Lets Drop The Puck Already!

It has returned once again. The National Hockey League is set to start another season long quest to drink from Lord Stanley's Cup.

Thursday the NHL 09-10 season will kick off with four games but only one will really matter in my mind as the Toronto Maple Leafs will host my Montreal Canadiens on Hockey Night in Canada on CBC.

I think Montreal will have a good team this season but not a great one and will struggle to make the playoffs. I'm hoping I'm wrong about that but that's just what my gut tells me.

I also think this could be the year Toronto finds their way back into the post season...as much as it pains me to say that. I feel for the long suffering Toronto fans though. I can't imagine what that feels like.

So I suppose I should make my picks official right now. What teams will make it to the Stanley Cup final this season?

I have to pick Detroit and Boston to meet in the Stanley Cup Final with Detroit winning. It's tough to get to the final three years in a row but I think the Red Wings have what it takes to do it again. Boston was a tough choice for me over Pittsburgh returning but I liked what I saw last season and I think the Bruins will make that next step. Of course the San Jose Sharks blew it in the Playoffs last season and could get there as well. It's really a four team race in my mind but I'll stick with the Wings and Bruins. And as a Habs fan that isn't easy for me to say.

My dark horse pick to win the Cup is Vancouver. I think they have the best chance of any Canadian team to bring the cup north for the first time since Montreal won it last during the 92-93 season.

Now, lets stock the fridge, buy the snacks, iron our hockey sweaters, prepare for Don Cherry's bashing of all things non-Canadian (I love him for that) and re-form our ass print on the chesterfield because it's time to drop the puck.

Still not in the mood yet? Perhaps this will get the adrenaline flowing.

Ah Man...Summer's Over Already?

Summer came to an end yesterday afternoon and once I finished crying, I had a chance to look back at the summer. Despite some issues that made it difficult at times...and still do, it wasn't too bad.

Sure there was lots of rain, not much heat, tornadoes, flooding, cool nights, loads of mosquitoes and black flies, election fears, Michael Jackson's two month funeral saga, more soldiers killed in Afghanistan, destructive forest fires, horrible golf scores and the Blue Jays sucked...among other things but at least we didn't have to scrape the ice off the windshield of our cars.

For me it was a fairly productive summer with my camera as I continued to enjoy my photography hobby. I tried to make the most of it because I know once the cold weather arrives, I likely won't feel the urge to throw on my parka, toque, gloves and boots just to snap a few frames. Oh, I'm sure I'll take a few photos but my numbers will go way down for sure.

Here's a little video I threw together to show you some of my favourite shots from the summer of 2009.

Best Commercial Ever

Remember I'm a heterosexual male so this choice probably won't surprise you.

This commercial has everything I look for in an advertisement....humour, red meat, sunshine and of course a damn sexy looking Audrina Patridge in a gold bikini.

What's not to love? OK...if she was sharing the burger with Kristen Bell in a bikini as well, I suppose that would improve it some. 

I'll let you decide for yourself.

Patrick Swayze Passes Away

I must admit I wasn't a huge fan of Patrick Swayze who passed away today after a courageous battle against cancer. He was 57.

Swayze will likely be remembered most for his roles in movies like Dirty Dancing, Ghost and Road House.

I on the other hand will remember him for a few other roles. In The Outsiders he played Darrel Curtis, a father figure to a group of rebel greaser boys. One of my favourite movies as a youth of the 80's was Red Dawn in 1984. In this movie Swayze played Jed, the leader of a group of high school kids who become freedom fighters following the invasion of the United States by Russia at the beginning of WWIII. The movie also starred Jennifer Grey who would co-star with Patrick three years later in Dirty Dancing.

The role I think I'll remember him best for was during a brief appearance on Saturday Night Live where he starred along side the late Chris Farley in one of the funniest sketches I had ever seen. Patrick played the straight man to Farley as the two auditioned to be Chippendale Dancers.

Enjoy

Leaf Fans Annoy Me

I have many friends who are Toronto Maple Leaf hockey fans and despite that, I will still talk to them.

Of course I'm kidding. I don't have a problem with most of them but I find that a lot of them like to talk trash about other teams...especially the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators.

It doesn't surprise me that they dislike those teams since they're in the same division and have big rivalries. What shocks me is how cocky Leaf fans are when you consider how unimpressive their team has been since...well, since before I was born.

In fact, the last time the Leafs won the Stanley Cup was in 1967...one year before I came along. They don't even have colour photos or video of them winning their last cup, that's how long ago it was.

OK, it's too easy to pick on Leaf fans and their teams impressive record of futility. If they keep on the same losing track, they could eventually surpass the 100 year title drought of the Chicago Cubs in baseball.

What annoys me the most are the idiotic Maple Leaf fans who have the audacity to try and make fun of fans of other teams. It's one thing to be a winner and rub it in but how can you possibly make fun of other fans when your team hasn't done anything good in 42 years?

I'd be embarrased to continue supporting a team with owners who have made it quite obvious they'd rather collect the endless supply of money from their dumb fans then make an effort to actually win. Heck...forget winning, how about they just try and get enough good players to make the playoffs once in a while.

Say what you want about Montreal fans but their owners, management and players know that they better produce or they'll feel their wrath. They demand a winning team and they usually get one. Sure they haven't won a cup since 1993 but they usually make the playoffs.

Actually, I have colour photos of the Habs hoisting the cup. How many Leaf fans can say that. I've seen the Habs win nine Stanley Cups and that's not including the one they took home the year I was born.

So my advice to Leaf fans is shut the hell up! Until you actually win something or make the playoffs you have no reason to feel cocky enough to beak off. The good news is the season will be starting soon and after a few games, Leaf fans will once again be able to start talking about next season.

Shuttle & Space Station Fly By

Space shuttle Discovery and its seven astronauts pulled away from the international space station on Tuesday and headed home.

"Houston and station, from Discovery, physical separation," an astronaut radioed at 3:26 p.m. EDT as powerful springs in the station's docking mechanism gently pushed the shuttle away as the two spacecraft sailed above central Asia in orbital darkness.

While all of those cool things were happening 351 km above the earth and at a mind boggling speed of 27, 700 km/h, I was waiting on the ground preparing for their arrival.

You see, I had checked the NASA Human Space Flight website to find out when the shuttle and ISS were going to go over so I had my camera ready to shoot.

At 9:17 p.m. EST the lights in the sky became visible as they approached from the south-west. They were moving fairly quickly across the sky so I only had a few minutes to get a couple of photos.

The first photo was just a quick exposure of 2.4 seconds but you can clearly see the shuttle on the right with the space station close behind.

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The next photo was a longer exposure of 23 seconds and you can see how the two trails have crossed paths and run side by side with the front one being the shuttle and the lighter rear one being the space station.

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It was a cool experiment and it was quite an interesting site to see on a clear September evening.

Note: You can click on the photos to see them bigger.

Amazing Basketball Moment

It's quite likely that you've seen this video and heard the story about Jason McElwain before as it was covered on national news.

This moment in sports history happened a few years ago but I never get tired of watching it. It's just a wonderful feel good sports story. What makes it even better is how this isn't a professional spoiled athlete making millions.

A young man with autism was always happy to be the manager of his high school basketball team in Rochester, New York. He supported his team from the bench year after year before finally getting his moment to be in the spotlight. And boy did that spotlight shine on him this night.

I can't watch this video without having a tear of joy come to my eye each time. Even if you've seen this video before, I'm sure you'll enjoy seeing it again.

September Harvest Moon

The full moon was too beautiful to pass on tonight so I mounted my camera on a tripod and took some photos.

This was one of my favourites from the night. Here you can see the moonlight shining on the waters of Lake Ontario at Presqu'ile Provincial Park near Brighton, Ontario.

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Here's a photo showing the moon a little larger. You can see a bit more detail in this shot.

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Hope you enjoyed looking at them.