Some random thoughts and stuff.
A few hours ago or so, I was thinking about all of the work that we put into our home renovations this past summer. As the weather turns chill and the leaves all fall to the ground, I am forced to come to a sad realization; it was all pointless.
Making a life of ease was not, is not, and will never be, brought about by what you spend your money on (or how much of it you earn, or borrow). A life worth living is a life of contentment that does not come through material possessions. It is the contentment that you get from having all your relationships in good order – your relationship with God, your relationship with your spouse, your relationship with your children, your relationship with your parents and siblings and family of origin, your relationship with your church and your community, your relationship with your friends and your neighbours and your work peers. Having those relationships in proper working alignment, starting with God and working your way down, is the path to a life of contentment.
I have come to realize that, just like my home renovations, I must also come to grips with where my time and energy has been spent (and mis-spent) over the last few years. And I know that my relationship (my fellowship) with God has really suffered as I have spent my time and energy on other distractions, and all of my other relationships have suffered as well. Just recently my wife had a heartfelt talk with (to) me, where she expressed some frustrations with me and asked me to “step up to the plate” and meet her where she needed me to meet her, especially on an emotional level.
Just a few days after that talk, the new household computer arrived. And I got pretty involved in that, let me tell you! It took me days to put it together, set it all up, transfer the information between the old computer and the new one, begin to learn to use the new computer, and install old programs on the new computer. Whew! – Just talking about it takes a lot out of me!
But here’s the thing…I got really distracted. I poured myself into the new computer, as I wanted to get it all running just right for us. And my attitude suffered greatly. I hardly slept at all for a few days. There was a few spans of time there where I focussed on God while I was working on the new computer, and that enabled me to stay in a good mood and right frame of mind for those moments. But, for the most part, I was tired and grumpy and snarly and distracted. I wasn’t fun to be around, my mind and attention were elsewhere.
I am sure by now that you can see where the story is going. At a time when my wife needed me to be connected with her, I was disconnected. When I needed to be focussed on her, I was focussed elsewhere. So, long story short, I hurt her. Bad, I think. It is hard to tell exactly, she isn’t opening up to me at all right now. She’s closed off from me. She cried herself to sleep, and would not tell me anything.
As I sit here typing this, I quite frankly am not sure what I should do. What can I do? Damage has been done. I think she has lost faith in me. I do not really blame her. I am sort of a putz when it comes to love. Too often, I am like a frightened bunny rabbit, jerking back when I should be close. I don’t really know why I am like that. And, as I told my wife recently, when my relationship with God isn’t where it needs to be, I do not like myself. Without God, I am nothing, and nothing good exists in me in and of itself.
I am slowly watching life slip out of my control. I do not like that feeling. Although I have been working harder at my relationship with God lately, I fear that it may be “too little too late.” I ignored all the signs, and refused to do what was right for far too long. Why? Why do I always pretend that I can carry my life and life’s expectations on my own shoulders and do it by myself, when I know that it is a lie?
On a side (somewhat related) note, a few days ago I was walking home from work, and I was thinking about my formative years (ages 16-21). It is truly amazing how many people I was close to in that time, who went on to become Pastors, Youth Pastors, who married Pastors, or went on to other callings in the church. God surrounded me with some really good people back then. Makes me wonder where I would have been in life if I had not had the steadying influence of some of those great people in my formative years.
And, it makes me wonder where I might be today, if I had some of those same type of people around me now. Where have all of the good and godly people gone? Why are they so hard to find nowadays? It has been so very, very long since I had a good Christian friend, other than my spouse.
Perhaps a lot of the reason that I remain closed off from others, that I jerk back when I should rush forward, is because of what I told my wife about not liking myself when my relationship with God is not good. I have low self-esteem. I do not think too highly of myself, I will probably never have that problem! I have the exact opposite one. The only time I feel good in life, truly good, is when my relationship with God is good. A casual relationship with Him is not enough for me, it doesn’t do it. It is when I lose myself in Him, that I find peace and joy and happiness. But, then I get distracted. And I veer off in a wrong direction. And I try to hold things together by myself. And, eventually, after many failures, I hit rock bottom…
…And I look up to find my Saviour there waiting for me. And He picks me back up, hands me the royal robes, gives me the biggest hug, puts His loving arm around me, and as we walk back home He talks to me about His love for me, and it is THEN that I get it. I truly get it. Distractions turn me from God; pain sets in and destroys; pride and fear keep me plodding down the road to destruction; one too many falls leads to a time where I just cannot get up anymore. And then He is there to pick me up and love me, show that that the only thing I have been missing in life, was Him.
God, I hope that is where I am right now. I really do not think that I can go on this way anymore. Let this be the bottom. I definitely feel like I have bottomed out in my life. I put all this money and work into my home, but really I am just whitewashing the tomb. There’s death inside without Christ on the throne. As long as I take the throne, death is the only outcome. But when Christ comes and sits on the throne, He brings healing waters of Life. All the work I have done, all the distractions I have allowed in, they have been more than pointless, they have been deadly. In and of themselves, they are not evil. But, placed in my life ahead of God, they are sin. I gotta get back up. I gotta get back up, and head the right way. But, you know what? I think I am gonna spend my night just sitting here, waiting on God’s presence, because I need The Giver of Life to pick me up. I cannot do it myself any longer. And I refuse to keep going down that road any more.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Down And Out
Just so you all know, my home computer is H-O-O-P-E-D.
So, I have ordered a new pc from Dell, it should be arriving in three weeks or so.
Until then, do not expect to hear from me in these pages.
But check back later, I look forward to blogging at you in the near future!
So, I have ordered a new pc from Dell, it should be arriving in three weeks or so.
Until then, do not expect to hear from me in these pages.
But check back later, I look forward to blogging at you in the near future!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Whtaz Noo?
Well, thought I ought to catch up a bit on what has been happening around here...
One of my cats (Felix) has lost some weight. He is now down to about 19 lbs, and if we can get him down to 18 lbs he will be the perfect weight for his size. He looks much healthier and happier now, I am so glad for him!
My daughter K is staying with us for a few days right now. It sure is different having her here while my other daughter C is off in Alberta (where she has been since late June, and will be there for about two more weeks before she heads home) with family. It is good.
All the renos are pretty much done around here. The wife did a wonderful job painting the radiators around the home white to match the trim. Our patio door and patio screen door are going to be replaced (manufacturer's defects on both of them) relatively soon, and we should also hopefully be getting the manufacturere to cut us a cheque due to some damage to the outside of the frame. We are stilll awaiting the blinds to come in, so we can actually have window coverings on all our windows and doors, which will certainly help us to sleep better, I am sure! We also have a slight bit more work to be done on the top of our back fence, some handmade latticework from our contractor and stuff like that. Speaking of the back, we did a heck of a job on the back yard, landcaping it. We hauled in 44 bags of rock in the trunk of our car and in our little hands, it took a few days (44 bags, 40 lbs per bag, equals 1760 lbs of rock), but it looks great. When we were done with all that, R planted some flowers. We still have not used the BBQ, I was going to do so today but it is raining quite nasty right now.
My parents are moving down the street to a new building tomorrow, so R and I are going to go help them with that. We also hope to hook up with my sister and brother-in-law, who are in town from Comox (via San Antonio) for a bit. Then in the afternoon I have to drop R off at the Kelowna airport, as she is going to Alberta for one week.
...and when she gets back, that same afternoon we have our new dining room furniture arriving!
Yep, the money that we got from re-financing is now all gone. But it looks great!
That is all for now! I will post a few pictures of our back yard soon!
One of my cats (Felix) has lost some weight. He is now down to about 19 lbs, and if we can get him down to 18 lbs he will be the perfect weight for his size. He looks much healthier and happier now, I am so glad for him!
My daughter K is staying with us for a few days right now. It sure is different having her here while my other daughter C is off in Alberta (where she has been since late June, and will be there for about two more weeks before she heads home) with family. It is good.
All the renos are pretty much done around here. The wife did a wonderful job painting the radiators around the home white to match the trim. Our patio door and patio screen door are going to be replaced (manufacturer's defects on both of them) relatively soon, and we should also hopefully be getting the manufacturere to cut us a cheque due to some damage to the outside of the frame. We are stilll awaiting the blinds to come in, so we can actually have window coverings on all our windows and doors, which will certainly help us to sleep better, I am sure! We also have a slight bit more work to be done on the top of our back fence, some handmade latticework from our contractor and stuff like that. Speaking of the back, we did a heck of a job on the back yard, landcaping it. We hauled in 44 bags of rock in the trunk of our car and in our little hands, it took a few days (44 bags, 40 lbs per bag, equals 1760 lbs of rock), but it looks great. When we were done with all that, R planted some flowers. We still have not used the BBQ, I was going to do so today but it is raining quite nasty right now.
My parents are moving down the street to a new building tomorrow, so R and I are going to go help them with that. We also hope to hook up with my sister and brother-in-law, who are in town from Comox (via San Antonio) for a bit. Then in the afternoon I have to drop R off at the Kelowna airport, as she is going to Alberta for one week.
...and when she gets back, that same afternoon we have our new dining room furniture arriving!
Yep, the money that we got from re-financing is now all gone. But it looks great!
That is all for now! I will post a few pictures of our back yard soon!
Monday, June 18, 2007
Like Seasons, All Changes
Somehow, the lyrics to this song keep coming to my mind. Today, of all days, seems like the time to reprint them here.
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change
The world closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close,like brothers
The future's in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change
Chorus:
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change
Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change
The wind of change blows straight
Into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring
The freedom bell for peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change
Winds Of Change by The Scorpions
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
An August summer night
Soldiers passing by
Listening to the wind of change
The world closing in
Did you ever think
That we could be so close,like brothers
The future's in the air
I can feel it everywhere
Blowing with the wind of change
Chorus:
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change
Walking down the street
Distant memories
Are buried in the past forever
I follow the Moskva
Down to Gorky Park
Listening to the wind of change
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change
The wind of change blows straight
Into the face of time
Like a stormwind that will ring
The freedom bell for peace of mind
Let your balalaika sing
What my guitar wants to say
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow share their dreams
With you and me
Take me to the magic of the moment
On a glory night
Where the children of tomorrow dream away
In the wind of change
Winds Of Change by The Scorpions
Monday, June 11, 2007
aw...nuts!
Rats! Hockey season has ended for yet another long summer.
Congratulations to the 2007 Stanley Cup Champion Anaheim Ducks! Way to go, boys!
On another hockey note...
Tim Cowlishaw wrote an insightful article on the state of the NHL. Tim writes for the Dallas Mornign News, and the article (a quick and painless read) can be found here - http://www.dallasnews.
com/sharedcontent/dws/spt/hockey/stars/stories/
060607dnspocowlishaw.2cb3128.html
And here are my comments on the story, as I see it...
Here are my thoughts on Tim Cowlishaw's article:
1: Put microphones on all coaches and captains for all games.
I think this idea has merit. How much merit, i am unsure. But it cannot hurt, as long as they resist any and all broadcasting of live audio from these sources, as (a) you do not want to give away any pertinent game-plan information on live television to the other team, and (b) the last thing we need on tv is more cussing.
2: Start the season a month later.
That's a bad idea, really. The season goes too long as it is. Traditional hockey fans (ie. knowledgeable ones) want the season to start earlier, not later, so that it can be over by the first of June. Shorten training camps, start earlier, end earlier.
3: Convince the selfish Eastern Conference general managers to act in the best interests of the game and change the schedule.
I completely totally.
4: Kiss up to ESPN. Make amends.
Yeah, I would go along with that one. Sure, why not?
5: Let the skaters in shootouts go without their helmets.
Makes sense to me.
6: Eliminate the ability to ice the puck during penalty killing.
An excellent idea. I have agreed with this one for 5 or 6 years now. It is time to do it. Make a PowerPlay really mean something.
7: Adopt the 2-3-2 travel format for all series.
It makes sense. I could go either way on this one.
8: Adopt the shootout after 40 minutes of playoff overtime hockey.
No! However, other tweaking of OT I could live with. Like, say, after 20 minutes of scoreless OverTime play, go to 4 skaters aside. That should help to end things quicker. If that does not work, then after 40 minutes, go to 3 skaters aside!
9: Move the U.S. league office to Atlanta.
Dumb idea. Means nothing. So, here is a better idea...
Move the league head and corporate offices to Winnipeg. If they can't give them back the Jets, give them the prestige of having the Commish right there in their city. It is centrally located, it is in Canada, and there can be no crying about how it is unfair to have the league headquarters in (insert city name here) because it is also the home of the (insert name of team or teams here).
10: Contract to 26 teams.
This is an excellent idea. But i think 28 would be better, because it'd be easier for divvying up the divisions - simply go back to 4 divisions, 7 teams per division, two conferences. Much better plan, if i do say so myself!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
File This!
I got this article from metaleater.com .
Effect On Legal Music Sales "Not Statistically Distinguishable From Zero"
Posted: May 09, 2007 at 13:51 (PST)
For the last few months, our colleagues at The Classic Metal Show have been spreading awareness about the CRB's (The Copyright Royalty Board) decision to substantially increase royalty fees and how the RIAA's (Recording Industry Association of America's) apparent manipulation of these rates will not only hurt artists and smaller record labels, but also put small webcasters (like The Classic Metal show) out of business due to outrageous fee hikes. In relation to this issue, several sources say that illegal downloading is the main cause of all this. However, this report posted by Ken Fisher from Ars Technica back on February 12 states otherwise:
A new study in the Journal of Political Economy by Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf has found that illegal music downloads have had no noticeable effects on the sale of music, contrary to the claims of the recording industry.
Entitled "The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis", the study matched an extensive sample of music downloads to American music sales data in order to search for causality between illicit downloading and album sales. Analyzing data from the final four months of 2002, the researchers estimated that P2P affected no more than 0.7 percent of sales in that timeframe.
The study compared the logs of two OpenNAP P2P servers with sales data from Nielsen SoundScan, tracking the effects of 1.75 million songs downloads on 680 different albums sold during that same period. The study then took a surprising twist. Popular music will often have both high downloads and high sales figures, so what the researchers wanted was a way to test for effects on albums sales when file-sharing activity was increased on account of something other than US song popularity. Does the occasionally increased availability of music from Germany affect US sales?
The study looked at time periods when German students were on holiday after demonstrating that P2P use increases at these times. German users collectively are the #2 P2P suppliers, providing "about one out of every six U.S. downloads," according to the study. Yet the effects on American sales were not large enough to be statistically significant. Using this and several other methods, the study's authors could find no meaningful causality. The availability and even increased downloads of music on P2P networks did not correlate to a negative effect on music sales.
"Using detailed records of transfers of digital music files, we find that file sharing has had no statistically significant effect on purchases of the average album in our sample," the study reports. "Even our most negative point estimate implies that a one-standard-deviation increase in file sharing reduces an album's weekly sales by a mere 368 copies, an effect that is too small to be statistically distinguishable from zero."
The study reports that 803 million CDs were sold in 2002, which was a decrease of about 80 million from the previous year. The RIAA has blamed the majority of the decrease on piracy, and has maintained that argument in recent years as music sales have faltered. Yet according to the study, the impact from file sharing could not have been more than 6 million albums total in 2002, leaving 74 million unsold CDs without an excuse for sitting on shelves.
So what's the problem with music? The study echoes many of the observations you've read here at Ars. First, because the recording industry focuses on units shipped rather than sold, the decline can be attributed in part to reduced inventory. Gone are the days when Best Buy and others wanted a ton of unsold stock sitting around, so they order less CDs. The study also highlighted the growth in DVD sales during that same period as a possible explanation for why customers weren't opening their wallets: they were busy buying DVDs.
Effect On Legal Music Sales "Not Statistically Distinguishable From Zero"
Posted: May 09, 2007 at 13:51 (PST)
For the last few months, our colleagues at The Classic Metal Show have been spreading awareness about the CRB's (The Copyright Royalty Board) decision to substantially increase royalty fees and how the RIAA's (Recording Industry Association of America's) apparent manipulation of these rates will not only hurt artists and smaller record labels, but also put small webcasters (like The Classic Metal show) out of business due to outrageous fee hikes. In relation to this issue, several sources say that illegal downloading is the main cause of all this. However, this report posted by Ken Fisher from Ars Technica back on February 12 states otherwise:
A new study in the Journal of Political Economy by Felix Oberholzer-Gee and Koleman Strumpf has found that illegal music downloads have had no noticeable effects on the sale of music, contrary to the claims of the recording industry.
Entitled "The Effect of File Sharing on Record Sales: An Empirical Analysis", the study matched an extensive sample of music downloads to American music sales data in order to search for causality between illicit downloading and album sales. Analyzing data from the final four months of 2002, the researchers estimated that P2P affected no more than 0.7 percent of sales in that timeframe.
The study compared the logs of two OpenNAP P2P servers with sales data from Nielsen SoundScan, tracking the effects of 1.75 million songs downloads on 680 different albums sold during that same period. The study then took a surprising twist. Popular music will often have both high downloads and high sales figures, so what the researchers wanted was a way to test for effects on albums sales when file-sharing activity was increased on account of something other than US song popularity. Does the occasionally increased availability of music from Germany affect US sales?
The study looked at time periods when German students were on holiday after demonstrating that P2P use increases at these times. German users collectively are the #2 P2P suppliers, providing "about one out of every six U.S. downloads," according to the study. Yet the effects on American sales were not large enough to be statistically significant. Using this and several other methods, the study's authors could find no meaningful causality. The availability and even increased downloads of music on P2P networks did not correlate to a negative effect on music sales.
"Using detailed records of transfers of digital music files, we find that file sharing has had no statistically significant effect on purchases of the average album in our sample," the study reports. "Even our most negative point estimate implies that a one-standard-deviation increase in file sharing reduces an album's weekly sales by a mere 368 copies, an effect that is too small to be statistically distinguishable from zero."
The study reports that 803 million CDs were sold in 2002, which was a decrease of about 80 million from the previous year. The RIAA has blamed the majority of the decrease on piracy, and has maintained that argument in recent years as music sales have faltered. Yet according to the study, the impact from file sharing could not have been more than 6 million albums total in 2002, leaving 74 million unsold CDs without an excuse for sitting on shelves.
So what's the problem with music? The study echoes many of the observations you've read here at Ars. First, because the recording industry focuses on units shipped rather than sold, the decline can be attributed in part to reduced inventory. Gone are the days when Best Buy and others wanted a ton of unsold stock sitting around, so they order less CDs. The study also highlighted the growth in DVD sales during that same period as a possible explanation for why customers weren't opening their wallets: they were busy buying DVDs.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
testing, 1, 2...
I took this personality test today...
http://similarminds.com/cattell-16-factor.html
Here are my "results" ...
http://similarminds.com/cattell-16-factor.html
Here are my "results" ...
Cattell's 16 Factor Test Results
|
Thursday, April 19, 2007
Scars From Mars
Hey all!
Another gruesome picture of my surgery scar, taken two days ago. I took this picture, cuz it looks like my dissolving stitches have finally dissolved...
Sunday, April 1, 2007
The Right Thing
Getting Deep About The Right Thing
Sometimes, you just have to do the right thing. And that has to be enough for you. In the end, it is yourself that you have to live with, after all.
So, my boss never picked me for the promotion to Relief Supervisor. Not a shock, it was expected that he would pick the person he did, due to personal attachments to her.
Lately, as I have worked with her, more and more I find her to be not nearly competent enough in the job to be a supervisor. Hey, my boss picked her, more power to him! He was allowed to, because the choice was his and his alone. And never ONCE have i bitched and complained about that. I knew my chances were slim to land the position, but I applied because I wanted the position , and I knew that I could do it.
On the other hand, there is the person who got the job. It really irks me that I have to watch over her, when she is my boss, and do her work for her because she is incapable of doing it. She has not learned enough in her 9 months on the job...because she was never interested in it. Still isn't, really. So, it irks me. It irks me that she was picked over me, and when I work with her, I have to do her supervisor work, because she has no clue how to do it. And she doesn't really care.
That seems so unfair. It irks me, and hurts me. I take my job seriously, and this whole situation is a travesty.
In the end, though, i cannot do anything to change anything.
So, I have to do the right thing. What I WANT to do is go complain; to my boss, to my workmates, to anybody who will listen. But I don't, and I won't. Instead, groaning on the inside, I hide my true feelings, and I do her work for her. Why? Because I care about my job, and that is just the kind of person i am. Do I really want to react differently, to let this situation change my core values and sense of self? NO!!! So i pitch in and do everything I can to make things run smoothly, doubling my workload if need be at times. I do the duties to which she was assigned to do, and I was told I was not good enough to be wanted to do them. But I am the one doing them. No, it is not fair. But life isn't fair.
In the end, i am not here to please my boss, my co-workers, or anybody. I am here to do what is pleasing to my God.
Sometimes, all you can do is the right thing. And it has to be enough.
Sometimes, you just have to do the right thing. And that has to be enough for you. In the end, it is yourself that you have to live with, after all.
So, my boss never picked me for the promotion to Relief Supervisor. Not a shock, it was expected that he would pick the person he did, due to personal attachments to her.
Lately, as I have worked with her, more and more I find her to be not nearly competent enough in the job to be a supervisor. Hey, my boss picked her, more power to him! He was allowed to, because the choice was his and his alone. And never ONCE have i bitched and complained about that. I knew my chances were slim to land the position, but I applied because I wanted the position , and I knew that I could do it.
On the other hand, there is the person who got the job. It really irks me that I have to watch over her, when she is my boss, and do her work for her because she is incapable of doing it. She has not learned enough in her 9 months on the job...because she was never interested in it. Still isn't, really. So, it irks me. It irks me that she was picked over me, and when I work with her, I have to do her supervisor work, because she has no clue how to do it. And she doesn't really care.
That seems so unfair. It irks me, and hurts me. I take my job seriously, and this whole situation is a travesty.
In the end, though, i cannot do anything to change anything.
So, I have to do the right thing. What I WANT to do is go complain; to my boss, to my workmates, to anybody who will listen. But I don't, and I won't. Instead, groaning on the inside, I hide my true feelings, and I do her work for her. Why? Because I care about my job, and that is just the kind of person i am. Do I really want to react differently, to let this situation change my core values and sense of self? NO!!! So i pitch in and do everything I can to make things run smoothly, doubling my workload if need be at times. I do the duties to which she was assigned to do, and I was told I was not good enough to be wanted to do them. But I am the one doing them. No, it is not fair. But life isn't fair.
In the end, i am not here to please my boss, my co-workers, or anybody. I am here to do what is pleasing to my God.
Sometimes, all you can do is the right thing. And it has to be enough.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Hockey Predictionz
Here are today's NHL hockey playoff 2007 predictions.
Before this season began, I picked Nashville to beat Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup Final. Oops. Okay, so no Philly in the playoff picture...
Well then, here are my updated predictions;
In the West, Nashville will beat the Vancouver Canucks in 7 games (off of an OT goal by Paul Kariya, set up on a breakaway by Peter Forsberg) for the right to go to the Stanley Cup Final.
In the East, the Atlanta Thrashers will beat a young and exciting Pittsburgh Penguins team in 6 games, advancing to the Finals to face Nashville. Winning goal goes to center Keith Tkachuk, off a rebound of a Marian Hossa shot. Don Waddell and Bob Hartley kiss each other on both of their very wet cheeks; they look like geniuses, and they know it.
Stanley Cup Finals 2007 -
Nashville will beat Atlanta in the Finals in 6 games, to win their first ever Stanley Cup.
Winning goal scored by rookie winger Alexander Radulov, assisted by Martin Erat and Scott Hartnell (I dunno, I don't understand either, I just pick 'em - maybe it was a line change, or something?) .
Peter Forsberg will lead the Predators in playoff scoring, but Nashville defenseman Shea Weber will be the recipient of the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP (5 goals, 11 assists, 16 points, 29 PIM, plus 16) .
Before this season began, I picked Nashville to beat Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup Final. Oops. Okay, so no Philly in the playoff picture...
Well then, here are my updated predictions;
In the West, Nashville will beat the Vancouver Canucks in 7 games (off of an OT goal by Paul Kariya, set up on a breakaway by Peter Forsberg) for the right to go to the Stanley Cup Final.
In the East, the Atlanta Thrashers will beat a young and exciting Pittsburgh Penguins team in 6 games, advancing to the Finals to face Nashville. Winning goal goes to center Keith Tkachuk, off a rebound of a Marian Hossa shot. Don Waddell and Bob Hartley kiss each other on both of their very wet cheeks; they look like geniuses, and they know it.
Stanley Cup Finals 2007 -
Nashville will beat Atlanta in the Finals in 6 games, to win their first ever Stanley Cup.
Winning goal scored by rookie winger Alexander Radulov, assisted by Martin Erat and Scott Hartnell (I dunno, I don't understand either, I just pick 'em - maybe it was a line change, or something?) .
Peter Forsberg will lead the Predators in playoff scoring, but Nashville defenseman Shea Weber will be the recipient of the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP (5 goals, 11 assists, 16 points, 29 PIM, plus 16) .
Friday, March 23, 2007
HB Mommy
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Mommy,
Happy Birthday to you!
Sorry about the picture, Mom, but it is the newest one I have of you! Send me more!
love,
AD and R and C
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Mommy,
Happy Birthday to you!
Sorry about the picture, Mom, but it is the newest one I have of you! Send me more!
love,
AD and R and C
Monday, March 19, 2007
Intelligent Quotient
Hello.
I recently took CBC's (that is the offical federally-funded Canadian television station, for those of you who may not know) Test The Nation IQ Test.
Click on the picture below to be taken to my score...
I recently took CBC's (that is the offical federally-funded Canadian television station, for those of you who may not know) Test The Nation IQ Test.
Click on the picture below to be taken to my score...
Sunday, March 18, 2007
comics and the Irish Holy Day
Well, I am pleased to announce that this last week I was able to purc hase an E-Bay auction of 15 Alpha Fligth comics that I did not already own. This makes my quest to get all of the Alpha Flight comics much easier now, as now I only need 26 more to complete my set of Alpha Flight Volume I ( I also need approximately 16 comics in Volume II, and 12 comics in Volume III).
And, OF COURSE (big smiles all around), what I like to think of as Alpha Flight Volume IV, Omega Flight, is due to commence next month.
Anybody interested, can read much more about my love of comics, and Canadian heroes Alpha Flight, in my Alpha Flight blog at http://Canadas-own-The-Flight.blogspot.com .
Also, I really thought my St. Patrick's Day was going to suck this year. Instead of celebrating my Irish heritage in the traditional ways, I fully intended to wallow in misery. See, it is just me and the cats at my home right now, R and C are on holidays in "another province which will remain nameless to protrect the innocent" visiting family. So, there was really no point in cooking up any traditional Irish meals, and there was nobody to drink Irish whiskey with and make traditional Irish toasts. *Sigh* - yup, it wasn't going to be a good St Paddy's Day for me at all. I was going to go out and buy a big green Irish hat to wear to work that day, but I ended up having to buy a green t-shirt (I apparently do not own any) to wear, and also I ordered some comics from E-Bay (scroll up to read more about that), so I ended up not buying a hat because I figured I had spent enough money already.
So, what made my Irish Holy-Day better? Well, I got to apply for a new position at work, and will find out in two days whether or not I got it (promotion! promotion!). My boss even, if I read him correctly, seemed pleased that I applied for the job opening. Also, just moments before I got off of work, with about 15 minutes left in St. Patrick's Day, I was given a green-sprinkled shamrock-shaped shortbread cookie. *Sigh* - makes me wish I had my camera here (it is gone on vacation with the rest of the family who are not me), I almost had a tear in my eye as I gazed lovingly at the semi-yummy little thing!
So, it is amazing - my St. Paddy's Day was not at all traditional, I did not do any of the things I normally try to do on it, but yet...somehow, it was a little bit satisfying.
Slainte mhath!
And, OF COURSE (big smiles all around), what I like to think of as Alpha Flight Volume IV, Omega Flight, is due to commence next month.
Anybody interested, can read much more about my love of comics, and Canadian heroes Alpha Flight, in my Alpha Flight blog at http://Canadas-own-The-Flight.blogspot.com .
Also, I really thought my St. Patrick's Day was going to suck this year. Instead of celebrating my Irish heritage in the traditional ways, I fully intended to wallow in misery. See, it is just me and the cats at my home right now, R and C are on holidays in "another province which will remain nameless to protrect the innocent" visiting family. So, there was really no point in cooking up any traditional Irish meals, and there was nobody to drink Irish whiskey with and make traditional Irish toasts. *Sigh* - yup, it wasn't going to be a good St Paddy's Day for me at all. I was going to go out and buy a big green Irish hat to wear to work that day, but I ended up having to buy a green t-shirt (I apparently do not own any) to wear, and also I ordered some comics from E-Bay (scroll up to read more about that), so I ended up not buying a hat because I figured I had spent enough money already.
So, what made my Irish Holy-Day better? Well, I got to apply for a new position at work, and will find out in two days whether or not I got it (promotion! promotion!). My boss even, if I read him correctly, seemed pleased that I applied for the job opening. Also, just moments before I got off of work, with about 15 minutes left in St. Patrick's Day, I was given a green-sprinkled shamrock-shaped shortbread cookie. *Sigh* - makes me wish I had my camera here (it is gone on vacation with the rest of the family who are not me), I almost had a tear in my eye as I gazed lovingly at the semi-yummy little thing!
So, it is amazing - my St. Paddy's Day was not at all traditional, I did not do any of the things I normally try to do on it, but yet...somehow, it was a little bit satisfying.
Slainte mhath!
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Happy Day and all that
Happy Belated Birthday to my buddy, Pastor D!
And, Happy St. Patrick's Day, to all of you who are Irish (and the rest of you, who just wish you were)!
Today, i will be applying for a new position at work, that of On-Call Supervisor. Wish me luck!
And, Happy St. Patrick's Day, to all of you who are Irish (and the rest of you, who just wish you were)!
Today, i will be applying for a new position at work, that of On-Call Supervisor. Wish me luck!
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Monday, March 5, 2007
more NHL news
Have you seen these articles?
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=198850&hubname=nhl
and
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article.jsp?content=20070305_102636_4128
They allege the police are looking into pressing charges against the NHLPA for tampering with its members' email accounts. Specifically, the email accounts of those NHLPA members who oppose(d) the hiring of Ted Saskin as the head of the NHLPA.
Not good, NHLPA, not good at all.
:-(
Morons...
On another note, some of you may be wondering what my thoughts are on the Oilers dealing away Ryan Smyth at the trade deadline...so here they are.
First, let's get a few of the numbers straight, shall we? In the summer of 2006, Ryan Smyth asked the Oilers for a five year deal paying him 5 million dollars a year. GM Kevin Lowe looked at the numbers, and realized that (a) Ryan Smyth was a good hockey player, asking to get payed like a superstar hockey player, and (b) because of Ryan's style of play, figured that Ryan would not be worth that kind of money at the tail end of the deal (when he would be 36 or 37 years old). So Kevin said "no."
Next, guys like Alex Tanguay of the Flames signed for 5.25 million dollars a year, and even though most people agree that Alex's contract is way out of whack and he is not worth that kind of money, Ryan's agent told Kevin Lowe that Ryan was now asking for 5.5 million dollars a year. Ryan Smyth also informed, through the media, that he would not be accepting any kind of 'home town discount.' This, in my mind, is a nice way of saying, "Kevin, i feel i have been underpayed up until now. Even though i love this city, i am willing to go through with my unrestricted free agency and leave this place, rather than take one cent less than i beleive that i am worth. Pay me what i ask for, or lose me."
The media has falsely, numerous times, reported that the Oilers and Ryan Smyth's agent were only one hundred thousand dollars apart in their contract talks when things broke down and Kevin Lowe traded Ryan Smyth to the Islanders. NOT SO! Listen to what Kevin Lowe says in his media statements, and he says that they were "far apart" in the number figures. I believe that the Oilers were offering Ryan somewhere in the neighborhood of 4.5 million dollars a year, while Ryan originally wanted 5 million and then jumped that up to 5.5 million. Over 5 years, that is a lot of money.
Also, if you want to compare players, Darcy Tucker of the Leafs is a strong comparison case for Ryan Smyth. I believe Ryan is a bit better than Darcy, but not by much, they both play similarly and mean just as much to their respective teams (Leafs and Oilers). Darcy Tucker just signed a contract worth 3 million dollars a year. Think about that. And Ryan Smyth wants almost DOUBLE that amount! Get real! Ryan, give your head a shake, and get a new agent, buddy!
As much as I love and respect Ryan Smyth, i do not believe he was justified in asking for that kind of money. Nor do i believe that he was smart to hold a gun to the head of the Oilers management with his "home town discount" remarks. You do not try to embarrass your employer, that is just stupid.
It will be interesting to see how Ryan reacts this summer, after he has had time to meditate on all of this for a while. I would welcome him back to the Oiler ranks as a free agent, but only if he slides in under what the Oilers originally wanted to pay him.
As for what the Oilers got for him...give your head a shake, people! This was a GREAT deal for the Oilers! Robert Nilsson will play in Edmonton next year, he is a skilled puckhandler and passer. Ryan O'Marra will play in Edmonton in the future, he has been favourably compared to Mike Peca, a real team player with grit and defensive acumen with a little scoring. He never quits - that sounds like a prototypical Oiler to me! Three first round draft picks for Ryan Smyth. Tell me, did anybody make a better deal at the deadline? I give you a resounding NO!
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=198850&hubname=nhl
and
http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/article.jsp?content=20070305_102636_4128
They allege the police are looking into pressing charges against the NHLPA for tampering with its members' email accounts. Specifically, the email accounts of those NHLPA members who oppose(d) the hiring of Ted Saskin as the head of the NHLPA.
Not good, NHLPA, not good at all.
:-(
Morons...
On another note, some of you may be wondering what my thoughts are on the Oilers dealing away Ryan Smyth at the trade deadline...so here they are.
First, let's get a few of the numbers straight, shall we? In the summer of 2006, Ryan Smyth asked the Oilers for a five year deal paying him 5 million dollars a year. GM Kevin Lowe looked at the numbers, and realized that (a) Ryan Smyth was a good hockey player, asking to get payed like a superstar hockey player, and (b) because of Ryan's style of play, figured that Ryan would not be worth that kind of money at the tail end of the deal (when he would be 36 or 37 years old). So Kevin said "no."
Next, guys like Alex Tanguay of the Flames signed for 5.25 million dollars a year, and even though most people agree that Alex's contract is way out of whack and he is not worth that kind of money, Ryan's agent told Kevin Lowe that Ryan was now asking for 5.5 million dollars a year. Ryan Smyth also informed, through the media, that he would not be accepting any kind of 'home town discount.' This, in my mind, is a nice way of saying, "Kevin, i feel i have been underpayed up until now. Even though i love this city, i am willing to go through with my unrestricted free agency and leave this place, rather than take one cent less than i beleive that i am worth. Pay me what i ask for, or lose me."
The media has falsely, numerous times, reported that the Oilers and Ryan Smyth's agent were only one hundred thousand dollars apart in their contract talks when things broke down and Kevin Lowe traded Ryan Smyth to the Islanders. NOT SO! Listen to what Kevin Lowe says in his media statements, and he says that they were "far apart" in the number figures. I believe that the Oilers were offering Ryan somewhere in the neighborhood of 4.5 million dollars a year, while Ryan originally wanted 5 million and then jumped that up to 5.5 million. Over 5 years, that is a lot of money.
Also, if you want to compare players, Darcy Tucker of the Leafs is a strong comparison case for Ryan Smyth. I believe Ryan is a bit better than Darcy, but not by much, they both play similarly and mean just as much to their respective teams (Leafs and Oilers). Darcy Tucker just signed a contract worth 3 million dollars a year. Think about that. And Ryan Smyth wants almost DOUBLE that amount! Get real! Ryan, give your head a shake, and get a new agent, buddy!
As much as I love and respect Ryan Smyth, i do not believe he was justified in asking for that kind of money. Nor do i believe that he was smart to hold a gun to the head of the Oilers management with his "home town discount" remarks. You do not try to embarrass your employer, that is just stupid.
It will be interesting to see how Ryan reacts this summer, after he has had time to meditate on all of this for a while. I would welcome him back to the Oiler ranks as a free agent, but only if he slides in under what the Oilers originally wanted to pay him.
As for what the Oilers got for him...give your head a shake, people! This was a GREAT deal for the Oilers! Robert Nilsson will play in Edmonton next year, he is a skilled puckhandler and passer. Ryan O'Marra will play in Edmonton in the future, he has been favourably compared to Mike Peca, a real team player with grit and defensive acumen with a little scoring. He never quits - that sounds like a prototypical Oiler to me! Three first round draft picks for Ryan Smyth. Tell me, did anybody make a better deal at the deadline? I give you a resounding NO!
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Mending My Own Business
lol
"Mending" my own business - cuz i am writing to tell you quickly that i am currently resting and mending from my surgery.
I am thinking i may end up with a nasty scar out of all this - oh well.
gotta go, i am not supposed ot be sitting, so am standing up and typing - is hard on the back to do so.
I am just slowly mending. Thanks to all who are praying for me. I will be out fo action for quite a while yet, i still have lots of abdomenal swelling to deal with, and lots of bed rest.
Cheers!
"Mending" my own business - cuz i am writing to tell you quickly that i am currently resting and mending from my surgery.
I am thinking i may end up with a nasty scar out of all this - oh well.
gotta go, i am not supposed ot be sitting, so am standing up and typing - is hard on the back to do so.
I am just slowly mending. Thanks to all who are praying for me. I will be out fo action for quite a while yet, i still have lots of abdomenal swelling to deal with, and lots of bed rest.
Cheers!
Thursday, February 22, 2007
As The Scalpel Falls Part 1
Well, tomorrow is the big day!
Surgery. Yuck.
To make things worse yet, i found out i have to be at the hospital at 6 AM. Now, i live 45 minutes or so from the hospital, being in a different city. This means i will have to be up by 4:30am. Considering that i do not usually fall asleep until somewhere between 2:30 and 4:00am on a nightly basis...hm...no sleep for me, i guess.
Well, this is all i will be blogging on this subject until after i get home (hopefully without my doctor's watch somewhere inside my body!)...
Surgery. Yuck.
To make things worse yet, i found out i have to be at the hospital at 6 AM. Now, i live 45 minutes or so from the hospital, being in a different city. This means i will have to be up by 4:30am. Considering that i do not usually fall asleep until somewhere between 2:30 and 4:00am on a nightly basis...hm...no sleep for me, i guess.
Well, this is all i will be blogging on this subject until after i get home (hopefully without my doctor's watch somewhere inside my body!)...
Monday, February 19, 2007
hockey article of interest
(Re-printed without permission) :-O
Silent Treatment
February 19th, 2007
Jim Kelley
(for Sportsnet.ca)
Amid the buzz of who might be traded where, the real issues affecting the NHL go unnoticed.
Here are a few thoughts jotted in a notebook while watching NASCAR roar past the National Hockey League via the Daytona 500; the PGA tour capture a massive share of attention with Phil Mickelson blowing another chance to shed his "Never On Sunday" image; and the National Basketball Association showcase an All-Star "competition" that still manages to capture your wandering eye even though it's very much like
the NHL's silly showcase (that you can't find without television's answer to a digital microscope).
I mention all this as the collective hockey media is gearing up to run endless hours of televised, print and internet speculation about trade rumors that may or may not come to pass during the three-days of general managers meetings in Florida ... while the real issues of the NHL are virtually ignored.
Some examples:
Bogus Issue No. 1: Some teams will be buyers at the February 27 deadline, and some will be sellers.
No kidding! Is there something new here? Have we not heard or read or seen this every year since the NHL established a deadline. Look, this isn't the issue. The issue is whether or not the GMs will suggest to the powers that be in the NHL (Gary Bettman, Bill Daly and Colin Campbell) will make any real and/or relevant suggestions regarding what is necessary to move the game forward.
The general consensus seems to be that the changes imposed after the lockout are enough for now and the old saw about "don't fix it if it ain't broken" applies. How can that be? Fans across North America are looking at the new NHL with a very large ho hum. Ratings are static in Canada. Ratings are non-existent in the United States. The league claims attendance is on the rise but it doesn't release paid attendance figures, or even the value of those paid attendance figures. The league has those numbers; but nobody in media unearths them or holds the league accountable for not providing them. Meanwhile, we see thousands of empty seats in arenas from Boston to Chicago to Los Angeles and a great many cities in between.
While the talk is endless about whether or not Nashville overpaid for Peter Forsberg or Edmonton is signaling they are sellers after the dumping of Marc-Andre Bergeron, nothing is being said or written about the demise of the NHL on both broadcast TV and cable in the United States. The rise of NASCAR to a place of mega-prominence on ESPN (once the home of hockey in the US) was witnessed Sunday when ESPN opened with 15 minutes of coverage of the Daytona 500 Sunday night. A whole 15 minutes of coverage for an event it didn't have the rights for. Hockey coverage was non-existent except for the crawler at the bottom of the screen.
Bogus Issue No. 2: The endless debate regarding scheduling changes and whether or not the GMs will take a stand during their meetings.
Hello? The GMs can stand on their heads on the 19th tee or hook each other off the deck of the "Looking for the Big One" charter boat and it won't matter.
Changing the schedule, or even recommending changing the schedule, to address divisional or conference play isn't their domain. It wasn't their domain when the met in Toronto earlier this winter and it won't be during these meetings.
This just in: the general managers don't control the scheduling, the owners do. The general managers do not reshape the way the game is played these days, the competition committee does.
The real issue that needs to be addressed is what the heck has happened to the competition committee? They don't seem to be meeting; they don't appear to be addressing anything. They appear as immobilized as Brendan Shanahan (one of their
members) was while being wheeled off the Madison Square Garden ice over the weekend, the victim of a head-on-head hit.
Look around, concussions are still a major problem for the NHL. What's being done? Knee-on-knee hits seem to be on the rise. What's being done? The coach of the Eastern Conference at the All-Star game, Lindy Ruff, charges that hooking, holding and obstruction are making their way back into the game. He gets about one day of coverage and then it's back to who might be traded.
These are serious issues in the game today. So is the fact that Campbell has unilaterally changed the rules about physical contact and seems to have turned a blind eye to the seriousness of serious intent to injure, ignoring some incidents that scream for supplemental discipline while holding to a three-game-no-matter what standard for the few instances he does rule on. How is it that one man holds so much power to determine the shape and course of the game?
Isn't that worth writing about or asking about? Isn't that more important than a national debate on the value of Ryan Smyth's contract?
Meanwhile ESPN Sunday spent about five minutes after its Daytona report on the NBA All-Star game with a promise to come back to it later in the show. Still no mention of the NHL, or even the fact the GMs are meeting. Coverage moves to Phil Mickelson's melt down on the 72nd hole (shades of the US open revisited) and a lengthy segment on pitchers and catchers reporting to baseball spring training. Finish up with an endless chat with Lou Pinella about the joys of managing a baseball team in Chicago, an event that hasn't happened yet.
The NHL and NHLPA need to be looking at their "partnership" agreement. How close can the two sides be when there is an ongoing federal investigation (According to a report in Sports Business Journal) into whether or not labour laws were violated regarding contractual side agreements between the league and the Players' Association? Or what about the fact these letters were not revealed to the players who ratified the agreement? The CBA issues between the Players' Association and the league and the players and their leadership are huge yet go virtually unreported.
Bogus Issue No. 3: The length of pregame ceremonies honoring former players, teams or events and how maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs got it right (as if honoring a 40-year drought by bring back it's last championship team really matters).
Okay, maybe it matters to visiting teams that Steve Yzerman's goodbye took 80 minutes or that Mike Vernon's number retirement dragged on. That being said, what about some dialogue on the bogus system that gives teams a point for losing in overtime or a shootout? Anybody find it interesting that goalies, everyone's consensus choice as the most valuable players in the game, are being run at every
opportunity and it's not an accident, it's a coaching tactic?
Anyone notice that Wayne Gretzky has flip-flopped on the need for fighting in hockey and how that might open the door for more of it in the game? Does anyone have a lick of interest about revising the instigator rule or "no-touch" icing or the fact that goaltenders really haven't given up much of anything in regards the size of their equipment or that some coaches and GMs are arguing for a lessening of "soft"
penalties, an affront to the still-new officiating standards if there ever was one?
Doesn't seem like it.
Hockey has issues, but we in media rarely seem interested. In the race to be first to report the hot rumour or denigrate Sidney Crosby, or be funny, different or sexy, we've managed to overlook the fact that the game is still struggling to come back from a horrific labour dispute, one that is only now showing the extent of the damage it did to the game.
In the race to rack a GM in either the buyer or seller category we've neglected to ask whether or not he has a viable idea for fine tuning the game. In the hustle to identify a hair-thin report of a possible new commissioner have we even bothered to take an in-depth look at the accomplishments and/or failures of the current commissioner?
The consensus say hockey is a hard sell, especially in the States, because far too few people play it; but how many sports fans have ever piloted an automobile around a packed race course at 200 miles per hour with a competitor sitting right on his bumper? How many of us have actually jammed a basketball home from above the rim or had to putt-to-win on 18 with the eyes of millions questioning whether or not we're
going to choke?
Hockey has just as much right as any other major sport to be in the eye of the entertainment world. The fact that it isn't is the question that needs to be addressed. The ways to make hockey happen need to continue to be discussed.
That it isn't happening now is part of the reason why it took until thirty one minutes into the show before ESPN showed about 30 seconds of hockey, profiling the Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals showcase of young talent and another 15 before other game highlights are shown, other game scores announced. It's why NBC has the games virtually for free and can't get people to watch. It's why the sport we know and love is dropping like a rock in terms of major audience appeal.
Silent Treatment
February 19th, 2007
Jim Kelley
(for Sportsnet.ca)
Amid the buzz of who might be traded where, the real issues affecting the NHL go unnoticed.
Here are a few thoughts jotted in a notebook while watching NASCAR roar past the National Hockey League via the Daytona 500; the PGA tour capture a massive share of attention with Phil Mickelson blowing another chance to shed his "Never On Sunday" image; and the National Basketball Association showcase an All-Star "competition" that still manages to capture your wandering eye even though it's very much like
the NHL's silly showcase (that you can't find without television's answer to a digital microscope).
I mention all this as the collective hockey media is gearing up to run endless hours of televised, print and internet speculation about trade rumors that may or may not come to pass during the three-days of general managers meetings in Florida ... while the real issues of the NHL are virtually ignored.
Some examples:
Bogus Issue No. 1: Some teams will be buyers at the February 27 deadline, and some will be sellers.
No kidding! Is there something new here? Have we not heard or read or seen this every year since the NHL established a deadline. Look, this isn't the issue. The issue is whether or not the GMs will suggest to the powers that be in the NHL (Gary Bettman, Bill Daly and Colin Campbell) will make any real and/or relevant suggestions regarding what is necessary to move the game forward.
The general consensus seems to be that the changes imposed after the lockout are enough for now and the old saw about "don't fix it if it ain't broken" applies. How can that be? Fans across North America are looking at the new NHL with a very large ho hum. Ratings are static in Canada. Ratings are non-existent in the United States. The league claims attendance is on the rise but it doesn't release paid attendance figures, or even the value of those paid attendance figures. The league has those numbers; but nobody in media unearths them or holds the league accountable for not providing them. Meanwhile, we see thousands of empty seats in arenas from Boston to Chicago to Los Angeles and a great many cities in between.
While the talk is endless about whether or not Nashville overpaid for Peter Forsberg or Edmonton is signaling they are sellers after the dumping of Marc-Andre Bergeron, nothing is being said or written about the demise of the NHL on both broadcast TV and cable in the United States. The rise of NASCAR to a place of mega-prominence on ESPN (once the home of hockey in the US) was witnessed Sunday when ESPN opened with 15 minutes of coverage of the Daytona 500 Sunday night. A whole 15 minutes of coverage for an event it didn't have the rights for. Hockey coverage was non-existent except for the crawler at the bottom of the screen.
Bogus Issue No. 2: The endless debate regarding scheduling changes and whether or not the GMs will take a stand during their meetings.
Hello? The GMs can stand on their heads on the 19th tee or hook each other off the deck of the "Looking for the Big One" charter boat and it won't matter.
Changing the schedule, or even recommending changing the schedule, to address divisional or conference play isn't their domain. It wasn't their domain when the met in Toronto earlier this winter and it won't be during these meetings.
This just in: the general managers don't control the scheduling, the owners do. The general managers do not reshape the way the game is played these days, the competition committee does.
The real issue that needs to be addressed is what the heck has happened to the competition committee? They don't seem to be meeting; they don't appear to be addressing anything. They appear as immobilized as Brendan Shanahan (one of their
members) was while being wheeled off the Madison Square Garden ice over the weekend, the victim of a head-on-head hit.
Look around, concussions are still a major problem for the NHL. What's being done? Knee-on-knee hits seem to be on the rise. What's being done? The coach of the Eastern Conference at the All-Star game, Lindy Ruff, charges that hooking, holding and obstruction are making their way back into the game. He gets about one day of coverage and then it's back to who might be traded.
These are serious issues in the game today. So is the fact that Campbell has unilaterally changed the rules about physical contact and seems to have turned a blind eye to the seriousness of serious intent to injure, ignoring some incidents that scream for supplemental discipline while holding to a three-game-no-matter what standard for the few instances he does rule on. How is it that one man holds so much power to determine the shape and course of the game?
Isn't that worth writing about or asking about? Isn't that more important than a national debate on the value of Ryan Smyth's contract?
Meanwhile ESPN Sunday spent about five minutes after its Daytona report on the NBA All-Star game with a promise to come back to it later in the show. Still no mention of the NHL, or even the fact the GMs are meeting. Coverage moves to Phil Mickelson's melt down on the 72nd hole (shades of the US open revisited) and a lengthy segment on pitchers and catchers reporting to baseball spring training. Finish up with an endless chat with Lou Pinella about the joys of managing a baseball team in Chicago, an event that hasn't happened yet.
The NHL and NHLPA need to be looking at their "partnership" agreement. How close can the two sides be when there is an ongoing federal investigation (According to a report in Sports Business Journal) into whether or not labour laws were violated regarding contractual side agreements between the league and the Players' Association? Or what about the fact these letters were not revealed to the players who ratified the agreement? The CBA issues between the Players' Association and the league and the players and their leadership are huge yet go virtually unreported.
Bogus Issue No. 3: The length of pregame ceremonies honoring former players, teams or events and how maybe the Toronto Maple Leafs got it right (as if honoring a 40-year drought by bring back it's last championship team really matters).
Okay, maybe it matters to visiting teams that Steve Yzerman's goodbye took 80 minutes or that Mike Vernon's number retirement dragged on. That being said, what about some dialogue on the bogus system that gives teams a point for losing in overtime or a shootout? Anybody find it interesting that goalies, everyone's consensus choice as the most valuable players in the game, are being run at every
opportunity and it's not an accident, it's a coaching tactic?
Anyone notice that Wayne Gretzky has flip-flopped on the need for fighting in hockey and how that might open the door for more of it in the game? Does anyone have a lick of interest about revising the instigator rule or "no-touch" icing or the fact that goaltenders really haven't given up much of anything in regards the size of their equipment or that some coaches and GMs are arguing for a lessening of "soft"
penalties, an affront to the still-new officiating standards if there ever was one?
Doesn't seem like it.
Hockey has issues, but we in media rarely seem interested. In the race to be first to report the hot rumour or denigrate Sidney Crosby, or be funny, different or sexy, we've managed to overlook the fact that the game is still struggling to come back from a horrific labour dispute, one that is only now showing the extent of the damage it did to the game.
In the race to rack a GM in either the buyer or seller category we've neglected to ask whether or not he has a viable idea for fine tuning the game. In the hustle to identify a hair-thin report of a possible new commissioner have we even bothered to take an in-depth look at the accomplishments and/or failures of the current commissioner?
The consensus say hockey is a hard sell, especially in the States, because far too few people play it; but how many sports fans have ever piloted an automobile around a packed race course at 200 miles per hour with a competitor sitting right on his bumper? How many of us have actually jammed a basketball home from above the rim or had to putt-to-win on 18 with the eyes of millions questioning whether or not we're
going to choke?
Hockey has just as much right as any other major sport to be in the eye of the entertainment world. The fact that it isn't is the question that needs to be addressed. The ways to make hockey happen need to continue to be discussed.
That it isn't happening now is part of the reason why it took until thirty one minutes into the show before ESPN showed about 30 seconds of hockey, profiling the Pittsburgh Penguins-Washington Capitals showcase of young talent and another 15 before other game highlights are shown, other game scores announced. It's why NBC has the games virtually for free and can't get people to watch. It's why the sport we know and love is dropping like a rock in terms of major audience appeal.
Friday, February 16, 2007
The Knife Cuts Both Ways
"I'm so vein, I bet I think this song is about me,
I'm so vein, I bet I think this song is about me..."
Sorry, had to do it.
Well, I just got the news today - gotta go under the knife next week. Friday the 23rd, that is the big day. Off to KGH for what should be a simple, in-and-out procedure, whereby the top of my head is cut off and sewn onto the bottom of my left foot...Just Kidding! Actually, it is just a procedure to fix some vein problem I apparently have (I can just see the specialist now, gazing all teary-eyed at a glossy full-page magazine photo of the new set of golf clubs that he is about to place an order for...) in my groin-al area somewhere.
But enough with the gory details, and enough with the useless chatter.
Tat-ta!
I'm so vein, I bet I think this song is about me..."
Sorry, had to do it.
Well, I just got the news today - gotta go under the knife next week. Friday the 23rd, that is the big day. Off to KGH for what should be a simple, in-and-out procedure, whereby the top of my head is cut off and sewn onto the bottom of my left foot...Just Kidding! Actually, it is just a procedure to fix some vein problem I apparently have (I can just see the specialist now, gazing all teary-eyed at a glossy full-page magazine photo of the new set of golf clubs that he is about to place an order for...) in my groin-al area somewhere.
But enough with the gory details, and enough with the useless chatter.
Tat-ta!
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