Just saw the uniforms the Kitchener Rangers designed for opening night of the Memorial Cup. Stunning! Absolutely stunning. And the money goes to the Poppy Fund via silent auction. They’ve done it before but they haven’t done it better.
“They ain’t here, they ain’t coming.”
—Don Henley—-
If Extra Terrestrials have the technology to hover, why don’t they land?
Congratulations to the Kitchener Rangers. They bent, but didn’t break, winning the OHL Title last night beating the Belleville Bulls 4-1. My ears are still ringing. I have never heard the Aud that loud. Being on the ice for the post game show was a lesson in loud. A tip of the hat to the fans who gave the players the extra jump they needed. Fans and players. Both delivered. Enjoy a couple of days off and get ready for Gatineau on friday.
It all comes down to tonight. The Rangers vs. The Bulls. Too many people are too tense. It’s been a great series and I’m looking forward to the actual game. Whichever team is better tonight is the OHL Champ. I can live with that.
Toronto fires head coach Paul Maurice, so now the Pete DeBoer to Toronto stories can start. Let’s see. That’s Atlanta, The Marlies, the Leafs (again), and _________ . Add your rumour here. I’m beginning to think the newspaper columnists just want him out of town.
Yes Virginia, there is a competition. The Belleville Bulls were a loose, desperate bunch last night. A loss and the Cup would runneth over to the Rangers bench. In the end, they prevailed. MIkkel Boedker put it best on the post game show when he said “we stood around and watched them skate in the third period”, followed up by Matt Halischuks’ “it’s just one game” response to the same quetion. Both of course are correct. For those expecting a sweep, sorry. The Bulls are a good team. For those that think the Rangers didn’t step up because they wanted to clinch on home ice, sorry. That’s not what happened. The Rangers will be better tomorrow. The question is, do the Bulls have another gear left?
Okay. I did it. I rode my bike to work yesteday, and it was my choice. I wanted to see if it would kill me, and clearly, it did not. I live in NE Waterloo and work in downtown Kitchener. I planned a route, stuck to it and arrived, huffing and puffing, 35 minutes after departing. On the return trip, it took me 25 minutes. I didn’t gain strength, just understanding. It’s a new bike. Both my wife and I upgraded last week. It had been at least 25 years since either us had bought a bike, and the prices and technology both leaped ahead without our knowledge. I picked up time on the way home by working on my gearing. (a tip from Peltch) The intimidation factor has been defeated. Now I have to work on the motivation monkey. Can you say 1.21 per litre gas?
What a treat! Saturday night, my son came with me to the Centre in the Square to listen to the legend. Gordon Lightfoot is back and had a capacity crowd on its’ feet more than once. the soon-to-be 70 year old is coming back from a life-threatening illness and while his voice isn’t booming anymore, he’s still Gord. Besides the music and some bad riddles, Lightfoot made me smile with a comment about performing. He said he no longer has to worry about record deals or paying bills and gets to focus “on the playing.” It was good to see his longtime steel player Pee Wee Charles there too. I also ran into Glenn Pelletier (who had a much younger woman on his arm). Few people I know appreciate the history of music like Glenn and he was clearly “into it.” Him a couple of thousand others. Lightfoot played for a couple of hours and didn’t dent his songbook. If he had sung every song somebody yelled at the stage in request, we’d all have beards…even the women. Two hours was not enough, but I left smiling.
Just when I thought the lords of the TV had scraped what they could from their shoes, I see a promo last night for “Celbrity Detox.” How desperate are these B-Listers for attention? Gary Coleman, who’s career peaked before puberty got married on a reality show and next month will get divorced on the show “Divorce Court.” Surfing the other day I stumbled on Steve Wilkos. His schtick, the former Security Chief for Jerry Springer, is to get as close to his toothless guests as possible and belittle them, much to the delight of a studio audience that could hold hands and not register an IQ. If it wasn’t for TV programming, I would never have the time to read so many books. Thank you “lowest common denominator” suits for excluding me from your swill.
The OHL Championship Series opens tonight, although it’s not the “Final Round”, that will be held later next month during the third week of May, but more on that later. The Rangers and Belleville Bulls have never before met in a play-off series. I’ve been asked for a prediction. Here it is. Great hockey is in the offing.
See You at the Grand Old Dame Of Junior Hockey!