Golf Winners Again

I don't like to brag...probably because I rarely have an opportunity to do so but I thought I'd do it just this one time.

Back on October 13 I took part in the Terry Fox Golf Tournament for the seventh year in a row. My current team (foursome) has been together for six of those years and of those six we've won the tournament four times, including this most recent event.

Of course we play mainly to support a good cause but with so many members of our golf club taking part we also enjoy bragging rights for a year.

It's a good time and with so many of us taking part there are usually some impressive shots during the round. This year was no exception.

Clip of the Week - October 22/07

Far be it for me to promote violence. In fact, it's a well known fact that I'm a lover, not a fighter. Actually...truth be known...I'm neither most of the time.

I do believe however that there is still a place for fighting in hockey and a lot of the bad things that have happened in the NHL in recent years would have been avoided had the rules on fighting not changed from the past. Even the players agree that fighting has its place in the game and by reverting back to the old rules, the marquee players would be looked after much better and the high number of dangerous stick infractions and plays on the ice would drop once again.

There is less respect for the opposition in today's game. In the past, the actions of an offending player would be dealt with swiftly on the ice rather than the league having to step in and hand out suspensions and fines. Coaches and players didn't have to whine to the league to dish out the punishment...the players took care of it right away and it was done with. Players knew that if they messed with the wrong guy or did something stupid, they'd pay.

I might also add that very seldom are players seriously hurt in a hockey fight. The same can't be said when a player is checked from behind, boarded or takes a stick to the face.

The NHL wants to appeal to Americans and grow the game south of our border and I don't have a problem with that. I've been to hockey games in the U.S. and the fans sit on their hands most of time. The cheers erupt to a deafening level though when the gloves come off. I don't recall anyone leaving a hockey game because it was too violent. Well, maybe the Soviets did back in the 70's...but they don't count.

Here is a recent tilt of current NHL heavyweights Georges Laraque and Donald Brashear from Saturday night.

Clip of the Week - October 15/07

I must apologize for not providing you with a more interesting clip this week but I'd rather provide quality rather than quantity and sadly there hasn't been anything worth posting other than this latest joke from Eli.

I scoured YouTube for an hour or more and there really wasn't much interesting to post.

Hopefully the week ahead will produce something more entertaining.

Clip of the Week - October 8/07

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!...for those of you in Canada any way.

It's time for yet another clip of the week.

I wasn't sure what to choose this week since there weren't a lot of great new clips available. So I figured I'd add another episode of Eli's Dirty Jokes. Be sure to listen carefully to this one or you might not get it.

No foul language to worry about in this one either.

Seasons Change

Seasons Change
Originally uploaded by Bundy68

Where did summer go?

Some in my neck of the woods might argue that summer hasn't even left yet when you consider the fact the temperatures continue to be well above normal for this time of year.

It's Thanksgiving weekend in Canada and we haven't come close to having frost let alone flurries. I recall Thanksgiving's past when a little snow and cold was the norm. Is it the dreaded global warming or just Mother Nature finally giving us a break? Either way, I'm not going to complain and I'd be happy to see it continue right into January and beyond.

Of course the realist in me realizes that just won't happen and at some point we'll be up to our waist in snow and praying for the thermometre to just get to zero. Until then, I'll be working on my tan.

OUCH!...What Now?

I would say I’ve been quite fortunate that in my nearly 40 years of playing sports, roughhousing with friends or wrestling with my brother, I’ve only suffered a few injuries.

After recently being plagued with another mishap I tried to recall some of my wounds over the years and most have come from playing competitive or friendly sports.

My earliest injury I can recall came in Kindergarten or perhaps Grade 1. I was just five years old when I was climbing on a jungle gym type apparatus in the playground at Marmora Street School. Hanging upside down I lost my grip and dropped like a large piece of ham onto the ground and landed on my tailbone. The instant agony was more than I could handle. Of course I hobbled home in tears and upon entering the apartment I couldn’t climb the stairs. As I recall, I didn’t receive much sympathy from my dad which is probably one reason I toughened up in future years. Plus I made sure I went to mom from then on.

Playing ball as a young lad I sustained numerous bumps and bruises. I recollect a game in Brighton at the public school where I was playing first base and took a short hop in the mouth chipping a tooth. I eventually became a catcher and that led to plenty of foul tips to the “Jewels”. I could never understand why people always said to “walk it off” because the last thing I ever wanted to do was go for a walk after taking a fastball to the “boys”.

In high school I played football and rugby and my weak ankles that kept me from wearing skates and becoming the next NHL superstar came into play once again. It seemed as though I was forever turning my ankles and pulling or tearing things that worked better when they weren’t abused like that. To this day my ankles still cause me pain and during my lob-ball years the day after games I would have to hobble around. And I played a lot of ball.

My most painful football wound came in my very last game in Grade 13 on the second play of the game. We were in Belleville at Centennial Secondary School and I came off the line to block my man when I pulled my groin muscle and the pain was excruciating. I wouldn’t class myself as a tough guy but knowing that this could be my last game there was no way I was coming out. Coach Tom Nigro wanted to bench me but I told him I was finishing the game. I think he used a roll and a half of tape to wrap my thigh and back in I went to finish. It hurt like hell and by the end of the game I was in tears but I had to play. I can still remember to this day how painful it was just trying to lift my leg in bed from this injury.

Next it was an injury that ended my baseball playing days. It was the Wednesday Night fun league in town and as I swung the bat I felt a pop in my left hand and the intense pain quickly followed on the follow through. I knew I had broken something. I tried to finish the game but it hurt to just catch the baseball so I had to pack it in. After I had x-rays taken I had a visit with my family doctor and he told me it wasn’t broken but I had pulled or torn something. I insisted that he was wrong despite the x-rays showing no break. He decided to send me for an MRI to be sure and the technician and I could see the broken bone right away. I love it when I’m right but this was bitter sweet. It was called the Ken Griffey Jr. injury since he had done the exact same thing. It hurt to golf as well so you can imagine how angry I was when I was two years from the time of diagnosis until I finally had the operation to remove the floating piece of bone in my wrist. At least I was left with a cool mean looking scar.

My latest injury is in my left foot. I was out golfing a couple of weeks ago when I took a step following my second shot of the round and felt another pop in my foot. Despite the pain I was able to finish my round and didn’t do too bad considering I was hitting off my back foot the rest of the round. I eventually went to the hospital and had x-rays which found a fracture in one bone but more likely the pain was coming from torn or badly pulled ligaments. Either way, it’s still very uncomfortable and I have yet to hear anything from my family doctor on this one. Perhaps I’ll have to force his hand again and make the correct diagnosis before anything is done to fix this problem.

So as you can see I haven’t had as many injuries as some but I have had my share and I can honestly say…they all suck.

Clip of the Week - October 1/07

I've been very busy with work lately so I haven't had much time to update in the last week but I hope to find more time in another week or so. In the meantime, here is yet another Clip of the Week for you to enjoy.

The NHL season is underway and that is cause for celebration in Canada. The rest of the world could probably care less but that's their problem if they can't come grips with the greatness of the coolest game on the planet.

Just before the season began, Philadelphia Flyers rookie Steve Downie made himself known to Dean McAmmond of the Ottawa Senators. Shortly after this incident he had a meeting with the NHL disciplinary folks and was handed a 20 game suspension to start the season. The reason may or may not appear obvious to you in the following clip.

Personally I agree it was a cheap hit and he deserved to be punished but I think 20 games is a little severe. I think this could come back to bite the NHL when a marquee player does something similar and the league won't want to dish out the same punishment but will need to if they don't want to look even more foolish.

What do you think....did he deserve the 20 games?