Sunday, July 1:
HAPPY CANADA DAY!!! Proudly wave your flags, Canada!!!
I knew there'd be a measure of pain today. After all, the Stouffville Strawberry Festival does come with more than just a few sody pops! But any hangover pain has long been eclipsed by the pulled muscle in my back. I started to slip in the shower yesterday. I didn't fall but I twisted my back into a pretzel in the process of recovering. It was manageable yesterday (especially with the beers) but today, I'm hobbling about like Chester in "Gunsmoke."
Tuesday, July 3:
This is what used to be known as Molson Indy week in Toronto. It's now the Toronto Grand Prix. There was a time when open-wheel racing was popular in North America. No longer. The Toronto race was one I never missed. I couldn't possibly care less now. Well, except for one hope. After his pathetic display on the podium and in the interview room last weekend, I hope Sebastien Bourdais blows his engine on the first lap.
Wednesday, July 4:
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY! to our American friends!!! Have a great "4th!"
A year ago, the Detroit Tigers were winning games in thrilling fashion, coming from behind to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat (sports cliche #3,629). This year, the Cleveland Indians are the ones with the late-inning magic, while the Tigers are going the other way -- losing games they seem to have in hand. Happened again last night with the Tribe beating the Tigers in 11. Maybe Cleveland is the "where-did-THEY-come-from?" team of 2007.
Thursday, July 5:
More on speed: There's been a great deal of needless carnage on Ontario's roads recently, thanks to idiot street racers who get their thrill and peer acceptance by weaving in and out of traffic on 400 series highways, terrifying other motorists. I don't get it. Yes, I understand the thrill in pure speed. As a reporter, I once sat in the passenger side of a Corvette flying around the Molson Indy street course at a crazy rate. The driver was Scott Goodyear and I never felt more safe in a car in my life. Terrified? Not a bit. It was a tremendous thrill ride. I've had the means to rent finely tuned machines in Germany and tear down the no-limit sections of the autobahn as fast as my lead foot and nerve would take me (about 225 km/h, or 140 mph). Not sustained, but just for a few kilometres on an otherwise deserted stretch of roadway. It was exhilarating! But racing someone else in those conditions, mano-a-mano in a testosterone-fuelled display of ego? Never. I've said it before, I'll say it again: You want to race? Take it to the track.
Saturday, July 7:
Baseball Is A Funny Sport, Exhibit, 6,295,423: The Minnesota Twins score 32 runs yesterday, sweeping a doubleheader from the White Sox in Chicago. Today? One -- a 3-1 loss. And they didn't score that until the 9th. More proof of that tired, but oh-so-true cliche: good pitching beats good hitting.
All I need is Clint Eastwood telling me, "Feeling lucky, punk?" Why yes. It's 07-07-07, and those who believe in fate in numbers say it's the supposed to be the luckiest day of the century. I'll believe it if I win the lottery!
Wednesday, July 11:
A friend of mine loves to use the phrase "good times." And that's what was had last night when the two of us got together over dinner and brewskies at an outdoor patio on a warm summer Toronto night. Five hours went by in the blink of an eye, just catching up on our respective lives. I live for July nights like that. On top of it all, the bill was paid completely on the sly. I owe ya, pal. Next time it's on me!
Sunday's Roger Federer-Rafael Nadal Wimbledon final was a classic. I haven't been much of a tennis fan over the past few years, but I was glued to the championship the way I used to be glued to it decades ago. It was like watching McEnroe-Borg all over again. A match for the ages and maybe this is becoming a rivalry cut from the same cloth.
Today is day seven of seven work days in a row, so when it's done I'm giving myself a treat and driving to Buffalo to see bluesman extraordinaire James Armstrong -- one of my musical "nifty nine" -- work his magic. Good times.
Thursday, July 12:
Headlines that aren't news but reality:
LOOK FOR SUNSETS IN WEST
RIVERS FLOW DOWNSTREM
AMERICAN LEAGUE WINS ALL-STAR GAME
Of course, in the 1970s the National League won virtually each and every year. But it's hard to believe the junior circuit is just four wins away from squaring the overall series.
Great to see James Armstrong in person last night. He works his magic these days with just a bass player and drummer. Both are very talented, but it's a far different sound then the music on his CDs, which feature a keyboard. His lady friend is Canadian so the two of them teamed up to write a great new (and timely) song, "Blues at the Border." That, plus hearing his CD standards, made for a great evening.
Monday, July 16:
Updates are going to be few and far between for awhile, I'm afraid. My home computer is flat on its back, singing, "Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door." Never a good sign. We'll try and get a new pic of the week posted as soon as possible, but it might not happen until mid-week.
Thursday, July 19:
The little four-year-old laptop with the speed of a glacier and the power of a nine-volt transistor battery is filling in until a new computer arrives. The pic of the week is finally up.
RIP, Toronto Blue Jays, 2007. Ten games behind in the wild-card race, 11 in the American League East. And d'ya think the angst is getting unbearable in Boston, where the Red Sox' once-mighty 12-game lead on the Yankees is now down to seven?
Monday, July 23:
Miracle of miracles. My desktop computer has risen from the dead. It's a slow process getting everything reloaded but we're getting there. We're still going ahead with the new unit, though. This old thing is painfully slow by 2007 standards and this resurrection could be merely temporary. Still, it will provide a good third bedroom back-up when The Bride is using the home office on her workdays.
Spent a glorious weekend with a paintbrush in my hand, doing a long overdue job on the main garage doors as well as the back one. White paint on all three, coat one Saturday, coat two yesterday. Perfect weather for painting -- dry and not too hot.
Baseball is a funny game. With Jeff Weaver up against Josh Towers Saturday, we were expecting a slugfest. 17-12, or 13-8 -- something like that. Instead, these struggling pitchers provided a gem, Towers and the Blue Jays over Weaver and the Seattle Mariners, 1-0 in two hours, six minutes. Never assume.
Thursday, July 26:
Monday-Thursday, Monday-Thursday. Pretty lame for a daily blog. Sorry folks -- it's summertime and the livin' is easy!
The Detroit Tigers' pitching has gone south of late. The bullpen's been shaky all season but now the starters are in a slump. Good thing there's enough pop in the offence to steal some games, like last night's 13-9 affair in Chicago.
The Toronto Blue Jays have gone 5-and-1 since I buried them a week ago today and have jumped ahead of Minnesota in the wild-card standings. It's still too early to worry about how to eat crow, but -- just in case -- how do you eat crow??
Had to put Mandy the Wonder Pooch on the 15-disabled list yesterday. She was chasing a ball at Doggie Daycare and did a nasty number on her left hind knee -- the anterior cruciate ligament. So it's gonna be a lot of down time for her over the next couple of weeks and then we'll see if she needs surgery. At least we'll be on vacation to keep her company.
Sunday, July 29:
For an old-time Detroit guy like myself, I swear the Tiger bullpen is comprised of Bozo the Clown, Johnny Ginger, Sagebrush Shorty, Jingles, Poopdeck Paul, Cap'n Jolly, Soupy Sales and Milky the Clown. These guys can't get anybody out! I don't have the numbers to prove it, but I'll bet far more than a third of the Tigers' runs allowed this season have come after the sixth inning -- and far less than a third of their runs scored have come beyond the sixth. Not exactly a recipe for success. If the Tigers don't get any bullpen help before this week's trade deadline, then I wouldn't bet a plugged nickel on them making the playoffs this season.
We finally get a chance to see young William of New Jersey for the first time. He's almost eight months old already, but his parents are here in town and his aunt and uncle are having a big bar-b-q today for all of Joe & Julie's friends to finally meet and greet their son. Joe of course, is the world's biggest Mets fan, so I'm going to spend all afternoon whispering "Yankees rule!" in William's shell-pink ear!
Monday, July 30:
Well, that was a thrill! Yesterday featured a mini-reunion of the Indy gang -- and the first one featuring a new generation. At a bar-b-q, Jason & Teresa's 11-month old daughter met Joe & Julie's seven-month-old son for the first time. On top of everything else, I broke bread with my pal Don for the first time in years. I blame it on the wacky shifts we both endure but there's no legitimate reason for us to be out of the loop for so long. Speaking of wacky shifts, it's the early morning run for the upcoming week as we head towards vacation. Hope I can sleep in this heat!
Tuesday, July 31:
They may not recover from this one. A pair of two-run leads, one as late as the bottom of the eighth. A one-run lead in the ninth. A multitude of chances in extra innings. All for naught as Tampa Bay's Carl Crawford beat the Blue Jays with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the 11th. There are losses and there are losses but this one will stick to their ribs for awhile.
As for my Tigers, Jordan Tata -- in his first major league start -- showed the rest of the staff what a well-pitched ballgame looks like, as Detroit finally snapped its ugly losing streak with a 5-2 win at Oakland. About time.
