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Saturday, August 1:
August. And already the signs are there. I drove up to Newmarket last night and the sun was very low in the sky at 8:30. Ten minutes later it was gone. And when we head northeast to the cottage north of Montreal this month, pretty soon that 8:30 will become 7:30. It also won't be long before there are tinges of yellow on the leaves. August is the month that sees baseball's Intercounty League start its playoffs and it's the month of NFL pre-season games. But while its arrival means autumn is on the horizon, there is still plenty of summer to enjoy. And finally, finally, we're starting to see something resembling summer weather. In a week's time, the bride and I start a three-week vacation, much of which will be spent at the aforementioned cottage in the Laurentians, a place we haven't been to in awhile. It will be a "recharge the batteries" vacation, one I'm keenly looking forward to. And although the government is promising internet access to rural areas of Canada, it ain't there yet, so blog updates will be few and far between once we're there.
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Sunday, August 2:
Seven turnovers. A time-count violation on what would have been a game-winning 47-yard field goal attempt. As it was, the ensuing 57-yard try had the distance but hit the upright and bounced away. Yesterday's 13-12 loss by the Toronto Argonauts to Winnipeg was gift-wrapped. No angst, as the Argos aren't my team (I don't have one, as the CFL still operates without Ottawa). But it reminded me of another classic Argo loss to the Blue Bombers, this time in Winnipeg. I don't remember the final score or the date -- I'd guess early 1970s -- but the Bombers, down by one on the final play, kicked the ball into the end zone, hoping for a single point to escape with a tie (no overtime in those days). The Argos booted it out, the Bombers booted it back in whereupon the Toronto player fumbled, and Winnipeg recovered for a game-winning touchdown. The aroma from that one followed the team all the way home.
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Tuesday, August 4:
All right, I'm weird. And if you're a regular reader of this mess and haven't come to that conclusion, you will. As a kid, I was completely batty for the Detroit Tigers, ecstatic at victory, crushed by defeat. And one those defeats occurred a little more than 46 years ago, July 29, 1963. One of my favourite Tigers, catcher Dick Brown, had been dealt to Baltimore the previous winter. And so it was that in the bottom of the ninth that night, Mickey Lolich was about to close out a duel with the great Robin Roberts 1-0 on twin two-hitters. A gem. Lolich was given a run to work with in the top of the first inning and was on cruise control. So up steps Brown to pitch hit with one on and two out in the bottom of the ninth. Boom! A game-winning blast to end it -- 2-1 Baltimore in an hour, 54 minutes in front of just 4,199 at Memorial Stadium. Watching on TV at age 10, I didn't appreciate the pitching artistry that would have delighted me today, win or lose. It was just a game I angrily filed away in my tender, decade-old cranium, muttering to myself that someday Detroit will turn the tables on those rotten Orioles in much the same way. I only waited five years. Tommy Machick gave me that thrill at Tiger Stadium with a two-out, three-run homer in the ninth for an improbable 5-3 win over the Birds during The Year of the Tiger, '68. But Detroit lost the next three games of that weekend set, so I never considered the debt fully repaid. I do now with last night's game. The Orioles had a 5-0 lead off Justin Verlander at the Copa with just one out in the top of the first. The Tigers chipped away and eventually won it 6-5 on Clete Thomas' solo homer on a 1-2 pitch with two out in the ninth. Sweeeet. I have no idea how or why I recall these things when I can't remember two of three things the bride will send me to the store for. Yep. Weird.
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Friday, August 7:
The Blue Jays are honouring their 1992 and 1993 World Series championship teams tonight at the Rogers Centre against Baltimore. And they'll wear the white home jerseys from that era (which they should do on every Flashback Friday home game instead of the light blue road jerseys they don). Hopefully they'll get a great crowd but it's a shame it has to go head-to-head with the friendly Toronto FC is playing against soccer powerhouse Real Madrid just to the west. There was a time when this was a baseball town. Toronto ball fans spent a full decade and change being spoiled. Their heroes took part in their first-ever pennant race in 1983. The Jays were the only competition Detroit had in 1984. Toronto won the division in 1985, '89 and '91, lost by a whisker in '87 and were strong but not good enough in '86, '88 and '90. After 1993 came the strike and since then, the Jays haven't played a meaningful baseball game past Labour Day. And won't this year.
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Sunday, August 9:
Times do change. I'll always remember another Sunday, August 9, exactly 45 years ago (!) today. I was 11 years old and it was my second visit to Tiger Stadium. This time I was joined by my Pleasure Beach cottage playmates and some of the parents. There were 46,342 of us in the old ballpark and we were there two reasons: One, to see the Tigers take a pair from the Kansas City Athletics in a doubleheader and two, it was bat day. When was the last time you heard of a scheduled doubleheader and when was the last time you heard of bat day? All the kids in attendance received kid-sized Louisville Sluggers, genuine wood bats -- and the lucky ones were those whose bats were adorned by the signature of one of the Tigers -- Kaline, Cash or maybe Freehan (a Mickey Mantle wasn't a big deal for a Detroit crowd -- and I think mine was Harmon Killebrew). All three of those Tigers homered in the nightcap and Cash added another in the opener as the Tigers won 4-2 and 5-2. At one point, the public address announcer asked all of us hold our bats aloft. It looked like a stadium full of giant toothpicks. And it must have been murder for the parents. Every time the Tigers put a runner on base, we all started hammering the concrete floor with the end of the bats. It's a wonder the old place didn't collapse. One other memory from that day. It was the first year Charlie Finley donned his A's in green and gold. They wore the classic gold vests in the opener and grey ones in the nightcap. By the way, those bats were put to great use at the cottage. The old schoolhouse up the road on 18A highway -- class-free for the summer -- had a ready-made baseball diamond and we used the lumber to pound numerous baseballs over the fence and into the soybean fields.
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Tuesday, August 11:
We knew this one was coming but it doesn't make it any easier. We lost our friend Fern the other day after she went the full 12 rounds against cancer. We're comforted to know that she's now pain-free and resting easily. Fernie was our guest on our first-ever road trip with a new boat we had purchased in 1989. It was a weekend we'll never forget, full of fun, angst and misadventures. Fernie was full of life and no doubt she's engaging St. Peter over a glass of red wine as I write this. RIP Fernie.
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Thursday, August 13:
BROCKVILLE, ON -- After a June and July full of cool, wet weather,mid-August is finally producing hot, summer-like weather. And we're on vacation to enjoy it! A fluke. Last year, the summer was also cool and wet, something that actually followed us all the way to the U.S. South. But the long-range forecast looks promising for our time at the cottage in Quebec. Yippee!
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Saturday, August 15:
LAC-DES-SEIZE-ÎLES, PQ -- Thirty degrees, Celsius. Wall-to-wall sunshine:
Eat, drink, read, swim, drink. Repeat.
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Monday, August 17:
LAC-DES-SEIZE-ÎLES, PQ -- See above.
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Thursday, August 20
LAC-DES-SEIZE-ÎLES, PQ -- The weather was perfect, perfect, until Monday afternoon when the first rains came. Tuesday was pretty much a washout and then yesterday was clear but cooler. Still fine for swimming, though! It's been a blast with -- at one time -- eight of us from the bride's family sharing in the fun. Sunday night, our niece's husband Jim hauled out his 12-string and we warbled away through a number of tunes in front of a fire. And Mikey, Chrissie & Jim's little guy, showed that he's gonna be a pretty fair swimmer. He's got the kick and stroke down pat -- and he's not five years old yet! It was emotional as well, as we scattered some of my brother-in-law's ashes over the land and water. This, I think, was his favourite place in the world. It sure is one of mine.
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Saturday, August 22:
MONTREAL -- I made the short drive into the city to pick up few things, including a battery charger for the camera. I toyed with the idea of attending the Roughriders-Alouettes game at Molson Stadium, but scalpers wanted more than I was willing to pay. So I caught it on TV.
As always, Autoroute 15 is choked with construction. But it's amazing how quick a drive it is from the cottage to the city. An hour and you've already made it to Laval, just north of Montreal. Toronto cottagers must be green with envy.
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Sunday, August 23
LAC-DES-SEIZE-ÎLES, PQ -- I've seen lots of video from the tornados that roared though Ontario the other day. Holy Cats! One of the twisters hit an equestrian facility in Newmarket, just north, and I mean just north, of where we board our horses. Far too close for comfort!
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Wednesday, August 26:
What an incredible two weeks of weather at the cottage. I think we had all of two days of rain. Most of the time it was sunny and warn and the lake water was surprisingly comfortable throughout our stay, considering the coolness of June and July. We got to reconnect with family and old friends and at the same time, we wound down and recharged our batteries. We're still off until Monday, but I'm ready to resume work. It's been the perfect holiday at the perfect time.
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Friday, August 28
The fine folks who run the barn where we board the horses held a barbeque last night for friends and volunteers working next month's 12th and final stop on the 2009 KWPN-NA Keuring Tour. It's the third straight year Michelle and Roy have hosted this key event. What I often simply call "the barn" is actually an amazing facility that is home to their award-winning KWPN (Dutch Warmblood) breeding program. They also run Equine Systems, a company that provides quality equestrian equipment for World Cup events and the Olympic Games. Thankfully, the path of last week's tornado sliced northwest of their facility. They suffered no damage but it was certainly a close call.
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Sunday, August 30:
Well, that's it. Final day of a three-week vacation. It's been a superb holiday but it will come to a jarring close when the alarm clock goes off tomorrow at 4 a.m. for my five-to-noon shift.
Speaking of vacations, another lengthy one beckons in two months. After gathering up some time owed, I'm using a good chunk of my saved air miles to travel throughout November. The month-long excursion (Nov. 5-Dec. 5) will take me to places like Frankfurt, Prague, Singapore, Manila and Mumbai. Yes, I'll be missing the Grey Cup and the key month of college football (as I did in 2007) but you have to seize life when opportunities arise, right? And I'm going in style -- first class every step of the way (well, expect for the Buffalo-to-Washington jetBlue puddle jumps via NYC that I need to take). Can't wait!
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Monday, August 31
Maybe some guys can't handle a pennant race. Except Jarrod Washburn went 18-and-6 in 2002 and helped propel the Angels toward their one and only championship. Until it counted. In the World Series against the Giants, he went 0-and-2 with an earned-run-average of 9.31. This season, he was 8-and-6 with a sparkling 2.64 ERA for Seattle when the Tigers acquired him. In his one month with Detroit, including today's meltdown against the Rays, the lefty is 1-and-2 and 6.81. After coughing up six runs in the first inning today, he ended up pitching five and two-thirds before leaving to a chorus of boos. Washburn has had two good outings for the Tigers -- a no-decision, eight-inning shutout gem against Kansas City that Detroit won 1-0 on a ninth-inning Brandon Inge home run and a 5-3 win over the Halos when he struggled early but gutted it out. Time will tell if Washburn is going to a help of hindrance down the stretch. So far, the returns are less than promising.
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