Rugby Day

High School Rugby
Originally uploaded by *Bundy*

This past Saturday I had the pleasure to attend my old high school where the newly renovated track and field were dedicated after years of disrepair.

I graduated from the school in 1987 and the track was in bad shape then. The football field was also quite a mess having been torn up by many different sports over the years. At times the middle of the field didn't even have any grass on it.

That all changed recently when a movement grew to replace the old track with a new one and to sod the field. After all of the fund raising was complete and the work had been finished I was pleased with what I saw when I visited.

The track is as good as any track in the Province with a proper surface and eight lanes. There is also a new shot-put and discus area along with spots for other field events. It looks amazing and should last for many years.

The field, where I spent most of my time playing football and rugby looks terrific with new sod. I'm sure it still hurts if you get tackled hard to the ground but it's less dusty now and a bit softer when a scrum collapses and your head gets driven into the ground. That was the one and only time where I actually came up seeing triple.

I don't play rugby anymore but it was nice to be able to take my camera with me and photograph some of the exhibition game action that day. Both the girls and boys teams played.

Both teams have dominated the sport going back to when I played and it's nice to see the tradition continue. Perhaps with the new track in place the high school track & field team will see a resurgence in success as well.

I Blame The Maple Leafs

It's all finally making sense to me. It has now become crystal clear why in the middle of April and well into Spring, it feels this cold. It's actually -3C at this very moment as I type this. Hell has finally frozen over and all the blame falls squarely on those damn Toronto Maple Leafs.

Last night for the first time in something like 30 years (okay it's more like eight years) the Toronto Maple Leafs officially qualified for the playoffs.

Now I won't make excuses by reminding everyone that this is a shortened season and the Leafs are notorious for collapsing during the second half of a normal season which would usually start around this time. I don't mean April, I mean after this number of games played. So they certainly had that going in their favour.

While I'm not a Toronto fan (that's an understatement, I hate the Leafs) I am happy to see my many friends, who happen to be Leafs fans, thrilled by ending the post-season appearance drought.

But I caution the Blue & White faithful, don't start planning any parades just yet. Getting to the playoffs is one thing but winning the Stanley Cup is another beast all-together. Playoff hockey is entirely different from regular season hockey and only the best of the best or the hottest team peaking at the right time will get to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup when it's all over. Sixteen wins is all it takes but they never come easy.

Of course anything is possible once you make the playoffs. But I'd bet the Stanley Cup drought will continue for Toronto this year. For those keeping track, this would be 46 years since the Leafs last won the Stanley Cup should they fail to do it this year. To put that into perspective, I turn 45 this summer, so I wasn't even alive the last time they won. I have however been alive long enough to see my beloved Montreal Canadiens win the Cup a total of nine times. That doesn't include the cup they won just before I was born. I thought I'd mention that.

Bring on the Playoffs!!