Monday, January 1:
HAPPY NEW YEAR
to one and all!!!
Decisions, decisions. Do I battle my hangover by watching Pittsburgh and Buffalo play an outdoor hockey game at Ralph Wilson Stadium (in throwback uniforms, no less!), or do I make it worse by watching Florida demolish the Michigan Wolverines in Lloyd Carr's farewell game? Decisions, decisions!
Wednesday, January 2:
And so, I watched both -- or at least as much of both as I could on one TV. Hard to believe Michigan beat Florida and decisively to boot. The score was close but the Wolverines were the better team and it was nice to see Lloyd Carr go out a winner. And the Pittsburgh-Buffalo outdoor hockey game was fun to watch as well although I was pulling for the home team to prevail. Mostly, I was thankful I was indoors.
I was able to see these games due to the generosity of Steve, The World's Greatest Next-Door Neighbour. Not only did he use his snowblower to clear my snow-clogged driveway in no time flat, he managed to get the dead engine in my snowblower up and running! So I'll be able to return the favour after our next snowstorm.
Thursday, January 3:
Great to see coach Bill Stewart have the football night of his life last night. As interim coach of the West Virginia Moutaineers, he directed his underdog team to a lopsided win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl. As a result, Stewart -- a West Virginia native and a man who spent two years as an assistant coach in the CFL -- has now been promoted to head coach. He replaces Rich Rodriguez, who bolted to Michigan. Hopefully, Stewart's hire will soothe the bad feelings in Morgantown over Rodriguez' departure.
Sunday, January 6:
Uh-oh! As I watched Sweden pull even with Canada yesterday in the world junior hockey final, I had this queasy feeling that the Canadians were going to let the game slip as away, as they did against the Swedes in the round-robin. Not this time. So that makes it four straight world championships in a row for Canada, the last two across the pond. The next four are in North America, so their chances are pretty good to keep the excellence flowing. A hearty well-done to a squad that looked rather beatable at times but still came away with their mission accomplished.
So much for the Washington Redskins being a team of destiny. Kudos for pulling together and reaching the playoffs following the death of a teammate and a blown game to Buffalo, but they were no match for Seattle yesterday. And watch out for Jacksonville. Takes a pretty good team to come back on the road and win after letting an 18-point lead slip away. Don't know if they have enough to win again -- especially if they have to go to unbeaten New England -- but I bet they'll put up a heck of a fight.
Monday, January 7:
There are so many reasons for me to pick Louisiana State in tonight's BCS championship game in New Orleans against Ohio State. Just 90 minutes away from Baton Rouge, it's like a home game for LSU. The Buckeyes have never won a bowl or bowl championship game against a team from the Southeast Conference -- they're 0-and-8. Who did Ohio State beat this year? Washington and Michigan on the road were their signature wins and neither the Huskies nor the Wolverines had great seasons. And they lost -- at home -- to Illinois, the same Fighting Illini team that was blown apart in the Rose Bowl by USC. What's more, I picked the Tigers to be number one 'way back at the start of the season. I simply think they're superior. Having said that, an Ohio State win would not surprise me at all (and would, in fact, delight me. Yes, Michigan's my team but the Big-10 is my favourite conference). The Buckeyes were thoroughly embarrassed in the title game last season and I'm sure Jim Tressell won't let that happen again. Ohio State played in the championship a year ago and that's valuable experience. The Tigers lost twice this year, albeit both in overtime, so they're not infallible. While I usually would take a fired-up underdog with an excellent defence -- especially a number-one team that's not favoured -- I still think LSU gets it done. Just. Prediction: Louisiana State 26, Ohio State 24.
Tuesday, January 8:
Well, the "24" I predicted for Ohio State was right on the money. But LSU, with 38, did a fair bit more than "just" get it done. After they blocked OSU's field goal try last night, you got the idea that there was no stopping the Bayou Bengals. And there wasn't. So, congrats then to Les Miles and his staff on winning the US national championship. But kudos as well to Jim Tressell's Buckeyes. They may feel like the Buffalo Bills of the '90s, but getting to two championship games (and three in six years with a victory in the trophy case) is pretty heady stuff.
Thursday, January 10:
I'm no fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but to write them off as many are doing, is a bit premature. Last night's 5-0 loss in Anaheim keeps them second-last in the East, ahead of only Tampa Bay. But you'll recall that it was only three seasons ago (four, if you include the lockout year) that the Lightning were Stanley Cup champions, beating Calgary. Two years ago, Carolina won it all in a seven-game series over Edmonton. So, let's see: Tampa Bay, Calgary, Carolina, Edmonton. Not exactly a quartet to quake in fear over today. They're a combined two games over .500 if you ignore overtime and shootout defeats. Add them as losses and they're 18 games under .500. And those are the things that give Leaf fans hope. That, and the fact a three-game winning streak puts them sixth in the conference, instead of 14th. And it's still just the second week of January. Most of the teams the Leafs are chasing have at least one game in hand on them and there are a lot of clubs to pass between now and April but they're still within hailing distance. But they need a winning streak, starting tonight in Los Angeles.
Winter's back after a few days of April-like temperatures but they were dangerous days around here. The fog was extremely thick and very dangerous to drive in. I'm almost glad it has turned colder.
Sunday, January 13:
Can't say I was surprised at the outcome of either football game today, although the eyes were wide when Seattle scored 14 quick points to open the scoring at Green Bay. But it was all Packers after that. And while Jacksonville put up a fight in New England, the Patriots had an answer every time the Jaguars scored. And I think the home teams -- Indianapolis and Dallas -- will prevail today as well.
I often don't agree with Alison Korn, former Olympian and current Toronto Sun columnist. But she's bang on with her insistence that female ski jumping (finally) be allowed at the Olympics, starting in 2010 in Vancouver. There's only one question I have about women ski jumping -- why not? I've never heard an answer to that question and I know I'll certainly never hear one that makes any sense.
Grand hockey game between the NHL's two best last night as Ottawa squandered a 2-0 lead but scored late to beat Detroit 3-2. Toronto, on the other hand, squandered a 2-0 lead and lost (again) in San Jose. Rumours of major changes in Leafland continue to fly with tomorrow supposedly being the "big day." We'll see. I have no confidence in Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment to do anything except make money. On that score, they're peerless.
Monday, January 14:
OK, I so didn't see that coming -- either of them. But there was nothing fluky about San Diego's win at Indianapolis or the New York Giants' victory in Dallas. And if you're mourning the loss of another Indy-New England playoff matchup, don't. A year ago today, the Patriots waltzed into southern California and beat the Chargers, ruining their dream season and creating a fair bit of bad blood along the way. The Chargers -- even classy running back LaDainian Tomlinson -- delivered verbal shots to New England in the wake of that game, calling them classless -- among other things -- after a few Pats danced on the Chargers logo at midfield. You can bet emotions will be running high next Sunday in the Boston suburbs. Of course, if Tomlinson and Philip Rivers can't play, it could be a long afternoon for the visitors. As for the NFC final, what could be finer than old rivals, the Giants and Packers meeting? Especially outdoors in northern Wisconsin on the 20th of January? Nothing, that's what. And then there's the historical value: A Chargers-Patriots championship game decided the 1963 American Football League season (San Diego 51, Boston 10, at San Diego's Balboa Stadium) and a Packers-Giants game had settled the NFL championship a year earlier (Green Bay 16, New York 7, at Yankee Stadium).
The Bride takes great delight in pointing out that, as of today, I'll be able to get a senior's discount at movie theatres and selected restaurants. Thanks, dear. I hit double nickels in the age bracket today and I'd sure like to know why my birth certificate tells such a lie.
Friday, January 18:
It wasn't as close as I originally thought but it's still a little unsettling to read that a murder victim was found fairly close to where we used to live in Pickering. Not half-a-block away as I had first believed, but still pretty close. Now, we've been gone from there for more than a decade, but it's obvious the little place we used to think of as ideal suburbia is no more. And that opinion is not just based from this isolated incident, either. A few years ago, there was a house explosion that followed a few wild parties in our old neighbourhood. Pickering has exploded into a city now, and the early signs of population explosion are starting to appear here in sleepy, old Stouffville. Then there's Toronto. And as another innocent bystander whose only crime was walking down the street is laid to rest, I continue to insist that my favourite view of Hogtown is in my own rear-view window at the end of another work day.
Sunday, January 20:
We all knew, those of us with ties to the sports media, that yesterday was coming. It still doesn't make it easier. Don Wittman, the voice of the Grey Cup, the voice of curling, the voice of Canadian track and field -- and so much more -- has been stilled. People much closer to him are far better equipped to tell you about the man, but in my few dealings with him, he was a joy to be around. As a broadcaster, he was -- like Don Chevrier, who also left us far too soon, a Canadian icon. It seems it was only yesterday that Wittman was a) calling Sandra Schmirler's championship games, and then b) was teaming up with her in the broadcast booth to call curling's big events. Now they're both gone, stricken by the same terrible malignance. And while it's sad to see Wittman pass, it's also something of a blessing. That damned disease took a terrible toll on the man. Now, he'll suffer no more.
Last weekend, four games, two upsets. So we'll keep the ratio intact. With San Diego's injuries, I can't see a southern California team escaping Boston's frigid suburbs with a win over the unbeaten Patriots. And -- aside from the grizzled veteran at quarterback -- Green Bay is a young team and the New York Giants a physical one. I think New York could pull off the upset in the Lambeau Field ice box. That would leave us with a Giants-Patriots Super Bowl. Or Yankees-Red Sox, football style!
The man who wrote "Daydream Believer" for the Monkees and Anne Murray has passed away. In addition to being a prolific songwriter and solo performer, John Stewart was also a second generation member of the Kingston Trio, and was with them between 1961 and 1967. His late brother Michael was a member and musical arranger for We Five, and also produced Billy Joel's "Piano Man" album. Lots of musical genius in that family.
Monday, January 21:
Giants-Patriots, it is! And if the Super Bowl is as good as the final game of the regular season between the teams, then we're in for a treat on February 3. In a way, it was sad to see the Packers lose due as the result of a thoroughly terrible pass by Brett Favre. Green Bay has the youngest team in the NFL but it was the grizzled veteran who made the most costly mistake. As for the Chargers, I would have loved to have seen what they could have accomplished with a healthy LaDainian Tomlinson and a healthy Philip Rivers. Yes, Rivers played, despite arthroscopic surgery on his knee last week (!) but San Diego took no chances in regards to his health. A quarterback draw would have done wonders on any of their four trips into the red zone yesterday but they couldn't chance it with Rivers in the game.
Wednesday, January 23:
It's deja vu all over again for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cliff Fletcher is back as (interim) general manager. He was the G-M from 1991 to 1997 and his teams reached the conference semifinals on two occasions. How it plays out this time is anyone's guess. I don't think the fired John Ferguson Junior did a particularly good job but I also don't think he had the freedom to do much more than make recommendations to the MLSE board. And that's no way to run a pro hockey franchise. Personally, I believe JFJ was a class act. In an act of rash exuberance to greet old colleague Darren Pang at the ACC press box one night, I jarred Ferguson's hand, forcing him to his spill coffee down the front of his tie. He may have thought I was the biggest buffoon on earth (fairly accurate on occasion) but he couldn't have been more gracious with me.
The only "Brokeback Mountain(s)" I know of, are the twin peaks of frozen precipitation that I slaved to create at opposite sides of the end of my driveway, so I could get my vehicle in and out. But Heath Ledger, who received an Oscar nomination for his role in the movie of that name was, I'm told, a fine actor. I believe he plays "The Joker" in an upcoming Batman movie and while no one could ever top Jack Nicholson's work in that rule, it will be interesting to see Ledger's version. Sadly, there will be no more roles for him after Ledger was found dead yesterday in a Manhattan apartment. Twenty-eight is far to young to pass from the earth.
More snow today/tonight, I'm told. Yippee. But that's OK. The Caribbean is beckoning. Fort Lauderdale Saturday and the GTS Constellation Monday. I can't wait.
Friday, January 25:
Ah, vacation. Yes, I know, I just had one. Well, I'm having another one, so there!
Ernie Harwell, who turns 90 years young today, made me cry when I was eight years old. Not intentionally of course. But I discovered baseball in the summer of 1961 when my beloved Detroit Tigers won 101 games and still were miles away from the amazing Yankees. The Tigers were swept in a key late-season series in New York that year and as I listened to Ernie describe another heart-breaking loss, I remember being inconsolable. But a funny thing happened. In April of 1962, there was Ernie again, saying something about the song of the turtle, and there were my Tigers again, ready for another season. Ernie Harwell was baseball to me. I learned to love the game through his descriptions. And I learned to love radio the same away, a medium that has provided with me with my career. Aside from my parents, if I have a hero, it's the gentle man from Georgia. I've met my hero a few times, and he's exactly the way you want heroes to be and rarely are: Kind, friendly, generous with his time, a person who makes you feel better about yourself after a few minutes in his presence. Ernie has autographed books for me, allowed me to interview him and offered friendly and sage advice. And I don't even know the man. All of this followed a mere, "Hi, howdya do, nice to meetcha!" on the field prior to covering Opening Day one year at Tiger Stadium. Happy 90th, Ernie -- and many more!
Saturday, January 26:
And away we go. It's an evening flight to Florida, so we have the day to rest and make sure we're not scrambling around at the last minute. And we'll have a whole day to enjoy the Florida sunshine before we board the Celebrity Constellation Monday for our 10 days of being pampered. I wonder how many of the great crew members we saw last year will be there for this ride? One thing is for sure -- we're looking forward to touching base with Pam, Tom, Chris, Barry, Chris and Glen again. It was great to have seen them in the summer and we can't wait to cruise with them again!
Sunday, January 27:
HOLLYWOOD, FL -- We're staying in a delightful beachfront hotel that dates back to bygone days. In the lobby, there's a picture of how the beach, building and boardwalk looked back in 1928 and another, larger photo showing how it looks today. The only thing on the downside is The Bride. She woke up yesterday with the chills and a fever and somehow managed to pack and drag herself with me to the airport for our late evening flight south. It took its toll, though. She hasn't ventured out of the room at all and has slept the day away.
Monday, January 28:
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- A day of rest did a world of good. She's not 100%, but is much, much better than a day ago. And she continued to improve as the day went on. We're starting another 11 days of pampering by the superb staff members aboard the GTS Constellation, but admittedly they didn't get off to a great start today. We pre-ordered shrimp and champagne for our departure -- a little special something as our 25th wedding anniversary is later this year. The shrimp came three hours late, the champers, not at all (tomorrow, they promise).
We also had to make a lightning trip back to Miami a couple of hours after departure as a ship guest apparently became very ill. We wondered why we were "really booting it," when we were having dinner. Now we know. Sad.
Wednesday, January 30:
GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman Island -- And 364 days after our last visit, we're back here in paradise. And we did the same thing we did a year ago -- spend a few hours on the incredible Seven Mile Beach, soaking in the sand and surf, sipping on a rum punch and letting life's worries pass us by.
The Bride is now officially back at 100% capacity. The medicinal qualities of rum-soaked mudslides helped, no doubt.
Turns out there were TWO passengers who had to be rushed to a Miami hospital the other night. The good news is that they're both stable and resting comfortably.
Our friends, Glenn and Chris, celebrated their sixth anniversary today. We met them on board a year ago and were there when Glenn won the ship's Super Bowl squares lottery. He claims to be the biggest Patriots fan in the world, so he's already getting nervous about Sunday's big game. As a Lions' fan, I never have to worry about that!
Oh! Our champagne arrived at 6pm last night. Better late than never!
