Thursday, November 17, 2011

Memories, and one last time at Canad Inns Stadium

Hey all hope everyone is well. Well Sunday is the big day, the East Final against the Hamilton Tiger Cats, with the winner going to the Grey Cup. The game is also important for sentimental reasons for myself and I'm sure many other fans as it will be the last game ever played at the old stadium. I have TONS of great memories of games at the stadium, and I'd probably be here writing this for a few days if I took the time to remember each and every one of them.

My first Bomber game I unfortunately remember very, very little about. I remember it was during the 1993 season, and our seats were in the first row of the second deck. The game was against Hamilton as it turned out, and Matt Dunigan was our quarterback. We won the game 63-10. While that was my first Bomber game, I wouldn't "officially" become a football fan until later that year until I watched my Grandpa's favorite team, the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl.

I wouldn't end up going to a Bomber game for another few years. It would end up being during the Jeff Reinbold era in a game against Doug Flutie and the Toronto Argos in a game that my mom got me tickets for, for my birthday. At the time, the Bombers, believe it or not were not my favorite team. I had been a fan of Doug Flutie since he was with the Calgary Stampeders and immediately became a fan of the Argos when he signed there as a free agent. Flutie and the Argos, as did many teams during that time destroyed the Bombers, but I didn't care. I was seeing my favorite players, Flutie, Pinball Clemons, Paul Masotti and others play in person, and I was thrilled.

It wasn't until 1999 when the Bombers hired Dave Ritchie that I started closely following the team. The team struggled in his first year under Kerwin Bell, but things would slowly turn around the next year in 2000, which also brings me to how I ended up getting season tickets in the first place.

I was over at a good friend's place at the time, at we were playing catch with a baseball, when I somehow stumbled, and used my wrists to try and break my fall. I was in a fair bit of pain and my wrist immediately swelled and got stiff, but I figured whatever, a sprain maybe, and hopefully it would go away over night. Of course like the wise and astute kid that I was - and still am ;) I threw about 5 or 6 more balls before I decided this wasn't the best idea in the world. After I got home that night, my mom noticed the swelling in my wrist and wanted to take me to the hospital, to which I refused saying I'll be fine and it will be better in the morning, when in actuality it was hurting more and more, but I wanted to see the end of WCW Nitro that happened to be on at the time. Being the great kid I was, after Nitro ended, I told my mom I would go to the hospital, to which she immediately figured out that the only reason I didn't want to go was because wrestling was on TV - which happened to end at 1am at the time - Go me! ;)

So off the the hospital we went, and of course we spent all night there, and didn't get out until well into the morning. My wrist was broken and I was really upset because I was signed up in a football camp because I had wanted to play football over that summer - which obviously would not be happening. Anyways my mom felt bad for me and on the way back home we pulled into the Bomber stadium parking lot, and she ended up getting season tickets for me to cheer me up, which worked very well. Thanks mom.

The 2000 season got off to a frustrating start, with the awful Kerwin Bell still at quarterback. However after some more poor games, eventually little known Khari Jones got his shot, and he, and Milt Stegall pretty much single handedly turned the team around. My favorite game from that year was the last game at home for the season against Edmonton, needing a win to get into the playoffs. The Bombers would win the game, and went in to Hamilton to upset the defending champs in their own yard, a game no one gave us a chance to win.

2001, wow what a season. 14-4, an amazing offense and defense, but fell short of the big prize at the end of the year. I would have bet my life we were going to take it all that season at the time. The East Final that year - also against Hamilton was an epic game. We stopped Hamilton short of a touchdown after they had a chance to take the lead being first and goal from the one yard line, but the amazing defense we had that year stopped them all 3 times. One of my favorite Bombers of all time, Juran Bolden finished the game with a pick 6 to send us to the Grey Cup. The stadium was electric, definitely one of the craziest atmospheres in the stadium I have ever been apart of. Here is that final play.



The 2007 East Semi Final against Montreal was also a great game. The game unfortunately had a terrible attendance, only around 23,000 or so showed up, but it was a great game. The Bombers got off to an early lead as Kevin Glenn connected with Milt Stegall for a touchdown on our first drive. Glenn unfortunately would turn into the kind of player Bomber fans were all to use to with him, tossing up 2 costly interceptions that gave Montreal the lead. The defense again would bail us out, Montreal had a 3rd and inches from their own 40 or so, but our defense stopped them short, but still needed to get closer into field goal range as it is much harder to kick field goals when the weather is cold (ball doesn't travel as far in the cold, for those who don't know) Charles Roberts had 2 huge runs to get us well into field goal range and we won the game.

Last season was a disappointing one of course, finishing 4-14, but the first game of the year was awesome. It was Buck Pierce's first game as a Bomber, and I was thrilled when we signed him. I had always been a huge fan of his going back to his rookie season in BC. Pierce and Terrence Edwards had huge games, as did Fred Reid. It gave fans reasons for optimism after the debacle the was the 2009 season under Mike Kelly.

When I think back of those games, and a few others that I have left out, it makes me think of all the great plays, and celebrations that I have seen there over the past number of years. I'll never forget Milt Stegall breaking the touchdown record, and the reaction he got from fans. He is without a doubt the greatest receiver of all time in the CFL, and I loved seeing him play for all those seasons.

I am planning on heading down on Saturday to get a few pictures of the stadium, as it will be a bit harder to get the shots I want with all the people walking around on Sunday. The old stadium is obviously nothing pretty to look at, with its parking lot filled with potholes, cracks in the ground inside the stadium, run down washrooms (although when compared to Mosaic Field in Regina, its like a palace - Couldn't resist) and cramped seats, but its got character, and it's always been a fun place to be at.

Not only will it be the last Bomber game at the old stadium, but it will be my last time attending a Bomber game for the foreseeable future. After I graduate, I won't be in Winnipeg by the time the new season rolls around, so it will definitely be a little sad for more than one reason. No one gave us a shot at anything going into this season, so it would be great to get a win in the last game played at the stadium. Regardless, it's been a great season, and great years at the old stadium, and despite its obvious flaws, I will definitely miss it. Sunday can't come soon enough. Go Blue Go!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Some random football thoughts

Hi all, how have you been? Hope all is well. Well after another extended period of blog neglecting *clearing cobwebs*, I have decided to come back and share some thoughts on - what else - Whats new and exciting in the world of football.

The first thing easily is welcome back to the NFL. It's great to know that the NFL will be around for at least 10 years, uninterrupted. It's been a crazy week or so since the lock out was lifted. All of the moves that you see over the course of a 6 month off season has been condensed into a two week period. So many signings and cuts, I can't possibly comment on all of them, but I will comment on these immediately on my mind.

Nnamdi Asomugha to the Eagles - no not the Jets was and likely is the most surprising move of the off season. Everyone had him going to the Jets. Not so obviously. He will help a secondary that was one of the worst in red zone defense.

Ochocinco and Albert Haynesworth to the Pats - If anyone was going to take these players other than the Pats, they would have been called nuts, but because it is New England, they will be given the benefit of the doubt until proven otherwise given their track record with players who have been disgruntled in the past. It's all about the "Patriot Way" I guess. I think Haynesworth will help immensely, especially against the run. Good luck running up the middle against Vince Wilfork and Albert Haynesworth. That being said I do think they are still lacking that pass rushing linebacker that they didn't have all of last year.

Arland Bruce traded to the BC Lions - I'm not sure that this trade will help either teams all that much. Bruce is on the wrong side of 30, and Hamilton got not much more than a roll of tape in return. Coupled with the fact that Travis Lulay is still a bit erratic in his passing, and I don't know that this move has immediate dividends for the Lions. Bruce's first game will be against Alex Suber and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, who held Bruce to 2 catches for 22 yards, and it might be a rough first game for him.

Speaking of the Bombers...how bout 'dem Bombers? 4-1 after 5 weeks is a nice start, especially when you really should be 5-0 but oh well. Winning in November is obviously what matters most. I love how our defense is playing. The Bombers lead the league with 21 sacks after 5 games, next closest is Hamilton with 12. It will be fun to see the numbers we put up if we get Philip Hunt back from the Philly Eagles.

The Green Bay Packers - I laugh how many people are calling the Eagles the dream team after all their moves in free agency. Green Bay just won the Super Bowl with having a total of 15 players on injured reserve (meaning out for the season for those not in the know) Sure injuries will happen again this year, but the Packers offense will be even more potent with Ryan Grant and Jermichael Finley (breakthrough player of the year this year - book it!) returning.

Looking forward to the Bomber game on Friday, 5-0 Edmonton rolls into town. Reminds of 2002-2004 with the battles we used to have with them for first place, albeit we were in the same division at the time.

Thanks once again to Kito Poblah for lunch this week. It was great to have some great food and chat. Hopefully we can get in that game of NCAA football 12 soon.

Kudus to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for their first class tribute to Coach Richard Harris. Going to practices won't be the same without him. I met him twice, both were experiences I will always remember. Players and fans will miss him terribly.

Thanks for reading.

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

Aaron Rome Nathan Horton

It would appear to me as though the NHL has the same thought process with suspensions on hits as it does with the teams in the "sun belt" and that is, quite frankly, that they simply just do not have a clue.

I'm sure many of you watched game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals and saw the hit Aaron Rome put on Nathan Horton. I felt, and still do feel that there was nothing dirty about the hit. Everyone who has coached, or played hockey competitively at any level has been told to ALWAYS keep your head up in the neutral zone, ESPECIALLY when crossing the blue line into the offensive zone. You can clearly see in the video which I have provided in this posting that after Horton passes the puck he does not turn his head to see where he is, and just as he is about to cross the blue line, Aaron Rome plants him, as all defenseman are TOLD to do.

Now, yes the hit does happen after Horton gets rid of the puck, but the hit comes just about a second after he gets rid of the puck. Did Rome intend to hit him and hit him hard? Obviously. Did he intend to injure? Definitely not, especially since Aaron Rome himself has a history of concussions. The hit that Aaron Rome delivered is really no different than hits dished out by Scott Stevens against Eric Lindros and Paul Kariya, which were met with no suspension. If you watch the hit Rome puts on Horton, I'd say there is a better chance that the concussion, and knock out Horton suffered was more likely caused by his head hitting the ice (which can be seen at 1:01 of the video posting at the bottom), than the actual hit itself. How anyone can say the hit was dirty quite frankly doesn't know what they are watching and may find the women's game more to their liking as hitting is forbidden in women's hockey. That certainly is NOT a shot against women's hockey, I have the utmost respect for the game they play, and they are obviously much more skilled than I could ever hope to be, but since hitting is not allowed, perhaps that game is more to your liking. The hit that Chara dished out against Montreal earlier his season was MUCH worse than the Aaron Rome hit, which was, of course, met with no suspension (look at 1:02 to see Chara PUSH his head into the divider). Aaron Rome is every bit a victim here as is Nathan Horton. In the words of Jeremy Roenick, "NHL, wake up!"

Here is the Aaron Rome hit, as well as the hits I referenced by Scott Stevens and Zdeno Chara in my post.







Monday, May 16, 2011

"You play to WIN the game"

"You play to WIN the game!" - Herman Edwards

So I have a confession to make. It doesn't matter what it is, if it is something "for fun", competitive or even a simple board game, I HATE to lose. Period. I've always been like this for as long as I can remember. I can remember being 6 years old after hockey, slamming my stick down and wanting to get the hell out of there because I was so mad. I understand some people only play to have fun, and thats great, all the power to them, but I play to win - no matter what the sport or game it is. Quite a few years ago, Bobby Clarke, then the General Manager of the Philadelphia Flyers tried to sign Ryan Kesler who was an restricted free agent at the time to a contract. It's always been an unwritten rule that you don't sign another player who is a restricted free agent. Anyways Dave Nonis, the GM at the time for Vancouver said "Bobby Clarke would kick his own grandmother down a flight of stairs if it gave him a better chance to win" *shyly raises my hand* me too!!

We lost our first football game yesterday, and I was, and still am beyond pissed off thinking of the things we did wrong and could and should have done. To many dropped passes, bad throws, and mistakes on defense. We did however also make some good plays on defense as well which was encouraging. We really need to get things going offensively though, which often seems to be the case for us. Hopefully we can get things going next game. Going back to how last years outdoor season was, losing as much as we did wears on you pretty quick, especially if you are someone like me who gets as mad as they do when you lose.

I've read the reports today that True North Sports and Entertainment has started to negotiate with the Atlanta Thrashers ownership group. With all the rumors and such that has been around for about a year and a half now, I`m personally done with this stuff. Let me know when Gary Bettman himself says Winnipeg is getting an NHL team again, then you will have my attention. I do want NHL hockey, but I`m just sick of Winnipeg being used as a bargaining chip in all of this when compared to joke markets like Phoenix and Atlanta. I am done with the circus.

Thursday, April 28, 2011

A fun first year

Wow, where has the time gone? Seems just like yesterday I was in a room with a bunch of strangers with Diane, Bob, Greg, Jill and Graham sitting at the front of 427 to welcome us to ACC. For me it was kind of a scary time. It was my first time away from home in a strange town. I've always been the kind of person to keep to myself and maintain a smaller network of close friends, but I've met some really awesome people over the past 8 months.

It seems almost funny how clueless we all year in Grahams first few video classes. Setting up a tripod and white balancing a V1U might as well have been a physics exam given how some of us were at the start (me included) There were lots of great things about first year, like Bob's jokes that only a few would catch if you were paying attention, or the laugh we all know as Brett, or Curtis screaming half way down the hall. Speaking of Brett, the mini disc had a funny story he told in stereo 1 about an old lady he knew back in Neepawa. If you heard it, you definitely know what I am talking about. Funny shit.

The election was a very long but fun thing to participate in. Obviously it was much longer for the 2nd years but given how new we still were to everything, it was definitely something that took a lot of energy out of everybody, but the after party at BP's was good times. I think that was one of the first times we were able to chill and socialize with the whole group and get to know each other a little bit.

For myself personally, the first newsline and radio shifts were a very scary thing. I was (and still am to an extent) fearful of making mistakes, which I suppose is one of the worst things you can have, but things of course got smoother the more times you did them. It will be fun to enhance those skills in 2nd year.

I'm really looking forward to being home for the next 4 months. I know myself, and in talking with others, were feeling rather burnt out around the end of March/start of April, so it will be nice to kick back and relax for quite some time. I'm going to be going back to my old job serving at Applebees during my time off, plus a 2nd job reffing in the football league I play in. It will be great to be paid to be outside for an hour and a half on a hot summer day. I plan on spending a lot of time in my back yard chilling with the dogs. I really wish I could have a hammock in my back yard, but there aren't any trees in it, so no can do I guess. Oh well. I also want to take the dogs for lots of car rides, they love it. I'd love to hit up the beach as much as possible. Our football league has a tournament out at Grand Beach over August long weekend. That will be a blast for sure. What are your plans for the summer?

As I wrap up, all the best to the outgoing year two's in your future endeavors. Hopefully you all get what you are looking for in this business. As for my year ones, have a great summer, see you in September.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Dear Idiots

Since I think this particular issue was going to make me snap over the weekend back home, it's time we have a chat. Lets discuss merging when you have a merge lane/acceleration lane, whatever you choose to call it.





When entering a merge lane, you DO NOT stop at the BEGINNING of the merge lane and wait until there are no cars coming so you can pull into traffic. No, you are supposed to accelerate and gain speed so you are able to MERGE smoothly with traffic - Hence the term merge lane (fancy that)

Not only that, but in most cases, assuming the person in the right lane isn't as clueless as the idiot that stopped in front of you before you entered the merge lane, the car in the right lane in most cases will move over to the left lane allowing you to merge properly, and if not will adjust their speed so you are able to merge safely.

Now, if you do have an idiot in the right lane, like the one you probably had in front of you before you tried to merge, that makes it impossible for you to enter traffic, the only time you are supposed to stop as at the END of the merge lane. At his time you enter traffic when the right lane is free. Make sense?

You're Welcome :)

A little True Patriot Love

So I stopped in at Petro Canada for a drink, and saw this on the side of the cup, kinda made me smile and go "Oh yeah!"

"In Canada, we've seen... Confederation, a lifetime of Stanley Cups, a railway from coast to coast, a year of centennial celebrations, The Bluenose, the Marathon of Hope, The Great One, the inventions of the telephone, the heart pacemaker, the game of basketball, the discovery of insulin, the opening of the St. Lawrence Seaway, the first Canadian in space, the tallest free standing structure in the world, 10 provinces and 3 territories make a country, a local boy's victory at Augusta, the Blue Jays winning it all, twice, the Group of Seven, our own way to play football, the Gold Rush ... history in the making"

Cheers

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Wake up call

For as long as I can remember, I've always wanted to try to get myself in better shape - really, who doesn't wish they were in better shape? I've joined gyms before, tried healthy eating, and all those good things, but after awhile, the "I'm busy" or "next time" excuses just became to much of an occurrence that I had just abandoned things all together.

One of the main reasons for me wanting to get into better shape is because of my hopes of spending a lot of time at the beach over summer. I love going to the beach, and socializing with friends as do most people, but I think I can count the times on one hand that I've actually taken my shirt off at the beach. People would always say not to worry, I'd have nothing to worry about, there are much bigger people than me, the latter being true, I realize that, but it still didn't matter. I would just feel so shy and nervous that I almost never did it.

So over the past couple of days I've made a point of trying to not only eat, but drink much healthier. I've almost cut out pop entirely for over the past month, minus a time or two at a restaurant, but my eating habits still left much to be desired. I've gone from chips and chocolate muffins to water or juice and a fruit salad. I've also started drinking chocolate milk a lot more - I've always loved it, most know milk is obviously high in calcium, but it is especially great for protein as well.

So where is the wake up call....Well I suppose there was two really. Part of me just got really tired of...well....being really tired. So often I'd have no energy, be doing the occasional head drops in classes because I'm so tired, or even worse, having trouble staying awake on the road back home. As I said it has only been a couple of days, but the difference already in energy alone has been very noticeable. I'm still going to take my naps - how could I not - but they will not be nearly as frequent as in the past, when I heavily depended on them to get through my day because I was so run down.

The other was tonight at the gym. I had done a light workout in my room here Sunday night, worked my arms with a rubber band I have, and some sit ups and push ups (albeit barely on the push ups :( ) with the knowledge that I am significantly out of shape, but it wasn't until tonight where I thought just what the hell have I been doing to myself from a diet point of view. I wouldn't hesitate a lot of times either before I'd leave Winnipeg, or when I got back into Brandon to stop by McDonalds or something like that for a quick meal as I unpacked, or going there with friends back home in Winnipeg. I don't think I lasted 8 minutes on the treadmill because my chest was hurting so much - and the shoes I brought with me are worn on the back, so I knew if I kept going I would be getting a brutal blister on my left heel, needless to say I will be going shoe shopping tomorrow. I don't really need to be spending 150-200 bucks on shoes, but I figure it will help keep me motivated, putting that much money into it. Why spend it obviously if it is going to sit in its box in the closet?

I'm not sure why, I really have no reason to believe it to be true since I've tried this before and failed, but I really think this time will be different in terms of finally getting myself into a condition that I am happy with. It's only been a couple of days, I realize that, but I think the awareness of just how out of shape I am, coupled with the benefits I already feel only after a short while of changing my eating habits plus the financial investment in new shoes should be enough to keep me going this time...or so I hope.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Untitled

So I'm not really sure how to go about saying all of what I am going to say, I'm just going to type and keep typing until there is nothing left to say. I've considered doing something like this on a couple of occasions, but thought what would it prove or accomplish. As I sit here now, it's not about what this proves or accomplishes, it doesn't have to prove or accomplish anything. It's about me, and that is good enough.

For my whole life, I have had awful, terrible luck with women. I have had my heart broken (I know lots have) and whenever someone of interest comes along, I always end up on the short end of the stick. I don't know what it is about myself, I mean I know I am not the most in shape, or the best looking person around, but at the end of the day, I would like to think that I am able to offer more qualities than the average person - and yes I am tooting my own horn.

Since I can remember, going back to high school even, I've always been the guy that was "cute" or "sweet", or a great friend, or other ridiculous judgments (including since I was a "nice guy" this one person didn't see me being into anything other than "polite" sex - perfectly logical conclusion I think. Of course I am not being sarcastic whatsoever ;)) but almost never relationship material, for whatever the reasons may be. I cannot put into words enough how absolutely fucking frustrated I am of being passed over time and time again, or having people say they aren't looking for something, or being led on (especially this), only to have them say shortly after in a general conversation that they are also talking to the guy they like or are trying to get with, something of that nature. It would be nice if for one time someone would actually have the fucking backbone to say something along the lines of "I'm not interested, here's why..." I guess hoping for honesty is a bit to much. My bad. Needless to say but this has been something I have been keeping in for quite some time.

I suppose my frustration also grows from hearing others complain about how bad to them their significant other yes, yet when told the obvious - leave them - they refuse to for whatever the reasons may be....newsflash! Maybe the reason they treat you like shit is because they know they can get away with it, it isn't a difficult concept, I don't think. Yet here I am, knowing what I can provide for someone, it makes me roll my eyes - Yes I am tooting my own horn again. Funny how being an asshole seems to work for some people. I guess my thoughts constantly vary, or maybe all blend in with each other. Occasionally I will think it is their loss, or I will think what did I do wrong, or as of late, just fuck it all together.

The more I think about women, the more I think about how happy I'd be having an established career, a nice home, and a house with dogs. Whenever you come home, no matter if you have the career you want, work at McDonalds, are unemployed, ran someone over GTA style, robbed a bank, or took money from the collection at Church (okay the last few examples are extreme, but I'm making a point) the instant you come in the door, your dog is there running to the door, wagging their tail, and showing you how much they missed you. You always make sure they have their food and water, and they curl up with you on the couch as you watch TSN most of the night, and always make you laugh when they play with their toys. The unconditional love and affection you get from a dog is unparalleled to anything else, which begs the question....

....Why do I even bother. Wish I knew, but I do, and will still continue to. Perhaps it is the hope that someone will be different than the rest, but I'm certainly not holding my breath.

Randoms

Just 'cause




Why?

So why the change in blog title. Well it's simple really. For pretty much all of my life, I have felt compelled to do and say the right things, and based on the way things are in my life, and events that have happened at various points, I have been asking myself why lately, and as time has gone on, I've been simply running out of reasons why. More times than I can count I have internalized my feelings, or held back on my thoughts either for the benefit of others, or I have been worried about what people may think of me.

I feel the time has come for a change. That's not to say I am going to intentionally go out of my way to be an asshole or things like that, far from it. There are a wide range of emotions that I am tired of feeling, which admittedly is my fault based on how I have conducted myself for so long.

Lately in my personal reflections, I've pondered to myself how fed up I have become with trying to be everyone's best friend. Whether it is someone who comes to me with a re-occurring issue that is self inflicted, and yet they wonder why things happen to them, or trying to do nice gestures for certain people in hopes that it will pay off later on. To clarify, that's not to imply I only do nice things when I do something, I'm happy to help someone in a bind, but repetitively going out of my way to do things for some people has gotten me absolutely nowhere, and I am tired of feeling like I've been made a fool of. Now I am not going to turn my blog into a bitch fest, I have no desire to do that, I will still happily include my thoughts on sports and on other topics, but I refuse to restrain myself any more. I accept that probably a lot of people will think this change in my personality, and in turn, my writing will be for the negative, and I suppose that is your call to make, but frankly, I can't say that I care all that much.

So I realize this whole post is pretty unorganized, I understand if it is hard to follow but sometimes when I write and have a bunch of thoughts, I will sacrifice organization so I can say what is on my mind.

Really.....Really?!

So I have these pet peeve of people either stopping instantly as they walk in front of you, or stopping at the entrance or an exit of something (building, door to a house, whatever) but I think today took the cake.

I was leaving the Safeway that is close to my house, and they have these automatic doors with these railings on both sides that extend going out towards the parking lot. So this person who was either completely oblivious to everything around her, or quite simply just plain stupid, stops right at the end of these railings so no one could exit the store on this one side. Now she had a full cart, so I'm not sure if she was expecting the person she was with to pull up with the car in front of the doors (which is of course illegal as a fire hazard, nice going ass hat) or whatever the case may be, but even as people were attempting to squeeze through, she refused to move. Pure idiocy!

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Ladies, is there a reason for this?

So, let me start off by saying I have this friend who I have known for a few years now, and I've always thought she was attractive. We talk a fair bit, and are very open about things that are bugging each other, on each others mind's and what not, basically confiding in each other on a whole range of things.

Anyways as it turned out, there was an issue that was bothering her not to long ago, and, try as I usually do, I tried to get it out of her and see if there was something that could be done about it. For the most part, after awhile we are generally able to work ourselves to a point where she feels better about whatever was bothering her. This time however it was impossible, I was getting nowhere fast trying, so I let it go figuring we'd talk about it another time she was ready.

The next day, or a couple days after we chatted again. During our previous chats she would mention periodically how she had been going to the gym and had been feeling better about her appearance. Anyway in the chat we had, I had asked her, just to create conversation, if she was still enjoying going to the gym.

As it turned out, she immediately went on this speech about how I prefer a skinner woman, and that she'd never be a stick figure kind of girl - which for those that know me, know that isn't the case at all. I think a girl with curves is super hot. Gotta love a curvy booty! (just making a point) I tried reiterating this to her but again was getting nowhere fast, so I dropped it. The next time we chatted, she brought up me "preferring skinny" and I told her that it didn't matter to me personally that she wasn't skinny, and that I've always found her attractive. She wouldn't have it, saying that I'm not attracted to a girl that isn't skinny. A couple days pass, and I send her a text saying that I think she looks great, and her response was almost immediate saying "No, I am fat!"

I ended up talking with a friend of hers asking if I had done something, or what the issue was. As it turned out, some asshat had told her she was fat, hence the whole past couple of days.

So my question to whoever reads this, that happens to be a woman is this: If you are looking for a guy to reassure you on a particular something (appearance, or another issue) how come you don`t come out and say what is bugging you, why, etc?

Now, hypothetically, had she told me what happened, I would have given her all the same assurances I did - but that being said, at least I would have had an idea where this was all coming from.

So yeah, I'm just trying to figure out why (and she isn't the only one) women, when they are looking for reassurance, or someone to talk to, won't say what is wrong, or what is bugging them?

Thanks for reading, I'd love to hear your opinions. If you can't comment on the blog, give me your thoughts on my Facebook or Twitter pages. Look forward to seeing some responses! :)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

2nd round of the NFL playoffs, and my week so far *facepalm*

It was a great weekend for NFL fans as the second round of the playoffs got underway. Baltimore was at Pittsburgh for the first game in what was a close game that saw the Steelers come out on top. It was looking promising for the Ravens after a Ben Rothelisberger fumble put the Ravens up by 2 scores. Baltimore however, got this lead through Pittsburgh mistakes, having not been able to generate much offense up until this point or throughout the game. Baltimore would end up caving under the pressure as 3 turnovers in a 6 minute span put Pittsburgh out on top. As successful as Baltimore as been, I wonder a lot of times, and yes I know he has only finished his 2nd year as a pro QB, but I wonder if Joe Flacco will ever take that next step to become an elite QB. A strong arm will only take you so far, and that defense is aging quickly.

The second game on Saturday featured the Green Bay Packers against the Atlanta Falcons. It didn't look promising early for the Packers as Greg Jennings fumbled in Packers territory, which eventually led to Michael Turner running in a touchdown for the opening score. Not being phased however by the home team leading first, the Packers pulled even as Jordy Nelson, who had a solid game, as did all the Packer receivers (Thanks Aaron Rodgers) Atlanta took the lead again quickly as Eric Weems returned the kickoff for a touchdown, but the Packers didn't fold as most teams would have, they kept on fighting to eventually tie the game, and the turning point came with the Falcons trying to get closer for a Matt Bryant field goal, as Matt Ryan was intercepted by Tramon Williams and had it returned for a touchdown as the 2nd quarter ended for a 14 point lead. The Packers dominated the second half on the way to a 48-21 win over the 1st seeded Falcons. My boy Aaron Rodgers had maybe the best game of his young career so far, and the defense has looked amazing. Makes you wonder how much better they would be in they didn't have so many players out for the season.

Seattle at Chicago was a predictable game. Seattle got behind early and never recovered as Greg Olsen opened the game with a quick touchdown and Seattle wasn't able to get much of anything going on offense throughout the game, though they got some points late when it didn't really matter. I can't say I understand all the hype around Mike Williams though. This guy runs the most half assed routes, as afraid to take a hit, yet gets signed to a contract extension with Seattle. Hey, there is a reason why they were 7-9 this year. Green Bay and Chicago, the two biggest rivals in the NFL will go at it with the winner moving onto the Super Bowl, I can't wait.

New York and the Pats. Wow....I didn`t see this game turning out the way it did after New England handled them as easily as they did the last time out. it just seemed as though Tom Brady couldn`t get the offense moving until half way through the 4th quarter when it was to late and they ran out of time. Santonio Holmes had another amazing catch in the endzone for a Jets touchdown. It`s amazing how this guy can be so clutch in the endzone, but drop the simplest passes in the middle of the field. I must say I laughed my ass off seeing Rex Ryan and his pitiful excuse for a run down the sideline as Shonn Greene ran in the touchdown that won the game. It`s funny how both of these teams whine and bitch about each other being classless, yet they both showboat and think they are the cats ass when they win games or make a play....idiots lol.

My week had a shitty start, I didn`t do to well on my CJ radio shift. It's hard to explain but there are these certain buttons you need to press at certain times to let another person speak, and I had a few times when I would hit them to soon, late, or not at all, which is really frustrating because I felt ready going in, I had ZERO concerns whatsoever. Monday just kept on getting better though, as I was sleeping, a semi sideswiped my mirror as it was passing so I need to get that fixed. It's not all bad news though. I had my soundcheck today (Tuesday) and while it wasn't a great mark, I was also told that our lowest mark out of our radio shifts is automatically dropped, so hopefully that will be the one that gets dropped.

And since I am to shy to say a lot of things on my mind I will say it here, since I have no idea who reads this....I miss you, yes you, thats right you, you got it, you. And no, I'm not telling who you is :P

Oh and one last thing, Go Packers Go!!!

Sunday, January 16, 2011

The week that was

Hey everyone, hope all is well with you. Well I wanted to do this blog posting on Friday, but my internet wasn't cooperating, and I was pretty busy with the rest of my weekend so here it is now. I thought I would somewhat stray away from the usual sports posting (but thats probably coming tomorrow lol) and talk about my past week since it was very interesting and busy for me personally.

The week had a busy start, in my first class back we were given an artist spotlight assignment where we had to select an artist and gather enough information on them so that we had at least 10 minutes of spoken material. I chose to do mine on the Foo Fighters. Our scripts are due today (Monday the 17th) but I was fortunate enough to finish mine on Wednesday and do the editing and such Thursday. I think it will go well, I've been working on my speech a bit so that I don't sound as nervous on the mic, lets hope it works out.

Later on, on the first day back I was asked in one of my classes if I wanted to start off doing the sports reads on the news desk for Tuesday and Wednesday of that week, I was more than happy to - only that I didn't bring a dress shirt with me on the way back from home since I wasn't expecting to need one, so part of Monday night was spent looking for a dress shirt, and since the one I got wasn't quite what it needed to be, I got a much better one on Tuesday and a couple of sweet looking ties to go with it. I was thinking at various points how when I was a bit younger how I hated dressing up, but now I don't mind it, actually kind of like it to be honest. I have a few dress shirts back home that I'd like to go tie shopping for.

All things considered, the sports reads went not to bad. I was very nervous on Tuesday for my first read, without any major word stumbles. Wednesday I felt much more comfortable (still nervous though) but had a stumbled over a word which really pissed me off. Oh well, school for a reason I suppose, right? I look forward to doing more of them in the future, and the 2nd year media students (the news show is almost 95% done by the 2nd year students) were very supportive which was awesome.

Thursday was a pretty laid back day. I ended up relaxing in the campus radio station and chatting with the person who was on air at the time. Had a good chat about different things sports related, and discussed some ideas for practicum. There are many more options out there that I thought there was, which was definitely great. Also had a summer job that was brought to my attention that I think I'd really like, but I will elaborate a bit on that once I know for sure what is going on

Anyways thats pretty much the majority of what went on with my week. I'll be on the campus radio station today (monday the 17th). You can listen live if you like, I will be on at 2:30, just Google CJ 106 Brandon and you should be able to find it. I hope to have a posting within the next day or two about the 2nd round of the NFL playoffs. Take care, thanks for reading. Go Pack Go!

Monday, January 10, 2011

Wild Card Weekend....mostly

Hey all. Hope everyone is doing well and enjoyed the BCS National Championship and the Wild Card weekend in the NFL playoffs.

The Wild Card weekend traditionally is the most exciting round of the NFL playoffs, and it's hard to imagine this past weekend being topped. In fact I would say that it was easily one of the best Wild Card weekends over the past 5 or so seasons. The game between New Orleans and Seattle was a great offensive shootout. It would have been very easy for Seattle to pack it in early mentally given they are a 7-9 team but they didn't. I've been watching Matt Hasselback play for years, and while he has taken his team to the Super Bowl, I have never seen him play as good of a single game as he did against New Orleans. The TD passes to Stokley and Williams we're simply epic. Perfect touch on the passes. New Orleans definitely missed Malcolm Jenkins, and Jabari Greer got picked on relentlessly all game. Of course, it's impossible not to mention Marshawn Lynch's insane touchdown run. Definitely one of the most epic runs I have ever seen.

Jets and Colts - Wow, Jim Caldwell is an idiot. I have NO idea what he was thinking calling that timeout during the Jets last drive. Even Peyton Manning was shown with his arms in the air wondering what he was doing. It must be nice having Peyton Manning as your quarterback. The average Joe could win 10 games in his sleep with Manning running the team. I long for the day that Rex Ryan will shut his mouth. He has an awful lot to say who`s team would be in the top 5 of the draft if not for Darelle Revis. Mark Sanchez will never develop into an elite QB. He doesn`t make quick decisions and his arm strength is terrible. I hate the New England Patriots, but I hate the Jets more. I look forward to Tom Brady and Bill Belichek making them look like fools for the second time this year.

Baltimore at Kansas City - A predictable outcome here. Kansas City is a simply team to defend. Eliminate Charles and Bowe and you will win the game, period. Not sure if it is on Charlie Weis' shoulders, or Matt Cassel's but to not even throw a ball in the direction of Dwayne Bowe is inexcusable. Baltimore and Pittsburgh will be an amazing game. Hard hitting and lots of bad feelings between the two of them. I like Baltimore to come out ontop if a very chippy game.

Green Bay and Philadelphia. It was an amazing start for the Packers who sacked Michael Vick on the Eagles first offense play. The Eagles had under 60 yards of offense after the first quarter while the Packers methodically took them apart in the process. Many people we're saying the Packers were the most dangerous team out of all the wild card teams - and this was under the impression that they had no running game. Enter James Starks who set a Packers rookie record with over 120 yards rushing, and was huge in keeping Michael Vick off the field. During the Eagles final drive, I was thinking to myself I had seen too many games where the Packers have given up the game on defense in the 4th quarter, but Tramon Williams, who got robbed of a Pro Bowl spot showed why he was so deserving with a great interception in the end zone to seal the deal and send the Packers to Atlanta for a rematch on Saturday night.

Very exciting BCS championship game tonight. I don't think very highly of Cam Newton when it comes to making an impact at the next level in the NFL, but it was a great back and forth game. I can hardly wait until LaMichael James makes it to the NFL, this kid will be a star, and he has excellent hands as well. Casey Matthews represented his bloodline well with a great forced fumble on Cam Newton. the NFL team that gets him will be very lucky.

Women....wish I knew what they were thinking sometimes. I find it so hard to tell whether or not they are into you, if they've changed their minds on something, or if they want something more than you other than friends *shakes head* If you can figure it out, let me know ;)

Thanks for reading, take care.

Best

C

Monday, December 6, 2010

The drive is dead

Hey all, how's it going? So for those that may read my postings on a somewhat regular basis, you may have noticed a couple of changes. I changed the title of my blog and the image related, largely because when I first created my blog, even though it was mostly (and still will be mostly sports related things) I created the blog and title and picture to reflect a certain place I was in emotionally - which was not a very good one, but that since has long passed and I've washed my hands of it awhile ago, so I felt because of that, it was time for a new title to reflect that.

Another week in the NFL is almost complete, with only the Jets and Patriots left to play in the Monday Nighter. The Jets and Pats never disappoint when they play. I hope the Jets come out on top as the Pats have owned the AFC east for to long, and I just simply hate that loser of a QB Tom Brady. Regardless of what happens, given the rivalry between them, I'm sure it will be an awesome game to watch.

When you look at the playoffs in the AFC and NFC, I don't recall a season (I've been watching since I was 8, I'm 24 now) when the playoff picture has been so tight. Normally to make the playoffs, the standard goal is to have a record of 10-6, but right now it looks like there could potentially be one team from each conference that has a record of 10-6 that still misses the playoffs, including my Green Bay Packers - Damn the Chicago Bears!!

Speaking of the Packers, a nice win yesterday over the 49ers to improve to 8-4 on the season. Aaron Rodgers had another solid game, and the emergence of running back James Starks will hopefully improve a putrid running game since Ryan Grant was lost in the first game of the year against the Eagles.

Another awesome game for Michael Vick. over 300 yards passing, 2 touchdown passes to go with 50 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown. He could have had 4 touchdown passes if it wasn't for drops by Brent Celek and DeSean Jackson. Next week they face the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night.

My Edmonton Oilers - great to see some consistency coming from these guys. I know they are probably the youngest team in the NHL, but to see them play as well as they did in their sweep of Eastern Canada. Their game at home Saturday night against St. Louis was an exciting, low scoring affair. Taylor Hall - great to see this kid coming around - scored the winner in overtime on a break away.

Speaking of young kids coming around - Carey Price, good for you kid! It's funny how Habs fans (and I love the Habs, not as much as the Oilers though) boo a 22 year old kid in a PRESEASON game, only to watch him totally light it up so far in the regular season. Good for him for fighting through the crap some fans we're putting him through. Halak who?

We start our football playoffs on Saturday. I'm thinking this will probably be my last go around with the team, just not enjoying it for a number of reasons regardless of how much I try. Hopefully we do well though. Anyways thats all I got for now. Thanks for reading.

PS: *sigh* women....*facepalm* maybe something to elaborate on for next time....we'll see ;)

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Football, Conan, and a rant.

Hey all, hope all is well. Well the old man did it again, and showed why I love this amazing game, and what made me a fan. Down by 14 points with around 4 minutes to go in the game - and their season if they we're to lose the game, but Brett Favre did it again with vintage throws, and his touchdown pass to Visanthe Shaincoe was a throw only Favre could make. I know Tom Brady has more Super Bowl rings, and Peyton Manning will likely have more as well before he retires, but if you need ONE PLAY to win the game, who would you rather have? The man is unreal with the game on the line.

It looks like my fantasy football team will get it's third win in a row unless Rashard Mendenhall decides to break the single game rushing record and rushing TD record. I was faced with the dilemma (albeit a good dilemma) to start Michael Vick or Ben Roethlisberger. I figured Vick may be rusty having not playing for over a month, but given how he played after not starting for almost 3 years, I went with Vick, and it was a great choice.

As I write this, I'm watching the Sunday Nighter between the Packers and Cowboys. I will always remember how my Grandpa was the biggest Cowboys fan. He almost always would be wearing his Dallas Cowboys sweater. If he was still around, I could just imagine the 4 letter words he would be throwing around watching them these days. Miss you.

Well, another sad Bomber season is in the books. Hopefully in the off season LaPolice grows a set of balls in his play calling. It's pretty sad some of the calls he's made over this past season. Maybe next year will be better. Regardless, this time around, I can't say I will be wasting my time, or my money - thats right, no season tickets for me next year, to see if 2011 will be the year. I won't be going back unless they give me a reason to.

Friday night, we had another indoor touch football game. We didn't play nearly as well as we are capable of, but we pulled it out when it mattered the most. I got the game winning interception to seal the deal, which was very thrilling because I'm not often able to make big plays, but this one felt great. 3-0 and playoff bound. Lets keep the ball rolling.

So, what are you doing tomorrow night at midnight? Me, I'll be watching the debut of Conan's new show. It's a little ironic how as of today, Jay Leno's ratings on The Tonight Show is currently lower than what Conan's we're when NBC gave the show back to Leno. Suck it Leno and NBC.

One little rant...when I am driving on the highway at night, I've always wondered why people make it a point to get right up on your ass before passing you. Now this in itself really doesn't bug me, but when you have your brights on, I cannot see a fucking thing. I seriously am tempted to slam on my breaks so you rear end me, so you can be 100% at fault, and I'll get a new car in the process. But thats okay though, I'm sure at some point you will drive over something and puncture a tire at some point...that or I will just simply roll down my window and punch you in the face as you pass me. Really, I'm fine with either scenario. Cheers, have a good night, love ya guys, thanks for reading.

C

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

For the betterment of the team, and a beef with US lawmakers

Hi all, hows it goin? Hope you've had a good week so far. I know I have. My week started feeling scared to death about this radio presentation I need to do Thursday. It's basically on an older system used way back in radio. The thought process being, if I can operate this machine, I can operate anything in radio. Anyways things have started to come around and I am feeling pretty good about it. I got a 2 hour practice session tomorrow, so I feel that will be more than enough time to get it down pat.

Anyways, I know I blogged last time about Michael Vick, but I just want to make a point about the events since Sunday's win over Detroit. In sports, more often than not, who starts and who is the back up is much more often determined by the players salary than his talent unfortunately. For those who do not know, Kevin Kolb, the Eagles new QB (at the time) got a large contract extension after the trade of Donovan McNabb. After the Eagles win on Sunday, with Micheal Vick in control (KK had a concussion) the Eagles passing attack had looked great, and more importantly, Vick had looked better than at any point in his career, which is saying something given some of his years in Atlanta. However Andy Reid, the Eagles coach said that KK would be starting the next game because he was healthy again. A day later, after some re-consideration (and perhaps some suggestion by the team owner - just a guess on my part) Reid did a 180 and all of a sudden proclaimed Vick as the starter going forward because he had performed beyond expectations. Now whether it was ownership intervention, or Reid legitimately changed his mind, I always give props when a team makes a choice like this. It doesn't particularly look the greatest when your starter, is earning aound 3.5 million, when your new back-up, who has just signed a new contract is earning around 7 million, but kudos to the Eagles for making the right choice, because at the end of the day, winning is the only thing that matters of course.

File this one under why US laws are a farce....I was reading an article online about how a US man's execution was delayed after he attempted suicide. His lawyer argues the suicide attempt proves his client is incompetent and executing him would violate the US Constitution on cruel and unusual punishment....

....excuse me....cruel and unusual punishment. Now I know this is a debatable subject for some, and so be it, be isn't the act of killing someone, especially in the form of retribution cruel and unusual punishment? further more, putting myself in the shoes of the US law makers - why would I care if someone on death row killed themselves? An execution costs more tax payers money than a life sentence does, so why would I care if an inmate "did the job himself" (pardon the language, just the thought process I'd assume from their point of view" It also just seems kind of stupid to me - does the US law makers need to stroke their own ego to the point where they need to carry out the killing themselves? Case in point, in March, an Ohio man OD'ed on anti-depressants, only a couple of hours before his execution. They allowed him to fully recover in a hospital, only to execute him a week after the suicide attempt. Perhaps I am missing some point in all this, but it looks to me as another reason of why the US is looked down upon as much as it is for various reasons.

Take care, please leave some feedback, and if you can't because it wants you to create a user and all that fun stuff - send me a message to my Facebook inbox. Cheers.

Friday, September 17, 2010

Stamps @ Riders, Pat Burns, and more

Hey hows it going? Not sure if anyone caught the football game tonight, or bits and pieces of it, but it was an awesome one. It seemed like Calgary was in control for most of the game but just couldn't keep the Riders offense off the field at the end of the 4th quarter. It was good to see Jason Clermont make some plays. He has pretty much been invisible since he joined the Riders. I guess you don't mind when you have a chance to play for the home town team. Funny thing happened at the end of the 4th quarter for those who didn't see. The game was tied at 27 and the Riders had lined up for a game winning field goal - a chip shot for their kicker Luca Congi who had only missed one kick within 40 yards all year. Anyways the Riders, after they are lined up for the field goal call a time out, and instead send out the punt team (which adds about 15 yards or so to the kick - go figure) to punt it through the endzone for a single point. Of course, the kick ended up being short and the game went to overtime. The great thing about this is I have a proline ticket that has the Riders to win (on a proline ticket your team needs to win by 4 or more points to be considered a "win") so had they gone for the field goal, I would have lost that game. Needless to say in the end the Riders won by a touchdown which kept my ticket going. I need Hamilton, Winnipeg and New England to win over the next couple of days. We'll see what happens.

Pat Burns - Why can't this guy be left alone. He is dying of cancer (3rd different kind in his life time) and some clown starts an erroneous report that he died today from his cancer. Listen, he was in Quebec to visit some family - would it be so hard to let the man live in peace? When he does unfortunately pass, I'm sure the family will make a statement, until then, leave the man alone. I remember being a 7 year old kid, watching the '93 playoffs, game 7 Detroit and Toronto, a series Toronto on paper should have lost, and Burns took a chance on a Russian rookie, Nikolai Borshevski, and of course he got the game winning goal in over time.

My media program has gotten rolling and it's had some very cool aspects to it so far. It is a very busy program, and I've had a few moments where it seems overbearing but I've made it through so far. I will probably have to get some reading done at some point tomorrow. I'd love at one point to see if I'd be able to host a sports program on the campus station, but I don't want to get to far ahead of myself.

Not sure how many Queen fans there are out there, but there is a movie about to be started on the life of Freddie Mercury, and Sacha Baren Cohen (Borat, lol) will be playing Mercury. It will be very interesting to see what comes of this as this is obviously not the kind of role he does. Here is the link if any are interested: http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2010/09/17/15381021.html

Thats all I got for now, take care, please leave some feedback, and if you can't because it wants you to create a user and all that fun stuff - send me a message to my Facebook inbox. Cheers.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

1,357 days

1,357 days. Think about that for a moment - Try to think about how long that is, never mind how long it would seem if that was the amount of time you were to wait before you could do that one thing it is you love to do. Thats the amount of days it will be on Sunday when Michael Vick starts on Sunday against the Detroit Lions. It will be his first start since 2006 when he lost in the NFC championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles.

Now before I go any further, I don't condone any of what MV did in the past, but the key word is, past. He has paid his debt to society, and he sure didn't get the treatment that most in his position do - a big fine, community service, maybe 30 days in jail....this is a guy that was in jail for 23 months. My point in all this is, is that if you've followed the NFL - or perhaps happened to watch the Eagles and Packers game, the guy is one of the most exciting players to ever play quarterback in the history of the NFL. He is the fastest QB to ever play the game, and he still has a cannon of an arm. Heck, I even picked him up to be on my fantasy football team - he has an awesome match-up against Detroit. If he can do what he did to an elite defense like the Packers (Go Pack Go!) in just one half of football, who knows what he will do against a weak defense like Detroit for a full quarter. Regardless, it should be exciting to watch on Sunday, I'm looking forward to it.

Other things I am looking forward to this weekend, other than coming home.... Calgary @ Sask - How do the Riders respond from the whooping they got last week, and how will the Stamps fare facing a team with more than 3 wins for the first time in almost a month and a half

Winnipeg @ Toronto - Was the Banjo Bowl a fluke? Are Toronto finally regressing to the point we all thought they would? No Cory Boyd will definitely hurt this week

Buffalo @ Green Bay - Why this game? Green Bay will kick their ass....Well yes thats true, but it will also be Brandon Jackson's first start at running back in his career as Ryan Grant is out for the year, a 2nd round pick from 3 years ago.

Miami @ Minnesota - My boy Brett has looked very weak so far. If he can't get it going this week, I have serious concerns for him and the Vikings the rest of the way. He misses Sidney Rice something fierce right now.

Thanks for reading. Feedback is welcomed and encouraged :)

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Preseason game 1

Hello all!:)

Just got in from the first preseason. Have a little time to kill with my slurpee so I figured why not chime in with thoughts regarding the first preseason game of the year.

Buck Pierce. Wow. I've been a huge fan of the guy since he came into the league 5 years ago with BC, and it took him about 5 minutes to show everyone else why they should be pumped that he is on the football team. Great pocket presence, very mobile with his feet, cool under pressure, zip on the ball, accurate, doesn't throw into coverage....what else needs to be said? The offense moved perfectly with him under centre. Keep him healthy and good things will happen this year, no doubt about it.

Fred Reid looked solid, very quick making his cuts, good decision making in breaking runs outside the tackles. To bad he had a 20 yard run called back on a bogus holding penalty. Fred Reid will be just fine.

Receivers...It's funny how Adarius Bowman talks about wanting to try to make the NFL, and how he would be in the NFL if he wasn't busted for pot possession in college. I think AB needs to worry about catching the ball against 5'9 DB's, especially when you are wide open for a touchdown instead of worrying about the NFL. To bad because he has all the potential in the world with his height and speed.

Minus one drop, Terrence Jeffers Harris had a solid game. Great route running, pushing over tacklers, all the things you want to see in a rookie trying to make the team.

While I have it in my head, big props to Montreal's Eric Desloriaus and Dahhrahn Deidrick. My seats are right by the visitors locker room, and a lot of the young fans reach over for high fives, and as the rookies ignored them and walk by, ED was saying these are the people who allow us to pay the bills, and made sure all the kids got hand slaps, great to see. Also good to see DD taking the hand of a young Bomber fan and taking the time to ask him if he likes football and wants to be a player one day. Awesome stuff.

Steven Jyles....ugh....glorified running back. If he didn't have quick feet he would be useless as a QB. He can't read a defense, forces passes and is very inaccurate as well....I thought we cut Michael Bishop did we not? Didn't get to see much of Alex Brink...he attempted only 2 passes, and they were right on the money....to bad both were dropped. Nice to help out your Quarterback Corey Watson :)

Adam DiMichelle....solid job running the offense. Not quite as mobile as Pierce but great on his feet, good job commanding the offense. Nothing more you can ask from a QB seeing his first live action in the CFL.

Couple more quick points.....Yvenson Bernard is in trouble. Emmanuel Mark - while he did have one drop is a typical "power" running back that would complement Fred Reid quite nicely. Good enough speed, makes good cuts and is very effective on screen passes. I don't recall the exact numbers but Marc had at least 8 or 9 more touches than YB...definitely not a good sign for him. Odell "what U talkin bout" Wills and Phillip Hunt....amazing work on the Ends, especially by Willis. I think he drew 3 holding calls that game. Willis will be in the top 3 in sacks this year, write it down.

One last thought...as I'm leaving the stadium I notice these 3 blue T-Shirts with Mike Kelly's mugshot on them. The first one said "it's a non issue" the second said "it's being handled internally" the third said "next question" Great for a laugh on the way home from the game.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Okay I confess....I'm a liar

Alright, I have a confession to make. I am a liar. In my last blog posting I said I would post a message with something more to say. Didn't happen, please forgive me for being a cold hearted liar.

Now that I've got my smart ass sarcasm out of the way, here we go with a long overdue posting.

Before I get into what I want to talk about first, I want to make one thing clear. "Dubya" was far and away the worst president the US has ever had. Bar none, not even close. That being said I will give credit where it is due and say during hurricane Katrina, he did what any good leader would, and was there to survey the damage and see what could be done to help. 35 days after the Katrina, Dubya had visited the area 7 times. 35 days after the BP oil spill, Obama had visited just twice. Maybe if Obama wasn't to busy trying to suggest LeBron should go to the Bulls, or maybe if he wasn't to busy trying to get the NCAA to try and change it's format for playoff college football, or simply if he would do the right and noble thing and postpone his vacation, he might have the chance to pull his head from his ass and actually get to work on fixing this disaster. Honestly I feel sick when I see a....whatever it is, you can't tell because it is covered, 110% in oil, sitting in the water or walking on the shore, it's disgusting and he has done nothing other than some weak, cheap political talk. People said a vote for Obama was a vote for change - what has changed?

Bomber training camp has started (yay!!!) and in what I've seen in the practices I've been to, my good buddy (I wish) Buck Pierce has been as advertised. Great stuff out there. I've wanted him for 5 seasons, it's great he is finally here. I'm really looking forward to the season this year. If he can stay healthy, who knows what can happen, especially with the weapons around him....and access to a playbook not made of crayons - Hi Mike Kelly! *waves*

Ever been in a situation when you wanted to tell and/or ask someone something, and you are unsure how to go about doing it, and when you do, not only do your words get messed up, and you start stuttering like a bafoon, but what you wanted to say not only came out poorly, but you weren't able to say 90% of the other stuff you wanted to say because all you had on your mind was "holy crap, did I ever sound dumb saying what I just did" I had one of those moments very recently. I've never been very good with words in situations I deem to be important. It would be great if this would change one day, it gets old pretty quick when you want to say something thats important and you feel a little silly whenever you are done saying (or attempting to say) what you wanted to say *shrugs* I wish I knew why it happened. For me personally my guess is when you have something that you feel is important or meaningful to say, you want to make it comes out exactly as you want it, and wanting it to come out exactly a certain way can almost work against you because you aren't as relaxed as you should be. Anyways thats just my 2 cents anyways.

Back to the Bees on Thursday with 6 more days to go. I don't really want to go back, but it will definitely be nice to see some familiar faces for one last go around. My last day is Wednesday the 16th...I'm sure it won't be easy, goodbyes are never to fun. What can ya do though, I suppose it's a part of life.

What else can I share with ya....I bought a car about a week and a half ago. 2000 4 door Civic. Loving it so far, and it will be great for highway driving when I move. Next up is to get a cell phone for the move. Looking at either a BB or IPhone - anyone have ideas or suggestions?

Thanks for reading, much love and big hugs:)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Triumph

Hey all, so I know it's been awhile since I've had anything to say. That will change within the next day or two. In the mean time, here are some clips from the best thing to come from Conan O'Brien: Triumph the Insult Comic Dog








Sunday, April 11, 2010

A bunch of whatever

Yay Phil!!

Congrats to Phil Mickelson on his third green jacket. He played great all weekend and deserved to win. I'll admit I was kind of pulling for Tiger on the basis on I wanted to see what kind of gong show it would create, and to shut up all the hypocrites within the media and the PGA tour. That being said congrats to Phil, very well deserved

The Jays...wow....Yeah I know they had a great start last year, 27-14 before they got into a bunch of injuries, but this team right now would be 6-0 had Jason Frasor not blown the save in the first game of the year. They are a fun, young team to watch, and have some pop in the bats. Ontop of that they swept the series against Baltimore without Aaron Hill, a huge part of the line up. Next up is a series against the White Sox at home, and Alex Rios' first trip back to Toronto.

Another 6 day work week coming up...ugh...*rubs head* At least not all of them are evenings, so some of the shifts should be a bit shorter. Hopefully with having a few evenings off, I'll make it out to the gym, and catch up with some of those I haven't had a lot of time for lately...my bad.

Settled on a place in Brandon for those who I haven't told yet. It's literally right across the street from where I will be taking my classes at ACC, so I will save lots of money on driving and parking at the college and driving around town. It's a nice basement that has a room and bed bigger than the one I have now, and a walk in closet to boot. I still kinda worry about how I am going to adjust when I get out there, but I'm sure one way or another it will work itself out...I hope lol.

Anyways I know this was brief but it's all I got for now. Take care, much love and big hugs....thanks for reading.

Playoffs?!



Yes, the playoffs start on Wednesday - or what to me is the fast forward button until the start of the CFL season - High Five! Here are some thoughts on the first round in this years playoffs.

East
1 Washington VS 8 Montreal

I love Ovechkin as lots of you know, but I'd love to see Montreal do well in this years playoffs. However as much as I'd like to see Montreal do well, against Washington they don't have a hope in hell. Washington is faster, stronger, bigger, oh yeah....and more talented as well....Montreal sadly may have been wishing they missed the playoffs when this series is done (hope I'm wrong) but Washington in 4 games

2 New Jersey VS 7 Philadelphia

Welcome to the annual snoozefest series of the 1st round. Neither team can score all that much - though Jersey may not be so bad with Kovalchuk in the lineup. Philly has had very inconsistent goaltending all season, and will be going up against King Marty. I would imagine given his efforts in last years playoffs and the Olympics, he would be eager to show he has some gas left in the tank. New Jersey in 6.

3 Buffalo VS 6 Boston

Old time match-up from the old Adams Division before the NHL did their re-alignment after 95 season I believe it was. This should be a solid series, Buffalo is a very fast moving team, and while Boston has had trouble in goal at times this year, Zdeno Chara comes to play in the playoffs, and it will be cool to see how the smaller Sabres team deals with him. This will also be a great chance for Ryan Miller to take the next step in his career. He's had his breakout year and Tyler Myers is probably going to be one of the top defenseman in the NHL. Buffalo in 6 in a solid series

4 Pittsburgh VS 5 Ottawa

I know this is a 4 VS 5 series, and they are usually very close...I don't see Pittsburgh repeating this year, they seem to lack that killer instinct from the last 2 years, but that being said, against Ottawa they don't have to worry about Alex Kovalev, and Crosby, Malkin and Staal must be drooling at the thought of facing LeClaire and Elliot. Pittsburgh in 4

West

1 San Jose VS 8 Colorado

It's the middle of April - Do you know what that means? Goodbye Joe Thornton! Dany Heatley is going to have to carry this team on his own, and Nabokov has been sketchy at best since the Olympics. Colorado is a good, young, up and coming team and will probably make this series more competitive than most expect, but regardless of this, and the fact that Joe will go missing again, having Heatley will be enough to get them through the first round. San Jose in 6

2 Chicago VS 7 Nashville

This one should be another quick series. Despite the questions in goal for the Hawks, they are much more faster and skilled than Nashville. Rinne might be able to steal a game for the Preads, but he will have to stand on his head to do it. Towes, and Kane must be tickled pink to have this first round match. Chicago in 4

3 Vancouver VS 6 Los Angeles

Wow...I don't even know on this one. Vancouver has been totally sketchy the past month of the season, and at the start of the year, LA was at, and near the top of the Western Conference standings. The Sedins should put in a strong show, but the question is what kind of Luongo will be showing up for Vancouver. If he plays to his ability, Vancouver shouldn't have much of an issue, but given he rarely does, and likely won't this year again, this series will probably be closer than it needs to be. Ontop of that, Quick has been outstanding for the Kings this year. Kopitar will be ready to go, and the leadership of Ryan Smyth will be a huge asset. Canucks in 7

4 Phoenix VS 5 Detroit

Well, well....welcome back to the playoffs Phoenix, and as a nice welcome back you get the hottest, healthiest and most experienced team in the NHL playoffs, the Detroit Red Wings. While Phoenix has had a much better year than anyone could have ever expected, this is doing to be a new experience for a very young team. The leadership from Ed Jovonovski will be huge here, and Mueller should have a good series as should Bryzgalov, but as I said, Detroit is just to well versed for this situation, and are desperate for one more cup run with an aging team. Detroit in 6.

My Bucket List

Hello Mr. Blog, nice to see you again. Good to see you are doing well. I think it's about time I payed you another visit. So with that being said how about we go with a bucket list just to see what we end up with. Anyways here it is in no particular order, some realistic, some not, but what good would life be without a dream here and there...

- Attend a Super Bowl
- Go to Lambeau Field for a Packers game
- Go to Paris
- Own a Mercedes
- Build a house
- Get a job covering the Bombers
- Work for TSN
- Attend a Grey Cup that the Bombers are in
- Attend a Grey Cup that the Bombers actually win lol
- Visit the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton Ohio
- See the Dallas Cowboys play
- Attend a Yankees VS Red Sox game
- Make my basement into the most kick-ass sports memorabilia place it can be
- Attend an Oilers game
- Not to get all cheesy, but to give my future wife the wedding of her dreams
- Go to Disneyland
- Go to Hawaii
- Meet Brett Favre
- Meet Wayne Gretzky
- Meet Steve Yzerman
- Go to New York
- Enjoy a New York style gigantic pizza
- Cover the Edmonton Oilers
- Get a job offer from ESPN
- Go Bobsledding
- Attend a Conan O Brien show

Thats all I can think of for now. Never done one of these before so chances are I will add a few things as I think of them.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

What is your dream for life? Here's mine.

A question I've been pondering over the past little while is what exactly do I want for my life in the future. Sure it can be a basic question with easy answers such as being financially secure, healthy, etc, and those are all great, important things obviously, but I mean it a bit deeper, like what job do you REALLY want to have - not the one you settle for, what kind of home do you want, family - if you want a family. Anyways I have some time to kill at the moment so here is mine.

As those of you who have read my blog before know, or know me well, I am going to be going to Brandon to take a media production course which will get me into the broadcasting industry. Now the large majority of those out of college usually start out in radio, in small towns, or both, and I'm sure I will be no different. When I've laid the building blocks to my career, there are a number of things I could see myself being very happy doing for my career. I would love to be able to cover the Bombers for at least part of my broadcasting career, getting to know the players and coaches I think would be such a thrill.

I'd also love to have the opportunity to cover the Oilers at some point for the above reasons. It's such an awesome hockey town, a great place to be, and hey....their football team is alright I guess lol :P Of course in any career we all would love to be at "the top of the mountain" and that of course in this case would be working for TSN. To have the opportunity to either call live events, travel all over Canada and in some cases the world, for all the biggest sporting events would be a thrill to put it lightly, I'd feel like I should be paying them to do the job (let's hope they don't see this in 10 years lol) or being one of the anchor's on Sportscentre....that would be LIFE - and the crazy thing is, there are people who have done all those things, maybe I can be one of those people to.

House....see this one is trouble because in broadcasting there is lots of travel involved, and I don't mean that as in covering events but I mean in terms of finding new jobs as there is a lot of movement within the industry. If I knew I was in a place I was going to be settled, I would LOVE to build a house just on the outskirts of whatever city I'd be living in. I really hope to have a kitchen that can be used as a bar, and the most awesome home entertainment room with a mounted big screen TV, surround sound and of course....laz-y-boys recliners.

Family. Undecided here. I used to think for sure I'd want a family, and I'm sure to a degree I still do more or less, but with some changes in life I could see some situations where I'd be happy as well having a pick up truck, and 2 or 3 dogs that I took with me whenever I went out. Either way, I'm sure I'd be happy. Thats my story, whats yours?

Thanks for reading, much love and big hugs