topic near and dear to many parents (especially outside of AAA, The GTHL and the LOR). I think many people have very high and broad expectations as to what this coming change will alow. I suggest those people read the motion closely and several times, and, or refer it to their Philadelphia lawyer to get a real appreciation of just what these proposed new “freedoms” are. (here is a link to the motion)

I have, and I have an opinion (as always) but a) I would like to hear what others think and b) wait to see if this gets picked up on by the brilliant media mavens to hear their “interpretation. As an official outcast, I can not be a delegate, but I may go to this meeting just to hear what I expect will be some interesting debate!

Official Concession – Yes it is only January, BUT, Crosby is hurt, I am in last place in the FHP and going nowhere. I think every one of my top 10 or more picks has had a serious injury or been sidelined for a while and I am DONE! So heap on the ridicule, razz me all you want and get it over with. I am now officially jinxed and out of contention!

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Jan 6 – Armchair Quarterbacks and Harvard Review Case Writers are / can / will have a field day with last night’s game.  It is not the end of the world although the suggestion is that we are teetering on the brink. Russia won – because they deserved to! In my role as TSN wannabe analyst, (anyone has to be better than Bob MacKenzie – I like Pierre, for his comprehensive knowledge of the game and players, but he can be a master of the obvious) some disjointed thoughts

Russia played their game for 60 minutes – Canada did not, Midway through the second and on, they gave up the aggressive physical game they were playing and what got them there and just lost their focus. The too many men call at the end of the second was just an indication of that and I don’t recall one good “hit” in the third. Almost all tournament and for half of the game they smothered the opposition and owned the boards. Not so in the end. Were they tired, complacent, or did nerves catch up?

Let’s not forget or downplay that Russia has a good team that does not quit, that proved before that they could come back and that they beat Sweden (who beat Canada).

Russia – good move in switching goalies. I don’t know their coaches style or mindset but to me this was less of a goalie issue than it was a message to the team that we have to do something different.

Time Out – Time outs are precious – you only get one, but as a coach, I would absolutely have used mine when Russia scored the 3 – 2 goal 11 seconds after they potted their first one. I yelled these instructions to the TV but they were ignored. My additional call at that time that “next goal wins” was also right and part of the reason for a “take a break – reorg.” Need after the second goal. However, Cameron is a pro coach and I am just a former minor hockey has been so what do I know.

Injuries – waiting to hear about “injuries” as I think a few of the Canadian key drivers got racked pretty good and that may have helped “blunt” their focus. Ellis, Schenn and Johansen were on my list.

Stretch passes are what I call “goal sucks” but that was a key part of the Russian game that I think they exploited more as the game went on and it seemed to cause Canada trouble with their game plan.

Five Goal Meltdown in one period – they lost it – The Russians “smelt blood” and went after it. It looked like everyone was waiting for someone else to make the “big play” to save the game and it never happened.

But let’s remember, these young men are essentially 18 years old (kids – sort of), with high expectations for themselves and from others, lots of pressure in a game where they are bombarded with the fact that they are representing their country in a world forum and need to get back to the Gold. Full house all for them and a global TV audience. They had an exceptionally bad period – shit happens – get over it and move on.

Kicked off flight – and just to prove they are kids – the Russian Champs got kicked off of their Delta flight for being too exuberant and creating a potential safety hazard.

FSMT – enough on the Juniors. I have an FSMT meeting tonight as the tournament is coming up quickly. Starts a week from tomorrow! Yikes! Glad everyone else is organized!! Looking forward to some good hockey and even better fun. Check the site for the schedule www.fsmt.ca and come out and watch a few games. We have some great prizes and the skill competition on Saturday is always fun to watch.

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Jan 5 – Second day “back” – the first was too busy and painful to write about. That is the worst thing about holidays like that – the pain of returning.

Juniors – played a great game against the U.S. as they simply blanketed the US with “in your face” hockey, relentless pressure. Every time the US got near the puck there seemed to be a red sweater all over him or laying on the body. It took the US until mid way in the third to make any headway and that may have been more a function of a) a “we have it in the bag” mindset creeping into the Canadians’ heads and, or b) a bit of fatigue catching up from two high pressure “must win” games in two days. The sea of red in the stands and turning the rink into a Canadian – Buffalo, Ontario has also been impressive as where else and for what else could one “major” country’s home game be so dominated by foreigners. And this is with the “home” team, a tournament favourite playing!

Canada and Hockey – you have to love it.

Or at least until tonight’s game is over and we see what happens – Of course we are going to win! The question is only by how many! Think positive, especially with a former Halton hills goalie in net.

Go! Canada! Go!

Thumbs up or down!

Down – to the Windsor school and school board who suspended for a day a number of young ladies for wearing duct Tape shirts with letters promoting their school team to a major annual event. Yeas they were warned, but they promised (and delivered on) nothing revealing or provocative and got suspended anyway. Can kids not do anything anymore to have fun that is not either fully scripted, supervised or robotic? Everyone knows Duct Tape is a National Treasure – just ask Red Green. How can you penalize anyone for its creative use – this was also part of a school tradition – Way to go Grinches!!

Up – to the young ladies!

Down – to the American Airlines pilot who allegedly caused first a hijack ID Squawk and then an emergency landing at Pearson Airport by spilling his coffee on some communication equipment. That will turn out to be one expensive cup of Java. Not to mention the hassle of the incident report, the obligatory involvement of the CATSB and FAA plus the internal “performance” review!

Down – to lottery pool mooches. Apparently the payout to the Bell group that won the $50 Lotto Max is delayed and under review based on some “additional” group members coming forward with a claim for a piece of the pie. Nice play – were they in or out, on this or other tickets, did they pay etc, etc, etc. take note for pool play in the future, pay, sign, and get a copy to avoid the thieving, greedy hordes.

Down – to the US Navy and the FORMER Captain of the USS Enterprise nuclear carrier on both the production and display of “stupid” videos and the fact that the big Brass did not act on them for three years. In fact it seems like the promoted the guy from XO to captain during the time. What does it say about the US Navy if they promote an alleged porno producer and distributor using the ship’s internal systems to be the head honcho. It is not like the Captain of one of the most powerful ships afloat, complete with his own air force and nuclear weapons needs to be somewhat sensible!

Two Thumbs Down - Not a fan – While he may have been an exceptional baseball player, Roberto Alomar would not have received my vote for the hall of fame. While Toronto fans and media appear to be all agog over Alomar’s election and the likelihood of a “Blue Jay Lid” being on a Hall of Fame bust, I think it is a bust. It seems too many people have forgotten some of the less favourable aspects of Mr. Alomar’s time here and elsewhere. Maybe they don’t even know about some of them! If the argument is that what you do on the field is what matters and not that “other stuff” – give Pete Rose a call.

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Jan 1 – A whole new year. A chance to start over. A clean slate – yadda, yadda, yadda. If 2011 goes as fast as 2010, it will only seem like tomorrow when we start talking about 2012!

New Year’s Eve – was very low key at Chez Moorehead’s. After a rousing round of “Stick and Puck” at Ice Sports with “the boys” – more on that later, it was home to watch the Canadian Junior try unsuccessfully to overcome less than stellar netminding to beat the Swedes – did not happen. Sweden was full value for the win and deserved it. Especially after the talking heads confidently reminded viewers that Canada (Juniors) had never lost in a shoot-out! Right – until yesterday that is. Hopefully the loss simply means we get to see another game due to the quarter final game against Switzerland – which they better win.

BTW – I am sick of seeing/hearing the Schenn brothers ad - so TSN – get some new creative.

Post the Junior Game, I had to don my Chef’s hat to create another double batch of my world famous Caramel Popcorn. It seems the last two double batches evaporated. By then it was after eight and time to crank up the WII.

WII – did I mention that a family gift this year was a WII console and remotes. I recognize that we were probably the last WII-less household in Oakville (maybe Ontario), but with all the other electronic entertainment we had under the roof it was not really a priority. However, we finally knuckled under and went with the full monty – console, four remotes, numchuks (or whatever they are) and games. While we are still working our way through the Olympics and the basic sports game that comes with the unit, a few observations.

• The games are a lot of fun and some are very realistic in terms of interpreting your actions relative to the “real” thing.

• It takes time to build the coordination and figure out all the controls – some of us are “controller challenged”.

• Archery – I suck!

• Frisbee Golf – working on it but fun

• Bowling – Current expertise – The Champ has the current High Score (which is bugging certain individuals)

• 100 Pin bowling – weird

• Sore back – sore legs – sore shoulder

There are a lot of other games and activities for the WII that I have not tried yet but look like they are really “fitness” oriented. Andrew has the NFL Training Camp game that looks like a cardiac arrest opportunity for us old guys.

Stick and Puck – I go out for some exercise and how can it be bad to be out on the ice with a hockey stick in hand. Friday (New Year’s Eve) we thought might be good as everyone would be somewhere else! WRONG! The joint was crowded, they opened a second sheet and it was crowded too. Not only was it crowded, but the ice was terrible, pitted and rough almost like pebbled curling ice plus rough spots.

I think I have mentioned the one rule at S&P is don’t loiter in front of the net. This is where the little guys that are there drive me nuts. They don’t seem to “know” this and “Dad” does not seem to know enough to tell them. You go in for a shot and suddenly a herd of ankle biters wanders in front of the net and starts playing there – MOVE!.

That brings up the other rule which is “take a look”! On Friday, some moron must have had his head stuck well up his lower back as in the first five minutes I am skating in the high slot angling in on the net when CLANG! Some idiot pranged one off my lid when I was not even near the net. I turned around to see who it was but could not tell with the herd that was there. Apparently Shaun saw who it was but wouldn’t tell me – I guess he through I was going to throw down on the guy. Fortunately I was wearing my super duper new Bauer Brain Bucket that Andrew got me for Christmas and did not feel a thing. However, the gutless wonder did not even have the stones to step up and simply apologize. Smarten up folks.

What I will say from what I have seen so far is some of the “best behaved” guys on the ice are the older teens / recent minor hockey grad types who know the drill. Good for them.

Rangers & Wolves – Interesting approach being taken in KW with the planned “merger” of four levels at AAA with the Kitchener MHA, Waterloo MHA and the KW Rangers OHL club all in the mix. Instead of separate Kitchener and Waterloo clubs at MB, B, MM and M AAA (8 teams) the plan is to cut it in half and go to four.

The MB and MM become “Rangers” and the B and M become Wolves. One might say that Kitchener wins as they control the “draft year”.

The other challenge is that in the name of being “more competitive”, four teams of young players are losing their opportunity to play AAA in their home centre. Shades of “Winning isn’t something, winning is everything”.

Here is a Record article on it.

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