Welcome to my blog.
This is my creative outlet that could include my thoughts on anything from current affairs, my weight loss quest and things that just make me need to voice an opinion.
There’s no doubt about it, in today’s society, sex sells. But this isn’t news to anyone and it certainly isn’t something that has appeared on the scene in the last 20 years.
In recent days the latest controversy, or media storm, has surrounded a photo of 15-year-old T-ween sensation Miley Cyrus. Unless you’ve been held captive in a basement in Austria the last few years (too soon?) you know that she stars in the hit Disney television program Hannah Montana. This is a show that targets the 7-12 age group and obviously if you’re a parent you probably don’t want your child’s current idol to be seen dressed in a provocative manner.
Kids like to pretend they are their hero’s and idols. Heck, I can recall as a child I loved Lee Major’s character “Steve Austin” on The Six Million Dollar Man (I'm hooked on that show lately) and my neighbourhood friends and I would jump off picnic tables or pretend to be bionic. I’m pretty sure Lee Major’s probably posed for some provocative chest hair showing photos back then but as a kid I couldn’t care less.
Of course this is a little different. In Cyrus’ case, she’s a minor and needs to be protected and at the same time, young fans also need to be protected as well. How many of you remember the recent Britney Spears mania and all of the young girls that quickly changed their clothing style and ended up exposing their midriff just like their hero? Who’s to blame for that? Is it the celebrity who is obviously being manipulated by her handlers or parents who allow their kids to dress like that?
I’m going to admit that I don’t see what the big deal is with this Vanity Fair photo of Cyrus. She’s holding a sheet in front of her and showing an exposed back and shoulder. Good Lord, I’ve seen girls that age or younger wearing less at the beach. I think they’re getting a little out of control with this one. If I was a parent, I’d be more upset about recent photos of her that were leaked on to the internet showing her flashing her bra.
Disney is worried, not for Cyrus’ well-being, but for the image of their “cash cow” being tainted. This girl and her character are worth millions to Disney and you know they’d like to avoid seeing that money disappear any sooner than it has to.
Come on, do they honestly think that fans of the show are going to turn it off in protest. OK, maybe there are some parents who are prudes and probably still believe no skin should be shown above the knee and below the neck. The reality is, in today’s society, morals have changed immensely and unless you live in a compound with 400 other Polygamists you’ve changed with the times as well.
At some point, Cyrus is going to be an adult and that audience of kids is going to disappear or grow up with her. If she’s not careful, her career will vanish as well. She’ll have to make that jump from child star to adult star…unless she plans to be the next Raffi or Sharon, Lois and Bram and just do children’s albums.
I was trying to think of some child stars that were also considered to be “sex symbols” at some point during their youthful career and how they and their careers turned out. Let me see…how about:
Brooke Shields: I’d have to check my facts but I believe she appeared naked at the age of 11(?) in a movie and later in her most famous role in The Blue Lagoon when she was 15. At the time it seemed quite shocking but was it really a big deal? Her career is still going fairly strong today.
Jodie Foster: Her role as a child prostitute in Taxi Driver earned her an Academy Award nomination and her career is still alive.
And of course I can’t forget the one child star I had a huge crush on as a youngster…Marsha Brady (Maureen McGovern). Marsha, Marsha, Marsha. I was so jealous when Davy Jones of the Monkees got to go on a date with her on the Brady Bunch. Come to think of it, I guess her career did go South after that show went off the air. Damn typecasting.
In the end we all know this is going to blow over and more often than not scandals like these are perpetrated by the stars themselves just to generate more interest in their careers and to keep their names in the public conscious. One thing is sure, I didn’t watch Hannah Montana before and I’m certainly not going to watch it now. I say lets move forward from this and concentrate on a story that’s much more fascinating…isn’t it about time for Britney to do something stupid again?
I wouldn't say that I "hate" television today but it just doesn't seem to be as good as when I was a kid.
Sure the special effects and quality are better but the shows seem to lack something that the shows in the 70's had.
Maybe it's just that there's too many "reality based" shows now. I don't mind Survivor or Amazing Race but every time I turn the TV on, somebody I've never heard of is either trying to lose weight, win a singing competition or some has been celebrity has a television crew in their home.
As for scripted shows today, among the few I watch are LOST, Law & Order and The Office. I'll also watch a few cartoons like The Simpsons and Family Guy but I don't really count those.
Growing up I can recall lots of quality programs that may have lacked the polish by today's standards but were very entertaining and you actually planned to be home to watch.
Among the programs I grew up with and loved were M*A*S*H, Happy Days, All In The Family and Fantasy Island.
But the three shows I enjoyed the most can be found in these clips.
I love to travel and see how other people and cultures live in their own environment and countries. To be honest if I just want to see other cultures, I could probably visit Toronto for the day and I’ll see all the colours of the rainbow. One thing about Canada, we’re a melting pot with multiculturalism coming out our butts. But that’s another rant I can go on another time.
I’ve been fortunate to see many parts of North America and the Caribbean but I have yet to travel overseas to Europe, Africa or Asia. I’ve been to the United States (several States but mostly Florida), Mexico, Jamaica, Cayman Islands, Belize, Costa Rica and Panama.
I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to visit these places as I know there are many people, like my parents, who have never traveled much. Sure they go to Florida once a year but that doesn’t show you different cultures really as the Americans are more or less like Canadians…just not as polite.
One thing I’ve found with traveling, it gave me a real appreciation for home and my country of Canada. If you’ve ever thought “I’ve got it bad”, then you’ve obviously never been to places where survival and day to day life are not taken for granted.
Living in Canada and having to pay so much money for taxes, gas, food, housing and just the necessities of life can be draining on your emotions and your bank account but I’ve been to places where people don’t have homes or much money to survive.
One of my least favourite trips had me in Jamaica and in particular Montego Bay. If you’ve been to Jamaica to a resort you might not see how bad things are if you don’t venture off the resort property and I certainly don’t recommend it as you could be mugged, robbed or worse. There are some wonderful people in Jamaica and the Red Stripe beer was tasty but of all the places I’ve been this is where I felt the least safe. That’s saying a lot considering our tour group in Panama had an armed escort with two guys on a motorcycle…one driving and the other carrying a nice sized gun.
Montego Bay was a very dirty place and as a tourist stop you were hounded everywhere to buy stuff. People were lined down the middle of the road trying to sell items through the windows of the cars as we stopped in traffic. There are some side streets in the town where you wouldn’t want to venture for fear of being rolled. The small river through town was filled with garbage and stunk. The roads and sidewalks were very dangerous with huge holes. Overall, it wasn’t too pleasing to the eyes.
Upon arriving by cab in Montego Bay, I had a young man (early 20’s maybe) who attached himself to me as my personal tour guide. He ignored my friendly protests saying I didn’t need him to show me around and stayed with me. He tried to lead me down one street which looked like trouble and that was enough as I headed back to where the cab dropped me off. Before I said goodbye to him he informed me that I owed him $40 for the guided tour to which I told him I wasn’t paying for it as I never asked for it. Wanting him out of my hair, I told him I’d give him $5 and that didn’t go over well but when I said it was five or nothing, he took the five and went on his way looking for the next unsuspecting tourist. I got in a cab and quickly got out of there and I have no plans to ever return.
The only cool thing about that day was that the Queen and Prince Phillip were there to dedicate the new town hall (clearly the newest and cleanest building in the town). There were snipers on the roof tops and lots of security around so I can only imagine what my visit might have been like had the security been sparser. I only managed a quick view of the Royals as they were coming into town as I was heading out.
Oddly enough my visit to Cozumel, Mexico was a lot of fun but considering the number of Canadians in recent years that have been killed, injured and arrested in Mexico since then, I probably visited at the right time.
With what has happened to Brenda Martin in the news recently and of course all of the other well publicized killings of Canadians in that country, I will avoid it like Montezuma’s Revenge and I certainly wouldn’t recommend any of my friends visit Mexico either.
My favourite places were Limon, Costa Rica and Grand Cayman. In Costa Rica I went white-water rafting through the rainforest with my brother and it was incredible. I was dead tired by the time we got to the launch point but it was worth it as we hit some amazing rapids and had an awesome time. The rain was coming down and it was one of those moments I’ll always remember and cherish.
When I went to Grand Cayman I had a chance to swim and snorkel with the Stingrays and that was incredible. Keep in mind this was prior to the well publicized death of Croc Hunter Steve Irwin after he was attacked by one. I might think twice about it today. There were hundreds of stingrays all around us and they were obviously used to human contact so it wasn’t quite as risky. You had to be careful not to step on one though as they would defend themselves.
Before I pass on I’d love to see Scotland where my ancestors are from, England and Paris. It would also be cool to go on a Safari in Africa but I think if the lions or tigers saw me they’d think a smörgåsbord had arrived and I’d be quickly placed on the endangered list.
I’m sure everyone’s experiences are different and places I didn’t like others will visit over and over again. I just hope you don’t visit a place one time too many and regret it.
The hockey playoffs are here and of course that means despite the much nicer weather outside, I will of course be planted in front of the TV watching hockey for the next month and a half.
Mind you, I'll likely lose some interest if my Montreal Canadiens are ever eliminated as it's always more fun when you have a team to cheer for.
Earlier tonight I was doing plenty of cheering as the Habs avoided elimination in Game 7 of the East Conference Quarter-Final against the Boston Bruins.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous but once the game started I could sense that the Canadiens were in full control and were not going to disappoint their fans.
In the end Montreal left no doubt who the better team was as they cruised to a 5-0 victory and advanced to the second round of the playoffs.
The only disappointment followed the game when some brain dead idiotic "fans" decided to cause trouble and riot in downtown Montreal by burning police cars and looting. How is that a celebration?
I can recall back in 1993 I was in Toronto when the Blue Jays won their second World Series and there were several hundred thousand people crammed onto Younge Street and it was a very peaceful celebration. Everyone was hugging and kissing and cheering and just having a good time. The police were present but they only had to sit back and watch or maybe deal with a few idiots but nobody felt the need to do damage or cause trouble.
Any way, here are the highlights from Game 7 for you to enjoy...especially the Toronto and Ottawa fans. Sorry, I couldn't resist rubbing it in a little.
Well it has finally arrived. With temperatures back at or above normal it's only natural that the golf courses in my neck of the woods are open for business.
Last night I ventured out for a quick and fun nine hole round of scramble golf with some friends. I hadn't swung a club since Boxing Day in Florida so I knew I'd be rusty but I wasn't prepared for all the rust I had. I was playing like a FORD vehicle that's how rusty I was.
I thought I was going to play well. I stepped up to the first tee and my first shot of the season settled about 2 inches away from the hole. I damn near had a hole-in-one with my first swing of the year. I thought, "Hey...this might not be too bad after all."
Sadly, after getting my birdie on the first hole it was all down hill from there. I was sculling the ball, topping the ball and one time I even missed the ball completely. It's funny how you, or I, have to retrain myself after having all the time off. I needed to tie my head down so I wasn't peaking but I couldn't stop myself and my swing was looking like a folding lawn chair. Ya, I'm not sure what that means either.
Any way, I managed to finish the round and other than my tee shots, the rest of my game wasn't too bad.
Here it is the following morning and I'm in a lot of pain. I guess I found some muscles I haven't used all winter and they're letting me know they didn't appreciate being ignored for the last six months. On top of that my left foot and my right knee are both feeling less than top notch as well.
I think that's just my body telling me to wait until the golf carts are allowed on the course and I should ride the rest of the season. In fact, that's probably why my game stunk so much...I was in too much pain and tired from climbing the hills.
I'd like to think that's the reason. Oh well, it's just the beginning of the season so there's plenty of time to work on some better excuses.
If you're like me, from time to time you enjoy seeing others mess up. If it wasn't for stuff like this, blooper television shows wouldn't exist.
I have some empathy for those poor souls. I had a similar slip of the tongue back in my radio days. I was talking on-air one morning about something that happened in a baseball game and I meant to say, "The batter missed the coaches bunt sign." Unfortunately what came out of my mouth was, "The batter missed the boaches *unt sign." As if that isn't bad enough, in my effort to quickly correct myself, I said it again! Needless to say, everywhere I went for the next couple of weeks, I had people bugging me about it.
This weeks clip is something similar as a female newscaster has a little slip up.
As I was sitting in front of the TV tonight watching another hockey game, the colour announcer irritated the hell out of me and since I don't have much hair to pull out, I was forced to lob obscenities at him instead.
This got me to thinking about how often I do this while watching sports. I know it's not an easy job since I've actually been in their shoes doing the play-by-play for junior hockey games and the odd baseball game. On radio it's actually a little tougher since there's no video to watch during the quiet times so you have to fill the time with talk.
There are some broadcasters who just plain annoy me and some who are former athletes with no broadcasting experience and it shows.
Of course there are a few that will be left off my list that would likely make your list. The first one that comes to mind is Don Cherry. I love Grapes! Does he make sense all the time? No. Does he talk about Bobby Orr a tad too much? Yes. Does he entertain me and at the same time remind me of why I'm proud to be Canadian? Absolutely! Cherry may get on your nerves and his schtick might be a bit old but he speaks his mind and doesn't care what others think and I can respect that. He is the only reason why I'll sit through the first period of another bloody awful Leaf game just so I can hear what he has to say on "Coach's Corner". As for Ron McLean, I think he does an excellent job as well despite the fact his puns get a little tiresome after a while.
Now on to my personal list of the Worst Sportscasters. Some I'll go into detail about while others suck so badly that you probably already know why I've chosen them.
8. Cassie Campbell (CBC / HNIC) Here's a case where a former athlete is given a job because she's easy on the eyes and is well known in Canada. Cassie was the captain of Canada's Women's Hockey Team and has won many championships. I can respect that and was happy to cheer her on at the time, but I cringe every time I see her do an interview or talk hockey strategy. Perhaps I'm just sexist (I doubt it) when it comes to women sportscasters but I think it's more than that...she just stinks as a broadcaster.
7. Rod Black (CTV Sports) Here's a guy who really knows how to take all of the wind out of our sails with his monotone voice and lack of enthusiasm. Actually, I give the folks at CTV credit for having him broadcast the sports that are perfect him...Golf and Baseball. You can't get much more boring than those sports on TV. The only thing that makes listening to Rod even worse is his skill in over-stating the obvious. How about this insight, "The Jays really want to win today". Boy, that is some scintillating commentary.
6. John Madden (Football) This one actually hurts because I like Madden but he has steadily gotten worse over the years. He used to be kinda funny as well but his insight and humour have both been sacked. Perhaps he's just changed his style of broadcasting. He certainly isn't annoying to listen to, I just don't think he has much to say anymore. Not much insight in any of the games I watch and he sounds like he's become lazy in his pre-game prep. On the bright side, I still like his Football game on Xbox.
5. Tim McCarver (Fox Sports / Baseball) I almost dread the baseball playoffs every season because I know we'll be stuck listening to this guy. McCarver has been around for a long time and for the life of me I can't understand why. There's nothing he can't explain (even if he's wrong) and there aren't many who can do it as loudly as he can. I recall one playoff when he picked on Deion Sanders constantly. In the clubhouse after the Braves had won Sanders dumped a cooler of ice water on McCarver's head. Not the nicest thing to do but he kind of had it coming.
4. Joe Buck (Fox Sports / Baseball) I can't mention Tim McCarver without talking about Joe Buck. Here is yet another high profile sportscaster with very little ability to entertain a baseball audience. I'm quite sure he's a St. Louis fan since he seems to belittle every team except the Cardinals. He actually gives Bob Costas a run for his money when it comes to being and sounding arrogant. The only thing that makes Buck even more annoying is the fact that he also covers the NFL as well. Yikes!
3. Bob Cole (CBC / HNIC) Oh Bob...it's time for you to hang them up my friend. There was a time when I would have ranked Mr. Cole as one of my favourite hockey broadcasters but those days are long gone now. Forgetting the fact for the moment that he's obviously a Maple Leaf fan and likely wears his blue and white boxers to every broadcast, he's just slowing down. He can't keep up with the play anymore or identify the players on the ice as well as he used to. I think the new rule changes have affected him more than the players as the speed of the game is just to much for him to keep up with. Despite all of this I will say he has announced some of my favourite moments...Canada's win over the U.S. at the Olympics in 2002 and who can forget him saying "They're going home! They're going home!" in 1976 when the Soviets left the ice in the first period of their game with the Philadelphia Flyers.
2. Bob Costas (TV and Radio) I think late night talk show host Conan O'Brien said it best, ""The first Olympic events start tomorrow and you know what that means, right? Bob Costas has to memorize crap nobody cares about." That pretty much sums it up. I have never liked Costas and his no-it-all mentality. He tries to be funny but it just doesn't work. If he has writers, they need to be fired immediately. Above all else, Costas presents himself as a sports snob. He may be an intellectual but I'd hazard to guess that the majority of sports viewers aren't scholars and his broadcasting style belittles anyone who may not have a college education. I am an educated individual and even I find him to be a little too pompous for his own good.
1. Pierre McGuire (TSN / NBC - Hockey) OK...I will say right off the top that McGuire knows his hockey and like all of the people I've mentioned above, is probably a decent human being and would be interesting to have a conversation with. However knowing the game doesn't make you a good broadcaster. Of all sportscasters on the air today, he is by far the one who annoys me the most. He is the master of the obvious. He is the reason why God created the mute button on the remote. The problem is, I've gone through five remotes because of him.
He's loud, obnoxious, speaks in run on sentences and did I mention loud? Does anyone else get annoyed when he says, "Monster", "Roof Daddy", "Ka-Bong", "Whammo" and "Hammertime"? The worst one was during the World Junior Hockey Championships when Dion Phaneuf knocked down two players and he called it a "Double Dion". What the hell does that mean? I also think he'd marry Sidney Crosby if the opportunity presented itself.
If he just toned down his enthusiasm, annoying catch-phrases and stopped announcing his love for the same few players over and over again, he'd almost be tolerable. Sadly if TSN has held on to him this long, he'll likely be around for a long time to come. That's good news for Walmart as I'll be back there often to get another new remote.
I think this is an excellent example of how we can shut McGuire up. If only we could get the NHL players to do this all the time.
Here's just another brief sample of McGuire being....McGuire.
I can't believe I've waited this long to do this list. I love sports and I love movies and naturally I also love sports movies so this list is long overdue.
When I sat down and started to scratch out a list of my most favourite sports flicks I quickly realized that I was going to have to leave a lot of great movies out of my Top 10.
To start, here are a few of the movies that rank high in my personal list but didn't make the top ten: The Longest Yard (Original), Field of Dreams, Hoosiers, We Are Marshall, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Brian's Song, Seabiscuit, Miracle and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Now on to the real list. I'm sure some of my choices won't match yours but this is my list after all so feel free to leave me any comments or suggestions.
Number 10 The Rocket (2005): A story about Quebec's most famous hockey player, Maurice "The Rocket" Richard, focusing on the struggles of a French Canadian in the National Hockey League dominated by Anglophones.
I'm not a big fan of having to read subtitles but while there is plenty of French spoken, there's also an equal amount of English so it evens out. Just a great hockey movie.
Number 9 Rocky (1976): Rocky Balboa is a struggling boxer trying to make the big time. Working in a meat factory in Philadelphia for a pittance, he also earns extra cash as a debt collector. When heavyweight champion Apollo Creed visits Philadelphia, his managers want to set up an exhibition match between Creed and a struggling boxer, touting the fight as a chance for a "nobody" to become a "somebody". The match is supposed to be easily won by Creed, but someone forgot to tell Rocky, who sees this as his only shot at the big time.
This movie deserved to win the Best Picture Oscar in 1977. Stallone gives an Oscar worthy performance and the scenes with Rocky and Mick his trainer are wonderful.
Number 8 Bull Durham (1988): Veteran minor-league catcher Crash Davis is assigned to the Class A Durham Bulls to handle the team's star rookie, wild pitcher "Nuke" LaLoosh. Team groupie Annie Savoy romances both players, creating a comic triangle.
This is a hilarious and classic baseball movie. The interaction between Crash and Nuke makes for some great quotes and moments.
Number 7 The Bad News Bears (1976): Former minor leaguer Morris Buttermaker is a lazy, beer swilling swimming pool cleaner who takes money to coach the Bears, a bunch of disheveled misfits who have virtually no baseball talent. Realizing his dilemma, Coach Buttermaker brings aboard girl pitching ace Amanda Whurlizer, the daughter of a former girlfriend, and Kelly Leak, a motorcycle punk who happens to be the best player around. Brimming with confidence, the Bears look to sweep into the championship game and avenge an earlier loss to their nemesis, the Yankees.
This movie is not for kids as it is brutally honest and full of foul language but it is a winner. Walter Matthau is brilliant as coach Buttermaker.
Number 6 The Pride of the Yankees (1942): Biopic traces the life of Lou Gehrig, famous baseball player who played in 2130 consecutive games before falling at age 37 to ALS, a deadly nerve disease which now bears his name. Gehrig is followed from his childhood in New York until his famous 'Luckiest Man' speech at his farewell day in 1939.
This black and white movie has stood the test of time. The movie stars Gary Cooper as Gehrig and also the real Babe Ruth as himself. I'm not a big fan of old movies but I could watch it again and again.
Number 5 Remember The Titans (2000): In the early 1970s, two schools in Alexandria Virginia integrate forming T.C. Williams High School. The Caucasian head coach of the Titans is replaced by an African American coach from North Carolina. Tensions arise when players of different races are forced together on the same football team. Many of these tensions are eased during the two-week training camp in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. When players returned to Alexandria the players found the city in turmoil due to the forced desegregation of the high school. As the season progresses the team's success caused the community to accept the changes.
This is a wonderful story based on true accounts. An enjoyable movie from start to finish.
Number 4 Rudy (1993): Rudy grew up in a steel mill town where most people ended up working, but wanted to play football at Notre Dame instead. There were only a couple of problems. His grades were a little low, his athletic skills were poor, and he was only half the size of the other players. But he had the drive and the spirit of 5 people and has set his sights upon joining the team.
I challenge anyone to watch this movie and not get caught up in the emotional ending. There's nothing better than seeing the little man succeed after years of perseverance.
Number 3 The Natural (1984): An unknown middle-aged batter named Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) with a mysterious past appears out of nowhere to take a losing 1930s baseball team to the top of the league in this magical sports fantasy. With the aid of a bat cut from a lightning struck tree, Hobbs lives the fame he should have had earlier when, as a rising pitcher, he is inexplicably shot by a young woman.
Quite simply this is the best baseball movie ever made in my opinion.
Number 2 Caddyshack (1980): Comical goings on at an exclusive golf club. All the members are wealthy and eccentric, and all the staff are poor and slightly less eccentric. The main character is 'Danny'; he's a caddy who will do almost anything to raise money to go to college. There are many subplots, including the assistant green keeper's pursuit of a cute (obviously stuffed) gopher.
The movie stars Rodney Dangerfield, Ted Knight, Bill Murray and Chevy Chase. With four comic greats such as these, the movie was destined to be a hilarious classic.
Number 1 Slap Shot (1977): Paul Newman plays Reggie Dunlop, the coach of a pathetic minor-league American hockey team. His career at a standstill and his marriage in tatters, Dunlop has nothing to lose by taking on a new group of players who are one evolutionary step above Neanderthals. Only when the team begins winning does he decide to get behind these players, and to encourage the rest of the team to play as down-and-dirty as the newcomers. Slap Shot is the sort of film for which the "R" rating was invented: Its nonstop barrage of profanity and its raunchy action sequences are of such intensity that the film will probably never be shown intact on commercial television.
When it comes to sports movies, this one is head and shoulders above the rest. This is by far my favourite sports flick of all time.
So there you have it...my Top Sports Movies (so far). Did I miss one you think should be in the Top 10 or is there one that doesn't belong there, let me know what you think by leaving a comment.
I’m going to admit that I don’t see what the big deal is with this Vanity Fair photo of Cyrus. She’s holding a sheet in front of her and showing an exposed back and shoulder. Good Lord, I’ve seen girls that age or younger wearing less at the beach. I think they’re getting a little out of control with this one. If I was a parent, I’d be more upset about recent photos of her that were leaked on to the internet showing her flashing her bra.
