May 31 – another month draws to a close and we will have hockey in June. The only question is for how long. Based on today's weather the cool days may be on their way back.

Stanley Cup playoffs -- a wonderful thing about hockey, is that you count how many times the puck goes into the net, not how often you think it should. If you're going to get screwed on the schedule a couple of good bounces can help. Detroit did catch a few breaks but it is the old - You win some, you lose some.

I was not sure how the game was going to get called last night, since as a Detroit fan it seemed that first of all nothing was going to get called as Pittsburgh took some liberties with the Detroit players and then when some things were called they were against Detroit. This series does have the potential to get nasty - while there is clearly some great talent ob both teams, there is also plenty of mean streak available.

It seems like a lot of people are talking about the scheduling and the league is going to great pains to point out that the general managers all agreed to the back-to-back games should the necessity arise. They weren't as quick to point out the criteria that had to be met that was not. Regardless, Detroit got a big win last night and although they would never admit it, I think they would be okay with escaping from Detroit with a split. Moving to Pittsburgh leads to a few more off days in a lighter schedule to let some battered players heal. All in all, I thought it was a pretty entertaining game last night -- especially since my team won.

Big mistake -- for close to half a century I had successfully hidden the fact that I can cook. Other than the obligatory chili (which is a mandatory guy thing) and the eminent domain of the barbecue area, I had maintained the pretense that I could not tell a pot from a pan from a WOK. Dummy that I am, when Jane had some dental work done that impeded her chomping ability, I foolishly stepped up and made some meals. Unfortunately, they were favorably received, and with expressions of surprise and disbelief. It appears that I have blown my cover and now some people seem to think that I should do my share of the cooking. Dumb. At this point, I think I need access to some mind altering drugs so that I can arrange for people to forget the last few weeks. Suggestions?

Adoption wall lifts -- as of midnight tonight a lot of the shroud of secrecy around adoption will disappear. Instead of hitting the impenetrable wall, adoptees (is that right?) will have the right to scope out and track down their birth parent(s) unless those individuals have specifically requested a disclosure veto. Given that the disclosure veto is a new process and apparently only a limited number of people have applied for one, I suspect there are a lot of people out there who gave kids up for adoption who have no idea that the son or daughter could shortly be showing up on their doorstep with a Hi mom or Hi dad. While for many this may be a very positive experience, I suspect there will be an equal if not greater number of situations where it creates an Oh $%$^&&$ situation with shades of ”Lucy, you’ve got some ’splainin’ to do!”. Especially, as I would fully expect in some situations these calls or contacts would come from right out of left field.

Camp Day -- since I know that all of you were out this weekend spending tons of money at Canadian Tire and Marks Work Wearhouse to support Jump Start Days, I will simply add a quick reminder that Tuesday June 2 is Camp Day at Tim Hortons. Buy lots of coffee to help support Tim's efforts to send kids to camp. It is the only chance some of these kids will get so do your best to help make it possible. Extra large double double is the standard order. Feel free to go for the donuts as well.

Passports -- if you want to travel you better have one. Starting tomorrow the last implementation stage of the "Western Hemisphere travel initiative" passed by the Bush administration post 9/11 goes into effect. That means Canadians wishing to travel to the US, as well as US citizens wishing to return need to have either a valid passport or other valid travel document. The other valid travel document basically means an enhanced driver's license with nationality, a project that has not really gotten off the ground in Ontario as of yet. While there is apparently some leniency expected in the initial days, there will be a clampdown and it will be interesting to see just how much of an impact this has on people. I used to have my passport but let it lapse as I only used it on a trip to Europe. Even after January 2007 when you were supposed to have a passport to fly to the US I still managed to use alternate ID (including my Canadian Tire photo ID card) to travel. I did have to do some fancy talking on occasion and finally simply renewed my passport to avoid the hassle. While I did not fit the terrorist profile, I couldn't afford the risk of being stranded at the airport on a business trip. At that time there was some talk of extending the passport term from 5 to 10 years and I was trying to wait for that process and save at least one renewal at 100 bucks a pop. Didn't work. It will be interesting to see how much of a hassle this does become in the short-term, how many people don't have a passport, and what happens to the service levels with the passport people when you need a last-minute document. Not my problem, I have mine. If you don't and you plan on traveling you better get on it.

Big Ben -- the clock, not Ian Millar's horse first pealed on this day in 1859. After just a few months the striker proved too heavy and cracked the bell. After several years it was replaced with a lighter hammer and the clock restored. The crack was never fixed. Even though the House of Commons chamber was heavily damaged by an incendiary bomb during World War II, Big Ben was never silenced. The clock is phenomenally accurate with coins being placed on the pendulum to create the required balance and checked against the Greenwich Observatory. The bell itself is over 13 tons.

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May 29 - a belated happy anniversary to me. For some reason I thought I had started my blog after the night of the Long Knives last year, whereas in actual fact my first "posting" was on May 10, 2008 when I had penned a few words suggesting I was going to try to figure out this process. While I don't know if the numbers are good, bad or indifferent, the hit counter that I placed on the blog page is now at almost 21,000. To spoof one of my favorite actors, there has been the good, the bad, and the ugly. Not surprisingly, might categorize Asian of some of the content is probably the direct inverse of some others.

Given that it's Friday and has been a very long week, I think I will revert to hit and run mentality for a few comments and then go find something cool and soothing to refresh my palate while I lounge in front of the TV. A random thought is that tonight might be a good night to watch "Quantum of Solace" as for some reason I still have not watched this movie. That does mean I'll have to figure out how to switch the TV to number 2 son’s PS3, assuming I know how to turn it on, to avail myself of the Blu-Ray capability. Anyway:

Bob Cole -- gone. After many years of service, Bob Cole is being turfed from the Stanley Cup final broadcast. Too bad for him, but it's about time and I look forward to the next generation. Maybe they will have the right players with the puck.

Manslaughter conviction -- not sure where I end up on this with. It brings back the days of the McMurtry inquiry in hockey. The whole issue of violence in sports is very complicated and one that I'm not sure anyone will ever solve satisfactorily. Was the rugby violence and malicious act or an accident -- who knows. Nothing will bring the victim back but does the other young man deserved to have his life destroyed?

NHL schedules -- gutless capitulation by the NHL to the whims of NBC with concerns that they not intrude on Conan O'Brien programming has set the first back-to-back Saturday Sunday Stanley Cup teams in over 50 years. My biased viewpoint suggests this will not help my wings but the general principle of the scheduling change sticks in my craw as there are a grand total of probably five viewers in the US.

Local power plant -- this is another item that seems to have slipped under my radar as according to the e-mails I am now receiving there are plans to build a major power plant north of Maple Grove and Cornwall. While I was never an honors geography student, some dead reckoning suggests that's right next door to my house. Clearly I'm not a fan of this idea -- tell me more and let's stop it. In my ill-fated run for Council, I was an active proponent of more facilities and services for the Clearview area but I did not have a power plant on my list. Where does our illustrious Council sit on this one?

Town Hall garage sale -- tomorrow morning is the big annual garage sale at the town hall. Will they be selling a number of unfulfilled promises, extra taxes, service reductions or will there be some useful items?

Basic info to be released -- according to the Toronto Star, picked up from CP, the public will find out the basics about whether Mr. Li will be incarcerated or released with conditions. It still boggles my imagination that there would be any consideration for release of this individual. I just don't get it!

History -- hot on the heels of the unfortunate death of a Canadian climber, today marks the anniversary of the first "proven" successful ascent of Mount Everest. In 1953 Edmund Hillary, subsequently knighted, and Tenzing Norgay reached the summit of the world's highest mountain. While the general consensus is that this was the first successful climb, there has always been speculation that in 1924 Mallory and Irvine may have reached the top. They disappeared during their climb and provided a complete mystery until Mallory's body was found high on Everest in 1999 with numerous broken bones consistent with a fall. There is still no answer as to whether he ever reached the top or not.

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May 28 – Chalk up the win and the series for the Wings. That would make me two for two in the tough series, unlike some other guy who picked “Chicago”!! The Hawks would not have won a game if Kronwall had not got jobbed. Going to overtime with Huet on fire was a bit nerve wracking but if any of you coach wanabees were watching, Detroit put on a clinic of “Offensive Zone, Puck Pursuit and Control” while Chicago ended up demonstrating the whirling dervish approach to a defensive zone break-out (or not).It looks like Detroit should only use Helm for the play-offs as that is the only time he can score – but, we’ll take it.

With the revised timetable and both series ending quickly, the poor “old” (literally) Wings and their parade of banged up players have to take on the young bucks from the Quaker State in back-to-back games on Saturday. I like both squads but I have to stick with my Guys – Go Wings Go!!

Lord Black – may still be a lord, but his name has apparently “disappeared” from the membership list of the ultra prestigious and very secretive Toronto. Was he “lapsed” or “turfed”. Only The Shadow knows and he (or she) is not talking. The Toronto Club, very exclusive and “snobbish” is tellin’ nobody nuthin. So while he may get “released” by the US Supreme Court, he won’t have his Olde Boys Club barroom to return to with all his Hard Time prison stories. Too bad, So sad!

Cough up the dough – The next few days are going to be busy from a charitable fund raising perspective. While this may seem like a blatant plug for my employer, This week-end is the first “annual” Canadian Tire Jump Start days where there are a number of events going on across the enterprise to raise funds for Jump Start. Jump Start provides funding for under-privileged young people to participate in sporting activities that they could otherwise not afford. This foundation has been running for a number of years and to date has supported over 150,000 kids – including a number from Oakville. Take a look at the Jump Start site. Go to CT this weekend spend often, spend lots  Here is the link to the Canadian Tire online site as well so you can see lots to buy. Remember, it is a Canadian right for all men to go to Canadian tire and spend money every weekend (oh yeah – buy gas too).

Tim Hortons’ annual Camp Day is also coming up on June 2. That is the day to take up intravenous coffee drinking from Tims to help them send a bunch of kids to camp. I sure most of you can find a way to manage at least five or six cups – by the way – you can just give them money also. Here is Tim Hortons site.

Dog-O-Matic – it is off the wall time – Dog Lovers, please adjust your set and do not continue. A European company has developed a dog washing vending machine. We all have heard the poodle in a microwave joke – but this is for real. It is a coin-op dog wash (maybe cats too). For about $47 and a half hour, you can give Fido a wash, rinse and fluff dry. It is not a spin dry. Apparently it is doing well in Europe and they are looking to expand into Britain.

I know you think I'm goofin' on you so here is a link.

Corrections – it seems I did not let facts interfere with my comments on the Bismark yesterday (thanks to my critical audience for bringing this to my attention – someone has waaaay too much time on their hands!)). The Bismarck did sink the Hood, but the HMS Hood was not newly commissioned, she was originally built in 1918, entered service in 1920, but had been retrofitted prior to the engagement. It did not help. While the numbers suggest she was a match for the hood, the real facts had her clearly outclassed.

Baseball - this day in 1957 established the Westward swing as the National League owners approved (with conditions) the move of both the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers to their new homes in San Francisco and Los Angeles respectively. Essentially it was an all or nothing - both had to go or neither could.

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May 27 - checking the papers and watching sports, it looks like Jimmy B has successfully turned up the heat on both the NHL and the courts by both applying for ownership approval with the NHL and applying a term certain date to his Phoenix offer. Looks like the boys are due back in court on June 5 now instead of the June 22 date originally indicated. Even so, I think this one is a long way from over yet. The tiny perfect commissioner is not one to give up easily regardless of the court bankruptcy ruling.

Star Trek -- forgot to mention that I went to see the new Star Trek movie on the weekend. Got sabotaged by son number one who snuck out and watched it without me and stiffed by son number two who refused to go. Net net, I was one of those weird guys sitting in the movie theater by myself on Sunday afternoon. Don't care, I really enjoyed the movie. It's not going to win any Academy Awards, the special effects were nothing outstanding in this day and age, the plot was not overly complex but for just all around entertainment for someone who has watched various flavors of Star Trek for years I really enjoyed it. I would also highly recommend it to anyone Star Trek fan or not, as it is at least in my mind good entertainment. I guess what made it even more appealing to me was at least in part the comparison of the new primary characters to the past icons. Off the top, perhaps my biggest plus for the new guys was for Montgomery Scott, chief engineer. I thought the new Scotty stole his scenes. Dr. McCoy was so-so, I think from trying too hard, Capt. Kirk was pretty good and I think Spock could be with a little more work. All in all, I think this movie has done a good job of setting the franchise up for a "rebirth". We will have to wait and see where it goes.

Blue Jays -- it's funny how the fickle finger of fate writes and moves on. It only seems like yesterday that Torontonians and by extension the rest of the country were brushing up on their World Series apparel in preparation for the Blue Jays triumphant season. The sun has gone down on the road trip from "expletive deleted" and suddenly they are riding a nine-game losing streak as they slink back home. The raucous fans have gone silent and the scribes recently full of praise have got the knives out again. Don't you just love the Toronto sports media. Not to worry, there's still about 113 games to go. If they happen to win one or two in a row at this point, the bandwagon will crank up again with the "well I'm glad they got that losing streak out of the way now instead of later in the year when it mattered". Sorry folks, I believe a 1 in the loss column counts the same, whether it's in April or October -- funny how people think the same way about hockey. The loss in October can cost you the same playoff spot as the loss in March. At least that's what I learned in my math classes.

Am I missing something? -- saw a piece in the paper today that says the public may never know if Vince Li is kept in an institution or given a conditional release!! A conditional release, give me a break!! In case you're wondering, Vince is the happy hacker who beheaded a fellow passenger on a Greyhound bus out of Winnipeg. So let me get this straight, Vince clearly killed Tim McLean on the bus, in front of a number of terrified witnesses, some of whom if I recall correctly captured at least parts of the attack as pictures or video and there was no dispute as to Vince's actions. Our wonderful legal system has subsequently found him not criminally responsible for the killing and that any further information with respect to this case and what happens to Mr. Li could violate his rights as a patient. Makes you wonder, whether Mr. McLean or his surviving relatives have any rights, or conversely if you want to do something particularly evil in our society all you have to do is act like a raving lunatic and get away with it. I will have to keep that in mind.

Darn machine -- as the self admitted world's worst proof reader, especially of my own material, the speech to text concept does create some problems. Especially if I'm too lazy to take the time to carefully go back over what I have "typed". So when you see some gibberish in what I have posted chances are I have gotten careless again -- it's not an alcohol problem. At least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Two big events in history today -- Jimmy Horton was provided with the material for his hit song "Sink the Bismarck" when the dreaded battleship was pursued and sunk by the British off the coast of France with the loss of over 2,000 German seaman in 1941. A few days earlier the Hood, brand-new and the pride of the British Navy had been sunk by the Bismarck with a lucky salvo that penetrated the upper deck, drilled down to a powder magazine and blew up the ship killing all but three of the Hood’s over 1,400 sailors. There are also a couple of old, but good movies that have been made on this pursuit.

For anyone who has been to San Francisco, it was on this date in 1937 that the Golden Gate Bridge opened for traffic. Pedestrians only the first day with vehicles first allowed on May 28. It doesn't matter whether you are looking at the bridge from either end, San Francisco or Oakland, or whether you're crossing it either way, it is quite the structure and presents some awesome views. It's hard to believe it's over 70 years old. I've been fortunate to have had this experience a couple of times and it is one of the experiences I would love to repeat. At 4,200 feet the Golden Gate Bridge was the longest bridge in the world and kept that that title until 1964 when the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York was opened. I've been over that one to, and I still prefer the classic.

Hockey night at my house -- games on -- I am gone.

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May 26 -- likely a very short post and a hit and run tonight as I got home late from the office this evening and want to watch the tail end of the Pittsburgh game. While it may just be my imagination, the global economy and Canadian economy still seem to be in the tank, and yet there are a number of labor unrest stories coming to the fore with potential strike action. Whether it’s the "inside workers" or the LCBO, it seems that since it is now a summertime with nice picketing weather, that a number of folks seem to think it's appropriate to go on strike. Well I don't know the ins and outs of their labor situation, I do know that there are a lot of unemployed people who would prefer to be working. Does the word decertify come to mind. Since that will likely get me into trouble with a lot of union folks I think I'll just leave it at that for now.

Peter Zezel passes away -- while I think most people were aware that Zezel did have health problems, his death today seemed exceptionally sudden. After his NHL career (which apparently contains an interesting and not flattering Brian Burke story) Peter had returned to Toronto to support minor hockey. In fact, if memory serves me well he had inadvertently got himself into trouble with certification requirements with the GTHL. By all accounts, he had become a major contribution to minor sports and his passing at such an early age is unfortunate. Read more on the story here.

Bye-bye Canes - with a 3 to 1 lead at the end of two periods it looks like Pittsburgh will be successful in sweeping Carolina. There are still 20 minutes to go and anything can happen but I don't think so.

Quinn in Edmonton -- Pat goes to the Oilers to replace Craig MacTavish. This comes as a bit of a surprise as things have been relatively quiet on the Pat Quinn front for a while. The Oilers were huge underachievers this year and the question becomes is at a turnaround coach. One would have to say based on his performance in Toronto that this is not the case. His record with the Leafs was not exactly stellar. This will be an interesting one to watch as I would expect there will some significant shakeups. Read some more info here

Jimmy B and Phoenix -- the whole issue of what's going to happen to the Phoenix Coyotes with potentially all claims of residual lawsuits is likely to get clarified in the not-too-distant future. Jimmy B. has made a number of steps to really put the pressure on the NHL. He has stated he will not stay in Phoenix if he gets the team, he has applied to the NHL officially to be an owner (shades of setting up antitrust litigation) and has indicated that the offer for Phoenix will expire at the end of June to put time pressure on the whole situation. With the mitigation report or status coming back to the courts this week, this situation is going to be fun to watch. I wonder if Vegas has a betting line on this one.

Stories -- I think everyone is hoping for a Detroit and Pittsburgh rematch for the cup. Clearly that provides an awful lot more stories than either of the other two franchises. One of them will be the decision of Hossa to opt for a one year deal with Detroit instead of a more lucrative offer both in terms of dollars and contract length with Pittsburgh. Not sure if I like that in that it will give Pittsburgh more incentive to want to stick it to Detroit. Regardless, I think that is the series that all of us want to see if Detroit can defend their title versus the kids who did not quite make it last year. Let's wait and see. As the stories start here is one on Hossa.

You know it's not your day when -- on this day in 1959 Harvey Haddix of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitched 12 perfect innings and subsequently lost the game in the 13th. I suspect that Harvey did not have a lot of good things to say to that Pittsburgh batters a bad day. How could you expect anyone to pitch 12 perfect innings and lose a ballgame? Ask Harvey. Perhaps this was the inspiration for the comic strip The Born Loser.

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May 25 - Ebb and Flo – After looking questionable (Detroit) and the Hawks formidable on Friday, somebody got taught a lesson Sunday, Missing a couple of key players the Wings laid a convincing beating on the youngsters in their home rink. Hopefully, this gives the Hockeytown boys the momentum to tack on one more victory and end this series quickly. If they can finish it quickly, they will get to sit around for nine days while the NHL waits for NBC to be ready for broadcast. Shades of the tail wagging the dog as the US is such a huge broadcast market for hockey!

Questions -- the question of MOHA's "huge surplus" and how it should be spent, come up on a regular basis. A suggestion has been that some of this money could be used to sponsor tryouts for the rep teams in lieu of the aspiring players paying fees when trying out. To some extent I have commented on this before, and do not want to be perceived as writing a book on the subject so I will try to be relatively concise, and not go into a lot of detail. However, I will try to cover the basic principles. People can choose to agree or disagree with them but it was the way the Association was operated.

A guiding principle for MOHA financials for years  has been a "user pay" policy. Essentially, this means that regardless of whether a player was at the house league blue level or town rep AAA, they should receive the same value for the money they paid. Each year separate budgets for house league and town rep were built from the bottom up with shared costs and common benefits applied to both. Roughly 85% of the players were in house league and 15% in town rep. Therefore, general administrative costs were apportioned to each group on a percentage basis and program specific costs were charged where they would be incurred. Ice costs were applied by usage, as each house league team from midget down typically received a game in the shared ice practice per week. As a base, each rep player was credited with the same amount of ice cost as a house league player with the incremental ice allocated to town rep added to their team assessment. Specific costs, like uniforms, referees, timekeepers, team and player fees, insurance, etc. were applied to the appropriate budgets.

Essentially, all costs for both divisions were calculated on an equitable basis and the expected incremental cost to support the rep program were identified and allocated out to the individual teams as their assessment. Obviously, compared to house league, this included such items as incremental ice, additional player development -- formerly Mitron and dryland, official fees, more expensive uniforms -- recently two sets, coach supervision, playoff fees, rep fees (for example, Tri County and SCTA) and so on.

While all efforts were made to make these estimates as accurate as possible, typically items would come up after the assessments had been paid that involved incremental costs associated with the rep system.  Because of the nature of the budget process, any incremental cost the came up be paid out of general funds which were essentially the house league pool (very seldom if ever were there any so-called savings against rep estimates).

One of the sources of revenue that was factored into the budgets was revenue generated at tryouts that was in excess of the cost of the ice. That money was identified separately and credited back to the rep teams as an offset to the charges in their assessment. In effect, money raised at tryouts was already being used to reduce the individual rep player assessment. Simplistically, it was money generated by people interested in the rep system that went back into the rep system to support the players.

As far as the tryouts being free, if you follow the user pay philosophy, and can grasp the concept that any annual surplus was typically due to efficiencies in house league, then paying for tryouts out of surplus funds is essentially having house league players pay for a rep program. Even if you support that any surplus funds were generated on a proportionate basis by every player, 85% of the surplus funds would have been generated through house league and I would find it difficult to support using them to fund a town rep program.

The objective always thrown out to directors and anyone else wishing to spend from surplus was to identify opportunities where the money would support the development of all players and not simply a few. An example of this would be the money invested in the Timbit program with the divider boards as that was an entry point for all players, some of whom would continue on to rep and others who would stay in house league.

The board of directors is free within the confines of reasonable business practices to make whatever decisions they choose. However the approach that was followed was one that was felt to be the most fair and equitable approach to take to all players. Perhaps a bigger challenge with the tryout process is to efficiently and effectively reduce the number of players at tryouts to a reasonable number that can be fairly assessed and not have players skating at several levels for several sessions where they have no reasonable opportunity of ever making the team.

Somehow, I don't think this has been a very cohesive explanation, but it's on a Monday, and I have not sat down to draft it out in detail or really think about it. Presenting stream of consciousness is a dangerous practice. That's the danger of my "Speech to Text" toy.

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May 24 -- "Open Doors Toronto" is on this weekend where individuals are tours are given access to buildings and areas within buildings that they typically are not able to see. Normally, I would greet this event with a big yawn but this year for the first time the Don Jail is included as one of the opportunities. Call it a morbid fascination if you want but the Don Jail has received a lot of publicity, mostly bad, relative to the nature of its facilities before it was closed. It seems to be one of the highlights from Saturday as noted in today's Toronto Star and if I had nothing better to do I would have enjoyed a tour. However, it looks like they are processing people like sheep with half-hour tours of the facility. It's tough to take a good look at at things in a half-hour tour and I would much rather have some time to simply look around. The good news is that apparently there will be tours available on going through October prior to major renovation. I'm going to have to add this to my to do list.

Penguins rule -- while we went to the early races at Mohawk last night and only got back in time for the third period, it looks like Pittsburgh has this series well in hand. Based on the weekend play it now looks like Pittsburgh will have to worry about a long layoff not Detroit. If Pittsburgh can pull off the suite that currently looks possible, and Detroit has to battle through a seven-game series to make the final, I will have to change my prediction. A rested, young Pittsburgh team with the talent they have available would be a little more then I think a beat up Detroit squad could handle. Detroit needed that game three win but it was not to be.

Outlaw leagues -- I have commented on this before but will take the opportunity to do it again because it appears that Hockey Canada is serious about their initiative against outlaw or nonsanctioned leagues. As part of their annual general meeting that recently concluded, Hockey Canada has issued a release on their position with respect to these so-called outlaw leagues which are leagues that operate outside of the hockey Canada umbrella and structure. HC has identified September 30 as the magic date where outlaw participants will face suspension if they participate in any type of tournament week or exhibition game in outlaw format after that date. That notice has been presented on the 0MHA website and as a public service I have posted a copy of the hockey Canada bulletin on my site that can be accessed in PDF form by clicking here. Oakville minor hockey participants are at risk in this scenario as both The Wave in Burlington and the Ice2Ice facility in Oakville are offering programs that to the best of my knowledge would be considered as “outlaw”. Similar events are not an issue here, it is only the winter programs with participation after September 30.

As a further caution, when I went to check both The Wave and in websites after reading the HC notice, The Wave was fine and I have posted the link here so you can check it out yourself, but when I went to go to the Ice2Ice website I received a warning on my browser that that site had been identified as a risk with the threat of malicious or invasive software. Needless to say, I chose not to visit it and have not posted any links here.

At the end of the day, play where you want for the reasons you want to, but do that with full information.

As an aside, Hockey Canada has also stated that they will impose sanctions on any Association that actively supports any of these outlaw leagues. I suspect that the "formerly proposed" move of the Timbit program to the Ice2Ice facility and using their services would have been suspect. Another reason why this was a bad idea.

Game four -- it is difficult to know what to expect in today's game four between Detroit and Chicago. There has been a lot of controversy over the Kronwall / Havlat incident (read more here). Most seem to feel that while a very hard hit, it was legal. This is probably backed up by not hearing of any additional discipline from the NHL as of yet, and the relative quiet of the Chicago team. Listening to some of the programming on TSN has been interesting, in that a number of comments have been directed towards Scott Stevens who as they say made a career out of these type of hits (remember the shot that finished Lindros!) and is now in the Hockey Hall of Fame. So today, we will see the carryover effects if any on both teams as well as the apparent replacement of Khabibulin in the Chicago net. Even though Detroit currently leads the series 2 games to one, I look at this as essentially a must win game for the Wings to break any Chicago momentum and get control.

Night games -- While it is the norm today and nobody even thinks about it except maybe in Chicago at Wrigley Field which was the last one to host night games, the first major league baseball game played under the lights was on this day in 1935. Cincinnati beat Philadelphia 2 -- 1 in Cincinnati. Chicago's Wrigley Field did not play under the lights until August 8, 1988. Since that game was rained out after three innings, it did not qualify as again meaning that the first official game under the lights at Wrigley Field was on August 9. The Cubs are the only major league team that still play the majority of their games during the day. Having been to Wrigley Field, it is a wonderful place to spend an afternoon. I would go back anytime.

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May 23 -- today's blog will likely be short because it is my sour grapes version after last night’s Detroit Chicago game. I will give the linesmen the benefit of the doubt, but the two referees should be both disciplined and banished from the balance of any playoffs. It was a brutal call. Brutal because it wasn't made, brutal because it shouldn't have been made, and brutal because it was clearly a "made-up call" after the fact. Every replay I watched, admitting I'm biased, clearly showed it as a clean albeit very hard hit. No call was made on the play and clearly the call was made after the play. To the surprise of anyone watching the game, watching the replays, or listening to any of the "learned" hockey commentators involved with the broadcast. While Detroit did manage to kill off the ensuing five-minute penalty, they lost one of their best defenseman for the balance of the game, were already playing with a short line up and were down to five defensemen.

In a close game, where Detroit fought back from a three goal deficit to send it to overtime, there is no question in my mind that having Kronwall in the lineup would have made a difference. Instead of the series being potentially three games to none and a stranglehold for Detroit, it is now two games to one with Chicago having a good opportunity to even the series with their second home game. At the end of the day, a really bad call could end up being the decider of the Stanley Cup. Way to go Zebras. If you think this is just my rant, take a look at all the sports coverage today (even Damien Cox agrees).

Let's see if they try and even it up for the Hurricanes this evening.

Perspective -- I have been following this story for a while and unfortunately it has come to a final conclusion. Robert Mueller was a goalie playing in Europe at a very high level who originally had aspirations and likely an opportunity to play in the NHL (he had been drafted by Washington). He had played for Germany in two Olympics, eight world championships and the 2004 World Cup. Unfortunately, in November of 2006 he was diagnosed with brain cancer and after undergoing surgery and while still in treatment his determination brought him back to the ice. He subsequently played at last year's IIHF championship in Halifax and Québec but unfortunately in August 2008 was diagnosed with regrowth of the tumor and went back under the knife. Again he came back from that to play but subsequently ended up in a losing battle and passed away yesterday. For grit, determination and attitude you won't get a better example. Read the story here.

Never give up -- as another example of perseverance paying off, the Windsor Spitfires will be playing in the Memorial Cup championship game tomorrow against the Kelowna Rockets (an upset winner from the West). After losing their first two games, and likely being written off by just about everyone, the Spitfires have played solid hockey including fighting their way into and then through a tie breaker followed by an overtime win in the semifinal yesterday to make it to the championship. After the difficulties that the Spitfires went through last year, I would really like to see them win.

Bag wars -- just a quick heads-up on the upcoming bag wars. For some reason I had thought that the only stores affected with the five cent per bag fee were the grocery stores. Wrong! It seems that the plastic bag levy applies to all retailers regardless of their line of business and not just my supermarket friends -- read it here. This seems to be news to a number of people including the retailers involved. It will be interesting to see if upscale retailers like Holt Renfrew end up charging their customers five cents a bag. Do they even use plastic bags at Holt Renfrew? Somehow I doubt the bag fee will be an issue there. This apparently only applies within the city of Toronto but I'm not sure exactly where those boundaries start and stop and how likely this anti-bag wave is to be picked up by other municipalities. Is it the next "politically correct" crusade? A plug for my employer -- get your reusable bags from CT -- they're great, reusable and washable. Plus, they scrunch up real nice.

Election results -- the “successful” candidates from Thursday night’s MOHA annual general meeting have been merged into the director's list on their website. One potential returnee was unsuccessful in one potential new candidate was unsuccessful. Check it out for yourself if you are interested. I have not heard whether the "questions" were asked and/or answered, but I have heard that attendance was rather sparse. When I get the energy, I will provide my opinion on the “questions” recognizing that it is based on what we used to do versus what folks may be up to now.

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway -- caught a lucky break as today in 1934 the real Bonnie and Clyde got smoked. Their exploits led to the 1967 hit movie Bonnie and Clyde starring the above, helping both of their careers.

This was a bad day for Capt. Kidd as well, as he was hanged for piracy on this date in 1701. Just goes to show that no good deed goes unpunished as Capt. Kidd had turned himself in in the colonies to clear his name of piracy charges. Apparently it didn't work as he was shipped back to England, tried and executed.

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May 22 -- with Pittsburgh's win last night it looks like neither team (I am presuming Detroit and Pittsburgh are going to win) will have to worry about a two-week layoff. While I don't think either series will go seven, I don't expect either to go in four either.

Happy and Anniversary -- with the dropping of the gavel on the MOHA annual general meeting last night, it marked one year since the night of the long knives. So the question for many people will be what, if anything, has changed, for better or worse. Frankly, most of the members won't know the difference -- others will. Regardless, a year has come and gone and while I have missed a number of aspects of my association with a great bunch of kids, volunteers and colleagues there are also many people and things I do not miss. It has also been interesting and in many ways rewarding to have time to do other things -- like - have a life.

Indy 500 -- this weekend marks the Indianapolis 500 race. Once upon a time, this was the undisputed premiere event of open wheel racing in North America and a spectacular sporting event for almost everyone. To win the Indy 500 was the career topper for any racer. As a kid, I remember the discussions and conversations and excitement that led up to the race and it was a must follow on the Memorial Day weekend. The battles of the Foyt's, the Unser's, the Andretti's and all the premiere racing names were something that everyone followed. Events stick with you like the huge controversy over Andy Granatelli’s Pratt & Whitney STP turbine powered racer. The turbine simply blew away the field with its power and eerie quiet until with four laps to go a three dollar bearing seized and cost Parnelli Jones the win and set up the situation to get turbine powered vehicles banned from the race. The year was 1967.

Since then the internal battles within motor racing, the formation of the two racing associations, the jumping of drivers back and forth so that there were no clear fan favorites, and a bunch of other factors have essentially cheapened this race so that today it has nowhere near the excitement value that it held years ago. Having said that, these vehicles and their drivers are simply incredible. Talk about stamina, hand eye coordination, physical endurance, speed and danger, and the unbelievable technology in the cars and regardless of the opinion you have of motor racing as a sport you have to give these guys credit -- they are a separate breed. If anyone has an interest, I pulled the following information off the official Indy 500 site which is interesting reading. The link is here, if you want to check out the site.

 DID YOU KNOW…

• ...that the 3.5-liter, 100 percent fuel-grade ethanol-powered engines of IndyCar Series cars produce more than 650 horsepower, nearly four times that of the average street car?

• …that each of the eight pistons in an IndyCar Series engine travels nearly 1 mile up and down in the cylinder every minute?

• …that each of the eight pistons in an IndyCar Series engine is subjected to a maximum acceleration of 70,000 times the force of gravity?

• ...that the fuel mileage of an IndyCar Series car is less than 2 miles per gallon? A car burns approximately 1.3 gallons of fuel per lap at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

• ...that an IndyCar Series car accelerates from 0 to 100 mph in less than three seconds, more than nine seconds quicker than it takes a production Porsche 911 Turbo street car to reach the same speed?

• ...that a 1,565-pound IndyCar Series cars generates 5,000 pounds of downforce at 220 mph, enough to allow the car to run upside down if that speed is maintained?

• ...the tread depth of an IndyCar Series tire is 3/32nds of an inch – slightly thicker than a credit card?

• ...a front tire for the IndyCar Series weighs approximately 18 pounds - slightly less than the average weight of a 1-year-old child?

• …at speed, the tread area of the racing tires approaches the temperature of boiling water (212 degrees Fahrenheit)? At those levels, the tread area actually becomes tar-like in consistency to help the tires and car adhere to the track.

• …at any given moment on the racetrack, the total area of all four tires that is in contact with the track surface is equal to about 1 square foot? That means that an area not much bigger than a sheet of notebook paper is responsible for transferring all the technology and power generated by IndyCar Series cars into speeds exceeding 220 mph.

• …at speeds of 220 mph, the front tires of an IndyCar Series car rotate at a rate of 43 times per second. That means, over the course of a single lap at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the front tire will experience approximately 1,955 revolutions, and the rear tires will experience 1,800 revolutions. Considering a normal fuel stint is 30 laps or more at Indy, each tire could experience more than 60,000 revolutions before it is changed for a fresh set.

• ...that the draft (or the “hole” in the air) created by an IndyCar Series car extends 25 feet behind the car?

• ...that while traveling approximately 220 mph, IndyCar Series cars travel slightly more than the length of a football field every second?

• ... that, on an oval, IndyCar Series drivers endure G-forces equal to nearly four times the weight of gravity while going through turns? The space shuttle leaves the launching pad at Cape Canaveral with approximately the same force.

Sources: Indy Racing League Media Relations, Indy Racing League Technical Department.

The adventure continues -- I arrived home tonight to find four large holes in my backyard, and my nice new trailer full of dirt. While my resident landscaper has not picked them up yet, I am apparently now the proud owner of four new trees. His posse has also arrived and the gazebo is now being reconstructed on the deck with the new privacy lattice in place and the patio/deck furniture has been dragged out of the basement. Things aren't all bad as this has saved me having to do the work myself but I think my refrigerator is taking a bit of a beating -- I hope I hid the beer.

Bye Bye Mike - The NHL coaching fraternity is one lighter this evening as Mike Keenan has been turfed by the Calgary Flames. There's always a debate about new blood versus the experienced guy and sometimes you have to wonder where you should land. Mike Keenan clearly has a reputation of wearing out his welcome. His style does not lend itself to an extended tenure. Over a 20 year NHL coaching career Keenan has won the Cup exactly once with the superstar New York Ranger team that probably ignored anything he said anyway. Take a look at the list below and figure out whether you would hire him or not. I wouldn't.

Brutal Call - I don't get along with Zebras and the call that they just made on Kronwall for pasting Havlat is an example of why. It was a vicious hit but it was a clean, legal one that was not called until after the fact. No Zebra called it as play went on, but the story will be that it was a linesman's call and hence five minutes. It is nice to have the fans calling the game Then Zetterberg gets taken down on a short handed opportunity - no call and after Detroit kills off the 5 they pick up another minor right away - then a Wing gets sticked - no call and it is only the first period.

Time to bail and watch more closely. Go Wings Go!

Sticking with Indy -- today in 1977, the first woman qualified to race at Indianapolis in the 500. Janet Guthrie qualified in the 33 car field (she qualified 26^th) but went out on lap 27 with a timing gear breakdown. She did come back the next year, and finished the race ending up in ninth place.

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May 21 -- I have officially declared today as the first day of the 2009 short sleeve shirt season. Accordingly, I will have to devote considerable time this evening to resorting my clothes closet and therefore, I unfortunately do not have time to attend the M0HA annual general meeting. The SWAT teams can be called off, people can keep their bail money and the plastic faces can keep smiling without the stress of having to deal with me. As it turns out, I wouldn't have made it anyway as I got delayed with a few “project” items at the office. Good luck to all most of those seeking election or reelection. I look forward to picking up some interesting tidbits from the AGM crowd -- if there is one.

Under the "I should have seen it coming label" -- we are now being warned that the reusable grocery bags are dangerous. Apparently, they can harbor all types of diseases and bacteria. Interesting that this concern surfaces as more of the grocery chains are switching to the pay per bag basis encouraging people to bring their own “reusable bags”. Should one be surprised that this report is coming from the plastics industry? They would not have any vested interest in this issue would they? And to think I just stocked up on those great reusable bags from Canadian Tire. Read more about it here and watch out for those germs. We do not want to start a Canadian Flu or should I say H1N2?

Schedules -- as just another meaningless example of “I don't know why they do it this way”, if I am reading the schedules correctly and Detroit sweeps and the Pittsburgh series goes seven games, then my Red Wings will have a two-week layoff between the end of their series and the start of the Stanley Cup finals. Does not make a lot of sense to me. First they have the Penguins played three games in four days, and now we have rest periods over the place.

Stranger and stranger -- seems like the government is now willing to pony up $30 million to build a new Canadian sports Hall of Fame. I guess the only challenge is to try to find something to put in it. With the Russians and other countries now paying big bucks for Olympic medals, it will be interesting to see how many "famous" sports memorabilia items that Canada can generate or will we have to rely on historical stuff only. $30 million might help subsidize a fair number of our athletes to improve their chances of being able to compete effectively. However, I guess it's more important to have a glitzy place to house the stuff then being able to win it in the first place. We'll see. Here's today's story

Did the questions get answered?

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May 20 - the Red Wings dodged a bullet last night with the overtime goal after Chicago had come back and tied the game. So if nothing else I had to post today so I could show the Red Wings being up two games to zero on my picks section.

Other than that, it's been one of those days where there's not much to comment on. The arrest situation in Woodstock is really incredible as you have to wonder how people can do such things anywhere let alone in a small town like Woodstock. The even scarier part of this is that apparently the search for the young girl's body is being carried out close to my mother-in-law's home outside of Guelph at the Rockwood conservation area and surrounding property. there is not much to hope for here from a positive aspect, however, hopefully everyone will get closure.

With no hockey games tonight, more on that later, it seems the family plan is to watch the final two-hour episode of 24. It seems that these couple of weeks are TV time for a lot of season ending episodes that in many cases will become series ending episodes. I must confess I have become somewhat hooked on 24 and theoretically there is at least one more season based on Sutherland's contract. However, you never know. First of all, we have to find out how he is going to be cured from the incurable disease.

Seems that I am now the proud owner of a new utility trailer. Andrew's friend's mom will now be happy as we will not be continually borrowing her trailer for the never ending landscaping and other tasks that seem to require other than the back of a vehicle. My only question is how is Andrew going to get his Jeep, his kit car, his motorcycle and now my/his utility trailer into my two-car garage. Putting my own car into the garage has apparently never been an option. Apparently, we need this trailer to be able to pick up some trees for the latest backyard landscaping project I guess they don't deliver. Then apparently we are progressing to shed building where the trailer is essential to picking up materials for the construction project.

What's next? fortunately, I think I have a western swing planned in the next few weeks so that I can  hopefully escape from the job jar. However, I would not bet on it.

TV time -- two hours of 24 to go. it is too hot for anything else.

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May 19 – It seems that more is less, at least in the swimming world. So much for the “pull on a Speedo” and dive in approach to racing. FINA (not the gas company but rather the swimming police) have been busy reviewing / approving / rejecting suits (passed 202, rejected 10). Not as one might suspect on the basis of modesty and good taste, but for thickness, buoyancy and water resistance. Coming off of the hoohah about the Speedo “LZR” suits in the Olympics, there is apparently a new polyurethane approach with two pending world records.

Seems that so far these “new” sheaths have not been approved for the world competitions and a rule is in place that a suit cannot have more than 50% non permeable material to qualify. What category is “skin” in, permeable or non permeable? I think the easiest way to level this playing field is have everyone swim naked. I expect that this would also boost the ratings. If that is too risqué for some of you more timid types, have everyone wear a “standard” suit – sell the rights, sell ad space – make money – it is going to happen.

Medals – Canada is in big trouble for the 2010 Olympics even as they as only 9 months away. The Russian sports authorities have announced the “[rice” of the medals as reflected in their “bonus” payments to their “amateur” athletes:

• Gold – 100,000 euros ($157,400 in C$ or Canadian Tire Money)

• Silver – 60,000 euros

• Bronze – 40,000 euros

• No Medal – Gulag (editorial comment)

This is more than double the previous rewards. Canadians get to appear on Canada AM (if they are lucky), and the thanks of a grateful nation, unless they are a Ross R. the “boardman” who had a unique training regimen and made the Tonight show (I think). It is not just swimmers who know what a bong is.

Low threshold for amusement – Sometimes. I just can’t help myself. In yesterday’s blog I included an item about people asking me if I was going to be at the MOHA AGM. For fun, I posted that I had not decided yet (and I had not). The fun part is that with my resignation as a director, with no kids playing and not filling a qualifying role (helping with the FSMT does not count) I have no official standing and am not a member. AGM’s are Annual General Meetings of the MEMBERS – therefore I have no “right” to attend.

I was curious as to whether anyone would notice this and bring it to my attention – someone did and they did. So – Glad to see my audience is still there after my vacation hiatus and so responsive! I still have not decided if I will attend or not – this is almost tempting me to go and have a Tim Hortons Ice Cap at one of the Atrium bistro tables.

Unfortunately with no executive roles up for grabs, the head count may require you to use both hands and take your shoes off and the temptation will be to try and beat the previous record of under 30 minutes. As far as my going,- let’s see:

• In almost 50 odd years has MOHA ever confirmed membership eligibility for everyone (or anyone) in the meeting? (No – not in my tenure and not to my knowledge before that - however, chances are they would love to set an example of yours truly)

  • OK lady let’s see some ID – Are you really Billy’s Mom!!

  • You can't come in as a referee - I saw your games and you don't qualify

• This is a community association, not a secret society - why would you care? (True – I think)

• The MOHA is subsidized to the tune of around $250,000 or more by the Town of Oakville – let’s not let just any old tax paying resident into the meeting to see where their money is going

• The Atrium is an open area in a public building in a municipality where we all pay too much in taxes – do I not have access to this facility? (splitting hairs but what the heck - rope it off, I'll stay outside the line - I have some caution tape you can use - treat it as a crime scene).

• I could go as a member of the press – surely I can get press credentials from the Beaver (then again maybe not after ripping their non-coverage of Awards Week – very few others seemed to care). Failing that, I can always accredit myself as a reporter for Wayne’s Blog!, but maybe it is closed to the Fifth Estate as well.

Give me a break! The MOHA should be actively encouraging people to attend, not suggesting the reverse. However, to be fair, I technically do not have a “right” to attend. Goes to show what rights are worth these days and what is important to some people. With the Police right there, the response time should be pretty good to throw me out or into the hoosegow.

Will anyone post bail if I stage a sit-in?

Told you I have a low entertainment threshold!

To Go or Not to Go – That is the question. (Hamlet (rev. – Act III, Scene I).

Gotta Go – Wings night – Detroit, not the Wingery (maybe I should do both). The other Oakville ink stained wretch picked Chicago! He needs to be punished for that. I hope it rains every lacrosse night.

By the way - there is a good and logical answer to the try-out fee question - let's see if folks get it! Hint - it is not and should not be a "surplus" expense (again - my opinion).

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May 18 - Today's political column is brought to you by the letter "M" (for Moorehead & MOHA & Meeting).

AGM - This Thursday is MOHA's AGM at 7:30 PM at the Town Hall Atrium. Horrible location with lousy acoustics so I guess that is a way to keep people away. With acclamation of the Executive positions, and no need to round up the referees and their proxy votes it will likely be a very sparsely attended event which I am sure suits people just fine.

There is however an election for Director roles with 14 people running for 12 positions so you should go out and vote. The list of candidates is provided below.

Elections are always interesting and it is often what you don't see that is very telling. The MOHA board has provision for up to 35 members, including the four Executive (Officer) roles as Directors leaving a complement of 31 non officer Director positions.

Over the last year, attrition, net of appointees had brought this number down to 31 (27 net of officer roles), at least according to the information as posted on the site. Through boolean logic and extensive regression analysis, that identifies that three more current board members have chosen to retire from board participation. Of the 14 candidates seeking election, only three are previously elected board members as the other two were "appointees". Apropos of nothing, subject to the fickle electorate, a minimum of 9 and maximum 11 of the 12 successful candidates will be first time electees. The broom continues to sweep. That is not to say that there are not some good people on the candidates list, because there are. Let's just say the experience base continues to get thinned out.

It is also important to understand the flavour and focus of any board. For both the "new" and remaining members, consider their "interests" - are they Town Rep or House League oriented, Coaches or Bench Staff or just plain old parents. A good mix of Town Rep and House League is always a good thing, remembering that around 85% of participants are from the House League camp.

I have not seen any motions posted or published which, if true, means that there will be no bylaw changes voted on at the AGM. That is unfortunate, as it means any issues like "conflict of interest" will not be addressed. Seems that one got shoveled under the carpet - again.

A number of individuals have asked if I will be there and the honest answer at this point is I don't know.

Back to Work - Tomorrow, while not a Monday, will be worse. It will be a back to work day for me after both a week's vacation and a long week-end. So in economic terms, not only will there be the pent-up demand waiting for me, but I will likely be in a less than optimal frame of mind to deal with it. It promises to be a long - short week.

Baseball - just a quick note for the old guys - today in 2004 at the ripe old age of 40, Randy Johnson tossed a perfect game. His Diamondbacks defeated the Atlanta Braves 2 - 0 that day. I guess when you are 6' 10", have a vicious fastball and somewhat of a reputation for occasional control problems it helps.

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May 17 – despite being back, it was a bit of a challenge to generate any enthusiasm for sitting down at the computer yesterday. So I didn't. Caught up on a few things around the house, did the obligatory running around, and just generally took it easy.

That being the case, today I decided to post something relatively early for me so that I can enjoy the rest of the day, prep for my Wings big game and catch up on some other things that have been left undone.

Guelph Minor Hockey - saw a notice the other day that Guelph minor hockey was holding their annual general meeting on June 4. In that notice, they indicated that they would be voting on their Rules of Operation at the meeting. Just for the heck of it, I decided to take a quick look at those rules and had a couple of interesting observations. It's always interesting to look at another Association and try to understand what and why they are doing something, and whether or not it makes sense for the local brain trust to consider some elements from these rules. A couple of points:

Goalies -- in Guelph Minor Hockey, house league goalies are assigned to the teams not drafted. They also make the point that these goalies are interchangeable which to me suggests they will use goalies as a means of balancing the league. While I am not a big fan of trying to balance teams by moving goalies around, the idea of assigning goalies to teams has some merit, as the initial placement may help deal with some challenges and avoid some of the protection issues that normally crop up.

Bank accounts - this one really intrigued me. One of the biggest challenges I had as VP house league was to track down and get budgets from the house league teams. This was simply getting a piece of paper that said what they proposed to spend, as compared to actually doing any overall checking and enforcement of the budget rules. For some reason, it seemed to be next to impossible to get each team to simply submit their budget on time to the convener let alone getting the second budget at the end of the year displaying their actual spending. This is a sensitive topic, particularly as it seems there is more and more of an appetite to spend money at the house league level -- a practice I am not in favor of to the level it has been implemented in the last year. Guelph’s approach to this situation is to require each house league team to open a bank account and have the lead to convener as one of the two required signatures on all cheques. Monthly statements as well as the canceled cheques are then sent to the Guelph hockey office and can be reviewed prior to forwarding to the teams. While this may have conveners running for cover, and it's difficult enough getting conveners in the first place, this type of approach would put some additional significant controls in place that I believe are sorely needed. Even if it is a simple check off for 90% of the teams, it does afford the opportunity to take a more in-depth look at situations where there are concerns.

Rep - just to make sure I don't forget the rep side of the equation, they also publish a policy of allowing a maximum of two one-year terms for a coach with any given team. There is provision for one additional year in an exceptional circumstances situation. While it is easy to say this is a better system, I do support it in that it allows any player to be exposed to both the style and knowledge of more coaches as they go through the system. They also provide that they will select a non-parent versus a parent coach should the two have similar coaching capabilities. I think this also makes sense.

There are a number of other items in the rules that people may agree or disagree with. However, as I indicated earlier, it is always a good idea to stay current with what other organizations are doing as an opportunity to learn, or at least to consider other approaches to your system. Anyone wishing to take a look at these rules themselves can read them here. The Guelph Minor Hockey Association website is here.

The Plot thickens - now Winterpeg has been dragged into the "who wants a hockey team" sweepstakes. Can Quebec City be far behind? Maybe Galen Weston and Co. will resurrect their interest in owning a team. Clearly no one cares about any type of logic. Phoenix has proven they can not support a club and no local interests want to keep it there other than those who are making money off of leases or concessions. Therefore the NHL Ivory Tower is trying to force it to stay there. Hamilton is desperate for a franchise, has Jimmy Big Bucks willing and able to go there with all kinds of dough (and I would suggest fan support) so the NHL (Gary B) is dead set against it.  Winnipeg comes right out of left field just to confuse the issue with no plan. Now we wait for the courts who should slam dunk it to Jimmy B as their number 1 responsibility is to protect the secured creditors and "money" tends to do that. That being the case they will likely dream up some ludicrous rationale to force continued tenure in Phoenix!! Stay Tuned!

Political comment -- I mentioned that I spent some time watching the inquiry last week when Brian Mulroney was testifying. What a stupid way to spend money. The simpleminded approach says have an investigation, determine if there are grounds for charges, if there are press the charges and have a trial. Help me understand why it is important on national television to determine whether Mr. Mulroney remembers meeting he had where he ran into someone coming out of the restroom at the Royal York Hotel 10 years ago. I am not taking a position for or against anyone's culpability in the Airbus scandal, I just think the approach they have taken is financially responsible and another case of political self-promotion for a number of people. However, it shows how desperate I was for amusement last week when I suggested this was actually somewhat entertaining -- for all the wrong reasons.

History -- as follow-up to my comments above, perhaps it is a coincidence that today in 1973, the US started the televised Watergate hearings. Over a year later, on August 9, 1974, Mr. “I am not a crook” Nixon finally got the message and resigned.

Lord Stanley’s Mug - From a hockey perspective, this is also the day in 1983 where the New York Islanders won their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup by defeating the Edmonton Oilers four straight. The Oilers only scored five goals in the four-game series and superstar Wayne Gretzky got blanked. Billy Smith was the Islanders goalie and as many will recall tolerated no one camping out in his crease. In his case, the goalie stick truly was a weapon. Not sure how my current Wings "net crashers" would have fared against Billy?

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May 15 - We're back (if anyone cares) - could not take any more Brechin excitement. Canada Geese and flowing lagoons can only entertain me so long in the absence of newspapers, enhanced cable selection and internet access. My Crackberry was going nuts with all of the Office emails I was supposed to ignore (and did for most of them). I have become too attached to creature comforts and have difficulty adjusting back to pioneer lifestyle. I did make a few cryptic notes each day just to maintain continuity when I reread this drivel in the future. Read them below in chrono order if you are desperate for some way to fill your time.

They're off - got home in time to note the in-laws had a couple of horses in Mohawk this evening in early races (2 and 4).so we went over to say hello and make a contribution to the pool They picked up a third and fifth so they got cheques in both but I got to rip up my ticket on the one I bet as I had only bet to win. Go big or stay home.

Last night's game 7s - were more of what they should be, or more of what I suppose we hope they will be. Close, intense games that either Team could easily have won. My Wings got the win (despite what I consider a number of bad or missed Zebra calls) and deserved it. Killing off the early 5 on 3 was a big lift for them and probably contributed to their motivation. They are definitely a well disciplined team as well as talented and focused on a game plan. Heading into the next round I believe that they match up well against Chicago with my ever present goalie worries.

The Canes game was also a dandy as I tried to flip back and forth in the breaks and then got to watch the third period and overtime. While both goalies played well, I believe the consensus was that Ward helped steal this one for the Canes.

I might as well get proved wrong by these guys again, but I need to go with Pittsburgh and Sid the Kid with his supporting firepower in this one. While not a Fleury fan, Ward must be due for a couple let downs. Meanwhile, what's up with the scheduling? No games until Sunday! Why waste a Saturday night. I guess the Commish is too busy trying to derail Jimmy B to worry about things like fans.

Stanley Cup match-up - Detroit and Pittsburgh with my Wings repeating in a closer series than last year.

I now have the long weekend to catch up on what has been happening in the world.

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May 14 - Game 7 - Hollywood Match-up. A bitter battle to the end  - NOT! I find it hard to believe that I would bail on a game like this but I did after the second period, 5 - 0!!

This could have been a great game except - Fleury makes a big early save on Crazy 8, which is fine but then the Zebras ruin it. I think the slashing call was bogus. Everyone now uses these super duper sticks with the rocket whiplash shot but also sometimes with a tendency to snap at the lightest touch. Pittsburgh gets a goal on the resulting power play. Score another off the drop on the discombobulated Caps on an upset goalie - 2 to zip and it is over. While my "pick" was the Caps, so I blew that one, it is nice to see Pittsburgh in the Conference finals as they are a nice team. Would be nice to see a Detroit - Penns final with Hossa up against his last year team, going to Detroit for less money and a one year deal for a better chance at winning a cup. Do you think he will be motivated if that is the match-up.

Back to my oft repeated philosophy - build from the net out. Fleury made the big one, buddy had a melt down (of course he did not have a lot of help) and that was all she wrote.

Hopefully that is the disappointing game out of the way and the other two go according to Hoyle (especially the Wings).

Team movement - In my absence, it sounds like Jimmy B and the Hammer folks are working on cementing their bid with a Copps deal. Up to and including stories about looking for $100 million plus in Copps renovation subsidies. I knew that it was only a question of time until my tax dollars entered the equation. Once again the Commish is apparently lining up the counter offer - supposedly $100 million less than Jimmy's. Nashville - deja vue, all over again.

Player movement - so are the Leafs going to trade Luke S and Tomas K for a five place shift in their draft pick and a shot at Tavares?? You have got to be kidding on this one. Even the Leafs can not be that dumb. Gut, talks are cropping up all over as more and more teams hit the golf courses and the brain trusts continue their plotting for next year. Another of the latest stories is the Canucks and Luongo potentially parting ways. See what happens to your stock when you give up seven goals to exit the play-offs.

Weather - the rain has arrived. I still feel isolated - no newspapers - no internet - limited TV. How do you spell withdrawal?

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May 13 - Weather - warmer - nicer, but I think a storm is coming in. Our "house guests" have now left so the vicious competitions are over and we did not get thrown out for "noise" or whatever. This also means I will get to really watch the game tonight. Despite my pick, I would like to see Carolina win as they are somewhat of a Cinderella team. Shows how out of touch I am since it is the Pittsburgh / Washington game tonight.

I have not seen a newspaper since Sunday and it is `amazing how isolated and at loose ends you feel when you are out of touch. Add to that no high speed internet (or any) and for me it is enough to drive me crazy. Relying on my Crackberry does keep me in touch with what is happening on the office front, but I am trying to stay away from that.

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May 12 - Tuesday - some people seem to have a touch of gambling fever so we needed to make another trip to Orillia for a quick fix. Since I had done the tour on Monday, I ended up cracking under the strain and hit the slots. Big spender that I am I dumped $20 in the slots and tried my damndest to lose it. I played for the allotted hour, mainly 3lines 3 coins on the nickel slots but could not lose it. I doubt if I will be allowed back as after time expired I had taken the casino for $0.65 and was getting all kinds of suspicious looks from the security staff. I guess they were concerned about my personal safety leaving the casino with all that extra cash. I have never had to work so hard for such ill gotten gains in my life and will likely have to seek treatment for my button pushing thumbs. I may not be able to work my Crackberry.

After all this excitement and a quick stop at the local Canadian Tire Store to avoid withdrawal, we headed off to the thriving metropolis of Beaverton as it was the closest pool hall we could find. Having spent most of my high school formative years in a billiard academy in lieu of a scholarly one, we enjoy the occasional 8 ball experience. There is something truly "purging" about smacking the ^&(&^#^&* out of some ivory. After making some exceptionally brilliant combination shots and some equally incredible easy misses, we decided to blow the bar shortly after the bikers showed up. However, not before the locals invited us back for the winter league. I suspect this was either because they figured they could fleece us (likely) or because of our entertainment value (equally likely).

Back to base for broiled salmon and other goodies - another Guinness please - and a rousing few games of contact Sorry. For those of you who like mindless entertainment plus good fun, get and try a game called "Catch Phrase".

Weather - more of the same but warmer. If it wasn't for those darn families of Canada Geese roaming the place leaving souvenirs it would be nice.

Play-offs - Lost of bit of track of who played who when but three of the four are going to game 7 and there has been some good hockey to watch and we have caught most of it. The Hawks deserved to beat Vancouver and that happened but the other three are now a "pick-em". I will stand behind comments I have made before and is still what I believe. You build from the net out as a goalie can steal you a game or series.

So I picked Chicago, chalk that one up, and I will stick with my other three but all three could easily win or lose based on how hot the guardian of the hemp hut is in game 7.

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May 11 - Off to beautiful downtown Lagoon City in Breckin for vacation. No wireless in the condo, no signal is piggy-back range and quite a hike to the "lodge" so this week's blog action will either be spotty or posted post facto as a compilation.

Did a little touring around the local area to get the lay of the land. Checked out the boatyards / piers and there is a whack of dough tied up here in terms of gas burners. As a "gas guy" it was good to see that. When you consider a day's cruising on one of these puppies costs between $500 - $1,500 in juice it is a pleasant site to complement. The bad news is that it seems `most of them are "parked" most of the time.

Did a quick run by Casino Rama as certain people had the hankering for a little gambling. I look at it more as a time bounded contribution, not a chance to win anything but went along anyway - did not play and just walked the floor for an hour. Even on an early Monday afternoon there were lots of folks there feeding the slots or sure that they knew how to beat the odds at the card tables. Read up on it folks. The casinos are in business because in every game in the joint, the odds favour the house. It is simply a question of how much and how` well (in some games) you can play to minimize the house percentage. For those of you with an interest in human behaviour, it is fun to watch the different types that are there.

Weather - sunny but cool, BBQ great, company "tolerable"!

Check it - quick note to MOHA on something someone mentioned to me. Unless you have moved, you should check and correct the address on the sponsorship form that is on the site. Silly things those postal codes - auto sorters can send things to the FSA and code specified - what you say, not what you mean..

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May 9 -- the NHL playoffs going into Saturday night action have provided the media with a lot of questions that they can pose and subsequently claim to be right or wrong in answering. A couple of examples about which everyone will have their own opinion.

• Can the Bruins regroup? (No)

• Did Ovechkin knee on knee Gonchar on purpose? (Not intentionally but maybe??)

• It is Washington's Varlamov human? (Yes)

• Is the scheduling lousy? (Yes – check the US network coverage or lack of it)

For sale or move - looks like the Phoenix situation with Jimmy B. is starting to crack open the floodgates. Now we have stories surfacing about the Vancouver group wanting to bring the Atlanta Thrashers to Hamilton as well. Looks like Copps Coliseum could be a little crowded with two NHL teams playing there. I don't think Jimmy B. will be inclined to share a facility. This has to be driving the tiny perfect commissioner crazy as the term control freak is not much of an exaggeration when applied to him. Everybody is supposed to play nice and keep all the family disputes behind closed doors. That's not a happening thing anymore. How many other franchises are up for grabs or looking to relocate.

Hey Gary, are you losing your grip?

With what looks like a lot of financial challenges, is it heretical to suggest that this would be a great time for team rationalization? Why not reduce the league to 20 teams, elevate the level of play, tighten up the geographic divisions, put five teams in the division with only for making the playoffs and let the centers that can really support a team have one. It won't happen because there are too many dollars involved and jobs related to the players association, but some of us actually enjoyed watching the six team original NHL with the ongoing team rivalries.

GTHL - the GTHL continuous to be on the wrong side of financial news stories. In today's Toronto Star, there is a story about the ice rate that they will be charged by the Lakeshore Lions arena. From an original quote of $330 an hour, the facility has now offered ice at the bargain rate of $305 an hour. Comparing this to their other private ice costs of $247 an hour John Gardner and company are in an uproar. According to the article the GTHL uses about 528 hours per year at this facility so that the increase poses a significant sum. They are now trying to drag everyone into the conversation including Hockey Canada who is also involved with the new facility. Read the article here. Normally I do not have a lot of sympathy for this organization, however, incremental ice cost is a potential financial disaster for any organization in the minor hockey business. Registration cycles do not necessarily line up with budget cycles and announced costs so that it's easy to be on the wrong end of a shortfall. Then what do you do?

Oakville eh! - with a disclaimer that this has nothing to do with the young men involved -- i.e. the athletes, I find it interesting to see how Oakville claims as its own anyone who has been successful. This is often with a complete disregard as to what and how that success has been achieved. This is especially true in the hockey world where for a variety of reasons parents who have had young athletes succeed at elite levels have done so by turning their back on the “Oakville system”. I have commented favorably and supported Steve Mason in this blog because that young man came up through and supported the Oakville system in developing his hockey career. I have not made that same comment about a number of other athletes for the simple reason that these so-called Oakville products are not Oakville products at all or to a very limited extent. Yet, everyone jumps to claim them as our own whenever they do well, simply through an accident of address. I'm not going to mention by name the most recent example(s), but you might want to check out there playing pedigree before taking credit for it.

With the OMHA currently looking at their response to the 0HF with respect to structure and player movement, the issue of residency restrictions relative to geography should be and is a hot topic. Oakville because of its inclusion in the LOR is at a distinct disadvantage relative to other 0MHA centers that do not have the same relationship. While at some point I will try to lay out my opinion with respect to those issues, in case anyone is interested, I will be interested to see what position the MOHA takes with respect to residency. In the OMHA town hall meeting and in the documentation that I have seen the LOR situation has received little play. As a quick overall comment, I believe that the player movement flexibility provided by the LOR should either be applied to all 0MHA centers equally or eliminated. While one can never unring the bell, it would be interesting to understand how many of the historical hero stories would still have unfolded if hometown residency requirements for those individuals had been enforced, instead of the recruitment and profiling provided by the GTHL and it's club system.

1914 -- on this date in 1914 Pres. Woodrow Wilson proclaimed the first national Mother’s Day. Established as the second Sunday in May, Wilson's thoughts were that this would "[publicly express] our love and reverence for the mothers of our country." The idea seems to have stuck and we will have to wait to June to find out why there's a Father's Day.

Meanwhile, it's Saturday and that means it's Hockey night in Canada (or at least in Vancouver anyway, the rest are golfing).

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May 8 – 5 - 3 Pittsburgh on a bad goal with 5 minutes to go - I'm calling this one for the Penguins. Twos are WILD! - except for the Bruins

 No Post Yesterday - I did not make it back in time or with the energy to post anything for the seventh. For business reasons I can't really comment on all of the evil things I was up to on the trip, suffice it to say that the folks we were visiting went well above and beyond the call of duty in terms of sharing their experiences with us and allowing us to see aspects of their operation. While it was the “schedule from hell”, it was one of those situations with the "no pain no gain" metaphor. Coming back Thursday afternoon, the trip was relatively uneventful except for a couple of (not really funny at the time) items.

GPS issue–For those of you that own a GPS, and by now that's a fair chunk of people, you might find it worth your while to upgrade your map data if you can. First of all, on our way from the airport to our initial destination we got up close and personal with a variety of rural winding roads in central Pennsylvania. While this was reasonably interesting (trailer homes, auto wrecking yards, little villages and enough curves and swerves to make you car sick), we did not realize that there was a direct divided highway route from University Park Airport to our destination. The GPS apparently felt it was important to keep that information from us and being male, it was unthinkable that we would even consider asking for directions. Anyway, when returning to the airport our GPS friend felt it was now okay to reveal that this road existed. However, in the middle of intermittent satellite signal loss, the little car icon suddenly decided to head cross country and away from the identified road. This led to a variety of “recalculatings” followed by a series of turn instructions that made absolutely no sense. Given that we had a rough idea of where we were going this did not cause too much concern for the first while and eventually we figured out that that section of US Route 220 had been rebuilt and moved such that we were probably a quarter of a mile east of the original route. The good news was this little jaunt took us through the fringes of Penn State University and its surroundings which was quite the view. The way we passed the facilities, we went by the Nittany Lions practice facility which we thought was quite an attractive stadium until a little farther on we passed the real one. Unbelievable!

Dry - Getting to the airport early, as we obviously had nothing else to do, we figured that we could sit and leisurely enjoy a well deserved chilled beverage or two or three. Surprise, surprise. Some idiot located the airport in a dry county and I don't mean arid. How uncivilized can you be as just minutes before we had passed a group of university students indulging in one of the usual beer drinking chug-a-lug contests.

Customs – we landed in Toronto at about 11:30 PM, on time, but by then all of us were reasonably cranky having had about four hours sleep in the last 48 hours. Top that off with being on your feet most of the day and subsisting on an American menu of deep-fried foods covered with sauce and butter and more sauce and more butter and no one was in much of a mood for anything. Fortunately, the custom lines were relatively short, four of five people, and the grilling seemed to consist of only four questions:

1. Where are you from?
2. Why were you there?
3. Are you bringing anything back? And then the exciting one
4. Have you been anywhere where they have the swine flu? (Apparently they did not get the memo on the H1N1 renaming).

Did they really think that I was going to answer “yes” to that question? Even I'm not that stupid. Anyway, I got back home in one piece shortly after midnight so that I could hurry into the office this morning and try to get three days’ work done in one, given that we are on vacation next week.

No Longer Free Wireless – another scam that seems to be becoming more popular is that wireless connectivity in public places that used to be free now has a charge associated with it. While many hotels are promoting their free wireless service, it looks like airports are all going the other way. I think the current rate for Washington Dulles and University Park (both in the US) is eight dollars for 24 hours. While eight dollars is not that steep a charge, you're normally not interested in 24 hours of service in an airport but more like half an hour to an hour if you're lucky. Just another way to scam a few bucks out of a captive audience.

Star Trek hits the screen – when the current Star Trek movie was originally announced I was sceptical. However, it seems to be getting pretty good press and looks like it will be one of the rare feature films that I will put on my “go and see it in the theatre list”. From the sound of it, I think I'll even spring for IMAX.

Vacation – One of those rare occurrences is starting this weekend. I'm going on vacation. Of course, everyone is making book on how often I will log or call in to stay on top of the programs we have running. In fact, if there is not Internet access available, it could get very interesting. “Cracberry” alone just doesn't cut it for me as I hate trying to respond to e-mails with that sorry excuse for a keyboard.

Out of touch – Can’t comment much on the state of the play-offs, Jimmy B’s battle with the tiny perfect Commish or World Peace as I have been somewhat preoccupied. Depending on my holiday opportunities I will try to figure them all out. I hope Jimmy B pulls this off (partly because I am not a Commish fan), but I was hoping for KW, not The Hammer for a whole bunch of reasons – but, we will see what happens. This one promises to really chew up the newsprint and airwaves. The trees are cringing, even as we speak.

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May 6 - Coming to you live (barely), from beautiful downtown Duncansville PA.

Guess what? There is not much traffic on the roads at 3:30 AM. There is also nothing more invigorating at that ungodly hour than getting into an airport limo that smells like it has been slept in all night by people with suspect hygiene and captained by a driver who does not even list English as any of his languages. Wonderful way to start your day!

It must be me. I clearly do not have an in with airport security, or maybe I just don't get it. despite running into and having a nice chat with Keith Brodie (in full uniform and very officious), I still had my normal set to with the scanner police. I had just cleared "pre screen" with my blue sheet that no one told me I needed until I got there (and then had to go steal one because no one was open) when I hear a shouted "Mr. Moorehead"! I look around and see this imposing officer beckoning me over and went into auto defense "who me" until I realized it was Keith.

Anyway I think I have everything under control for the scanner police when I get hassled to take off my shoes - OK no biggie - happens all the time. Then the belt buckle lights things up as per usual so we move on the the full scan - undo this - show me that. I get through that in time to get to the conveyor and the "I need to see what's in your bag sir". Here again, I thought I was "clean" as I had only packed a change of clothes and my "toiletries" - I had even put my contact lens solutions in the little plastic bag they like and thought I was easily good to go. WRONG!

In a word "Toothpaste". Apparently I had a tube of highly suspect toothpaste (the super power gel explosive stuff!. Crest will be upset by this but in my usual spirit of goodwill I said fine - keep it. Bad breath is OK. Thinking I was now good to go, it turns out I had left my small Tim Hortons First Aid kit in the bag as I try to always carry it. Of course I had to open it and the first item out is a pair of scissors - OH, OH I thought, this is automatic jail time. So to be proactive I said to the security attendant, "sorry, I forgot all about these, I guess they need to go". Wrong again! She said they were OK since they were wrapped in plastic! I give up! I lose my toothpaste because I might squirt someone maliciously or fluoridate them to a dangerous level, but I can keep a pair of scissors which last time I checked qualified as a sharp edged object. Besides that on my last go around they confiscated my box cutter that had a shorter blade than my scissors.

At any rate we got boarded on time for our 6:09 AM lift-off only to get parked on the tarmac for half an hour because the "radar" was down. Only in Canada you say! Finally we lift off in a plane I have never heard of and have an uneventful flight to Dulles where we transfer on the people movers to our new terminal with the rubber band plane. These are quite the units, basically a passenger box with a driver's cab sticking out of both ends that dash across the apron - hopefully dodging planes and stop when they hit (if our driver was any indication) the other side. For the reverse trip the driver comes out, goes to the cab on the other end and zooms back - thunk. Fortunately both propellers did spin and we landed at University Park Just outside of Altooma and actually the home of Penn State.

Our hosts have been exceptionally accommodating and at 11:00 PM we are back out to review some other stuff - in the rain. I could say I am a bit tired but you know what they say - Travel is wonderful!

At least I get to catch up on my office mail and watch a bit of the Caps / Pitt game before heading back out.

A nap might be nice but Nah.

I have not seen a newspaper or heard the news. Is Canada still afloat?

Based on my schedule, I suspect it is highly unlikely that I will be anywhere near an "access point" tomorrow with any time to pontificate. You will have to wait until I get back to see if there is any other exciting news from Wayne's excellent adventure.

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May 5 – Crosby and Ovechkin – if you watched game 2 and these two guys, it will help you or anyone understand why these guys are hockey super stars and we are mere mortals. Their play was phenomenal but citing one “goal” for each makes my case. I believe it was Krazy 8s second goal to break the tie that showed him scrambling backwards after the face-off to set-up for the one-timer pass that he “knew” was coming and then smoked the puck past Fleury. At first I thought he looked clumsy as heck backpedalling but he had the puck sense and “saw the ice” to set himself up perfectly for the shot. His last one was not too shabby either.

Crosby’s last goal showed a couple of things as well – down two, he never quit regardless of the long shot chances, beyond that determination, the sheer physical skill – hand / eye coordination that got him to the puck and the repeated plays he made on it until finally batting it out of the air, off of the goalies’ melon and into the net.

Hat ricks for each – what a series.

Cinco de Mayo – a colleague of mine is from Mexico and a big fan of celebrating the 5th of May. He generally can be observed paying a heavy price the next day! In 1862 Mexico defeated the French in the Battle of Puebla (even Mexico can beat the French) which gave rise to the holiday that is more or less recognized in different areas. He has told me that there won’t be much celebrating this year in Mexico as first the economic plunge and now the Swine Flu H1N1 Flu have had a huge impact on day to day life and even “existence” in parts of Mexico. I have stopped making jokes about H1N1 as that country is really suffering from both the illness and economic backlash.

Pete Seeger – turns 90!! If you have to ask who he is – it does not matter and you don’t care. If you know who he is, I expect like myself, you go 90 – he can’t be 90!! But he is. I thought that in the ever one upmanship battle with that other Oakville guy, that I would scoop him on this one, but it turns out I didn’t. He must be almost as old and anchored in past glories as I am. Seems like somehow he gets to write the early edition while I put out the final. Whatever, if you did not read it there, read it here. Seeger is an iconic folk singer and song writer, his best known songs are probably: Where have all the Flowers gone” (someone tossed them into the campfire while on an acid bender), “If I had a Hammer” and “Turn, Turn, Turn”. For all you civil rights supporters, Seeger along with Joan Baez was one of the folk singers who promoted the popularization of “We Shall Overcome” as an anthem. For those of you who are familiar with the movie “Milk”, Seeger and Baez performed at a memorial concert in San Fran in 1979 after Milk and Moscone had been assassinated. Apparently this is not mentioned in the film. I have not seen it – don’t plan to.

Seeger was a protester long before protesters existed, with his anti war actions in place well before the US entered WWII in 1941. He can’t be 90!!

Music Motif – Sticking with a music theme, 2009 is 40 years post Woodstock. How to make a guy feel old. The good news – I spent four months in L.A. in ’69. The bad news – I missed Woodstock and the type of guy I was, I would have bet on me being there as part of my misspent youth (Somewhere I do have the 8 Track and vinyl). Seems like there are plans for some type of group return, not likely to the farm, but so far, the story goes that The Levon Helm Band, Jefferson Starship, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Canned Heat and Ten Years After (are they now 50 years after?) are looking to get together for an event. That’s the good news, the bad news would be a lot of empty seats for performers who have succumbed to star disease (sex, drugs and Rock and Roll).

Off the Air – to the delight of some, I will likely “go dark” until at least Friday as my little jaunt south is a go with a 6:09 AM wheels up tomorrow morning spaced to an 11:31 PM touchdown Thursday – isn’t travel wonderful. Looking at my itinerary, I see that I am scheduled through 2:00 AM Wed/Thu evening/morning with a subsequent 7:00 AM breakfast meet. That will be a treat. I think there is a window to watch the game (but not in Pittsburgh – on some restaurant TV in Duncansville!). With the obligatory back to hotel, fall asleep, get up timelines, I am estimating a grandiose 2 hours of sleep window here. Aren’t there human rights laws against this? I suspect I will be a mite “cranky” coming back through Customs with the resultant heightened risk of a good old-fashioned tasering and incarceration. Since I am supposed to go on holidays next week, getting sent off to the pokey would not be good. Grit teeth – Smile – Grit teeth – Smile – Avoid female Customs Agents – Grit teeth – Smile - Clear Customs!

Better plan on early to bed – 3:30 AM comes awful early. Just for spite, I think I will wake everyone up.

Potentially until I return – Go Wings Go!

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May 4 - So, what can you say about yesterday's Detroit and Anaheim game? As a Detroit fan, it was one of those classic situations where one team clearly outplays the other for an extended period of time and you know what is going to happen. And it did. I just hope looking back that this does not become the TSN turning point for the whole series. As the announcers pointed out on several occasions, there is a big difference between going home down two games or going home with a split in the enemy’s rink.

Hall of fame -- Tricked you, not for people -- for animals. In a previous life, as director of marketing for Ralston Purina, I had the privilege and fun of participating in the company’s Hall of Fame awards. (This was in addition to the opportunity to attend dog shows in a tuxedo). Under both new management and new ownership, Purina has continued to support these awards, which annually go to animals that have demonstrated their bravery and commitment to their owners through courageous acts during the year. Today was this year's induction ceremony for three dogs and a cat. While dogs and cats are the common recipients, I know of at least one occasion where a horse received the award. The citations always make interesting reading and demonstrate an infrequent but important value that pet ownership can have. You can read this year's story here.

Landscaping 101 -- this past week I came home to find my yard in different states of disrepair. I have learned better than to ask questions, so I didn't. The upshot is the gardens have been redone, a couple of spruce shrubs that were not making it in wet soil have disappeared and I have had weeping tile installed around the back yard and up the sides of the house to hopefully deal with a consistent drainage problem. (that could get me started on a whole rant against Oakville's planning department but I will leave that for now). All all of this at no labor exposure to yours truly, material cost only, and the price of a couple of pizzas to buy off one of Andrew's friends who I confirmed as the weak mind and strong back. The only problem is that this has been identified as phase one, to be followed by some new trees appearing and a build your own backyard shed plan. Somehow I don't think that will be as inexpensive.

Kent State -- in 1970, the National Guard opened fire on a number of students protesting the Vietnam war at Kent State University. When the shooting stopped four students had been killed. A barrage of at least 40 shots was fired at the students without any actual warning shots, even though tear gas had already been tried. The Kent State massacre, as it has become known was a huge source of controversy within the US for years. After four years of investigation and deliberation, all charges against the guardsmen were dropped. However, this event is something that anyone of student age at the time who read about it will never forget. In the summer of 1969, I was living in Orange County California and spent a lot of time with both returning Vietnam veterans and students who knew they were going to get drafted. Stories are typically a dime a dozen, except for these.

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May 3 – Early post as I think I will be heading into the office today – scratch one week-end Success in my play-off picks yesterday for both the Caps and the Hawks. I watched the Vancouver game until it was 2 to zip against my guys and then packed it in. Should have watched.

The Virus H1N1 - formerly known as Swine Flu continues to dominate the news and is moving into the fashion world.

Pick a look – Today’s Globe has presented some of the latest fashion statements being sported to defend against the Flu.

What’s your look?

Black List – The Canadian reputation has always been that we are a nation of do-gooders, law abiding, laissez-faire people. No More. The U.S. has put un on a technology black list of nations as noted below:

The Obama administration added Canada Thursday to a notorious blacklist of countries where Internet piracy flourishes, reflecting a new, tougher line in Washington over the Harper government's chronic failure to deliver on promises of new copyright laws.

That’s the price you pay for all the free music downloads from those peer to peer .mp3 networks (not to mention the sneaky viruses you pick-up from them). I must confess to some personal quilt on this one in the past.

I believe the latest local craze that everyone is PO’d about is the pirated downloads of unreleased and first run movies and TV series that are all the rage today. You will be pleased to know you join a number of illustrious countries on the list - Algeria, China, Russia, Pakistan, Indonesia and Venezuela.

Way to go Canada – oops got to go download some movies!

Follow-up – Had a number of good conversations with colleagues at the OMHA development seminar yesterday and will probably drop in bits and pieces here and there. Commenting on the Globe above reminded me of what Ian Young had spotted in Saturday’s Globe. In talking about minor hockey and what it should mean to kids he read a comment from Ryckel from an article on the Windsor Spitfires. Remember the untimely death of their captain last year and the tough times Windsor is having economically.

“We have an older team now,” Rychel says. “What we went through with Mickey, with what's going on in the community, they see what's going on, and Bob and myself, we remind them: You're lucky to be playing hockey. It's the time of your life, enjoy it and put the full effort. It's hard to get to this point and our message is take the fans with you.”

Read the whole article here.

Congrats – To the Honourable Steven D’arcy. Steve has been appointed to the bench and is now His Honour, the Judge. See what can happen if you step up to convene. It is a path to fame and fortune. Fortunately (I think) he has been appointed to the tax court – I don’t think they hear libel and slander suits.

Star Trek – I am of an age where I watched the “original” Star Trek in its original short lived life before all the syndications, spin off series and movies. I guess I was somewhat of a geek because I enjoyed it then and still do. As a result I am looking forward to the newest theatrical release  It will be interesting to see how the character and characteristics of the original cast are reprised as this is a “go back before the start” approach. Beam me up Scotty.

Oh Yeah – those are the old guys!

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May 2 -- How should one spend the first Saturday in May other than waiting for the Kentucky Derby to go?

While I don't actually know anything about this year's run for the roses, it is one of those annual sport spectacles that you have to watch. If I recall correctly this is the 150th running of the Derby. As a standardbred guy from way back, I also feel a little bit guilty anytime I watch anything that has to do with the runners. I just got home from the OMHA in time to watch them bring the horses from the paddock for the post parade. Flipping it on, the talking heads are doing their normal inane babble about nothing. Turn the sound down and watch the horses.

Race over – 50 to 1 long shot winner Mine the Bird – looks good on the punters.

OMHA -- today was a doubleheader day for me with respect to the OMHA.

This morning and early afternoon, I was asked to participate in a development seminar with mentorship being the predominant topic. An interesting initial speaker was Mr. Ian Young, a former Oshawa Generals goaltender who played with the Generals at the same time as Bobby Orr. The main theme of Ian's talk was that he considered “listening“ as a key criteria for any coach. A good reminder for all of us. You may not agree with what is said, but you should listen regardless. You never know when you may be able to pick up some learning from a very unlikely source. Signing with the Boston Bruins, remember this is before the entry draft, Ian's goaltending career was unfortunately ended prematurely when in his last junior game he ended up getting drilled in the eye by a Mickey Redmond slapshot. The vision loss ended any opportunity of a Pro career. Ian was good enough to provide us with a copy of one of his books “Behind the Mask”, which is apparently a great goalie primer for drills and training. More bedtime reading.

The whole idea of coach mentoring is something that is not well understood or implemented by most Associations. Mentoring is not evaluating. The OMHA has tried for a number of years to try to introduce mentoring to its Associations -- without a lot of success. A number of Associations end up having their so-called mentors also involved with coach selection, which has without exception guaranteed failure. In Oakville, people often looked at the coach supervision program in Town Rep as mentoring. In actual fact, it was not, and is not, since those individuals also provided input into coach selection which limited their true mentoring capabilities with the coaches involved. That doesn't mean to say what was done was wrong, it just was not mentoring. It seems that mentoring has been more successful in the mid to smaller size organizations, possibly because they are more small town in nature and typically have one, two or more individuals in the town who are predisposed to providing that type of support. To some extent they end up being “the big man on campus” within their local coaches community. In any event, there are several associations who have made great strides in providing mentoring to their coaches both in terms of having individuals available to support as well as developing internal materials. Clarington minor hockey is one example of an association that has made positive steps and has a number of support items for their coaches. Two examples of which are outlined development objective standards with teaching progression that are age specific and consistent throughout the organization. These are provided to all coaches each year with an expectation that they will develop against the standards. To some extent, it's the same philosophy as was intended with the Mitron system in Oakville. However, this program was developed internally by Clarington. People may want to learn from that example.

A second example that is also very timely was that they have developed a tryout template complete through procedures on how to conduct the tryouts through to the appropriate way to release a young man or lady. Again, I would suggest this is pretty progressive thinking on their part and they are to be commended for it. This is not stuff they just talk about. They have actually done it.

A second presentation, which I found particularly gratifying was by Lisa McConnell from Unionville. Lisa had attended the session last year when I presented Oakville's Timbit program and Orillia had outlined their Let them Play program. Lisa had taken a number of elements from both of our programs and developed them into a program for Unionville that suited their size -- 128 initiation program participants. Other than the ego building from hearing a number of positive comments it was also good that they have an aspect of their approach that I think would be worth serious consideration for Oakville.

Unionville has both a practice day and call it “a game day” like Oakville. However, for their practice day they have been fortunate to find a gentleman in the Unionville area who is an instructor in Town programs and they have hired him along with some assistants to conduct the practice sessions. These sessions are conducted as well organized IP skill building sessions using the Hockey Canada CHIP curriculum. Without going into a lot of detail the beauty of this system is that:

1.       The key element of the Timbit program (the practice “skill building” sessions) is taught properly and consistently by experienced instructors who follow the appropriate curriculum. They do not need to rely on or try to monitor potentially inexperienced coaches who may not have the skills or the discipline to follow the program correctly. At the same time, the entire program is still under the guidance and direction of the local Association.

2.       They do not have to worry about keeping an eye on or coordinating coach activities because the program is being delivered by an individual who is experienced in this type of activity and who is following direct instructions from his “employer”. This also provides a much more consistent learning experience for the participants, not to mention, probably more effective instruction.

3.       Part of the Initiation Program is also aimed at teaching new coaches and in this situation the new coaches get the benefit of the experience of the instructor as they go through the program. If they don't know them, coaches can learn the fundamentals, like skating, balance, agility, puckhandling and so on. All of which will be of benefit to them throughout their coaching careers -  the current and future years.

Lisa did not know offhand the cost to the Association of these instructors, but did indicate she would follow up with me on it. On their game days, similar to the program we introduced, the coaches have an opportunity to reinforce the learning from the weekly practice session prior to getting involved in their weekly game. Again, part of the benefit of being willing to share best practices.

Later this afternoon, I hitched a ride from Richmond Hill to the town hall meeting that the OMHA was holding in Brampton. The meeting was based on the “Made for Ontario” initiative that primarily relates to the structure of minor hockey and player movement. The structure element was primarily focused around the potential for amalgamation of smaller centers to provide “more” teams / higher levels of play and the player movement focus was essentially around the existing residency rule. Recognizing that Hockey Canaga defeated the motion but that the OMHA was following up onn a separate OHF motion.

After a briefing of where things stood, open questions were solicited from the floor, not to be answered, but rather for the committee to take back for consideration.

It was interesting to note, that most of the questions brought forward from individuals willing to speak were from smaller centers and those comments were almost universally against any type of amalgamation or change to the current residency rule. The consensus of the smaller centers seems to be that either of these, if changed, would be detrimental to the current health of their centers hockey program. A number of them flat out suggested that relaxing the rules would be the end of their Association.

It also seemed to be that many people felt that it was the complaining of a few dissatisfied parents that was fueling this issue and not the general opinion of most parents players and league personnel. What this suggests to me is that the LOR (Lake Ontario Region) is really a key underlying issue for those centres that are “stuck” with it as compared to an all encompassing residency / player movement problem.

Another observation is that this is more of a AAA or elite issue as compared to levels below that.

As an indication of the associations willing to speak up. The following is a list of those that presented a point of view. Oakville was not one. As an unrestricted free agent, I had no standing to voice an opinion as technically I am not an OMHA member.from any centre.

Orono, Barrie, New Hamburg, Georgina, Brampton, St. Thomas, Belleville, Bobcagon, Dresden, Glencoe, Georgetown, Haggarsville, Halton, Harrow, Tavistock, Ancaster, Beeton, Wasaga Beach, Schoenberg, Huntsville, Burlington, Mooretown, Clarington, Plattsville, Acton.

Enough for now – time to watch some hockey.

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May 1 – Friday blahs and the first of May. May day militarism has already been addressed elsewhere, so I will skip that one.

H1N1-A – Never underestimate the power of the porkers. Swine flu now has the acronym type name H1N1-A that will allow it to compete with SARS for cachet. With all the hype and coverage it is difficult to really understand how serious an issue it really is. Regardless, it has already really thrown a kink into the Mexican tourism industry.

Number 5 – just popped one home with less than a minute to play to chalk one up for my Wings with 49 seconds left. No wonder he’s a multiple Norris winner and an offensive threat. Quite the play, starting from behind his own icing line. This may be a nasty series based on this one.

So much for the Play-off game - Turns out my Pittsburgh trip is not quite the jaunt to steel city I had hoped. Leave Wednesday on a 6:00 AM flight. Target (a secret destination halfway between Pitt and Philly) means middle of nowhere - no hockey game, no baseball game, no nuthin!. Get back at 11:30 PM Thursday. Did I ever mention how glamorous travel is??

On the ropes - I've got those Laura Secord pikers on the ropes now. My dark chocolate bunnies are now 60% off. Such a deal. Don't think I will get my 75% specials though.

Mentoring – Off to the OMHA tomorrow to participate in a development session on “mentoring” – this is a very misunderstood and often misapplied process in any organization for a variety of reasons. I know I struggled with it as it is a process that I knew could really add value, IF you have the right people, IF they have the right support, IF people really know what it is (and is not), IF they are "mentoring" for the right reasons and IF they are accepted. I am looking forward to the session tomorrow to see “what’s up”.

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