Mar 10
– Will they “survive”
Attention Toyota owners – you may be in big trouble. Stumbling
through their in my opinion grossly mishandled recall debacle,
Toyota is now getting hit on the Prius front with highly
publicized incidents leading to more recalls and owners
rumblings that the fix is not a fix. Add to this the 30 some odd
class action suits floating around which could cost billions and
you have to wonder if they can survive and recover. This will be
especially true if all of the other competitors smell blood and
go after them as it seems they are.
What happened –
there were “no” cars on the westbound QEW between Ford and
Trafalgar last night at 6:00 PM??? Usually it is a wedge your
way in, bumper to bumper, stop and stop maybe go a little,
idiots staying in the merge lane too long and trying to force
their way in with others getting off along that stretch but last
night it was “empty”?? Weird. Maybe everyone knew I had to get
to my 6:30 meeting with enough time to stop for a Rrroll up the
Rim “loser” coffee and got out of our way.
Current count – 11
attempts – 0 prizes – 11 Please Play Again, I wonder what the
record is?
Phoenix
– 13 sleeps and I am off to Phoenix. 14 sleeps and I am in
Phoenix. The extended travel time is due to a Pit Stop in Sarnia
at Brother Gerald’s (sounds like a Jesuit – not) house as we fly
out of the Motor City on the 24th. Did I mention
flying from Detroit is about half the price of the cheapest fare
out of Toronto? Did I mention that the fare out of Detroit is
only marginally more than I would have to pay on my FREE ticket
from Toronto if I cash in 8,000,000 Air Miles to fly for FREE!
What a rip! On that basis I might as well cash in the air miles
for a toaster oven or crock pot. Meanwhile, current weather 13 C
or 55 F moving to a high of 23 C or 73 F on the weekend and
headed up for my arrival.
Mystery Solved? -
Apparently Sid the Kid's missing gear is being / has been
located in Russia or en route to Russia??? Apparently some type
of mistake. Ya Think! How do you gather something from the ice
in a game between Canada and the USA without Team Russia
involved and figure it needs to be sent to Russia. AND, you find
this out or report on it only after the big Reebok reward gets
posted. Something smells here and it is not the famous hockey
equipment odour. Will we ever know? I doubt it. But let me
guess, they will figure Crazy 8 had a hand in it.
Tri County – All
the remaining Oakville match-ups have been settled (and I think
I have them straight now after a little booboo between the Minor
Bantam and Bantam AEs). Again, having gone deeper into the
playdowns, the finals typically are “longer distance hikes so
that most of these are setup as weekend home and home series.
Here are the matchups:
Minor Atom AA – TNT
Minor Atom AE – TNT
Atom AE – Whitby
Minor Peewee AA – Barrie
Peewee AA – Kingston
Minor Bantam A – Uxbridge
Minor Bantam AE – Newmarket
Bantam AE - Georgina
Stay tuned for
updates.
Back to top
Mar 9
– A nice
article on the “top line” of the Canadian Sledge hockey team
in today’s Star. One of the members of that line is “Oakville’s”
Greg Weslake. As a reminder, Greg is not just a Paralympian, he
is also a former MOHA House League Goaltender – and a pretty
good one at that. Any other MOHA HL Gold Medalists out there?
Hopefully the Sledge
Hockey team can repeat their last Olympic performance and can
add the Olympic Gold Hockey trifecta medal!
Sport Oakville
– short blog tonight as I had a Sport Oakville board meeting (my
first as a new director). A small group with big aspirations.
Hopefully we can find ways to expand our contribution to sport
in Oakville.
Amazon
– The American books+ giant online service raises the question
of whether, or not Canada is or wants to be a free enterprise
country.
Amazon wants to establish a physical presence in Canada to
promote more efficient distribution of orders. Canadian
booksellers want to stop them claiming a green light would
contravene the Investment Canada Act. Anyone who has purchased
on-line from Amazon knows they provide good “deals” versus the
established Canadian retailers (especially on DVDs). The
Canadian Booksellers Assoc. (CBA) is well aware of this and
wants to stop them via their government lobby. Do the names W.H.
Smith and Coles ring a bell as chains that were gobbled up
internally such that a huge player with a strong vested interest
here is Indigo/Chapters. Hmmmm.
I am an avid reader (my
current catalogue is over 1,800 books and 30 bins) and I refuse
to buy full retail hard cover – partially because of the obscene
mark-ups that used to, and often still do, exist between posted
cover prices in Canadian and U.S. retails. A difference of $10
or more is not uncommon with a US price of $29.95 and C$ 39.95
(check the bookjackets). Paperbacks also had / have a spread of
several dollars – again not justified in my opinion. While some
of the argument (in fairness) was the exchange rate
differential, that holds no water today and the dual price
system is a rip. The other argument is to protect Canadian
culture. Is there one – should there be one – and is it worth
it if it can not stand on its own merits.
While they duke it out,
I will continue to patronize my friendly local used book store
across the street.
FHP
– Now that the NHL is back in full swing with controversy galore
the FHP is again active. While I had dropped to 4 points back of
Andrew, I have made a couple of shrewd deals and clawed back to
within 1 point of the lead (34 – 33). Problem is, with a
rotisserie scoring pool I have taken those points from the
lesser lights, not Andrew and it is tough to gain on him or take
the lead from him in any category to earn points. We have pretty
well taken the 1 – 2 spots on most categories so I need to beat
him to pass him and regain the podium. However, I never give up
and my Wings are coming back! Go Wings Go!
Rodney King – style
takedown. There is no way to
excuse, explain or forgive any aspect of the apparently
unprovoked shooting of the OPP officer – which is a terrible
tragedy. However, did the responding officers have to put 6
shots into a 70 year old
man? “Officers responding to the deadly shooting fired six
shots into the elderly suspect, a police source told the Star”.
It sounds like watching the carnage on TV. Terrible as it sounds
– shoot him once and kill him and everyone probably accepts the
“necessity” – but putting six rounds into the guy – how does
anyone survive the kinetic force / trauma of the impact of six
projectiles from police weapons – they aren’t pea shooters – or
if they are, maybe they need new guns.
Joshua Creek or Glen
Abbey – get the story straight.
OMHA Novice AAA Championship - MOHA web teaser says glen Abbey –
OMHA web site says Joshua Creek? Hmmmm. What is this, just
another trick to see if anyone is awake? I hope it is at JC
where there is at least some food and heaven forbid that it is
on the GA washroomless dressing rooms rink!
Back to top
Mar 8
– Results of the silly
qualification weekend are in.
SCTA -
Good news is that two of our three teams made it through and are
off to their respective OMHA championships. Congrats to the
Minor Bantam and Minor Midget AAA teams. Bad news is that the
Bantams get to go home – despite going undefeated or tied in the
round robin. They lost a double overtime game 3 – 2 to Welland
and their season is over.
The argument will be
made that this event unfolded as it should since Welland (league
1) and Halton (league 2) both advanced. If that is the way it is
supposed to be then skip the qualifier and send those two on.
Otherwise I am still a fan of the playoff series format that
gives a “fairer” shot – other than 1 game- winner take all to
determine your fate. The Bantam AAA finished fourth in league
play as noted below,
Minor Bantam AAA
- beat Welland 3 – 2 to advance to OMHA Championship
weekend. (Finished 4th in league). Hamilton (1)
and Oakville (4) move on.
Bantam AAA
- lost to Welland 3 – 2 in double overtime. Had gone 4 – 0
in round Robin, lose one game and done! (Finished 4th
in league). Welland (1) and Halton (2) move on.
Minor Midget AAA
- beat Guelph 3 – 1 to advance to OMHA Championship weekend.
(Finished 3rd in league). Oakville (3) and
Hamilton (1) move on.
Tri County - Semi
series wrapped up. The Minor Peewee AAs eliminated Caledon and
move on to face Barrie in the finals. The Atom AAs were not so
fortunate as Burlington came back from 2 down with 3 straight
wins to end their run.
Final Tri County count -
8 teams going to the Finals.
Not too shabby guys. Well done and good luck.
Crashing the net
– always an advocate of going hard to the net, I would have to
say that Colton Orr went just a bit overboard in flattening
Philly tender Michael Leighton yesterday. Fresh from a four
minute rest in the penalty box, Mr. Orr swoops out on a
breakaway, fails to score and then decides that failing to stop
is a good plan. Not so according to the officials – back to the
box for two more. The “good news” I think, is it only cost the
Leafs 1 power play goal – while Orr was off for the goaltender
interference call!

Off at 7:52, On at 11:52
back off 12:26 – that will mess with your ice time.
Time Team
Penalty Detail
7:52 Toronto Colton Orr - 2
minutes for roughing
7:52 Toronto Colton Orr - 2
minutes for cross checking
12:26 Toronto Colton Orr - 2 minutes for
interference on goalkeeper
You just have to look at
the stellar performance of this individual over 65 games to
understand how much of a contender the Leafs are going to be!
Penalty minutes to points ration = 46:1!! Such is the stuff of
Champions.
|
# |
Pos |
Player |
GP |
G |
A |
P |
+/- |
PIM |
PP |
SH |
GW |
S |
S% |
|
28 |
R |
Colton Orr |
65 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
-3 |
183 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
35 |
5.7 |
Curling
– I enjoy watching high level play at the
Roaring Game and as a “hack” I enjoy playing it although it has
been years since I have had a chance. My problem is that as a
self confessed “A” type personality and control freak I have to
skip. On the front end, sweeping is too much like hard work so I
would have a hard time joining any club and working my way up
the ranks. Besides that, unfortunately I am not that good!
Anyway, the Brier (Men’s
Canadian Championship) is going on this week in Halifax with (it
seems) the perennial Glen Hoard representing Ontario. While fun
to watch it is too bad that the CAC has it set up such that
Kevin Martin’s team from Alberta, our Olympic Gold Medalist can
not play – despite winning the Brier for the last two years and
going undefeated in doing so. I think the CAC should have found
a way to accommodate his participation (the ladies bring back
last year’s champ as an automatic entry as Team Canada). For the
men, apparently the thinking was that a team would have to be
dropped – i.e., Northern Ontario to make this happen and having
had N Ont participate since the late ‘20s, they CAC was not keen
on this approach. So, we are having the Canadian Championship
without the best team in the world competing. It is to bad since
Martin / Howard games are always a real treat to watch.
Ontario Winter Games
– I forgot all about these as I suspect just about everyone who
was not involved did in the wake of the Winter Olympics.
The Oakville Rangers
Peewee AAA participated here (I am not sure how this is or was
setup but I am sure someone will tell me) and ended up with a
Silver Medal going down only to the dreaded Toronto Marlies
juggernaut.
Here is a link to the
site. The following
link should take you to the
results page where you can then check out the individual sports.
Back to top
Mar 7 - Busy Saturday on the Playoff front. Great
day to lounge around home and be able to go out comfortably in
"shirtsleeves". It even stayed light enough long enough even
before the time change to let me sort of see what I was BBQ'ing.
SCTAs - Saturday
Minor Bantam AAA – Made it through the round robin and plays
Welland today at 3:00 PM to "qualify" for a trip to the OMHA
Championship weekend.
Bantam AAA - Made it through the round robin and plays
Welland today at 1:00 PM to "qualify" for a trip to the OMHA
Championship weekend.
Minor Midget AAA - Made it through the round robin and plays
Guelph today at 11:15 AM to "qualify" for a trip to the OMHA
Championship weekend.
Tri County
Minor
Bantam AE – Eliminated Tecumseh and moves on to the
OMHA Championship finals. Congrats guys! Seven in the finals
with a couple to be decided yet.
The news was not so good for the Minor
Bantam AA (vs Orangeville) and the Peewee A (vs Riverside)
as they were both knocked out of the race.
Back to top
Mar 6 – Some Quick Hockey Notes – A very busy and
productive Friday / Friday Night for the local boys! I think it
has to be a local record, but by my “unofficial” count, FIVE
Ranger teams all advanced to the OMHA Championships based on
their wins Friday. One was already there and several are still
alive.
SCTAs – Friday
Minor Bantam AAA – Two games – Two Wins – Keep it going. (if
this is right as the details show two 0-0 ties which likely
means they are not putting the details in!) – Niagara Falls and
Halton today.
Bantam AAA - Two games – Two Wins – Keep it going (if this
is right as the details show two 0-0 ties which likely means
they are not putting the details in!) – Burlington and Hamilton
today
Minor Midget AAA - Two games – Two Wins – Keep it going (if
this is right as the details show two 0-0 ties which likely
means they are not putting the details in!) – Niagara Falls and
Halton today.
Tri County
Minor Atom
AA – Eliminated Caledon – move on to OMHA
Championship final series – Congrats
Minor Atom
AE – Eliminated Oshawa – move on to OMHA Championship
final series – Congrats
Atom AE
– Eliminated Windsor – move on to OMHA Championship final series
– Congrats
Peewee AA
– Eliminated Tecumseh – move on to OMHA Championship final
series – Congrats
Minor
Bantam AE - Eliminate Whitby – move on to OMHA
Championship final series – Congrats
Back to top
Mar 5
- The on again, off again story of the Scarborough Hockey
Associations, its registration woes that have made it a shadow
of its former self, its internal battle to stay “independent and
its wooing of or by the GTHL looks like it has come to a
resolution. The GTHL picks up nine “A” level teams for its
eastern Division, one at each age group while the battered
remains of the SHA will now have House League for roughly ,
1.000 players and a select program for teams to play in the
North York league and an MD (Minor Development) program TBD?
Having been around for odd years and at one time having
somewhere between 10 000, and 15,000 players this is quite a
come down and may not be the end.
article. Part of this may be an Oh Goodie – another club
system organization to make money in the GTHL (supposedly “not
for profit” clubs).
Baseball
– spring training is now well underway, the Jays with a 1 – 1
against my Tigers do not have any all star pitching and streaky
hitting it is likely to be a long season. So far I have not got
into the “baseball fever” mode but since I am now down to 19
sleeps before Arizona and our foray into the uncharted waters of
the Cactus League I suppose I better start getting into it. At
minimum, I need to start planning out my ball schedule – day
games – night games – max teams – max stadiums – fit in Saturday
Coyotes (hockey) – consider Suns – Nah. Conflicting concepts are
Golf? And Grand Canyon tour? Maybe even a little jaunt down to
Tucson or Mexico. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Playdowns
– The Minor Bantam AA’s beat Orangeville last night 2 – 1 to
stave off elimination in their Semi Finals but are still behind
the eight ball trailing 2 – 1 with one game tied. They play
tomorrow in Orangeville and hope to force an as yet unscheduled
game 6 for a five game series (6 point series). In the semis,
there are a lot of home and home weekend series due to travel
times so this weekend will see games 3 and 4 or the deciding
games of a number of series. If things go the wrong way this
could be your last chance to see some of these teams this year.
The SCTA silly weekends are also ongoing this weekend and next
as well so there will be lots of action.
Depending how bored I
get I may update
my playdowns page over the weekend.
Don’t forget the House
League option as most of these divisions are in their year end
playoffs as well to see who gets to go to the awards Week dance.
Try to find some time for the local folks as well.
Back to top
Mar 4 - Let's see.
No News
No Energy
No Post
I guess that technically No post is A post.
Back to top
Mar 3 –
20 sleeps until I am off to Phoenix and baseball / Hockey /
libations and other “boy” stuff. – but not likely roundball even
though the Suns are in town for the Friday night. Now that the
Olympics are over (other than the Paralympics) I have to focus
on something positive, as if last night’s Leaf escapade is any
indication, there will be nothing local worth watching. Have to
check and see if my shows are back and appropriately PVR’d – 24,
CSI, NCIS and whatever other Alphabet Soup series are there to
fill the time.
SCTA - This weekend kicks off the silly qualifiers run by
the SCTA. For neophytes, SCTA stands for South Central Triple A
and these weekend qualifier tournaments are the way the "West"
picks their two teams to go and play in the OMHA AAA
Championships. The East still follows a play down format similar
to Tri County (AA, A, and AE).
For those of you who are interested, three teams are in this
weekends events The MB AAA are in Grey Bruce - Owen Sound, the B
AAA in Guelph and the MM AAA in Hamilton. The links to the OMHA
schedule / results sites are on my
Playdown page.
|
SCTA Quakifying Weekend
Tournaments |
|
|
|
2010 SCTA Minor Bantam OMHA Qualifying Weekend |
|
|
|
Date |
Time |
Result |
Home |
Away |
Arena |
|
FR 3/5/2010 |
11:30 AM |
|
Oakville |
Brampton |
Coliseum |
|
FR 3/5/2010 |
5:30 PM |
|
Guelph |
Oakville |
Coliseum |
|
SA 3/6/2010 |
12:00 PM |
|
Niagara Falls |
Oakville |
Bayshore |
|
SA 3/6/2010 |
5:30 PM |
|
Oakville |
Halton |
Bayshore |
|
2010 SCTA Bantam OMHA Qualifying Weekend |
|
|
|
Date |
Time |
Result |
Home |
Away |
Arena |
|
FR 3/5/2010 |
11:00 AM |
|
Oakville |
Grey-Bruce |
WERC 1 |
|
FR 3/5/2010 |
5:00 PM |
|
St. Catharines |
Oakville |
WERC 1 |
|
SA 3/6/2010 |
1:30 PM |
|
Burlington |
Oakville |
WERC 2 |
|
SA 3/6/2010 |
5:30 PM |
|
Oakville |
Hamilton |
WERC 2 |
|
2010 SCTA Minor Midget OMHA Qualifying Weekend |
|
|
|
Date |
Time |
Result |
Home |
Away |
Arena |
|
FR 3/5/2010 |
10:45 AM |
|
Oakville |
Burlington |
Quad - 45 |
|
FR 3/5/2010 |
6:45 PM |
|
Hamilton |
Oakville |
Quad - 45 |
|
SA 3/6/2010 |
12:45 PM |
|
Niagara Falls |
Oakville |
Quad - 45 |
|
SA 3/6/2010 |
4:45 PM |
|
Oakville |
Halton |
Quad - 45 |
Finally
– someone other than me commented on the ref getting in the way
and potentially contributing to Canada’s Gold Medal Goal – Guess
Who? The illustrious coach of the US team, the one and only Ron
Wilson who is now back in purgatory behind the Leaf bench after
seeing what real hockey players look like. Talk about the
Express elevator ride from the Penthouse to the Outhouse!
Spring
– is not here yet but today was a teaser. At lunch I went on a
bit of an outdoor foray (to Tim’s for a Rrroll up the Rim – no
prize) sans coat. In the sun, out of the wind, it was a nice
pleasant stroll. Just enough to make me cringe thinking about
the potential ice box weather that could be left – Think Warm!
As a running count and proof that figures lie and liars figure
this was Rrroll up number 4, prizes = 0. I will be checking the
Timmy’s site as somewhere I believe they have to post an “odds
of winning” declaration. At 0 in 4 my odds of winning are
coincidentally 0%. My odds of losing are conversely 100%! If you
are a Timmy’s fan, log on to their site and you can enter once
daily to win a year of free coffee. Now is that one coffee a day
for a year or a “bottomless” Tim Card only good on coffee –
don’t know, but do not tell anyone because I plan on winning. I
am going to sign up on each of my emails (I think I have NINE at
last count – that’s nuts and I think I forgot a couple) and
enter on each one each day.
Cone of Silence
–Robert Cribb is really riding the minor hockey horse, as today,
The Star featured another expose.
article The old “some parents allege” (that’s even more
wishy washy than I am) is used as the proof that “A culture of
secrecy in youth hockey is keeping important – and potentially
life-altering – problems from being confronted”. Mr. Gardner
will be pleased to note that the genesis of this story has moved
beyond the boundaries of the GTHL (wipe sweat off brow here) and
brings Waterloo into play. But never fear, Mr. Cribb did circle
back and bring in a GTHL case to stay local.
This whole “approach” is
a no win for anyone – especially the young man or young lady who
is at the centre of the situation. You can never unring the
bell, and media coverage is a very good way to add even more
notoriety to an already difficult situation. I fully support the
appropriate “investigation” of questionable events or behaviour
and have been involved in more than a few. For Minor Hockey
associations, as well as any other, the trick is to
pre-emptively avoid having these types of cases occur as
compared to having to deal with them as most associations are
not well equipped to do that. it is essential that “due
process” with qualified individuals exists to quickly,
impartially and quietly deal with these situations, escalating
as necessary but being clear to the parents, player and or other
aggrieved party that it is being handled and handled properly.
This is very difficult to do, can be very subjective, very “he
said – she said”, with no clear cut answers. It is easy to say
that you should err on the side of caution and support the minor
BUT you are also meddling with someone else’s reputation, as
well as potentially career and life. You must also keep in mind
that it is the aggrieved party’s prerogative to pursue “justice”
as they see fit and this alone may send things off to a public
battle, the same as the individual challenged has the right to
defend themselves. Very seldom though does this lead to a
satisfactory result for anyone.
The best defence really
is a good offense, with careful volunteer screening, police
clearances and reference check, training (like Speak Out)
ongoing “reminders” and doing everything you can to avoid
getting into the situation in the first place.
Once you are there –
There is NO easy way out! Read the
article, think about the stories and in particular the
Waterloo case put yourself in all three positions – the player
and family, the coaching staff and the association. Remember,
there are no secrets in community hockey so how do you fix this.
“Perception is Reality” is a favourite saying but unfortunately
(or fortunately) in many cases it is not – BUT how do you prove
or disprove it. The best practice here is to avoid this type of
situation in the first place
Trade deadline
– Oh yeah. That was today. Yawn.
Back to top
Mar 2
– Ouch – the numbers are
starting to pop up – literally.
In an
article in today’s Star, the GTHL is doubling its team
registration fees from $1,000 to $2,000 for its club system
teams. This is the team’s fee to the GTHL governing body and is
only a part of what an individual player will pay. Two teams
quoted in the article indicated a per player increase of $100
and $200. All are citing the advent of the HST and impact of
increasing ice costs with HST and inflation as the driving
factor. It is going to be a challenge to see how a number of
associations handle this and what it will mean to the basic
season cost for an average house league hockey player to
participate next season. I suspect “costs”, especially if other
“items” are loaded in is going to become a very contentious
issue as our national game may end up as a “luxury” to many
families. Watch for more info.
Windsor joins in
– In an
article from the Windsor Star on the same HST topic, the
Windsor Minor Hockey association claims they will take a $30,000
hit on ice cost alone spread over their 1,200 kids. On the
surface, that is about $25 a player which does not sound too
bad. It also sounds quite a bit lower than the $100 - $200 all
in mentioned in the GTHL article. But remember as Windsor states
it hits everything – pucks, pants, sticks, skates, sweater etc.
Do the local folks have a point of view (I think I asked this
before) or is it a wait for the fees to be announced?
Masters
– HE is back practicing. The clock in running – literally in
terms of the lead up to THE tournament and figuratively in his
“peak” careers years. You know he desperately wants to catch and
surpass my Hero Jack in major tour wins. Prediction – HE plays
the Masters.
NHL Playoffs – Now
that the NHL is up and running again – with my Wings picking up
a win in the start back game last night it is time to turn our
minds to “play-offs”. A concept not familiar to Leaf fans. Ye
Olde Stat Sitehas the probabilities updated and a second
Canadian team has joined the Leafs with 0.9% chance of making
the playoffs. Welcome the Oilers to the Dud list. The good news
is that my Wings are creeping up and are now heading north of
50/50.
Here is the complete
list. Remember – top 16 (8 and 8) are in.
|
Team |
% |
|
Team |
% |
|
Capitals |
100.0 |
|
Thrashers |
42.6 |
|
Sharks |
100.0 |
|
Flames |
29.7 |
|
Blackhawks |
100.0 |
|
Rangers |
29.6 |
|
Devils |
100.0 |
|
Canadiens |
29.6 |
|
Sabres |
99.9 |
|
Lightning |
27.5 |
|
Penguins |
99.8 |
|
Stars |
24.2 |
|
Senators |
99.4 |
|
Ducks |
16.8 |
|
Kings |
99.2 |
|
Wild |
10.7 |
|
Canucks |
99.2 |
|
Blues |
7.0 |
|
Coyotes |
97.2 |
|
Panthers |
4.2 |
|
Avalanche |
95.4 |
|
Islanders |
1.1 |
|
Flyers |
95.3 |
|
Hurricanes |
0.7 |
|
Bruins |
70.3 |
|
Blue Jackets |
0.1 |
|
Predators |
69.8 |
|
Maple Leafs |
0.0 |
|
Red Wings |
50.8 |
|
Oilers |
0.0 |
Back to top
Mar 1
– “The shot heard round the
world” as trumpeted by the Globe and Mail may be a bit of an
exaggeration and
an
affront to Crown Prince Ferdinand of Austria / Hungary, who
really was on the receiving end in 1914 of the shot that really
was heard round the world,
But you gotta sell
papers and headlines are a factor.
It was an entertaining
and exciting game to watch simply because of what it was – the
single most hyped and hoped for event of these Olympics – poised
on the last day and with not just a Gold Medal but the pride,
reputation and bragging rights of every red-blooded Canadians on
the line. And besides that, the bonus was that it was a good
game that performed according to script. Good guys take an early
lead, get their fans into the game (as if they weren’t already).
Evil empire mounts a comeback, valiantly withstood until the
dying seconds when disaster strikes. Local hero under recent
duress and possible performance cloud steps up and save the
damsel Nation. And all live happily ever after on personal
appearances and endorsements.
It was one of those
“heart and gut” games
At the start
- your heart says “Yes” we are going to win – your gut is TBD
With the lead
– your heart is happy, your gut is
starting to rumble.
Late
– your heart says “Please” your gut say “Oh No” it’s going to
happen – and it does – 24 seconds!
Overtime
– your heart is “begging” your gut is “dreading”!
And then – YES!
And Relief!
As seems to be a
conversation piece – does it match ’72. For me – No. Nothing
will beat that roller coaster ride and the environment including
political that was around it in a different world. It was not
simply a series or game, it was much more. In the Cold War era,
it was a war without guns. Sure it was hockey but it was also a
reflection of the “Free World” system against the dreaded
“Commies” and the “better dead than Red” mantra. Not quite
McCarthyism – but close. I think I was one of the few people
that made money on the Soviets. I did not cheer for them, but
the ingoing assumption from the arrogant Canadian hockey fan was
that – this is our game and we are going to blow those SOBs out
of the rink. I got some great odds and couldn’t resist.
Anyway, Andrew was one
of the downtown Toronto yahoos out on Yonge Street – or at least
I think he was as he and some of the posse headed downtown in
the afternoon to watch the game at some watering hole. I have no
idea what time they returned to base last night as I sacked out
exhausted after coaching and exhorting Canada to the win. My
only concern was that I hoped they had enough sense to stay out
of the slammer.
Fortunately they made it
home but I have been informed they were on Canada AM and ended
up in some Sun pictures - I won't tell you which one is Andrew!


And NO! I did not watch
any of the closing ceremonies. That is artsy fartsy stuff that
is not on my radar screen. However for someone who thought that
the Games would be a big yawn, I did watch a lot, enjoy a lot,
and think VANOC deserves a lot of credit for what they pulled
off – recognizing that there were some serious issues.
Call me a cynic but
– one of Andrew’s friends left his car parked on our street
overnight. Result – a parking ticket this morning. Little
birdies tell me this happened in a number of neighbourhoods last
night. Let’s see, last day of the month, budgets tight, big game
with parties and lots of appropriately abandoned vehicles
(remember – don’t drink and drive). Is it paranoid to think that
the old bylaw enforcement folks saw a window of opportunity and
crashed the net. I think yes. Our street is a dinky little
buried crescent that a) you have to actively hunt for or b)
someone has to be complaining. I think I have seen “patrols” up
here once. After this it will likely be a free fire zone but if
this is true – shame on you! You are “unCanadian” and should be
deported.
OMHAs
– In all of the Olympic furor, don’t forget the efforts of our
locals guys. Congrats to the Minor Bantam A Rangers as the first
Oakville Tri County team to make it through the Playdowns to the
OMHA Championship series. Condolences to those teams that had
games scheduled last night that conflicted with the Team Canada
event. “Merde” – how could anyone do that? Keep an eye on the
series and cheer our guys on.
Open Carry
– No it is not a golf event, wrestling hold or a Chinese food
take out term. It is the right to carry an unloaded weapon in
plain sight and another reason I love to poke fun at the Yanks.
There is a big brouhaha in California these days by gun
lobbyists promoting an understanding of the law that allows
anyone to wear a sidearm without a permit of any type as long as
a) it is not loaded and b) it is in plain sight! The US gun
lobby groups and NRA are big proponents of their constitutional
right to “bear arms” (you never know when an insurrection may
break out or you will need to join the shoot out at the OK
Corral), but do you really want folks wandering the streets or
into your friendly local coffee shop packing heat?

Yes they are “not
loaded” but I love the quote: “You can have a functioning
loaded weapon in two seconds,” says LaTour
According to the
article - Safety is the No. 1 reason that many open carry
advocates give for displaying their weapons. While they can’t
legally carry loaded guns, they can have ammunition as long as
it’s not attached to their weapons. Doh!
Buy Timmy’s
– get out and get your Timmy’s stock today. Besides the Timbit
Poster Boy racking up “the Goal” yesterday, It is now all red
blooded Canadian Males favourite season – RRRoll Up the Rim
days. This is when guys try to see how many excuses they can
come it to hit their local or any Tim Hortons to win the Big
One. No cars again, but 100, $10,000 prizes are nothing to
sneeze at. One, just give me one, that’s all I ask! U already
have sampled this year’s “Please Play Again” – again.
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Feb 28 - 14 Golds - Record! - Great!
Beat the Yanks! - Priceless!!

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Feb 27 – A Saturday morning –
sort of – post which might be it for the weekend. Too much to
do, too little time. Was it a wake-up call, a major collapse or
a ploy to make the US over confident? I vote the second as Team
Canada has provided a great tape example of how to lose focus
and play a scrambled panic defense at the end of a game. Full
credit to the Slovaks for the comeback attempt and for pouring
it on at the end. As Maxwell Smart says “they were thaaaaaat
close to tying it up.
Disappointment at the Roaring Game –
Canada had a “rocky” start but seemed to be following their
second half hero script with some assist from the Swedes when
disaster struck in the 10th. Needing to only hold
Sweden to one with the Swedes having the hammer, Canada was busy
killing rocks until they only needed what everyone considered a
pretty easy chip for the win. They missed! Sweden scored two to
force the extra end and we missed a last shot double for the win
after letting the house get too cluttered – a no no at this
level. So much for double curling Gold. This is our game too.
Come on Kevin – we need this.
Star at it again – Front page
on-line another negative minor hockey
story. I think my point of view on this is clear. But – I
did find the picture again – even if the larger one is blocked
and I could only grab the thumbnail.

However, I have a new photo that is more
definitive of Canadian Hockey spirit. Clearly it is a Molson
Moment, but the question is – is that a Molson Champagne in the
big bottle that shows up in a number of the pictures or what? I
have never seen that – where can I get one.

Gold Rush is on – despite the
stumble, Canada at 10 is now in the lead with Golds ahead of
Germany’s 9 with the stellar efforts of the mens’ skating team
who picked up two (Charles Hamelin’s exciting win and the relay
gold) yesterday. Short track speedskating is another of those
“lunatic” events. We still have a good shot for more so lets
pour in on and leave the world – especially those cocky Yanks in
our dust.
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Feb 26
– Look out for those cigar chomping, beer swilling, champagne
swigging Canadian Hockey Players as they will blow you away –
and that’s just the women! Bet Molson loves the shots! Canadian
Anyone?

While I must admit that
I am not usually a fan of women’s hockey, I watched every second
of last night’s game and our women were full measure for their
win. At least one ink stained wretch has described last night’s
tilt as an “average” game. Either he is heavily influenced by
some banned substance or his citizenship should be revoked and
then deport him to the U.S. He is likely the same one moaning
about the deplorable post game conduct of the Canadian players
returning to the ice surface with some post game treats and
libations. While the libations on ice was probably not a
brilliant idea, let’s cut these folks a little slack. With the
exception of a certain MOHA house league Tyke team that brought
champagne into the dressing room after an Awards Week game (fake
for the kids – real for the misguided adults) I find it hard to
get upset with a team of young ladies (all but one of legal
imbibing age and she apparently had one beer) having a little
post game celebration. Let’s get real here. How many of us have
not done much “worse” under very much less auspicious
circumstances. Do not let this silliness in any way detract from
a great feat – and against the Yanks to boot.
I thought the Canucks
were full value for the win. They were more disciplined in their
own end, moved the puck – faster – smarter – better, dominated
on the boards – I thought body checking was a no no in women’s
hockey but apparently the Norwegian ref had the wrong rulebook.
I think there were some better hits made here under the guise of
“incidental contact” than I have seen in a lot of full contact
games. I know I say it all the time but puck pursuit and
intensity on the puck – like a dog with a bone – wins hockey
games and we did a better job. Not to mention that when we did
suffer a brain cramp we got stellar goaltending too back it up.
Way to go girls – now it is up to the guys.
As a separate comment –
preparedness is key. The story about the team sneaking out to
the “aquarium” for two exhibition games (a win and a loss)
during the tourney to stay sharp was a brilliant move. Pasting
some no-names 18 – 0 does not help your game and the Canadian
brain trust figured out a sneaky but effective way to avoid
ennui! Well done.
At the awards
presentation – does the movie title “Grumpy Old Men” remind you
of anyone? In this league – Silver just does not cut it.
When did the censors
step in? – early this morning one of the popular pictures of the
Canadian Ladies winning the Gold was the picture as captioned
below:
Canada's Haley Irwin (left) and Canada's Meghan Agosta soak up
the atmosphere, and a little more, as they lie on the ice with
some beverages after taking the gold medal on Thursday, Feb. 25,
2010. Canada beat the U.S. 2-0 to win another Olympic hockey
crown.
RICK MADONIK/TORONTO STAR
That picture (similar
but more direct than the one I posted above) has quickly gone
“missing” from a variety of places, simply leaving white space
or just disappearing from photo galleries. Who is getting it
pulled? Yes the IOC and COC have gone around cluck Clucking
about it, and an official “apology” has come from the team but
come on. Let’s not get ridiculous (I know that there are still
some “drinking” pictures out there but not this one??).

It is all right to show
horrendous blood and gore and people in abject grief and despair
but a little fun and savouring of a very positive moment is not
only frowned upon but we are censoring it? Shame on you –
whoever you are!
Don’t forget
– As the Olympics wind down that the OMHA playdowns are cranking
along in the semis with 11 Oakville teams still alive. Get
through these series and they are off to play for an OMHA
Championship – pretty heady stuff.
The dreaded SCTA OMHA
Qualifying Weekends are also due to start soon with the first
ones going next weekend – the March 5th weekend. The
weekends kick off with the Minor Bantams, Bantams and Minor
Midgets all playing at once. See dates with the
links
to the detailed OMHA schedule site.
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