Sunday, January 1:
HAPPY NEW YEAR
to one and all!!!
Monday, January 2:
I've been looking forward to this match-up since the BCS games were scheduled: Ohio State versus Notre Dame. The Irish are the people's choice, as they are "America's Team." But they won't win this one. People point to their razor-thin loss to Southern Cal as proof of their excellence. Take it a step further: They also lost to Michigan State -- a team with a losing record -- at home, no less. The Irish will be facing the best defence they've faced all season.
PREDICTION: Fiesta Bowl: OSU Buckeyes 27, Notre Dame Fighting Irish 14.
Tuesday, January 3:
OK, on to the big one tomorrow night: Texas vs. USC for all the marbles. Vince Young amazes me. But so does Reggie Bush, who's the best college football tailback I've seen, maybe ever. A year ago, Young turned the Rose Bowl on its ear with an amazing performance. But he's not playing Michigan this year -- he and the Longhorns are up against a far superior opponent. What's more, Southern Cal is virtually at home with the short trip to Pasadena.
PREDICTION: Rose Bowl: USC Trojans 38, Texas Longhorns 28.
Thursday, January 5:
My goodness, what a football player. Vince Young shredded Southern Cal with the same sort of brilliance he showed in last year's Rose Bowl game against Michigan. So in this football season, we've been treated to:
Grey Cup - EDM vs. MTL -- a classic.
Vanier Cup - WLU vs. SSK -- a classic.
Rose Bowl - TEX vs. USC -- a classic.
Can we get lucky with the Super Bowl, too?
Saturday, January 7:
Major congratulations to Canada's juniors for their stirring win at the world championship. Very impressive for a young team, which only bodes well for next year's event. As for the Russians, they simply appeared to give up after not getting credit for what should have been a goal that would have cut Canada's 2-0 lead in half. Yes, I know these are kids, playing half-a-world away, getting an emotional kick in the teeth as visitors in the most frenzied setting they've ever played in. But somehow I don't think the Canadian kids would have folded up like a cheap suitcase if they had been in a similar situation in say, Moscow. They might have been emotional, might have lost the game and might have even lost their composure, but they would have kept on fighting until the final horn.
Tuesday, January 10:
I overheard one football analyst over the weekend marvelling at the way Texas quarterback Vince Young conducted his business in the end zone after touchdowns, simply handing it off to the nearest official and invoking the Marv Levy suggestion of "act like you've been there before." The analyst remarked that this would be the new version of cool. Obviously it was slow to catch on in the NFL last weekend. One wide receiver acted like the football was a baby; another flopped on the group and did imaginary snow angels (this works far better if there's some actual snow on the ground). Maybe it's gonna take time.
Friday, January 13:
Goodness me, they do it "right" in New York, don't they? The ceremony for Mark Messier at Madison Square Garden last night was a sight to behold, and as you would expect, the big fella was leakin' like a faucet. Mike Richter had the line of the night, when he welcomed everyone to Mark Messier Night, "presented by Kleenex." A classy ceremony capped by a stirring Jaromir Jagr overtime goal.
It's Friday the 13th and tomorrow night there's a full moon. Be careful out there!
Off to Columbus and Chicago Monday for some NHL hockey next week.
Thursday, January 19:
What a difference a decade makes for a city! The Columbus, Ohio I saw this week bore little resemblance to the somewhat tired town I visited in 1995. It's vibrant, fun and growing like a weed. One thing hasn't changed -- people are still overwhelmingly friendly. I used to have my doubts the NHL would survive in such a red-hot college sports environment. But the Blue Jackets are getting great crowds and Nationwide Arena is nothing short of a gem.
Some winter, part 1: I spent Monday afternoon in shirtsleeves under a brilliant sun while strolling the Ohio State campus. It felt like spring.
I hope for the sake of the franchise, the Chicago Blackhawks' youth movement pays off down the road. There were thousands upon thousands of empty seats for the Hawks-Islanders game Tuesday night. United Center is a beautiful arena, but all night I was wishing the old Madhouse on Madison across the street was still standing. With small crowds, any home ice advantage the Blackhawks once held is now just a memory.
Some winter, part 2: After temperatures plunged about 30 degrees Fahrenheit in a couple of hours, the howling winds of Chicago tore right through me Tuesday night. Brrrrr!
Friday, January 20:
I think the world of the talent of Catriona LeMay Doan, Canada's multi-champion speed skater. But I sure disagree with her views on Canada's flag-bearer flap. I cannot defend any Olympic athlete who refuses to accept the honour -- with one exception: If that athlete competes within the next, say 36 hours, then fine -- take a pass. But being asked to carry the flag for your country in the opening ceremonies of the Olympics should be a life highlight. Any other excuses about disrupting preparation, be it mentally or physically, just doesn't wash. Please explain that to both government (i.e., you and me) and corporate sponsors who pay the freight for these athletes to attend on behalf of Canada. Turning the honour down without the just cause listed above is an insult to me, as a taxpayer.
Grey matter is something that most of us can't have enough of, and in my case, it's something I'm obviously lacking plenty of. Monday night at the Rangers-Blue Jackets NHL game in Columbus, I sat next to Josh, a friendly fella who asked me to drop him a line when I got home with some pictures from the game (that appear elsewhere on these pages). So, naturally I've lost the paper that contained his e-mail address. I didn't even give him this website's address (saying I would do so when I e-mailed him) so my chances of having him contact me by way of this pathetic plea are about a trillion-trillion-to-one. But, if you're in Columbus, Ohio and a Jackets' fan, and know of a guy named Josh who sat in the club seats on Monday, please have him read this, so I can apologize for the size of my pea-brain. Thankee!
Saturday, January 21:
Detroit Red Wings 4, Colorado Avalanche 3; Ottawa Senators 7, Toronto Maple Leafs 0. Da-da-da-da-daaaaa, I'm lovin' it!
I almost don't care if tomorrow's NFL conference championship games are duds, but please, please, let's have some quality work from the officials for a change. And maybe that might happen more often if the NFL -- awash in obscene gobs of money -- ever decides to make these guys full-time employees. Tough to be consistently great when you spend five days a week at your 9-to-5er and then fly in somewhere for a Sunday game.
PREDICTION: NFL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS:
AFC Championship: Pittsburgh Steelers 20, Denver Broncos 17.
NFC Championship: Carolina Panthers 24, Seattle Seahawks 21.
(I just want to see two teams in the Super Bowl with a combined total of home playoff games = 0).
Sunday, January 22:
If you're Canadian and eligible to do so tomorrow: vote.
Please.
Those who rest 'neath the poppies in Flanders Fields are counting on it.
Wednesday, January 25:
In time, thousands upon thousands of people will claim to have been there and millions more will say they watched it on TV. But last Sunday evening, I, 1) ate dinner, 2) updated this site and surfed the net, 3) watched the Seattle Seahawks dismantle Carolina, 4) read for awhile and 5) went to bed. I could have turned on the tube and watched Kobe Bryant drain 81 points -- 81 points!! -- against Toronto. I've seen plenty of great sports moments, both live and on TV in my decades on earth, but I wish I had watched this one!
Thursday, January 26:
Leave it to a hockey player to come to the country's rescue and agree to carry the flag for Canada at the opening ceremony of the Turin Olympics. Good on ya, Danielle Goyette! As for Alison Korn and her rant in the Sun Media newspapers today, well if I booed any louder, you'd hear me on both coasts at once. The world champion rower was recounting her Olympic experiences, while defending those athletes who turn down the flag honour. Korn suggested that after a gruelling bus ride and a box lunch (my, what hardship!) she came to the conclusion that "the opening ceremony isn't about the athlete at all" and that "we were just props brought in at the end." Cry me a river. Did you ever think that maybe the Olympics aren't all about you? Maybe the people who pay your way there get a huge kick out of watching Canada's team enter the stadium and are especially proud of the flag-bearer. I'm not sure what world you're part of, but I sure don't live in it.
Here's one place I agree with the amateur athlete, though: In today's media (of which I am intimately familiar) it's OK for some reason to bash our amateur stars if they fail to come through at the Olympics. We send our best columnists over there, talented guys and gals who are battle-hardened dealing with the oft-petty whines of pro athletes and news makers and apply the same rules of the harsh spotlight on the amateurs. Not fair. No one chokes at the Olympics. Participation and sportsmanship are the two key ingredients. Yes, I know all about the waste and corruption of the IOC, but if you're not pulling down mega-millions to compete, then you shouldn't be under the same media pressure as those who do.
Tuesday, January 31:
Tough to try and maintain a web site without a computer. Last Thursday, after a sudden freeze-up and subsequent re-boot failure, I faced the unenviable task of starting to take everything apart and then almost fainted at the spaghetti-maze of wires behind my system. So five sweat-filled and profanity-laced days later, we're back! And we actually did some planning back there for a change, so hopefully future tweaking will go far easier!
