State of...Stupidity

I certainly don't claim to be the smartest person out there. Not even close. But if liking the following story makes me dumb, then I'm happy to be in that group...

So, the Calgary Hitmen had their annual Teddy Bear Toss game last week. Once per season they invite their fans to bring teddy bears to a game (or buy them for $10 at the game with all proceeds going to charity) to toss onto the ice after the first goal is scored. The teddy bears are then gathered up and donated as Christmas presents to those kids who wouldn't otherwise have anything over the Holiday season.

This is not a new concept by any means. It's been going on for many years in the Western Hockey League (WHL). The Calgary Hitmen have just taken it to the next level. This past week the Hitmen fans came armed with enough ammunition that would make the average American high schooler blush. Fans smashed the old toss record with 26,919 teddy bears!!! The team took roughly 4,000 bears and had their players deliver them in person to a local hospital. The remaining bears were split up among the other local charities.

Seems like a nice story, right? Well, if you think this is nice then you must be dumb. According to online blog network Gawker.com this was "one of the two or three dumbest" traditions in the world. Again, call me mentally challenged if you will but I have to think there are several other traditions that are more stupid than donating gifts to under privileged children, no?

Let me see if I can think of any...Throwing snowballs at Santa at Philadelphia Eagle games. Chanting "Asshole" at a sporting event when a call doesn't go your way. Booing the opposing team, just because they are the opposing team. Idolizing d-bag athletes (take your pick: LeBron, T.O., Ocho Cinco, etc.). Throwing rats on the ice (circa mid-90 Florida Panthers).

I'm just a dumb Canadian hockey fan so what do I know. Mark Twain once said that "Everyone has the right to be stupid; some people just abuse the privilege." Congratulations Hitmen fans and dumb Canadians across the world - embrace your stupidity!

Cheers,
LW

State of...Travel

Happy American Thanksgiving!

This will be one of the most traveled weekends of the year. Families coming together, loved ones getting back together, 90th birthday celebrations, you name it. Many of these folks will be testing out the new airport security measures.

Travelers have two choices. One, get the full body X-ray type scan. The scan takes approximately 30 seconds and is relatively foolproof. The second option is to have a security agent frisk your body to check for any dangerous items. This option takes approximately 2 minutes and is less accurate in terms of overall safety. The bottom line is that both measures are put in place to keep the rest of the country safe from terrorists. Keep this in mind as I go off on my rant.

People are complaining that both of these forms of security checks are an invasion of privacy. Are these people the same people who are okay with terrorism? If going through a 30 second X-ray is going to keep me safe from some whackjob then I'm more than okay with it. If going through a 2 minute full body frisk is going to keep my entire plane safe, so be it. I don't see what the big deal is.

By the letter of the law, is this pat-down an invasion of privacy? Probably. But which would you rather have, a little invasion of privacy or being dead? Tough call. Just be thankful that they're not pushing for body cavity searches. In fact, that's probably the next step. When terrorists figure out how to fool the system the TSA might go to the next level.

In the end, if you have an issue with people doing their job and trying to keep air travelers safe, I have two words for you...DON'T FLY!!!! It's as simple as that. If you'd rather have terrorists in the sky than being lightly violated then I don't want you in the sky anyways.

Safe travels my friends!
Cheers,
Liam

State of...Role Models

Wow...it's been an incredibly long time since I last posted. I guess it was a pretty busy summer...but that's no excuse. I do have a list of things that have crossed my mind over the past several months, so let's hope I can get to a few of them in the near future.

I'm generally a pretty open minded individual. I tend to believe that people should learn by making mistakes. I'm not so naive to think that kids these days aren't a million miles more sexually curious/advanced/aggressive/mature than I was so many years ago. All you have to do to prove this is walk through the mall on a Saturday. Girls are wearing half the amount of clothing they did when I was growing up.

So I'm here in my hotel room in Windsor, Ontario and flipping through the channels of trash on TV. I happened to stop on one of the many music stations (Much2 or something like that). They were doing the top 10 requested songs of the day/week/year/era (who knows). At number three we had the most recent catchy jingle from Katy Perry; Teenage Dream. For those who have been stuck in a cave with no radio, this song is as popular as anything you've heard in many years. The regular radio stations (which I refuse to listen to) play this song on repeat.

Here is a sample of the lyrics of this song:

We drove to Cali
And got drunk on the beach
Got a motel and
Built a fort out of sheets
I finally found you
My missing puzzle piece
I'm complete

Let's go all the way tonight

Now, I'm as liberal as the next mid-30 something...but this seems a tad over the top. Katy Perry is a huge mega-star right now. I don't know for a fact her target demo, but I'm willing to be it's girls under the current drinking age (in both US and Canada). In fact, I'd go so far as say her target market includes those without the ability to drive yet.

For argument's sake, let's say that her demo is 14-18 year old girls. If you had a teenage girl that fell in this age bracket would you be comfortable with her hearing this type of lyrics from a "role model"? I'm the first one to say that parents need to do a better job of teaching their kids what is right and what is wrong; don't rely on pop superstars to look after your kid - YOU do it.

That being said, these pop stars are making it awfully difficult to raise your kids without being totally messed up tramps. With half of them getting in trouble with drugs and alcohol and the other half singing about getting drunk and "going all the way", how's a parent to do their job?

I don't have the solution, nor am I looking to solve the worlds problems. I just urge parents to continue to talk to their kids; find out what they are listening to, find out who their friends are, what they do after school, what they do on the weekend. TALK to you kids...help them get through their adolescence in one piece.

If you don't, then they will be working off role models/parenting/images like this (taken from the "Teenage Dream" video):



Cheers,
LW

State of...Playoffs - Stanley Cup Finals

What do I know? I've been all over the map, but mostly wrong this postseason.

Hawks in FOUR!

State of Playoffs - Round Three

For the life of me I can't seem to pick an Eastern Conference winner. Once again I am upset by both teams and am now left torn. This is no easy task for a Torontonian living in Philly. But here goes...

Montreal Canadiens vs Philadelphia Flyers:
As a Toronto Maple Leafs fan I cannot, and will not, ever cheer for the Montreal Canadiens. It just CAN'T happen. The world would turn on its axis. Fire and brimstone would rain down upon us. So...I can't CHEER for the Canadiens. But that doesn't mean that I can't PICK them to win. Halak has been the goalie of the playoffs and has kept his team going. They've taken down the top ranked offense in Washington and the defending Stanley Cup Champs in Pittsburgh. They must be licking their chops at facing the 7th ranked Flyers. One win away from playing for the Cup. I won't cheer for the Canadiens...but I think they get past the Flyers in a very close series.
Canadiens in Six

Chicago Blackhawks vs San Jose Sharks:
I've been saying all along that these are the top two teams in the West. This series is going to be so much fun to watch. If any people out there aren't sure about what hockey is all about - WATCH THIS SERIES!!!! Both teams play high intensity hockey with fast paced skill players. That being said, I like San Jose more this year - and think they've finally found themselves. This will be their toughest test to date as Chicago can really play. They can FLY, they can score, they can play D. They really are the complete team...but they are a tad young to be taking down the playoff experienced Sharks. The Sharks are starting to believe that they can win in the playoffs (finally) and I don't see anyone stopping them this year. They win this round and then continue on to hoist Lord Stanley's mug.
Sharks in Six

State of...Playoffs - Round Two

Wow...Thank God for my Western Conference picks, eh?! Lots of upsets in the East...some I'm not so happy with - I'm talking to you Montreal!!!

Round 2 Picks

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Boston Bruins
Well, this was a match-up I wasn't expecting. I didn't think the Flyers had the goaltending to get past Brodeur's Devils. And I still don't entirely trust their 'tending. The Bruins are getting Marc Savard back and should be able to ride either Goalie to the Eastern Conference Championship game.
Bruins in Six

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Montreal Canadiens
Screw Montreal. They had NO business beating Ovie and the Caps. They come into the series riding the hottest goalie in the league. I'm not buying that he can do it again versus Sid and his squad of Pens. Either Malkin or Sid will have their way with him. Or both.
Pens in Five

San Jose Sharks vs. Detroit Red Wings
I'm not sure why...but I believe in the Sharks this year. I should have learned from previous years, but I guess I'm a slow learner. I see the Sharks just being a step better in every aspect of hockey, but especially on offense and in goal. I don't see the Wings going easily, but I think their best days are behind them.
Sharks in Six

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Vancouver Canucks
I think this will be a very good series. It's going to come down to Luongo versus the Chicago offense. Can he regain the form that made him one of the top goalies in the game...or will he stumble like has since before the Olympics? Can the twins bring enough offense to the series to match up against the likes of Toews, Sharp and Kane? Chicago's D, in my humble opinion, is too much for the 'Nucks forwards.
Hawks in Five

Cheers,
LW

State of...Playoffs!

Yet another of NHL playoffs without the beloved Maple Leafs. As sad as that is to say, it's getting easier and easier each year. I'll spare the "we finished strong", "we have a good young nucleus", "this year's draft should bring us a good pic....uh nevermind", speech although any and all of those statements could be true.

This post is all about the NHL playoffs and my picks. With the Flyers and Canadians backing into this year's dance it should be an interesting few weeks. Here are my predictions for this year's first round:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Washington Capitals vs. Montreal Canadians
Les Habitants have NO chance to defeat the high powered Caps. The MIGHT have a chance to win one game. While it would be nice to see the Red & Blue suffer a sweep...I think they can take one to overtime and win on a lucky bounce.
Prediction: Caps in Five

New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers
This could end up being the best matchup in the first round. The Flyers have absolutely OWNED the Devils this year. I'm not sure that I see Brodeur stumbling enough to lose the first round...but stranger this have happened over the years.
Prediction: Devils in Seven

Buffalo Sabres vs. Boston Bruins
At the start of the year I thought the big bad Bruins had a chance to win it all. They've struggled at times this year and just don't seem to have their mojo on full power right now. With those two goalies you can never count them out...but we've all seen what Ryan Miller can do in big games (see 2010 Olympic results) - this kid if unreal! While I don't like the Buffalo firepower compared to Boston, I think that it's Miller time in Buffalo!
Prediction: Sabres in Six

Pittsburgh Penguins vs. Ottawa Senators
The pride of Canada gets a chance to eliminate this year's Battle of Ontario champs. Nothing would make me happier than to see BOTH the Habs and Sens eliminated from postseason play in the first round. I have NO idea how the Sens managed to qualify for a playoff spot this year. They seemed to struggle all year. They have NO team chemistry, NO heart, and NO chance of getting past the defending Stanley Cup Champions. Life is good.
Prediction: Pens in Five

WESTERN CONFERENCE

San Jose Sharks vs. Colorado Avalanche
I might actually stay awake for these games. What a matchup! If not for Phoenix this would be the ultimate underdogs (Colorado) versus the ultimate hype! The Sharks have been predicted to win a Cup for a few years now. They have all the firepower that the Caps have and plenty of good D and Goaltending; so what gives?! I have no idea. I've counted on the Sharks before and been burned...but I have a feeling that the feel-good story Avalanche have run out of luck this time.
Prediction: Sharks in Six

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Nashville Predators
Another great matchup. I compare the Blackhawks to the Bruins a bit. This was a team that I picked early to be very successful. And while they are the #2 seed, they seem to have struggled a bit. Can their goaltending handle the pressures of playoff hockey? Can their big guns capitalize when the pressure is on? Is the Hossa curse still going strong? As much as I love what they've done in Nashville on a consistent basis (is there a better coach out there?) I don't see them being good enough to beat the Hawks.
Prediction: Hawks in Five

Vancouver Canucks vs. Los Angeles Kings
I see the Kings as the Blackhawks from last year or the year before. You can see where this team is going and you have to like their skill. I'm just not sure they have the mental toughness to last a playoff round yet. In two years I think we'll see the Kings make the conference finals (or more) but this year...Luongo and the twins are too strong.
Prediction: Canucks in Five

Phoenix Coyotes vs. Detroit Red Wings
Ugh, what a nasty matchup for the Coyotes. They are THE feelgood story of the year. Nobody gave these guys a chance to do anything this year. The team was in turmoil, the players didn't know where they were headed, and the fans didn't know if they were even going to HAVE a team this year. Now here they are with home ice advantage against the team with the most playoff experience in the last ten years. While I'd love to say that this story continues into the second round, I just don't see how a team led by Lidstrom, Datsyuk, and Zetterberg can lose in the first round to a team with little to no playoff experience.
Prediction: Red Wings in Seven

Best of luck to all playoff teams! You better enjoy it this year...because my Maple Leafs will be knocking on the door next year!

Cheers,
LW

State of...Longevity

It's a sad last couple of days to the NHL season. Not only because my Maple Leafs stunk up the joint, but also because two NHL greats, and two of the greatest American born players, are set to retire. Keith Tkachuk and Mike Modano are hanging up the skates after two decades of playing at the NHL level. Both will should undoubtedly be elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame, likely in their first attempt. Take a look at their stats below:

Mike Modano:
1458 Games
557 Goals
802 Assists
1359 Points

Keith Tkachuk:
1201 Games
538 Goals
527 Points
1065 Points
2219 PIMS

That's nearly 2,500 points!!! Together they played 40 seasons of NHL hockey. These are two of the greats to be sure. In those 40 seasons, guess how many 100 point seasons they had? Go ahead, take a guess? 5? Nope. 10? Nope. 20? Not a chance. Together these two hockey greats had a total of ZERO 100 point seasons. That is insane. How do these two players NOT hit the century mark at some point? I guess this just shows how difficult it is to maintain that kind of consistency for a full 82 game schedule.

My good friend Amish was on hand to watch the Mike Modano Love-fest. You can see the clip here. Kudos goes out to the Dallas Stars fans for recognizing what they have/had. It was great to see how emotional Modano got on the bench. Sometimes we take for granted how long these players have had this profession and what it means to hang up the skates. These guys have been playing hockey for around 35 years.

Mike Modano and I had a bit of an up and down relationship. I hated his prima-donna attitude earlier in his career. As he matured he started to gain back my respect and by the end of his career he had played his way onto my favourite players list (it's a LONG list). Like many young superstars he had a lot to learn; but he did it. It was great to watch as he mentored the younger players on those Stars teams.

I will always remember Keith Tkachuk as one of those players that I hated having my Leafs play against. He was a perfect mix of skill and brawn. He was one of the best Power Fowards in the game. He was able to get his team pumped with a goal or a big fit and/or fight. He was always one of those players that I wanted on my fantasy team because he could do it ALL!

Count me in as part of the standing ovation that each of these NHL greats received at their last games. It was a pleasure watching them play and they WILL be missed. Great players, great careers, and good luck with your retirements! My hat goes off to you both!

Cheers,
LW

State of...Enhancement

Not sure when this transformation took place, but did anyone else notice the makeover that the St. Pauli Girl got recently? I was driving on the highway and passed a beer truck and noticed that she looked a bit different from when I first noticed her - on a side note, the first St. Pauli Girl experience was my 16th birthday with my friend Brendan. We used to get each other a random 6-pack for our birthday (yes, this was before we were "legally" allowed to consume alcohol GASP!). I don't remember who bought the 6-pack this time but I do remember the label.

Either way, I was noticing that she's been put through an image upgrade. I can't tell if she's also been 'uplifted' or not. Initially I thought she'd had an operation to reduce the stress on her back...but now, seeing it next to each other I'm not so sure. See for yourself:

Old St. Pauli

New St. Pauli:

Cheers,
LW

State of...Twins

Slow news day...but I've been thinking about these possible lost siblings for a while and thought I'd share my random musings...

Alan Greenspan and Mr. Dressup (Ernie Coombs):


Musical genius T-Bone Burnett and movie mogul James Cameron:


And finally, Jerry Seinfeld and Gilbert Gottfried:


I'll post more as I think of them.

Cheers,
LW

State of...Misquote?

I've got a lot of respect for Apolo Ohno, so I hope that this turns out to be a false quote, but when asked about the referee's decision to disqualify him, Ohno replied, “You know, it's the head Canadian referee out there and there were two Canadians in the race.”

He's commented numerous times that "that's short track" when crashes and DQ's happen, so I really hope he's not claiming some illegal shenanigans on this one. He's always won and lost with grace, and this would definitely be a step down for him.

Said it ain't so Ohno! More to come?

State of...Captivity

First and foremost, my condolences go out to the family of Dawn Brancheau. She was the Sea World employee who was recently killed by a captive killer whale at the park. This is a horrible incident and I cannot imagine what her family is going through. The only words of encouragement that I can offer is that she died doing what she loved most - working with whales.

Now, that all being said...how the hell did all this happen?? This whale has been in two OTHER incidents that resulted in deaths. It's highly unlikely that the whale did this deliberately or with intent, more than likely the whale was just "playing" around and didn't realize what he was doing. But folks...he's a KILLER whale. Let me restate that, he's a KILLER, that's KILL-ER, whale. He wasn't named for his playfullness.

It's such a shame that animals/mammals are taken from the wild and trained to be domestic. Their natural habitat is NOT in a cage, aquarium, etc. so why is it a shock when violence happens? Remember that lady who had her face mauled by a neighbours chimpanzee? Why the hell was this lady allowed to have a chimpanzee as a pet?! Why can't we have a rule that outlaws stupid people?

So what's going to happen to the whale now? I haven't heard definitively but my guess is they are going to put him to sleep. What a shame. It's not his fault this happened. In fact, the trainers didn't even go into the water with him because they didn't feel it was safe. So if he wasn't safe to swim with - why have him???? Wild animals should be just that; WILD! As in, not captive, not a pet, not a trained toy. A majestic beast that should be allowed to roam free.

I'm very sorry about the incident...but let's place the blame where it needs to be - on Sea World. I'd like to know why they decided to purchase a Killer Whale that had a history of violence for their family shows. That doesn't sound like a very wise move to me. He should never have been captured in the first place. And after that first incident he should have been released as it was unsafe to keep him.

It's happening too often that people/companies are making the decision to purchase wild animals only to have the relationship end in tragedy. What do people expect? You aren't supposed to have a wild chimpanzee! Killer Whales are not supposed to be kept in captivity. Great White Sharks aren't supposed to be in aquariums. These are wild creatures people - let's keep it that way.

All together now, let's say it loud: FREE WILLY!!!!!

Cheers,
LW

State of...Cheating!

Let me first start by saying that I admire Mark McGwire for what he did yesterday. Regardless of why he came out, it takes a big person to admit they were wrong. And to admit it to millions of people is even more difficult. That being said, Mark McGwire does NOT deserve to be in the Hall of Fame (HOF).

Mark McGwire was a very good (possibly great) homerun hitter but his entire career and his HOF worthy numbers are all tainted. We don’t know which numbers were done while he was clean and which ones he accomplished while using steroids. We don’t know if he had stayed clean his whole life what his final homerun totals would be. I tend to think that he still would have been a much respected power hitter but we just don’t know for sure. There are those that will argue for one reason or another that he deserves to be recognized in the Hall of Fame. They might use some of the following arguments:

- Everyone else in his day was doing it
- Steroids don’t improve your hand-eye coordination
- It wasn’t banned by Major League Baseball

And to those people I say this:

#1 “Everyone else in his day doing it”
I don’t care if everyone else was doing it. I don’t care if every pitcher in the league was using ‘roids – that doesn’t make it right. I won’t believe that all baseball players in the “Steroid Era” were using drugs. A player like Fred McGriff (who has never been accused of using performance enhacing drugs) played his career clean and put up some very very good numbers. His accomplishments have been overshadowed because of cheaters like Canseco and McGwire. If these CHEATERS hadn’t put up such gaudy numbers then maybe some of the clean hitters would have a chance to be in the Hall of Fame. It’s a shame that the guys who relied solely only on their God given talents and hard word (and NOT on drugs) are cast aside as mediocre because of the few outliers.

#2 "Steroids don’t improve your hand-eye coordination"
We don’t know this for sure, but let’s take this as fact for now. People say that hitting a 90+ MPH pitch with a stick is one of the harder things to do in all of sports. Steroids may not help you accomplish the task of putting wood to ball, but it sure helps your strength. Who’s to say that 100 of McGwire’s homeruns wouldn’t have just been deep fly balls without the assistance of steroids? Maybe that number is only 50. Or maybe it’s 250. We don’t know for sure which homers were drug assisted and which ones weren’t – so we have to throw them ALL out. McGwire wasn’t a very good hitter (based on average) so let’s take a look at how a small change like adding strength can change a career. Say McGwire went 0-4 (one pop-out, 2 strikeouts, and a ground out) without steroids. If by taking steroids he is able to add an extra 20 feet to his fly balls then his 0-4 suddenly becomes 1-4 with a homer. Since he’s now hitting with more power the pitcher might decide not to take a chance of giving him anything to hit in his next at bat. So maybe now he gets a walk instead of a strikeout. So he went from being 0-4 to suddenly being 1-3 with a homer. Those are Hall of Fame numbers to be sure. But he didn’t do that on his own merit. He CHEATED to accomplish this.

#3 "It wasn’t banned by Major League Baseball"
Shame on MLB for not only not banning steroids but also for hiding their heads in the sand. At the time of McGwire and Sosa and their rise to greatness, baseball was suffering from lack of interest. These two player singlehandedly brought people back to the sport. Baseball NEEDED these guys to raise their game from their recent case of indifference. I was right there with everyone else. After the strike I lost a lot of interest in MLB (the Expos were robbed of a Championship title by the way) and these two guys got me back interested. See, I’m not saying that steroids don’t provide excited – they do. I’m happy to sit and watch a genetically enhance behemoths hit 500 foot homers – that’s exciting (but don’t expect me to say these mutants are “great players”). But it’s exciting in the way that watching Hulk Hogan or HHH fight. Also, while MLB hadn’t banned steroids it was still ILLEGAL! These guys broke the law in order to enhance their playing abilities. If you were driving down the highway and the speed limit was 65 but you knew that there weren’t any cops would you speed? Of course you would (I sure would). But if you did get caught you couldn’t argue that it was the cops fault for not having radar setup. You knew you were breaking the law.

It’s a shame that we will never know how good these players were without the use of performance enhancing drugs. Would McGwire have broken Mantle’s record? We will never know. But what we do know is that he was CHEATING while he broke it. That is a fact. He knew what he was doing was wrong but decided that the risk was worth the reward. Well guess what Mark, here is where your decisions come back to bite you in your big pin-cushion behind. You don’t get to go into the Hall of Fame. Sure you’ve made millions of dollars, but you don’t deserve to be enshrined into baseballs chamber of greatness.

LONG LIVE 61!!!

Cheers,
LW