New Job... but still an accountant

Today, I quit my job at Welch and Co. Although I have enjoyed my time there, it was a good time to move on. I was not necessarily looking to switch positions, but I ended up getting an offer that I could not refuse. It had to be an offer I couldn't refuse. Otherwise, I would have stayed on with Welch.

Obviously, I will not get into details on the offer, but I am grateful for the experiences I've had at Welch and I will not rule out a possible return to Welch. Albeit, the return will likely be at a date later in the future.

STARS! spangled banner

As an avid Ottawa Senators fan, I obviously had to watch the Sens recent pay-per-view against the Dallas Stars. Though the PPV had it's share of technical difficulties and the quality of the broadcast was certainly not worth the $10.99 we paid, I am glad I watched it.

Sure, the Sens won. Sure, I love watching hockey games. Sure, I am easily satisfied, but there was something that I learned that was really neat. During the singing of the American national anthem, the fans of the Dallas Stars will shout out "STARS!" every time it occurs in the anthem. It's a really neat thing to witness. Admittedly, I do not get to watch the Dallas Stars play too often. They played against teams in Western timezones and are often not available to watch in my area. However, this is the first time that I had heard the fans in Dallas do this. It was a little shocking.

This forces me to think of how this started. I mean, how do 20,000 people just decide to start shouting "Stars!" during the national anthem. It's like starting the "wave". How did this start? I mean, most people will barely clap during hockey games in their corporate seats. At Sens games, there will be some pubescent boys that will normally get up in the middle of the second period to try to get people to do the "wave". They usually fail. The fans KNOW how to do the "wave", but they don't really do it. So, how do you start everyone doing these things without them knowing what you are trying to accomplish?

I guess it's trying to solve the Caramilk mystery. How DO they get the caramel in the Caramilk bar? Nobody should know... just enjoy the mystery.

Things that "Grind my Gears"

In no particular order, these are things that I do not like:

1. I don't like people who wear costumes to the movie theatres. Fuck, could you be a bigger dork?
2. People that drive too fast or slow for the weather conditions. It's not that hard to get it right. Just stay out of the ditch and don't force anyone else to serve into it either.
3. The following sports teams: New York Yankees, New England Patriots, Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
4. Mayonaise on French Fries. Just fucking gross.
5. People that push ahead to get on the bus. We're all going to be standing anyways.
6. People that cut in line at the bar. No respect for other people that are currently losing their buzz.
7. Pineapple on pizza. Do pineapples grow in Italy? Then, why the fuck do you put pineapple on pizza?
8. People that give you a "flour" shower. I am going to kick some ass one day.
9. Why does Vanna White still have a job?? The puzzle is now digital.
10. The guy that cancelled "ALF". By far, it was the best show of the 80's.

Update...

If you didn't know, I failed my last exam of trying to become a Chartered Accountant. Obviously, I am very disappointed, but I am also very relieved to know what to expect in the next year. It's going to be a bitch to study again, but this is only going to make me hungrier to pass this time around. I'm not going to make excuses for why I didn't pass, but I know that I will be ready the next time.

In a previous post, I may have sounded a little discouraged about the UFE process. (I guess with good reason.) The point of the post was to highlight the fact that I just really wanted some answers. I wanted to be done. I didn't want to deal with waiting anymore.

So, why the optimism for the next go round?

I have a couple of reasons. First, some of the smartest people at my firm have failed this exam. For people that never write this thing, it's not a test of memory or intelligence. Anyways, I was in the office the other day and I received some very comforting messages from my co-workers. If they will believe in me, I can certainly believe in me.

That brings me to my next point.

I have failed things before. I may underestimate some things the first time and get burned. Take baseball for example. I like to think that I am a natural athlete. I always did well in sports growing up. I thought that I could play baseball with middle-aged men that may have been playing a few years. In my first year of ball, I was a lowsy baseball player. I don't recall one extra-base hit. That is terrible. This year, although not exactly where I want to be, I had hit a huge and timely triple in the final game of the playoffs. I ended up being the winning run. Although one hit does not make a season, I had actually hit more extra base hits than singles. I definetely came back with a little bit of extra game.

Curling offers another example of failure. I had been a skip for junior provincial playdowns. In one year, we had made it to the finals of our zone and we gave up 5 points in the first end. We had prepared so much and came away with so little. We could not close the gap. Two years later, we make it to the finals again. This time, we had given up 5 points in the first end again. This time we were able to come back and win the game because we had learned something. Failure is an opportunity to learn more. We learned that failure happens, but it doesn't have to happen twice if you don't want it to. You just need to learn something from it.

My exam even has a wikipedia link...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uniform_Final_Evaluation

Drinkin' Time

Funny shit...

Battle at Kruger

This could be one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen. This is real stuff, no rehearsal,no setup, 100% natural. It's worth watching the whole thing even though it takes awhile.

So close...

On Friday, I will finally receive the results for an exam I wrote way back in September. To be honest, I can't wait to find out. I think I am prepared to receive the news, good or bad. It's like the flu. You hate waiting for it, but it will feel so much better when it's all over. The only problem is that I cannot just stick my finger down my throat to speed up the process. I have to wait and sweat this one out. It's one of the worst feelings in the world.

I do not feel good about my chances of passing, so when you think about your chances it's like eating some food that you just know you won't be able to keep down. It's helplessness. It sucks because there is nothing I can do or say that would change things. The exam is not forgiving. If I've screwed up, there's nothing I can do for another year.

Before I go dye my hair black and become atheist, I want to say that I am just preparing for the worst. I will be disappointed, but I will be back to my normal self very quickly. It's one of the benefits of thinking negatively. This is the only exam I've ever wrote that has made me feel this way. It's probably one of the toughest things that I will have to ever do. It feels strange to write that, and probably more difficult for you to understand, but where so many of my decisions are dependent on this one exam, it's the reality.

Trade rumors

The latest Sens rumor that I have heard involves "Sugar" Ray Emery. He is the "bad boy" of the Ottawa Senators and it will be interesting to see if the Sens do actually move him.

The rumor shakes down to Anze Kopitar and Jason Labarbera coming to the Senators in exchange for Emery, Josh Hennessey, Ilya Zubov, and Patrick Eaves going to the Los Angeles Kings.

I doubt that this deal will develop as I cannot see the Kings willing to move Kopitar. Kopitar has good size and excellent hands that is a rare find in today's NHL. The Kings seem desperate for a goaltender and "Sugar" Ray may be the goalie that they covet the most of available goaltenders, so who knows?

The Sens would be giving up some quality prospects in Hennessey and Zubov. Zubov has the offensive capabilities to be a top 6 forward in the NHL, but his avoidance of getting dirty along the boards may not sit too well with Sens GM Bryan Murray. Hennessey is a Bryan Murray type of guy, but if Murray can get Kopitar, he should probably make the deal.

I see this deal working too well in favour of the Senators. That being said, I am unsure of the contract situations of all of these players except for Emery. Emery, who signed a big deal this past summer, has made himself expendable by getting injured and getting into the news for all of the wrong reasons. Unfortunately, Ottawa is a hockey town and the margin for error is slim at best, so the fact that Gerber has been playing so well has made trading Emery an option.

The Sens have Brian Elliot and will have Jason Labarbera to backup Gerber. Further down the depth chart is Jeff Glass, a goaltender that led Canada to a Gold medal in the World Junior Championships, not bad for the 4th guy in your depth chart. If I was the Sens, I would pull the trigger on this deal. It appears though that it is the LA Kings that would be the ones that would be pulling the trigger. I just hope that they do decide that they are desperate for some goaltending.

3 weeks and counting

Okay. It's 2 weeks and 6 days when I find out my results for the UFE. In case you didn't know, I am attempting to become a chartered accountant and the UFE is the final examination of the process. I've already passed 2 exams and I get my results for the UFE on Nov. 30.

On a related, but slighlty off-topic note, I will be going for a "Pre-results" party. Here, I will get so drunk on Nov. 29, I will not feel the pain or pleasure of my results on Nov. 30. Please feel free to join the party and help me get drunk.

Now, I hadn't really been thinking about the results for a long time. I wrote the exam in September and the results are the end of November, so it was hard to be worried during September and October. The results just seemed so far away. Now, when November came, I did not immediately get nervous. It took a couple people to ask me about the exam and a co-writer to mention that they were starting to get nervous.

I had also received, in the mail, a summary of the hours I had completed and the expected date of my experience requirement completion. All of these things have reminded me that the results are soon approaching and it's almost time to worry.

For the record, I will be surprised if I passed. For my second exam, I felt relatively confident in my performance to know that I had probably passed, and I did. This final exam has left me in the dark. The problem that makes this exam pretty nerveracking is the fact that I get a raise if I pass. In addition, if I pass, it means that I do not have to use my vacation days next year in order to study. The results of this exam then ultimately impacts on what I am going to do in the next year.

I would like to take a trip to Europe. I have been to the Dominican twice and Cancun, Mexico once and would like to have a "different" experience. In addition, I need a new car. I drive a 1997 Plymouth Neon. It's a piece of garbage. Finally, I want to move out of my parents house. I love my parents, but Stittsville is no longer my "home". Stittsville has changed so much over the years that I barely recognize it. Most of my friends have grown up and moved out. I would like to have the opportunity to move downtown.

Pacific Division Preview

1st - San Jose
2nd - Los Angeles
3rd - Anaheim
4th - Dallas
5th - Phoenix

San Jose - Led by Joe Thornton, this team has the make-up of a Stanley Cup contender. This team was able to keep Patrick Marleau during the off-season and this helps with the team's overall depth. Michalek will be a player to keep an eye on.

Los Angeles - Not since the days of Wayne Gretzky has this team looked so good. Anze Kopitar is an underated player, but with Cammilari on his wing, him and his team should break-out this year. This team has a good mix of youth and experience. Jack Johnson, a rookie, will have veteran Rob Blake to learn from. This team will look good on some nights, but will look bad on others. The key will be whether Bernier will be able to shoulder the bulk of the goaltending duties.

Anaheim - Stanley Cup hangover. Last year, the previous Stanley Cup finalists didn't even make the playoffs. Anaheim will have the same problems. I like the core of this team, but with the loss of Niedermayer and Selanne, this team will not be as dominant as last year. If Anaheim makes the playoffs, they will be a dangerous team because they are built for long playoff runs. Getlaf, a player I once despised for being arrogant and cocky, is starting to win me over and will probably have a big year.

Dallas - This team is fairly solid, but my gut says they will stink. Turco has never been the goalie that he was supposed to be. This team will be battling hard to make the playoffs as there are some really good teams in the western conference.

Phoenix - This is a joke of a franchise. Without Gretzky, this team would have moved, revamped their roster, begin to rebuild, or something. My prediction is that this team moves to Vegas in the next couple of years to satisfy Janet Gretzky's gambling needs. Hockey will not last in the desert, and Gretzky should get out of there to keep some of his previously earned respect.

Northwest Division Preview

1st - Colorado
2nd - Minnesota
3rd - Calgary
4th - Vancouver
5th - Edmonton

Colorado - Okay. I may be a little biased from the game last night, but the Avs look pretty good. Statsny was unreal last night getting a hat trick against the Dallas Stars. He plays on the second line. Wolski, Sakic and Smyth make a formidable first line, and I expect that this team will outperform last year's result.

Minnesota - This is a good team, but not a great team. Gaborik needs to stay healthy if this team wants to be really competitive for the division crown, but it may be difficult considering Gaborik's history.

Calgary - The Flames will perform similarly to last year. Phaneuf is only getting better, but other teams in the conference have got some good young talent as well. The Flames are a solid team, but I can't consider them upper-echelon. They will battle for a playoff spot.

Vancouver - Last year, Vancouver's saving grace was Roberto Luongo, and this year is no different. Luongo is amazing, but the rest of the Canucks are mediocre. Besides Luongo, the closest player to an All-Star is Rory Fitzpatrick. The Sedins are good, but they cannot carry this team. I expect Vancouver to trade Naslund at the deadline in order to get some prospects.

Edmonton - Brian Burke may be happy to see the Oilers here. After the Dustin Penner debacle and the Vanek offer sheet, there are probably a lot of GM's that hate this team. There are a couple of guys on Edmonton that should be fun to watch though. Sam Gagner should be an interesting one. Overall, this team fell apart with the loss of Ryan Smyth. I believe that they have not replaced him yet and Colorado is now a better team for it.

Central Division Preview

I realize that the season has already started, but I thought it's better late than never.

Central Division
1st - Detroit
2nd - Nashville
3rd - St. Louis
4th - Chicago
5th - Columbus

Detroit - This team may be a Stanley Cup favourite. This team is a competitive team nearly every year, and this year is no exception. The Red Wings continue to draft quality young players in the late rounds, and Chris Chelios and Dominek Hasek do not seem to age. I would expect them to win in this weak division.

Nashville - This is still a solid team. Last year, they made a big push to win the cup by acquiring Peter Forsberg at the deadline. Forsberg is now gone and so are a couple of other key players. I'm a big fan of Shea Weber and expect him to have a stand-out year.

St. Louis - The young guys on this team are nearly ready to take this team back into the playoffs. Stempniak, Johnston, Perron are really good. This team should be improved from last year.

Chicago - This is a team that excites me. Their abudence of young and talent is incredible. The question is that whether or not they are mature enough to do well enough to make the playoffs. Khabibulin should be solid in net. Guys like Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrooke anchor the defence. Hopefully, guys like Samsonov, Havlat, and Lang can stay healthy and to a level of playing that they are comfortable with. Toews and Kane could be co-finalists for rookie of the year.

Columbus - I like Rick Nash. That is all. Columbus should move to Winnipeg.

Eastern Conference

1st - Ottawa
2nd - Pittsburgh
3rd - Washington
4th - New York Rangers
5th - Buffalo
6th - Philadelphia
7th - Toronto
8th - New Jersey
9th - Tampa Bay
10th - Montreal
11th- Carolina
12th- Boston
13th- New York Islanders
14th- Atlanta
15th- Florida

Southeast

This will be the worst division in hockey this year. There will probably be only one or two teams from this division that will make the playoffs. Here is how I see the standings:

1st - Washington
2nd - Tampa Bay
3rd - Carolina
4th - Atlanta
5th - Florida

Washington - I have picked this team to finish first, but that doesn't mean I think they will be impressive. Granted, they will look impressive as the Capitals have some of the most exciting young players in the game. Backstrom, Semin and Ovechkin will be tough for teams to contain. The Caps have added forward Michael Nylander from the Rangers in the off-season and he adds depth to the Caps forwards lines. The Caps don't have the goaltending or the team defence to make a strong case for the playoffs.

Tampa Bay - I love Vincent Lecalvalier, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards. Unfortunately, there isn't much else to love about the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is one of the poorest defensive teams in the league. With a pre-season injury to top-defenceman Dan Boyle, the Lightning will have a hard time being much better than they were last year.

Carolina - Last year, this team got hurt by some key injuries. This is my wildcard team. I believe that Carolina can win this division as this is a weak division, but it will be interesting to see if Carolina can come back from a disasterous season last year after making the playoffs the year before. Eric Stall needs a big year. Erik Cole should help this team tremendously. Before I move them up in my rankings, I need more evidence that the old Canes are back.

Florida - I like players like Boumeester, Weiss and Horton. These guys are decent hockey players but they will not be able to take this team very far. This team was raped in the Roberto Luongo deal. The key player that they were supposed to get in return never played a game (Todd Bertuzzi). Jacques Martin hasn't been an effective coach in many years, and it begs the question whether the game has passed him by. His defence first philosophy worked wonders in Ottawa before the lockout, but since has failed miserably. The Panthers could be the worst team in the league this year.

Atlantic Division Preview

This could be a very interesting division this year to watch. It may be the most difficult division to predict. My picks are:

1st - Pittsburgh
2nd - New York Rangers
3rd - Philadelphia
4th - New Jersey
5th - New York Islanders

Pittsburgh - This is a team that is ready to tear the league apart. This is a highly explosive team that will embarass some teams. Sidney Crosby, the most dynamic player in the NHL, will lead the charge. With a wealth of youth and a mix of veteran leadership, this team will be an offensive juggernaut.

New York Rangers - I really like the Rangers. They looked pretty impressive last spring in the playoffs when they were heavy underdogs against the Sabres. The Rangers live and die with the willingness of Jaromir Jagr to perform. It will be interesting to see if the addition of Russian prospect Alexei Cherapanov will have much of an impact. He could be a sleeper pick in hockey pools if he gets put on a top line.

Philadelphia - This is by far the most improved team from last year. Last year, they finished dead last in the league, but they ended up signing the biggest free agents on the market. I would expect Philadelphia to come out slow this year, but make a push at the end of the season. There are a lot of new faces and they will need to adapt to a different style of play. Gagne and Briere could become one of the deadliest pairs in hockey.

New Jersey - I really don't like New Jersey's chances this year especially with the loss of Scott Gomez. New Jersey's saving grace is the fact they hired Brent Sutter. This man is a winner. He has taken team Canada to various tournaments and has yet to lose a game. With young guns like Zajak and Parise, Sutter will be the perfect coach for these up-and-comers.

New York Islanders - This team usually stinks and this year is no exception. I think Ted Nolan will make this team overachieve again this year, but that is not saying too much. The Islanders needed to keep Ryan Smtyh and they need to start drafting players a lot better. I'm not going to expect too much from this team. They lost 40-goal scorer, Jason Blake, to the Leafs. They did not get better in the off-season, whereas, teams below them in the standings got significantly better.

From Blue to Green

Traditionally, I have voted Conservative. Whether it's federal, provincial or municipal, I generally vote for fiscally conservative politicians. In this sense, I have not changed. I believe that Canada operates most efficiently with consumers being able to spend their money freely. When government interferes, generally, I believe Canada is worse-off. The government represents an inefficiency that inherantly inhibits our effectiveness of social programs. Granted, there are programs that need to be managed (ie. healthcare), but the programs should be minimal.

Why the hell am I changing my vote to the Green Party of Ontario?

First, I do not like the conservative policy on creating a new system of education. This system will incorporate religion further into our education. For the last 30 or 40 years, there has been a shift to remove religion from education in society. I see the conservative policy as a huge step backwards. For the risk that I am sounding like a bigot, I want to make it clear that I am not against any specific religion, or religion in general. I believe people have a right to practice their religion. I just do not believe that there is necessarily a point in segregating our public school system even further in order to accomomodate different religious beliefs. In fact, I do not like our current system where there is essentially a Catholic board and a public board.

This segregation is intended to promote religious equality. I believe the most "equal" system is a system that does not promote religion in schools. I mean this on a macro level. I don't think it's a good use of taxpayer's money to build two separate schools for two neighbours who are only separated by the beliefs of their parents. There is no reason why they cannot share the same roof, and practice their religion within the same building. If these two neighbours were far enough away from the school, two buses would be needed. There are duplications of costs in the current system with the two major school boards, and there will be a ridiculous amount of incremental costs with the addition of other major religions. This is terribly inefficient and pointless.

Therefore, I cannot vote for the conservatives. To be honest, I have not researched their entire platform, but my fundamental opposition to their education plan is enough to consider the other parties.

Similarly, I cannot vote for the NDP. There have been times when the NDP has appealed to me because of their liberal social policies. However, it is usually their fiscal platform that turns me off. In this case, it is their minimum-wage policy that is turning me off. They want to increase the minimum wage to $10 per hour. This is a short-term solution with long-term detriments to society. I do not want to get into the economics of this policy, but wish to simply express my displeasure to the policy. For any individual that believes increasing the minimum wage will benefit society, I would recommend picking up an economics textbook.

For the Liberals, I believe they've been doing a decent job. There are quite a few things that I have disagreed with in their previous mandate, and there are some things in their platform that I do not support, but, in general, there is nothing that I am fundamentally opposed to. I want to make this clear because I do not want to make an argument for the Green party with the impression that they are the lesser of all of the evils. There are policies that I generally believe in.

First of all, despite common misconceptions, the Green party is generally a fiscally conservative party. In this sense, they have always appealed to me. Depending on the leader, their focus is sometimes too liberal than conservative for my liking, but they are usually not too far off. After reading their economic policy for this election, I like their direction. They have promoted tax relief for workers, and they have decided to shift the tax burden in other areas. They have provided for specific tax shifting, so that people can realize economic prosperity, but remain responsible to our planet. As described on their website, "pay for what you burn, not what you earn" describes a tax system that I am in favour of. Again, being somewhat of an amateur economist, I prefer consumption taxes over income taxes and I won't go into the details, but will simply say that this is good for Canada both economically and environmentally.

Therefore, I think this time I will vote Green.

Nick Kypreos

I've never liked his commentary and last night was no exception. The hot topic tonight is the suspension of Maple Leafs' forward Mark Bell. Bell was suspended 15 games for his "off-ice" conduct which included impaired driving.



Kypreos felt that this suspension was unwarranted. He argued that there are only two reasons that you would suspend a guy. First, to make a guy pay a price and, second, to make a guy change his behaviour. He argued that Bell has already served a price, and a big one to boot. Bell will have to serve 6 months in jail once the NHL season is over. He also had to attend the NHL's substance abuse program.

As for his second point, he argued to say that there is no point in trying to change the behaviour of Mark Bell. Mark Bell has become a clean, sober and respectable individual. Kypreos is obviously upset with Gary Bettman, the NHL's commissioner, for more than just this issue. Kypreos mentions that Bettman is simply getting on the get-tough bandwagon. Roger Goodell of the NFL has had to suspend Michael Vick for dog-fighting charges and Adam "Pac-man" Jones for "making it rain".

Bettman is trying to set an example for the rest of the league. That is also another reasont to suspend a guy. There should be no tolerance in the NHL for the behaviour of Mark Bell or anyone that even thinks that this may be a good idea. Drinking and driving is not cool. Mark Bell should be thankful that he is allowed to play in the NHL.

The most frustrating part of Kypreos' comments had to stem from the reference to the Dany Heatley scenario. Since Dany Heatley killed a man with his driving and he got no suspension, Mark Bell should not have received a suspension. This is absolutely false. First, Dany Heatley was not drunk behind the wheel. Although his actions were idiotic and perhaps warranted a mild suspension, similar to Mark Bell's, I believe that Bell's actions were deliberate and warrants punishment.

I get very frustrated with Nick Kypreos as he is often on the side of the Leafs and the players association. His arguments are often thoughtless and selfish. This is another scenario that ensures that I quickly change the channel and watch hockey guys with no history of severe concussions.

Northeast Division Preview

Like most hockey fans, I feel the contant urge to share my opinions about the game. Without wasting any time, I present to you, the reader, my predictions for the Northeast Division in hockey.

1st - Ottawa
2nd - Buffalo
3rd - Toronto
4th - Montreal
5th - Boston

Ottawa - Stanley Cup finalists this past season, you may think I am being slightly biased and taking the easy way out. The Sens added more depth at D, but at the same time lost some key forwards. Mike Comrie and Peter Schaefer were key players for the Senatores, Comrie for his powerplay, and Schaefer for his penalty killing abilities. The Sens will need their young players to step it up this year. Last year, the Sens were counting on Alexei Kaigarodov, but that experiment failed, so its even more critical that the Sens draft picks to be successful. If the rumors are true about Peter Forsberg, look for this team to make another long cup run.

Buffalo - Despite losing its two co-captains, Briere and Drury, I still believe this team has the depth to be successful. If Afinogenov and Connolly can remain healthy, the Sabres are going to still be really tough to beat. With Ryan Miller between the pipes a good puck-moving defencemen, I expect the Sabres to hang in tough with the Senators for the division title.

Toronto - As much as I enjoy seeing the Leafs lose, I don't see them as a poorer team than Montreal or Boston. The Leafs grabbed 40-goal scorer Jason Blake. Although he's not a saviour, he is a 40-goal scorer. He should take at least some of the pressure off of Mats Sundin. The Leafs had some critical injuries last year that might have given them enough of a boost to make the playoffs if they happend to be healthy. I do not expect to see great things from the Leafs this year, and a playoff berth will be a struggle.

Montreal - This is a funny team to analyze. At a first glance, they've gotten rid of Sheldon Souray, their top Powerplay guy. Last year, it was the Powerplay that got the Canadiens a shot at making the playoffs. It was their 5 on 5 play that kept them out. Souray was a huge liability on defence, and his departure should be a welcomed fact because he was a minus -28. However, Montreal does not seem to have the same depth at forward or defence as the Leafs, so I cannot put them ahead of them. Montreal is a young team and I would expect them to make a push later on in the season, but still failing to make the playoffs.

Boston - Boston, once my favourite, might be this year's laughing stock of a team. They went out to get Manny Fernandez to help solidify its goaltending, but its the lack of team defence that will sink this team to the bottom. Zdeno Chara is going to wear out. His physical attributes are astonishing, but are only effective when he serves as a complementary role. There is no way that he can shoulder the whole load. Pronger, of similar stature, was effective for Anaheim because he was a supporting cast member. You may have argued that Pronger carried the Oilers to the cup finals, which is true, but I don't think he could have done that if he had carried them to anything more that the 8th place seed they were going into the playoffs. Pronger and Chara are only effective for a couple of months by themselves. They are great because they can do that, but the human body has its limits.

CFL back to Ottawa???

On labour day, the CFL holds "traditional" football games where every year the same two teams will play against each other. I started to watch some of the Ti-Cats and Argos game when I thought that it was about time for the CFL to try to make another comeback to Ottawa.

First of all, Ottawa should have a football team. Mismanaged for years, the franchise was consistently doomed to a last place finish. They hadn't had an over .500 season in the last 15 years when they did exist. That is a recipe for a disaster. It would be nice if a team could bring in some extra revenues with the help of hosting a couple of extra playoff games. They rarely made the playoffs and they became the laughing stock of the league.

I was a season-ticket holder for one season. In that season, two seats cost about $400 for the season. In the next year, the Renegades were slated to host the Grey Cup. They asked for $300 per season-ticket renewal and $200 for the ticket to the grey cup game. It would have cost me $1,000 just to have the same tickets I had the year before. Absolutely ridiculous, I opted not to renew my season tickets. I had even decided to quit going to the games because they offended me by requesting that I renew my tickets before the current season had even ended. I was a poor student. I should have an opportunity to renew my seats at my discretion. They threatened to give my seats away, but I was left with no choice as it was virtually impossible for me to warrant those kind of expenses when I had tuition to save up for.

Needless to say, after a failed attempt to bring in more fans with a Mardi-Gras promotion, the Renegades were forced to quit the CFL. Their wonderful public relations and their poor performance on the field certainly killed any hopes of sustainable survival. In fact, it's fairly difficult to justify the return of the CFL in Ottawa based on the history of football in Ottawa.

What is different? There has to be something that has changed since the folding of the franchise to warrant its revival, no? Sadly, I believe that the change has occurred with the failure of the Ottawa Lynx. Thats two semi-professional leagues that have failed in Ottawa. Ottawa must be a bad sports town.

The fans in Ottawa are good fans. They simply have standards. The fans in Ottawa have supported the Sens, and more impressively, they have supported the Olympiques and the 67's like no other city has. The 67's are one of the most successful franchises in all of amateur sport. The Sens are being supported by more and more fans in Ottawa. The Sens are still a young team and hockey fans tend to be loyal. There are new generations of fans that are growing up to love the game, and more importantly the Senators.

Is it a winter thing? Ottawa seems to only be able to support winter sports. Is it possible that Ottawa workers just go to the cottage and play golf all of the time, so they do not have the time to go to sporting events in the summer? I think this is a myth. I think the parking situation for the Lynx was a major pitfall of the Lynx (there are also very few buses that go to Lynx stadium). I also believe that the Renegades were mismanaged.

Now that the Lynx are gone, there could be one major player on Ottawa sports Radio in the summertime. It could be a new CFL franchise. Frank Clair stadium is a wonderfully located facility and it makes for a wonderful night out on the town. Ottawa has filled that stadium for the Renegades before, and they can do it again. They just need the right people to run the show. The CFL was right when it decided not to allow beer-maker Frank D'Angelo run the team. He seems too much of an attention grabber, much like the Gliebermanns. Just because you can sell beer cheaply doesn't necessarily qualify you to run a CFL franchise.

The CFL is doing the right thing by waiting things out to determine who the next franchise owner should be. The ideal candidate would be someone like Eugene Melnyk, the current owner of the Senators. He has created some goodwill for himself and could do cross-marketing for the Sens and Renegades. He will not canabalize his sales as the two products wouldn't be competing against one another. The only problem is that Eugene likely has too much money. A CFL franchise wouldn't be worth his time. The Sens came at a discount and a building. The Renegades come with a hope of making money, not a guarantee.

Hopefully, in the next couple of years, there will be someone that will be able to run the franchise properly. This is all, of course, contingent of the lease that the city signs, pricing points, and the franchise fee that the CFL is demanding. My point here is to not consider the finances directly this time, but to consider the qualitative and marketing opportunities that now exist. The conditions have changed and the potential of a CFL franchise moving back to Ottawa is now greater, not worse as the Ottawa Lynx have moved.

The Game by Ken Dryden

Currently, I am reading a book. Yes, I am reading a book. This is my second novel this year, and the second novel since about high school. Even then, I am not sure that I finished any in high school. I do, however, read the newspaper daily, but it was my patience that was too short to read any books.

While in Toronto, I finished Paddy Mitchell's autobiography. I really enjoyed it and I thought that I might have been missing out when it came to reading books. On my second trip to Toronto, I ventured into a book store. I thought I might find a couple of titles that might spark my interest.

I picked out two books. By purchasing, I thought that would give me more incentive to read the books. I picked out a book about hockey and a book about politics (the governator to be exact). I am reading Ken Dryden's, "The Game" right now. I am about halfway through and noticing a few things about the types of players that exist.

The first type of player is Larry Robinson. In Ken's book, Robinson's attributes are such that he is an intimidation prescence without ever fighting. Robinson was more feared because he didn't fight, letting the imagination of his opponents cause the root of that fear. Robinson was a physical player that helped the Canadiens dominates in the 1960s.

The parallel I want to make is the resemblance in my mind to Chris Phillips. This is a guy that I don't ever recall seeing fighting. He is a strong and dominant player and I often make fun of him because he seems like an old man. Not old, as in beyond his prime, but old like he is respected and dominate presence on the ice. I noticed, when there is shoving, pushing and face-washing that occurs in scrambles, Chris is able to control the situation quickly. He grabs a man and the man relinquishes his anger, knowing that his attempts to release his anger against Chris would be fruitless.

Chris' talents are truly underated. Like Robinson, it took many years for people to realize his talents. His regular seasons have been boring. He seldom makes spectactular plays and receives points. On the other hand, more importantly, he rarely makes a mistake. He makes the others around him better. When it matters the most, Chris demonstrates excellence in the playoffs. He is more physical, jumps into the rush more often, and remains a rock on defence. He has scored some of the biggest goals in Sens history. (ie. Game 5 against Jersey in 2002)

Chris used to play along Zdeno Chara. Chara, a menacing, towering force, was considered a Norris trophy (best defenceman) candidate in his time in Ottawa. He subsequently moved to Boston; and ,although a top defenceman in the league, he has not yet performed to the capabilities he showed in Ottawa.

Next, Chris played with Anton Volchenkov. A slow-skating, defensive-minded player, Volchenkov had a break-out year while playing with Chris Phillips. There were many people that felt that Volchenkov should be given an award for his defensive skills. The Norris trophy currently rewards, generally, offensive minded defencemen. The tie-breaker is usually the offensive guy that shows that he is capable defensively. There is no award for an ivory (99 3/4% pure) defenceman.

In two years, two "Norris worthy" candidates that played with Phillips. It could be a huge coincidence, but I personally think it speaks volumes about Phillips. Often, people mention the fact that Crosby makes people around him better. They seldom mention that a defenceman will make his partner better. Chris does that. I'm hoping that this year Chris will be considered for the award.

Norm MacDonald - Great Carleton Grad?

For those unaware, Norm MacDonald is a comedic genious. In fact, comedy central named him one of the 100 most funny stand-up comedians of all time (#83). He was a cast member of Saturday Night Live, hosted the Norm show, and created one of my favourite movies of all-time, "Dirty Work".

I remember watching David Letterman one night and watching Norm MacDonald. To my surprise, he talked about his experience at the "Panda Games" in Ottawa. You see, back before I went to Carleton University, Carleton actually had a football team ,and an annual "Panda Games" would be held at Frank Clair Stadium.

The Raven's football team had disbanded in 1998, but Norm recounts a time when the rivalry between Ottawa U. and Carleton U. was very heated. It resulted in a contest at Frank Clair where fans from both schools would come and party. Norm, being on the David Letterman show, self-censored himself to describe how incredibly high he got off of "beer" (referring to pot instead of beer).

This is the first time I found out that Norm lived in Ottawa at any point, let alone attending my alma matter. Obviously, any time you find out that someone famous attends your school, you are somewhat intrigued by that fact. With a little bit of research, I found out that Norm attended Carleton's math program. Not as surprisingly, Norm had also attended Algonquin College and completed a diploma in broadcasting.

Norm passed up a career in math and decided to pursue show business. He went on to become the host of "Weekend update", a very popular skit on Saturday Night Live. His career success has made me wonder why he has not yet been nominated for an honorary degree from Carleton University.

First of all, most of these awards are given to academics. Great research and papers are usually the root cause of someone receiving an honorary degree from a post-secondary institution. There is usually pretige and honour that comes with these degrees. However, these degrees represent accomplishment and not necessarily academic accomplishment. Therefore, I believe that Norm qualifies.

For those that believe that an actor shouldn't be given an honorary degree, Dan Akroyd has received a special mention that he was a Carleton degree recipiant. Carleton is proud of the fact that Dan Akroyd went to their school, so they should be proud of Norm MacDonald too. From what I hear from people in Kingston, Akroyd is a pervert. He hits on hits more than half his age at the bar in hopes that they want to fool around with a ghostbuster.

Granted, Norm MacDonald hasn't done much lately. He's been playing a lot of professional poker ever since some of his shows got cancelled. This fact should not disqualify his accomplishments in his career, so hopefully Carleton will recognize this fact and give Norm MacDonald an honorary degree.

Disaster in Blackburn

There are two games to report today between the Mighty A's of Blackburn and the Blackburn Ball Bangers. First, before the report, a serious message of well-being goes out to the Ball Bangers' third baseman (Derek?). The third baseman was seriously cut across the wrist during last night's game on an innocent looking play at third base. He was rushed to a medical clinic, and we hope for his speedy recovery. (Initial reports have indicated that there should be no nerve damage and the bleeding was limited.)

The second game between the A's and Ball Bangers was called due to the fact that the Ball Bangers no longer had enough players to continue. Their injury forced the stoppage of play in the 4th inning with the A's holding a solid 6-0 game. Will Lowe had started a gem, and Eric "Pedro" Sanchez had hit a dinger. Unfortunately, their performances will not be recognized as the game never became official. The BMFL will have to review its constitution to see if the game can be replayed, or that the game is defaulted to the A's.

The first game was a well fought battle. With a final score of 5-1, the A's never got to put away the Ball Bangers. The A's started the game really aggressive on the base pads. Speedster Dave Millette was able to use his legs to wheel quickly around the bases on some defensive miscues by the Ball Bangers. Dave managed to score before the 2nd batter was finished at the plate, despite only receiving a single himself.

Despite the poor denfensive start, the Ball Bangers were able to keep the A's bats quiet through most of the night. Without aggressive base running later on in the game, the A's may have struggled to even reach five runs. The A's have earned nearly 8 runs per game this season, and a commendable performance was rendered by Derek Dumond. Derek managed to hold off the A's heavy lumber during his first start of the season. Derek pitched a solid 5 innings.

The A's now prepare for the annual Blackburn tournament. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend or report on this tournament as I will be in Toronto for a prep course. I'm sure the A's will do fine and hopefully they can improve on last year's performance.

Doping in sports

In light of Barry Bonds homerun record chase, this post is dedicated to the use of performance enhancing drugs. There is tons of speculation around Barry and his alledged "cheating". There's no question that Barry has used some sort of performance enhancer. If you don't believe he is guilty, then, you are probably one of those that thinks that OJ Simpson is innocent as well. There is no possible way that Barry Bonds would have grown so dramatically during his career. He went from a lean 185 pounds when he broke into the league to 228 now. Although not impossible to gain that amount of weight, Barry is linked to BALCO, an organization linked to steroid and other performance enhancing drugs. His hand was caught in the cookie jar and his face is covered in chocolate. I wonder who's been stealing the cookies?

Despite my belief that Barry is a cheater, I believe he is getting a bad rap. He is surely not the only individual in baseball that cheats. During last years' playoffs, Kenny Rogers was pretty much caught red-handed for using pine tar to help him pitch. There are other individuals in baseball that have been caught using performance enhancers. In little league, teams lie about their players ages to help them win. Alfonso Soriano, a Texas Ranger outfielder, became 2 years older after a trade from the Yankees. In baseball, teams constantly try to steal signs in order to be successful. Baseball is a game of cheaters. Barry is just playing by the unwritten rules.

Barry deserves recognition for his accomplishments. He is not getting the respect he deserves because of his bad reputation with the media. Often, Barry is considered a jerk or an asshole because he expresses his true opinion to the media. Therefore, Barry is portrayed as a villain and has not been getting the hype his record breaking attempts deserve. Ty Cobb was a huge racist yet he managed to make it to the hall of fame without the same media scrutiny. Barry Bonds deserves better treatment than a racist.

I'm not trying to dump on baseball. There are other sports where performance enhancers are an issue. The tour de France is a classic example. Since the retirement of Lance Armstrong, the tour has been plagued with doping scandals. After Lance's 7 consecutive victories, one has to question the legitimacy of the testing procedures during that period. Lance provided the tour with much needed American support. American fans, and sponsorship money, were drawn to the sport after Lance's incredible story. His recovery from testicular cancer and his rise to the top of his sport is truly remarkable. It may just be too remarkable...

Finally, the most famous Canadian cheater (or should I say cheetah) Ben Johnson. He was so doped up during the 1988 Olympics he could probably outrun a horse. He got caught, and his life was relegated to poking fun at himself during commercials for a discount beer brand. He ruined his career and any chance at being successul in life. He flushed his life down the drain.

to be continued....

Salary Cap

The NHL's salary cap is finally starting to realize the effects of the attempts at achieving parity in the league. In the last couple of years, there have been players signed to smaller market teams in order to make the whole league more competitive.

Last year, the largest victim of this parity was the Ottawa Senators. Strangely, the Senators were able to go to the Stanley Cup finals without two superstars, Zdeno Chara and Martin Havlat. The effects of drafting well helped to propel the Sens to a respectible finish.

This year, the largest victim is the Buffalo Sabres. They ended up losing not one, but two, of their captains. The Sabres lost co-captains Daniel Briere and Chris Drury. They will obviously have a difficult time maintaining the success they have had in the past. With that being said, the Sabres were one of the deepest teams in the league and are likely to remain a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference.

The purpose of this post is a reaction to a post I saw on hockeytraderumors.com. On that site, a Sens fan, created a proposal in which teams would be compensated for "drafting well". He felt that it was unjust for teams like Ottawa to lose players like Chara, Havlat, and potentially Heatley, Spezza, Redden and Fisher. Although I understand why he said it, it does not make sense. The idea of the salary cap is SUPPOSED to remove good players from good teams and make them go on bad teams. This creates parity.

Next, the guy's point was flawed in that the players were not even drafted by the Sens, at least, not all of them. His proposal would create a clause whereby the salary hit for a drafted player would be less, say 25% less. In theory, this seems appealing. There is more incentive for a team to retain the services of a quality player they drafted. They could end up saving cap space by keeping their players. However, this is not how to create parity in the league. Teams need to lose players. Teams need to continuously draft well in order to be successful.

Today, the Edmonton Oilers have made a second attempt at acquiring a group II-restricted free agent. The Oilers have now offered Tomas Vanek and Dustin Penner to contracts. Although Vanek re-signed with the Sabres, Dustin Penner was a player the Edmonton Oilers obviously wanted. In the past, under the "old" NHL, the Edmonton Oilers would never be able to consider offering such contracts. In fact, they probably would have never lost Gretzky if the salary cap was in place.

The new system in which "good drafting" teams get "punished" has also allowed for small market teams to be competitive and succeed. Edmonton now has a chance to acquire quality free agents (although few want to stay in Edmonton, but thats another rant). Also, Ottawa wouldn't even be in their current position if the cap was not in place. Large market teams would have outbid for the services of the Senators key personel.

In summary, the Sens fan's post about wanting to retain "quality draft choices" is a bitter response from an uneducated fan. Although I am a proud Sens fan, I cannot simply agree with his logic. It is flawed, biased, and a bitter reaction to something that was supposed to help us. Never bite the hand that feeds you.

A's vs. Good Ol' Boys (Sunday, July 22, 2007)

Due to rain wetter than a donkey's kiss, the A's game against the Guzzlers was postponed on Thursday.

The A's next game, on Sunday, was played on the sand at Tauvette. A rare start on the desert at 5pm. The weather was perfect for an afternoon of ball. To support that point, the A's had a number of old teammates come to cheer the team on.

Fortunately, the A's were able to give their fans an early start. Terry Jones, our lead-off hitter, started the bottom half of the 1st inning with a triple. The A's went on to score 3 runs in the first for a quick 3-0 after one.

Unfortunately, the A's were not able to create much more offence after that. The Good Ol' Boys persisted and managed to score 5 throughout the rest of the game. The game was played well. There was solid defence with some solid pitching in between. Notably, Will Mood was able to get out of a bases-loaded with nobody out jam with only giving up one run on a long fly ball to left field.

The A's even had a chance to tie the game at the bottom half of the last inning. After a lead-off single by Alex Davey, the A's were poised to start a rally off of Good Ol' Boys starter Andy Dunn. Unfortunately, any momentum was negated by questionable coaching. First, Martin Desjardins was asked to bunt. Unfortunately, he was not able to do so, and eventually ended up striking out on three pitches. Next, I was asked to bunt as well. I layed one down and hustled to first base. I was called out. The issue I had was with the bunt call. Neither Martin or myself are great hitters, but when a team is down by 2 runs, they should not be bunting in the bottom half of the last inning with only one person on base. If we are that bad of hitters, we would be better served to take pitches and hope for a walk. When there is a man on first, it is not mandatory to call a bunt. In many cases, it is appropriate, but in this case it hurts the team. You CANNOT trade outs for bases at that point in the game. Hopefully, the next game we will not need to bunt.

A's vs. Blues (Tuesday, July 17, 2007)

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this game. My good friend Ange had a one-day visit to Ottawa from her trip to Africa.

The A's won the game 10-8. It looks like "Crazy" Will Lowe pitched most of the innings and got the win. The A's are extending their lead in the BMFL.

Up next...

Thursday, July 19, 2007
A's vs. Guzzlers

A rematch from Sunday's slaughter, the Guzzlers will look to even the score and try to pull closer to the top of the standings. An A's win will make it very difficult for the Guzzlers to become regular season champions. This game should be a very good game to watch.

A's vs. Guzzlers (Sunday, June 15, 2007)

During a weekend that was mostly overcast and gloomy, the sun finally shon through for the 5pm matinee between the A's and Guzzlers. "Crazy" Will Lowe got the start for the A's, while "Disco" Stu Shonfeld started for the Guzzlers.

The A's didn't waste any time getting runs. In the opening frame, the A's tagged Stu for a few hits. The A's scored twice, but Stu kept his composure and got out of the inning. When it came time for "Crazy" Will to pitch, he was all wired up as usual. "Crazy" Will was looking to redeem himself after a poor showing against the Good Ol' Boys. "Crazy" Will struck out two batters in the bottom half of the inning.

The remainder of the game proceeded like the first inning. The A's never got a big inning or a big play, but constantly applied pressure to the Guzzlers pitching staff. Stu managed to last 4 innings, while "Crazy" Will went the full seven. The final score, 9-0, was representative of the game play. The Guzzlers were never in the game, but they kept losing ground each inning.

I believe everyone on the A's got on base at some point. I, personally, was hitting well, despite only going 1 for 4 at the plate. I hit a couple of hard liners to their fielders, and a fly ball that I just got under. Sadly, my worst hit ball resulted in a base hit. Baseball is funny that way.

A's vs. GOB

This game saw more hits than a Snoop dog concert. A 13-9 loss for the A's, this was certainly not one of the better performances by the team as a whole. To the Good Ol' Boys credit, they came out hitting, and hitting hard. They rocked our ace and chased him out of the game. Crazy Will's drop ball was not dropping, and he paid for it.

Defensively, the A's were not at their sharpest. Although no majors gaffes, the defence did not create any plays to help limit the bleeding caused by the massive amount of runs against. Offensively, the A's held their own. Nine runs is nothing to be ashamed of, but the defence and pitching just didn't cut it against the GOB's.

This was a very important game for the A's. The A's needed to prove that they were indeed a force to be reckoned with in the BMFL. The A's have had the benefit of playing some of the lower seeded teams in the past few games. This game marked the first time the A's played a team above .500 in quite a while. Although we did not win, we were pleased with the offensive production against an elite pitcher such as Andy Dunn. We made several comebacks and our "never-say-die" attitude was a pleasant change from previous seasons. The A's are trying to work out the kinks in order to be a well oiled machine.

The next game is against the Guzzlers.

Standings

A's in 1st!

On Thursday night, the Ottawa A's of Blackburn beat the Rogues 8-0 to solidy their spot as a legitimate contender this year. The A's moved into first place of the Blackburn Men's Fastball League.

This game was my first game back since missing four games in June for attending the School of Accountancy. This was also the first game for Noel Hayes, whom the A's picked up after two members of its team had to quit due to work commitments. The A's also picked up Dave Millette during my absence.

The A's have acquired two quality players, and their line-up looks more dangerous than ever. In fact, the A's lead the BMFL with 7.6 runs per game, but the addition of these two veteran hitters should make the line-up even more dangerous.

In the BMFL, it is well known that politics have paid a huge part in the success and failures of some teams. The A's were never a team that was heavy into "politicking". In fact, when we acquired these two excellent players, the A's were the beneficiaries of excellent timing. We had submitted a request to get two players from the reserve list, and, at that time, there were two players available. The next guy on the list was Scott Parsons, but there was a previous request for his rights. The A's ended up with Dave as he was the next one on the list. The reserve list was then empty. The A's were next in line to acquire the next player on the list.

After going through some busy spells at work up until the end of June, Noel decided that the timing was right to join the league. The A's were fortunate of this excellent timing as we now have one of the best fielding, pitching and hitting teams in the league. The addition of these two quality players is sure to raise some eyebrows, but these transactions were performed without any favours or back-scratching that usually occurs when quality players come into the league.

In theory then, the A's hitting and defence are much improved. The thing that might put the A's over the top is the pitching of ace William Lowe. Will had pitched an excellent game, seldom missing the glove. He had an impressive 10 strikeouts. If the A's expect to do anything in the playoffs, they will need Will to be at the top of his game. He certainly looks like he's on his way.

Free Agent Frenzy

For the first time in recent memory, I was sober enough to remember my Canada Day. I was in Toronto preparing for a big exam, so I made myself a short leash to try to behave on the day where I celebrate the country that I love. I decided to watch TSN's inaugural Free Agent Frenzy day on television. TSN, with high hopes of ratings like those of "trade deadline day", tries to capitalize on the fact that people enjoy watching how to be a manager. With the popularity of fantasy pools and such, people have flocked to watch programs concerning the management of player personel.

Unfortunately, the show was a flop. I am sure the show received decents "numbers", but the actual content made the show fall flat on its face. There were no signings to report during the initial show. The show was excellent in terms of analysis. They described each Canadian teams needs and wants and who they think they will go after. Overall, as an informed sports fan, this information was useless to me.

Given the fact I am a huge Sens fan, I want to comment on the lack of any action on their part to improve the team given recent signings of key free agents.

The Sens have salary cap problems. The Sens are not like New Jersey last year where they are so close to the max that they have to do some creative tinkering, but close enough that they really have to watch what they do in terms of what to offer their key restricted free agents.

The most interesting restricted free agent is Ray Emery. After a very successful year, he is due to receive a huge raise on his $900,000 salary of last year. The Sens dilemma is that they already have a goalie that is priced as a number one. Martin Gerber makes nearly $4 million per season, but will serve as a backup to Ray Emery, if Ray is signed. With the Sens so close to the cap, they cannot afford to pay someone to sit on the bench for that kind of money.

Restricted free agents rarely get contract offers from other teams. This is due to the compensation a team receives when a restricted free agent is lost to another team. However, this week Thomas Vanek received a large offer from the Oilers, and it may not be surprising to see an offer go to Emery.

If Emery does receive a generous offer, I don't think the Sens will match the contract. I believe they will take the compensation they receive. The compensation could be 3 first rounds picks. You could really help the farm system with those kind of resources. In that case, Gerber becomes the number one goalie by default.

Gerber had turned around his season last year, so he may now be ready to take the number one role. It might be easier to get rid of Emery who has value now versus Gerber who apparently only has a mild interest from teams. In addition, the Sens have Jeff Glass in the farm system and he may be ready to be an NHL backup. Jeff Glass played on Canada's gold-medal winning world junior hockey team. He's big, he's athletic, but most importanly, he's cheap. The best case scenario, in my mind for the Sens, is that someone offers Ray Emery a big contract, Ottawa passes on the right to match the contract, receives compensation, uses Gerber as a number 1 and uses Jeff Glass as a number two.

The Big Hurt

Last night, I went to a Toronto Blue Jays game. My co-worker and I, along with two of his friends, decided to tie one on and start chirping the Washington Nationals. It was a great time as we were creatively trying to come up with insults that wouldn't get us kicked out of the game. Words, such as "fuck" and "gay" will get you kicked out of your seats pretty quickly I am told. I tended to emphasize the promiscuity of their right-fielder's sister.

The Nationals are the worst team in the league and they Jays happend to win; but, the Jays have lost quite a few games this year. Obviously, the guys that I was with decided to put their two cents in. Every guy in the world will always want to try and fix something even if its not broke. In this case, the topic was the Jays and what we would do to help make this team better.

Frank Thomas, aka "The Big Hurt", was one player we thought the Jays definetely didn't need. The guy's batting average is in a piss-poor range of about .220. Granted, his on-base-percentage is in a respectable range as he draws a lot of walks. The reason why we would get him off the team is the fact that his salary is in the $10 million range. This money could be spent a lot better in many other areas of the team.

The Big Hurt is the Jays' designated hitter. His job is to swing the bat. He doesn't have to play any defence whatsoever. You would think that this guy would be able to hit the damn ball into the field every once and awhile. $10 million is a lot of money for a guy just playing half of a game (offence).

The Jays, like many other teams, need pitching. They could have used the money they would have spent on Thomas on trying to get some quality pitchers in the rotation. Even if there aren't many pitchers available on the free-agent market this year, take the money and save it for next year. The Jays surely have some young and upcoming talent that could play and get major league experience in that roster spot. Thomas is holding the team back.

The counter argument would be that $10 million wouldn't buy you a solid rotation. Truth be told, it wouldn't. However, it may be the difference between signing say Tomo Ohka and a quality pitcher. If you can throw a guy a couple of extra million on top of what you pay Ohka, one, you wouldn't have Tomo Ohka, and two, you might have a quality pitcher. I'm not talking Roy Halladay (Cy Young caliber) here. I just think the Jays need a guy that can win 50% of his games. With guys like Halladay already in the rotation, this difference may make this team a playoff team. It would be nice to see a playoff game in Canada again. '92 and '93 had some great memories. At this rate though, it may be awhile before that happens again.

Rita MacNeil at it again...

God, I wish that lady would stop singing. The Sens brilliant run to the Stanley Cup finals is finally over, and, although I am disappointed, I am quite pleased with the Sens run to the cup. The Sens exorcised many of their demons this spring, and it made for an excellent month and a half of hockey as a Sens fan.

First, Alfie was a monster. He led all playoff players in goals scored. He physical and was a force on the ice to be reckoned with. Although he didn't win the cup and Alfie is starting to get old, the nucleus of the Sens lineup is still in tact and I predict they will be a force again next year. They got a taste of what the cup taste likes, but now they will be hungrier than ever.

Speaking of the nucleus of the team, the Sens roster was outplayed by the Ducks. After reading an article by James Duthie, it turns out that the Sens had some ailing players. Up to six Senators had serious injuries ranging from bad groins to separated shoulders. Even if they had of been healthy, I don't know who you would trade off that team. The Sens were one of the most balanced attacks in the NHL, and considering they will be hungrier for a cup next year, I would not be trading this talent away.

With that, I had been a critic of Wade Redden's play. I distinctly suggested that he was overpriced and no longer was needed before the playoffs began. Arguably, he had some weak performances in the regular season as well in the playoffs, but somehow he changed my opinion. I thought Redden had played terrifically against the Buffalo Sabres, and that he was an integral part of why we had so much success against them. It is in that series where I saw his value.

When Joe Corvo was being criticized by mostly everyone in Ottawa earlier in the season, I know that I was one of the few that still believed in his ability to turn things around. For Wade Redden, I believe that he has the capacity to turn things around and the reason for his sluggish play at times was due to a nagging groin injury. I hope that the Sens do not trade away Redden. He'll be able to turn things around. The Sens struggle in the season when he was out of the lineup, so they are better off to keep him.

Next, I want to give management the respect it deserves as well. Melnyk could have easily cleaned house when the Sens were stuggling earlier in the year. Melnyk decided that he would not interfere with the hockey operations and it almost paid off huge dividends. They made it to the cup finals and thats something to be proud of. As for John Muckler, there were two major incidences during the year that are distinct in my mind. First, he believed that the Sens would pull through their early season funk. They did. Second, he believed that the Sens didn't need to make a big splash at the trade deadline. There was huge pressure to acquire Gary Roberts, but Muckler believed that the current team had what it took to make it to the finals. They did.

Although I respect Muckler's faith, I believe that its almost time for him to step aside and let Bryan Murray control the team. I believe that Bryan Murray would make some changes to the lineup. He has a system that he wants in place and he has witnessed who has played hard for him, so he should be able to judge who he should have on his team. Bryan Murray was the guy that drafted Getlaf and Perry in Anaheim, and I believe they were the difference makers in the series. Although I don't like Getlaf personally, I do respect his hockey talents and what he can bring to the ice. For that, Bryan Murray knows what he needs in a hockey player and can help to rebuild the youthful talent that Ottawa used to be so good at accomplishing. Muckler has drafted poorly and he has made some questionable trades in the past. Last year, the best thing for him to do was nothing. He let Bryan Murray control the variables. Bryan Murray should have complete control over the variables.

Wants Stanley back home,
Chad

Core Knowledge Exam

On Friday, I will be getting the results of my first test to become a professional accountant. I can honestly say that I am petrified. I feel like garbage, and I really do not want to have to re-write. Re-writing is not the end of my career or anything, but its something I do not want to have to go through.

The recommended number of study hours is 130 for this test. I may have only put in 50-60 in the last week leading up to the exam. Those were some pretty intense study sessions, but I feel like I didn't know enough for the exam. The results are relative as the top 7-8 deciles will pass, but this is little comfort as CA students are often very bright individuals. Firms usually snatch up some of the best students from University, so the competition can be tough enough.

During university, I could fail an exam and it wouldn't bother me. Therefore, I wouldn't be nervous about getting the results of the exam, pass or fail. This time its different. I don't know exactly why, but I don't feel too good. When practicing for the exam, co-workers were scoring higher than me consistently. It wasn't because I was any smarter or dumber than them, but I just hadn't been studying nearly as much.

Oh well... Friday will come and go. I really have no options but to accept the results. Lets just hope its the results I want to see.

Sens in 6

First of all, I want to say that I had predicted the Sens to win against the Penguins and Devils in 5 each time. Some may not believe me, but I thought I would post my predictions on Round 3 to give myself some credibility.

Against the Penguins, I thought the Sens were just too playoff hardened of a team. The Sens had more experience, they had more depth, they simply outmatched the Penguins. I will give credit where credit is due though. Gary Roberts was a very effective player for Pittsburgh, and he would have looked good in a Sens jersey. I just don't believe the asking price from Jacques Martin at the trade deadline was appropriate. I don't blame Jacques for trying to get quality in return for Roberts, but the Sens would have needed the depth later on in the playoffs if someone got hurt. We added Saprikin and he has filled in nicely to replace Eaves.

Next on the credit list, Sidney Crosby was outstanding. He had a broken foot yet he was clearly a leader on that team. The series would have been over in 2 games without him. The Sens would have spanked the Pens so bad that they would have called it quits after 2 (well... maybe not). The Pens have a great core of players and they will be a team that I wouldn't want to play against in the next few years, but right now it's Ottawa's time.

New Jersey is just simply a team that was outworked, outskilled, and outsmarted by the Sens. The Devils wanted John Madden and Jay Pandolfo against the Sens top line and they got their wish. The Sens top line couldn't be shut down. The Devils kept sending their shut-down pair against the Pizza line, but Spezza, Alfredsson, and Dany Heatley kept producing. Clearly, the Devils were outworked, outskilled, and outsmarted by the Sens.

Going into the series, (ie. the basis for my prediction) I believed that Martin Brodeur was not at the top of his game. He did not look good against the Lightning. Also, the Devils defence is not the same as it used to be. Notably, they lacked the presence of the Great Scott's, Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens. The Devils had a system; but, ultimately, the Sens were able to break through that system and the Devils couldn't adjust their game plan.

So, what about Buffalo? Last year, they beat the Sens in 5. The Sabres were the President's trophy winners. They are arguably the deepest team in the NHL. They have a great goalie, great-skating defencemen, and explosive forwards. Honestly, they do scare me. With that being said, I like the Sens.

I have an obvious bias, but here's why I think things are different.
*First, our captain, Daniel Alfredsson, is playing like an MVP with a chip on his shoulder. He seems to have something to prove. His sweetest redemption would be to return the favour that Buffalo served the Sens last year.
*Spezza had back surgery last year and he was not 100% when they were playing Buffalo, so he has something to prove. Spezza got hurt earlier in the year and there were grumblings that the team was better off without him. He came back and proved that he wanted to be a winner and became much more defensively conscious. When he wants to prove people wrong, he takes control of the situation.
*Heatley has found his snipe in the playoffs. Whereas last year, he was a playoff virgin that didn't know what he was doing.
*Phillips and Volchenkov have become "lights-out" to opponents top lines. I begin to wonder if they were responsible for the big power-outage in the summer of 2003.
*Joe Corvo and Tom Preissing are our replacements for Zdeno Chara. Although Chara is a monster, Tom and Joe can certainly skate with the best of them. I think the depth of the Sens defence will be able to contain the Buffalo forwards a little bit better. The Sens are a better skating team this year.
*Bryan Murray. I bought him a beer April 30th and I told him how proud I was of the job he was doing. (I may have been drunk) He has everyone buying into his system. The system has been very effective. It has disposed of the Penguins and Devils pretty quickly.
*Christoph Schubert is one of my favourite Sens. He kills penalties as a defenceman and he forchecks as a heavy-hitting forward. Without his versatility, the Sens would have needed extra depth, but he has done his job admirably at both ends of the ice.

I picked 6 games because I think the Sens will win it at home. It could go to 7, but if the Sens have a chance to win it at home, they will. Despite what you might believe, the Sens do have a killer instinct. They are 5-0 in game fives when they have a chance to clinch.

As for the other series, Ducks in 7.

Why am I cheering for the Leafs?

I am cheering for the Leafs. Yep, the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League. I have not fallen on my head, sniffed gasoline, or have been drinking in the past couple of hours. As a devoted Sens fan, my loyalty must be questioned, no? I mean, as a Sens fan, I must hate the Leafs.

For starters, there was a day I hated the Leafs. I don't dispute that. In fact, I am sure I will come to hate them again. However, I feel that I should be cheering for them to make the playoffs. For those fans of the Montreal Canadiens, I want to tell you that I am also cheering for you. However, to anyone reading this, they are probably still wondering why I am cheering for the Leafs.

So, here it is. First of all, I am not afraid of the Leafs. As well as they seem to be playing right now, I know that there is no way the Leafs can beat the Sens this year. They do not have the goaltending, and they do not have the depth on defence. Kaberle is a great player, but cannot carry the Leafs too far into the playoffs. Also, in all likelihood, the Leafs will never get to see the Sens. If they happen to make the playoffs, they will face some formidable opponents. I doubt they will be able to make it to ROUND 2.

For the record, as much as a Leafs fan may dispute it, the Leafs do not hold an edge on the Sens. In fact, for that Leafs fan, I say you are an idiot. First of all, neither team has the same players as those years where the Leafs were able to beat the Sens. From the Sens, I can only think of 4 players (Alfredson, Phillips, Redden, and Spezza (who was a healthy scratch for most of the series)) that were a part of that team. The coaches have even changed for each team. In fact, Brian Murray has only lost like 4 games in 2 years against the Leafs as the head coach of the Sens.

Now, I also want to knock down some Sens fans for hating the Leafs. There isn't really a good reason to do so anymore. In fact, the Leafs have failed to deliver any sort of competition against the Sens in the last couple of years. The Leafs have improved somewhat this year under some good coaching from Paul Maurice (ie. they are no longer losing 8-0 to the Sens), but how can you continue to hate a team that doesn't give you any competition. It like going to the bar and picking up the ugliest girl there. It's too easy. There's no pride in that.

If the above were statements to "not hate" the Leafs, the following are reasons to even "cheer for" the Leafs. The Leafs are a Canadian team. Under the cap system, the Leafs have no additional advantage of being a large market team. Since the Leafs could buy success, it was a reason to hate them. They no longer have that luxury. The Leafs have the largest fan base in the NHL. There is no disputing that. They may be some of the most obnoxious people on earth, but it makes the NHL playoffs that much more fun. The NHL needs the Leafs in the playoffs. They make it interesting.

So, those are my reasons for cheering for the Leafs. Once they are into the playoffs, I will cheer against them. That being said, I would love for the Sens to be playing the Leafs in a later round. It means that the Leafs have knocked off a really good team. I know the Sens will win, and I will be happy.

GO SENS GO!

Hockey Rant

It's that time of year again where everything that used to be important in my life moves to second place. Hockey, specifically the Sens, is taking over. From trade speculations to jockeying for playoff positions, my time for work and studying is diminishing, not that I mind either.

On Thursday night, I might have seen one of the best games of the year. With big hits, controversy, shouting matches, fights, goalie fights, overtime, lots of scoring, and a shootout, the Senators versus Sabres had just about everything a person could want in a hockey game.

The TSN turning point was when Chris Neil laid out Chris Drury. The game was good until that point, but it had taken a more interesting flavor. Immediately, Buffalo retaliated to the hit. Lindy Ruff, on the very next shift, sent out onto the ice all of his goons to take on, arguably, the Senators most skilled players. This led to, amongst other things, a goalie on goalie fight, a treat for a fan of the rough stuff.

Lindy Ruff was fined $10,000 today for his actions. Ruff wanted to protect his star players and argued that Chris Neil’s hit was a deliberate attempt to injure. After a review from the NHL, Chris Neil’s hit was deemed legal and Ruff’s continuous cries make me want to drive to Kanata and punch some sense into him.

There is a “code” in the NHL that tough players are supposed to lay-off the skilled players. Ruff complained that Neil, or the Sens, wasn’t following this “code”. With that being said, Drury had his head down and was fair game. According to the “code”, you would send someone after Chris Neil to send him a message that they don’t appreciate their players being run. Lindy Ruff was a hypocrite by sending his goons over the boards to attack the Sens’ elite. Ruff’s “an eye-for-an eye” mentality makes the NHL seem juvenile and barbaric to the social elitists that want to take fighting out of the game.

Fighting sells the game, despite arguments to the contrary. I believe I witnessed, this season, the two best games of the year. The first game is, obviously, the Senators versus Sabres. The second game would be the Penguins versus Philly. In that game, Sidney Crosby had recorded 6 points in an 8-4 win over the Flyers. The Philly game was great because of the magic that Crosby displayed. In the NHL, this would have been their “ideal” game to market the game.

However, there was no hype for the next match-up against Philly like there is hype for the back half of the home and home series between Buffalo and Ottawa. You can be sure that the American media is at least keeping an eye to see what happens in this next game. I doubt that anything will occur, but you can be sure that there will be many more people interested in seeing the outcome now that they have something to talk about.

That was a bit of a rant in case you didn't notice.

Rumours du Jour

What's the rumour du jour? It's the rumour of the day!

For the A's fastball team, word on the street is that we have lost a player to Belgium. The details are unknown, but the A's will be looking to top up their roster during the next draft.

Antonio was a utility player for the A's. He played right field and first base. Although usually in the field, I wouldn't be surprised if the A's tried to pick up a player capable of handling defensive duties on the hot corners. With that being said, if the rest of the team returns, the A's would like to add a big bat to their lineup. Defensively, the A's have some solid players at existing positions, so a big bat would help the team be more competitive this year.

R.I.P. "Paddy" Mitchell

Recently, a "hero" of mine has passed away from lung cancer. I say hero, not because I wanted to be this person, but I was always amazed at his life's story. He was not a good person in the traditional sense, but anybody that met him in their lives would say that he was one of the nicest people they've ever met.

The Mitchell family used to live on my street. My dad told me of Paddy's story originally, and I have been following it for many years since.

Patrick "Paddy" Michael Mitchell was one of America's Most Wanted as a member of a notorious bank robbing gang dubbed "the stopwatch gang". During the 70's, 80's and even into the 90's, the stopwatch gang continuously evaded police and led a perpetual life of crime that they could not escape.

Paddy, during his travels, met many people during these crime filled years. In nearly every encounter, people continuously defended Paddy and his gang members because he seemed to genuinely care about the people that were in his life. It just so happend that many of these individuals did not know what Paddy did for a living. They only found out when Paddy had to go back on the run.

Paddy, during his decades of bank robbing, never shot his gun. He justified bank robbing by believing that banks make billions of dollars from hard-working individuals. He claimed that he would never steal from people that had earned their money.

Paddy wanted a life of luxuruy without the 9 to 5 job. He understood that the daily grind that most people go through was difficult, and often a struggle, to ensure food is kept on the table. With bank robbing, Paddy found a profession that allowed him to bypass the difficulties of regular work, but he gave up something.

Paddy gave up family and friends. His story reminds me how valuable family and friends are in life. He chose a life of luxury, but lost his life of companionship. He spent his final years in a maximum security jail.

Alone.

He was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, and according to his blog, he was not suffering. His dying wish was that he would be transfered to a Canadian prison. He wanted to be closer to his family that he left behind so many years ago. He had grandchildren that he met only once. He wanted the life back that he gave up so many years ago. But, he never got that wish.

Paddy will be missed.