A.B.C.

So, I was reading an interesting article the other week, and it got me thinking about a general trend in sports. It sort of touched on the fact that while the Springboks have traditionally been the All Blacks greatest rivals (in world rugby, they are the only side with a half decent winning percentage against the All Blacks, and I'm pretty sure that coming out of isolation it may have even been a positive one) lately they've been eclipsed by the Wallabies as the hated opponent of choice in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

I think we can see the same thing parallelled in hockey. If you look back at things like the '72 Summit Series, or the'87 Canada Cup, it's all about the Canada-Russia games. However, if you ask most Canadian hockey fans what match up they get "up" for the most, it would be Canada-US, fuelled in part by the '96 World Cup of Hockey, as well as Salt Lake City. While Paul Henderson's goal was significant in that it occured against the Russians (in much the same way that I'm sure Stransky's drop-goal in extra time of the '95 Rugby World Cup had an added impact because it came against New Zealand), there's not the same sense of occasion when Canada plays Russia internationally. Even looking at the local level, in recent years the hockey version Battle of Alberta has been overshadowed by Oilers-Stars match-up (well, I guess Dallas could sort of be Calgary really south). Football is similar, in the sense that Montreal is starting to be seen as more of a rival than the Stamps. Mostly because the Stamps suck now.

Which I guess leads me to my point. I think alot of good sports rivalries are a combination of a shared history of enmity and competition, with the proviso that the other side is actually competitive. The reason why South Africa, Russia and Calgary have sort of fallen by the wayside, is recently (though, in a couple of cases, this trend is reversing) they have all been less competitive with the primary rival than have the likes of Australia, the States and Dallas and Montreal. I think that a deep-seated rivalry always has some impact though, and can outlast others based merely on competition. For example, we've seen a cooling of the Detroit-Colorado rivalry in the NHL, mostly because they haven't played eachother in the playoffs lately. That would be a rivalry based solely on competition (and the fact that Claude Lemieux is a weasel). By the same token, a game against Montreal would be meaningless if they weren't as good as they are now. However, because of the history attached, and the close proximity, a game against Calgary always has some special-ness attached to it, even when Calgary isn't competitive. In that sense, I think that even when they may be overshadowed by rivalries that are more in vogue, the traditional ones always have a remnant.

Even though the Stampeders were the second worst team in the CFL last year, it was still exciting to shut them out in the Labour Day rematch, because they were Calgary. It wouldn't have been as exciting if it were Hamilton. Indeed, it wasn't as exciting in 1997 when the shut out Montreal (before Montreal went to the next level, and had the added intrigue of being helmed by a former Eskimo coach). So I'm proud to cling to the long-standing rivalries, even when they may not be in vogue, as they've proven to have greater durability than the other sort.

Guess What, It's Overtime

I finally had time to use a Best Buy gift certificate that I've had for a while. I got an iPod case as well as a couple of games:Madden 2004 and Rugby 2004 (in spite of the fact that George Gregan is on the cover of the latter).

Council was actually pretty fun tonight. While I may not agree with everything that ECOS has done, I think killing it would have been over-hasty. As well, I'd have real concerns over a DFU ECOS office. Still eagerly anticipating the House Committee debate as well.

After Council, Councillors Smith, Sharma, Bergoff and myself, as well as the BoG Rep went to see Catwoman. I'm starting to think that they should introduce a policy of taking away Oscars for exceedingly crappy performances in movies (recognising that this would probably leave 2 time Oscar winner Marlon Brando with negative Oscars). At least then we would be spared watching Oscar Winner Halle Berry give a performance that Jenny McCarthy would probably be ashamed of. The storyline didn't offer much, and the action sequences were little more than thinly disguised fulfillments of the S&M fantasies of middle aged men. Needless to say, I think Roman enjoyed the movie ;) This movie did mark the second time that I've seen Steve threatened with bodily harm due to his heckles at a movie (the first being Troy). Though, to be fair to Steve, I think "This Sucks! Where's Batman?" was pretty tame. There was a couple that left in the middle, though I'm not sure if they were driven away by us or by the movie. At any rate, it was a fairly enjoyable evening, in spite of the fact that the movie sucked.

Send Me

Well, I thought Clinton gave a very good speech, and I don't really like Clinton either. Alot of times self-deprecation can come off as hokey and or forced, but he pulled it off, like when he was talking about his tax break or the fact that he didn't go to Vietnam. I thought "spot the celebrity" was pretty fun during the speech as well. Jerry Springer really seemed to be getting into it. Michael Moore, on the other hand, didn't look particularly happy. This sort of thing also presented an opportunity for the Democrats which the Republicans don't have, as the only living Republican ex-President is the current President's father, so of course he'd say nice things. We really should have better conventions up here (though, they don't have the same Kingmaker Gamesmanship down there during the convention, so it may balance out).

Hear Our Voices We Entreat

Well, family reunion was fun. It was held at a camp nearby Sylvan Lake. I'd never been to Sylvan before, and while I didn't really do anything in the town, driving through it it looked really nice. Definitely someplace I'll have to get back to at some point.

The actual reunion was held at this camp called Kuriakos. I know it's Greek, but I don't know what it means (I suppose only one year of introductory Ancient Greek will do that to you). All in all it was a fun weekend.

When I got home, I was able to watch a rebroadcast of the Tri-Nations match between the All Blacks and the Springboks. It was a really good match. While the All Blacks dominated in territory and possession, the Boks basically had the lead until 30 seconds left, when Doug Howlett scored a try after an attack that lasted 15 phases (!). 23-21 All Blacks (Spencer missed the conversion). It's always exciting watching New Zealand play South Africa, though I must admit I'm a little more torn after having been to South Africa. On the bright side, based on the last couple of matches, the boks should work the Aussies next week.

On a quasi-related note, my Springboks jersey is now out of date. I have a Nike one, with Castle Lager sponsorship. The jerseys are now made by Canterbury (ironically, Canterbury of New Zealand now produces the jerseys for South Africa and Australia, among others, but not New Zealand). As well, after the Tri-Nations, the jersey sponsor for the boks will be Sasol. I think that's kind of unfortunate, as the Castle Lager on the front of the jersey was one of the few "advertisements on sports jerseys" that I thought looked good (not a fan of the vodafone on the front of the Wallabies jerseys, or the O2 on the England ones). At any rate, I'm not sure what the Sasol ones will look like, but it probably won't be as nice as the Castle Lager ones. Pity.

Klondike Days

So, I went to Klondike Days today with my little sister and one of my younger cousins. It was pretty fun. The foodcourt burger I got kinda sucked though. It was cold (as were the fries). I suppose I should have got something to eat out on the grounds instead (those pizza slices they sell looked good, for example). I hope that Northlands decides to keep the Klondike theme. It's a unifying theme which I think is better than no theme. As well, I can't see them coming up with a better them (particularly since some of the justification is to "get younger people involved", meaning we'd probably end up with something along the lines of "Buddy Klondike Mike", to borrow from Kevin Smith, sort of). I'll have to go back, as I didn't get a chance to see the Country Showcase, which is apparently Africa this year (This should do nothing to dispel the notion that Africa is a single country. Sigh).

Stay Classy San Diego

Well, Council on Tuesday was rather unproductive, though it looks like there are some interesting things coming up on the agenda. After the meeting, some of us went to Anchorman. I thought it was pretty good. It's Will Ferrell humour, so it's definitely not highbrow stuff, but definitely a good summer movie.

Tonight I went and played Beach Volleyball for the Orientation team. It was fun times, in spite of the weather looking like it was almost going to be cancelled. I hadn't played volleyball since the end of highschool, so I was a tad rusty but in the end it turned out ok. The only thing was, by the end my forearms were really hurting so bumping was a bit difficult. We lost all our games, but we were close. Kinda sucked losing to the ChemEs (in yet another competition) though.

Former UADS Vice-President, McGoun Champion and current Med Student Lisa Lemieux was on the last team we played. It was kind of cool seeing Lisa again, as I hadn't seen her for about a year. I also learned that apparently July is the month you don't want to end up in the hospital, as that's when all the new residents start ;)

This weekend I've got a family reunion happening. While I'm missing a bunch of social events and what-not, it should be good to get out of town for a bit. As well, this is one of those biannual things, so it should be pretty good on that count too.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Destroy Israel

My friend Ajit Singh was in town on Wednesday, so Steph Wanke, Roman and myself went out to Boston Pizza with him.  Ajit is a former World Public Speech Champion (he talked about privatising the Israeli-Palestinian conflict), and incredibly intelligent.  He's currently doing his PhD at Carnegie-Mellon in Pittsburgh.  It was a fun evening, and it was good to see that Ajit was doing well.
 
Thursday, I went to Fahreinheit 9/11.  I tend to agree with alot of what Steve had to say about the picture. There were a number of good points made, but they tended to get lost amidst the unnecessary stuff, and Moore sort of undermined his credibility a little at times by reaching to make certain points (Ooooh, it's the leader of a country shaking hands with the leader of another country! Something fishy must be going on!).  Anyways, it was good to see what all the commotion was about at any rate.
 
Football game tommorrow.  Should be exciting, and the weather is great as well.  Also, if they win this week, it sets up a match-up for sole possession of first place in the west next week against Winnipeg.

Dodge, Duck, Dip, Dive And Dodge

Well, Budget Meeting last night. This was the 4th Budget I've been present at (two as a proxy, two as a Councillor). I moved an motion, which passed 13-11, though it was alot more controversial and drawn-out than I had anticipated. There may or may not be a meeting next week as well. While council shouldn't be meeting just for the sake of meeting, in the grand scope of things extra meetings have been called for less pressing reasons (and at busier times at that). If there is a meeting next week, there will also be a Travel CUTS presentation, making it about the 4th time that I've seen that as well. Getting old...

After the meeting, some of us went to Dodgeball. Unlike Roman I quite enjoyed it. Obviously, it's not going to be Citizen Kane, but for what it is I think it's quite good. It has summer-movie laughs, as well it's your typical "Band of mysfits defy odds" sporting type movie. Indeed, I found it did the latter better than did Mighty Ducks (well, the sequels anyways. The first one was half decent) and it's (ostensibly) a hockey movie. ( [rant]Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I think that the Mighty Ducks series as a whole was a travesty which shouldn't be associated with the name of hockey in any way. A travesty compounded only by the fact that they named a hockey team after it, a hockey team that came within one win of having it's name deface the Stanley Cup. Michael Eisner sucks. [/rant]

Anyways, I thought Dodgeball was good as escapist summer fare, with some good laughs as well.

On That Point, Sir

Well, apparently my cronies over at PoI have produced one of Canada's Top Blogs for July. While I would love to take credit for something like this, given the quantity and quality of my contributions over there, I'd have to say that most of the credit must go to Mandos, Jones and Hirji, with perhaps a smattering of Smith. Well done folks.

Click Click, Mr. Clean, Click

Well, Stampede was quite enjoyable.

Myself, Roman, Greg Harlow and Kathleen (one of our classmates and former GFC Candidate for Law). The CD Player broke before we got out of the city (Roman blamed Harlow, Harlow blamed Weezer), so we had to content ourselves with discussions of proportional representation, regional alienation and democracy on the way down. Suprisingly enough, Kathleen didn't try and kill any of us.
Harlow stayed with a friend and his wife, while Roman and I stayed with Nick Tam. The presence of a a big screen tv and Super Nintendo only added to the warm company. While we had quite an early morning the next day to get up to watch the parade, we nevertheless stayed up past 3:00 talking hack and figuring out who was going to be running in the SU and UADS elections.

We were up quite early to make the parade. I quite enjoyed the parade, lots of pipe bands and people on horseback. I cheered when the Leduc float went by, while Roman threatened to annex the city. After the parade, we all went to the grounds, where there was much walking around, looking at animals, drinking of beer and eating of food. Kathleen's boyfriend Derick, who will be attending law at U of A in the fall, came by after he was done work, so we got to meet him as well. After Derick arrived, we went to see a hypnotist on one of the stages. It was pretty good. Before it was over, Roman and I went to watch a debate presentation taking place on another stage. It was mainly public speech while we were there. Later on there was a debate portion as well. Nick Krause, who I met at a tournament last year, and who was a student at Debate Camp when a number of my friends were councillors, advanced to the final which was held on Sunday.

After the hypnotist and some of the public speech, we all went to watch some extreme biking show at yet another stage (well, this was in a big tent). It was pretty interesting, though I'm not usually into the whole Extreme Sports thing. It was kind of cool how all the bikers had nicknames, like "Dangerous Dan", "Stealthy Steve" and "Rock and Roll Ryan". They should probably do that for hacks as well.

After that, and much discussion, most of us went our separate ways. Roman and I met up with Nick and Julia Lisztwan, another debater (Current VP Cusid West and my McGoun partner last year) at Kilkenny's, a pub-ish restaurant place by the C-Train station. Luckily, the football game was on the tv screens there, so I was able to watch Edmonton beat BC. It did get confusing for some as I drifted out of the conversation periodically while I offered commentary on the play calling of the Eskimos.

After a good meal and a few drinks, we went back to Tam's and watched (well, really more made fun of) Armageddon. Afterwards, to get the "bad movie" taste out of our collective mouths, we proceeded to view selected scenes from Braveheart and The Godfather, followed by numerous rounds of Street Fighter II (which is probably my favourite video game).

The next day we slept in and went for a late breakfast. After that, we walked around downtown Calgary for a bit, unfortunately missing the piano exhibit that was showing at the Glenbow Museum. We then caught Shakespeare in the Park with, meeting up with Julia and Monica Ferris (UBC Debater, Judge at Stellenbosch and Singapore Worlds and my Pac Cup partner last year). The production was Julius Caesar, which I quite enjoyed (for many obvious reasons). While there, we bumped into former VPSL Kail Ross, who was there with his mother. After the play, we retired to The Barley Mill for drinks with Kail and Mrs. Ross, before going back to Tam's house for some piano and more movie mockery (Top Gun and Something's Gotta Give).

The ride home was mostly uneventful, apart from the fact that the radio problem on the way down was apparently a portent of something else being wrong with Kathleen's car, as apparently it was acting up when she went to pick up Harlow that morning.

All in all, it was an enjoyable trip, helped along by wonderful weather.

Yee-Ha

Well, I'm going to the Stampede for the first time this weekend. I've never been before, so it should definitely be some fun times. I'm definitely looking forward to some free pancakes.

In other news, there are some good football games this weekend. The one I'm really looking forward to is Ottawa against Montreal. In the past, mobile quarterbacks have been able to counter Montreal's defence, so it should be interesting to see how Ottawa can cope with the blitz. I'm also curious to see if Ezra Landry turns out to be just a flash in the pan. Likewise, hopefully Edmonton can pull out a win this week.

That's The Most Intelligent Thing You've Said All Day

So, the Senators have signed Hasek. I'm not sure what to think of this. While the Sens are probably my second favourite hockey team, I really hate Hasek. So this obviously puts me in a bit of an awkward situation. As well, I'm not sure how smart a move this is for the Senators. Hasek has already retired once, and he was injured most of last year. This is clearly a "Win Now" move, and I'm not convinced that Martin Prusek is ready to be a starter in a year's time when Hasek likely retires again. Oh well.

I saw The Firm the other day. Basically, it's the article from hell. Definitely one of the better law movies I've seen. And by that I mean, it's better than The Paper Chase.

0-3

So, the Eskimos lost yet again last week. This is really starting to get ridiculous (and this is starting to get eerily reminiscent of the 92 Argos). The secondary gets most of the blame again, though when you only score 15 points you can't expect to win. Hopefully they can turn things aroung in BC. As well, I wonder if they're going to consider bringing back Jackie Kellogg, who has familiarity with the defence, and with the position of safety in it. I'm pretty sure he has at least a few games left in him. Besides, I'm not sure what would be worse than our recent performances. To add insult to injury, Ezra Landry, who was nabbed from our practice roster, helped Montreal beat Toronto. Expect Elfrid Payton to set some sort of sack record next game for Winnipeg. On the bright side, most of the rest of the west has sucked as well, so Edmonton isn't completely out of it.

I Coulda Been A Contender

Well, apparently Marlon Brando has died. I haven't yet had a chance to see some of his greater movies (A Streetcar Named Desire, On The Waterfront) and while a number of his movies that I did see could probably be described as bad, he is still an actor which I had a tremendous amount of respect for, basically on the strength of one performance, though there were definitely others that I also found impressive. At any rate, I'm sure a great deal will be written about this. One of the things I thought Brando was really good at was making his characters memorable. The number of them that have been parodied, from Kurtz to Corleone, even Dr. Moreau, are a testament to this. While a large part of it is also due to the writing, the sheer number of memorable characters would seem to indicate that the actor also played a role in it. Unlike a number of other actors, if you saw a movie that featured Marlon Brando, you usually wouldn't forget that he was in it.

Canada Day, Up Canada Way

Well, yesterday was Canada Day. I took in the Fireworks (which were incredibly impressive this year). I didn't get a chance to catch many of the other festivities, which was too bad. I always tend to enjoy Canada Day celebrations. No riots that I know of for this year, so that's always a good thing.