Re-Hacktionary Report

Ol' Spaghetti Legs

2006-11-07T22:58:00.000-07:00

I never saw him play (or coach for that matter), but I thought I'd pause to acknowledge the passing of a legend. By many accounts, the greatest player to ever play Canadian football: Jackie Parker. I really hope that the Esks have some sort of tribute at the beginning of the season next year.

The World In Union

2006-10-30T23:02:00.000-07:00

The final is just under a year away. I'm excited.

Running For The Cure

2006-09-19T22:32:00.000-06:00

As the title indicates, I shall be running for the cure on October 1. I'd encourage charitable readers to donate in my name.

Well, I didn't do the picks last week (apart from my pick from the week before in the B.C. Montreal game), and we saw what happened. I'll not let that happen again (I'm aware that my making or not making picks on the internet does not cause Ricky Ray to fumble in the last minute, but as I'm sure many of you have guessed by now, I'm a very superstitious person).

Hamilton and Edmonton: I'm not sure what to say about what happened last week, apart from the fact that they seem to be finding new ways to lose games that they should win. I'm a little concerned that Jesse Lumsden will be starting on Friday. At the same time, while A.J. Gass was fined for his actions in the altercation at the end, he should still play. As well, if this season has shown anything it's that Edmonton is a different team at home.

Toronto and Calgary: This is an interesting one. Calgary bounced back well after looking rather bad in Edmonton the previous week. Toronto is coming off a game against Hamilton that was much closer than it should have been. Something just tells me that Calgary is probably going to win this one.

Winnipeg and Montreal: Montreal is probably the team that's the hardest to make sense of, apart from maybe Edmonton. The much vaunted offensive line leaked 12 sacks last week. Winnipeg seems to have come down to earth a bit after a strong start to the season. They should bounce back this week. If I keep picking Montreal every week, eventually I should be right. That being said, I think the addition of Derick Armstrong, as another solid receiving threat, should put Winnipeg over the top in this game.

B.C. and Saskatchewan: I admittedly have a rather large vested interest in the outcome of this game. Saskatchewan tends to do well against B.C. However, the Lions are on a real roll right now. I'm saying that B.C. gives Edmonton a big hand, and knocks off Saskatchewan.

See Trump Jump...

2006-09-05T22:33:00.000-06:00

The Shark, that is. Seriously. I was quite excited about this season's Apprentice, until I read this. One could make a pretty convincing argument for Carolyn being the best part of the show. Regardless of what was going on in her other positions, Trump should have at least kept her on for the purpose of doing the show. To top it all off, it looks like Donald Jr. and Ivanka are going to be the first team "advisors". Ivanka's ok, but I didn't find Donald Jr. to be particularly compelling in his appearances last year. Bill would be much better (though, I do occasionally wonder why Bill seems to be the only past contestant to get recycled. Admittedly, Kelly would be pretty boring, but the rest of them may be worth a shot). At any rate, if The Apprentice sucks this year, we'll all know why.

Partook in a BBQ at Gary's on the weekend. Excellent ribs. I also watched Jungle Book for the first time in well over 15 years. There's a lot of parts which I'd forgotten.

On the sporting front, clearly I'm paying only passing attention to what's going on these days, since last week I forgot how many games Montreal had lost in a row.

Anyways, here are my thoughts for this week.

Montreal and B.C. Well, I keep picking Montreal, and they keep losing. Not sure what the solution is, but B.C. seems to be rolling right now. Additionally, with the news that Casey Printer won't be back, the Lions are avoiding a potential distraction. Not sure what the latest on Dickenson's injury is, but Buck Pierce seems to be filling in well. Perhaps the QB factory for the league has moved westwards. As for the game, I'll go with B.C..

Calgary and Edmonton. See above. I toyed with actually picking Calgary to change up the karma a bit, but then I decided that I wouldn't be able to live with myself. If they can't win with a playoff berth basically on the line and 50,000 screaming fans in the stands, then they don't deserve to make the playoffs anyways. Edmonton, coming back with their shields or on them.

Saskatchewan and Winnipeg. I suppose either way this one goes, one of the teams we have to catch (either for 3rd place or the crossover) winds up winning. I didn't get a chance to catch this game at all last week, but Saskatchewan seems to be doing quite well as of late. I'm guessing that the Riders will maintain their momentum for at least another week.

The Coke Side Of Life

2006-09-04T01:19:00.000-06:00


GTA and Coke. What more could you want?

Scrum One, Scrum All

2006-08-30T23:04:00.000-06:00

I would encourage all of my readers in the Edmonton area with free time on their hands to attend the Women's Rugby World Cup. This is the first time that the competition has been held outside Europe, and I'm hopeful that Edmonton can continue its strong tradition of hosting world class events. This should also be a great opportunity to catch some world-class women's rugby.

In other sporting news, here are my thoughts for the Labour Day match-ups.

Montreal and BC: It's occured to me that I'll be pulling for the underdogs in pretty much every game this week. As bad as they looked last week, I can't see Montreal losing three in a row (though, I think last week I may have said that I couldn't see two in a row. At any event, Montreal is still the pick).

Saskatchewan and Winnipeg: Saskatchewan has looked pretty dominant the past couple of weeks, though that hasn't been hard given their opponent. Winnipeg choked pretty badly last week against the Argos as well. Rocky Butler has quite the record against Winnipeg in Labour Day games. I'll be pulling for Winnipeg, but it just seems to me like Saskatchewan is looking better right now.

Toronto and Hamilton: Hamilton's last game is as bad as I think I've seen a team play, and I remember the Shreveport Pirates and the Las Vegas Posse. John Avery is apparently hurt, so the Argo run game will be a bit less potent. I'm starting to get reckless with these picks, but it can only go up for Hamilton, and Terry Vauhgn doesn't lose on Labour Day. Hamilton shocks the world.

Edmonton and Calgary: I'm a tad annoyed that this is the early game (though, I suppose this guarantees that I get to see the whole game, instead of having them cut to it after kickoff). Given that I'm not volunteering for Orientation this year, I have a pretty good idea how this is going to turn out, however, I'm going to pick Edmonton anyways; in part because I think the return of A.J. Gass should provide a spark. The offence should be better as well.

Ride The Bull

2006-08-23T22:29:00.000-06:00

Apparently not even Cook County is immune to those guys that hang out in the bathroom and put soap on your hands and then ask for money. I know others have complained about this practice elsewhere, but it's really starting to get onerous. Usually I'm pretty good at timing it so I'm washing my hands while the attendant is busy with someone else, however, this time there were two of them so I couldn't escape. I'll say this to the local bar establishments: 1. I can wash my own damned hands, 2. It's much harder to over-tip your bartenders and waitresses when I'm being charged every time I go to the bathroom.

Apart from that, I found the Cook County experience rather strange. I would think that people that go there regularly are looking for a certain type of atmosphere, a certain type of music. That environment is typified by the mechanical bull (which I did in fact ride). I'm guessing that people don't go to Cook County so that they can dance to "Baby Got Back". Cultivate your base people.

On the topic of sports, I'll likely do much better in my picks this week as I won't be showing unde faith in a team which clearly doesn't deserve as much as I've shown thus far. Given that I shan't be volunteering for Orientation this year, I'm also a tad concerned as to their prospects for Labour Day. However, that is still a little while away. As for the coming games:

Calgary and Montreal: Speaking of undue faith being shown... I'm going to say that Montreal isn't going to play badly three weeks in a row, and that they aren't going to lose to Calgary at home. Montreal should take it.

Winnipeg and Toronto: Damon's back, now the shoe is on the other foot for Winnipeg. The Bombers were looking good, but injuries seem to have caught up with them. I'm going with Toronto.

Saskatchewan and Hamilton: I honestly didn't see the dismissal of Roy Shivers coming, and while I didn't much care for him I'm not entirely sure it was warranted. That being said, I've never much cared for Eric Tillman either. I think that the media outlets that keep giving him credit for being GM of the Grey Cup winning Argonauts in 97 need to keep in mind that in 1997 they already had Doug Flutie, Don Matthews, Paul Masotti, Pinball Clemons and pretty much everyone else. Tillman would have brought in a then-rookie Derrell Mitchell, but apart from that I don't think he deserves that much credit for their Cup (94 with the Lions may be another matter). Anyways, Saskatchewan's front office aside, the Riders took it to the Ti-Cats last week, and I don't see that changing this week.

Alright, Who's Playing This Week

2006-08-17T21:20:00.000-06:00

So, if Montreal had been able to hold onto the ball (or the lead) I would have gone 4-4 last week. Pity. Additionally, last week's B.C.- Winnipeg game was much, much worse than Toronto-Hamilton. On that note, while I won't disagree that for some reason there have been a lot of bad CFL games this year, the pre-season NFL games that have been on so far have reinforced for me the superiority of the Canadian game. Here's how I see things shaking down this week:

Edmonton and B.C.: I still have concerns, but last week was a much better effort. The play calling was the best I've seen all year, and the defence didn't fold when it counted. The return game still needs work, but you can't have everything. B.C. is going to have to play better this week if they want to beat the Eskimos. I'm going to say that Edmonton has turned it around, and they'll come out with a win going into the bye week.

Montreal and Toronto: Toronto is coming off a big win last week, but I think Montreal will rebound from their last second loss. Look for them to take better care of the ball and convert more once in scoring position (something they were quite good at earlier in the year).

Hamilton and Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan didn't really play that badly last week, Roy Shivers' remarks notwithstanding. I'm starting to feel a little bit sorry for Hamilton fans, as it seems that they tend to play their worst games at home. That won't be a problem this week, as they're on the road. Jason Maas has never played particularly well in Saskatchewan, so I'm going with the Riders for this week.

My views on the interest in returning a team to Ottawa should come as no surprise. If it's going to be done, it has to be done right. There have been too many gong shows in the past 30 years, and I daresay that Ottawa public has rightly become a tad cynical about this. Additionally, I would strongly support a return to the Rough Riders name. It represents the history of the team in the city, and also a team which at one point was quite successful. I think it's important to tie in the previous legacy of success. Furthermore, it returns one of the unique characteristics of the CFL. I'm well aware of the snickers from people that aren't fans to begin with, however this league has traditionally got itself into trouble when it's become overly preoccupied with what the naysayers have had to say. I don't think that realistically having two teams with very similar names (that's right, I can tell the difference between a compound word and two words) has an impact on whether people follow a particular league or not. Indeed, if anything says bush league, it's allowing Disney to use a professional sports franchise as a marketing vehicle for a series of crappy movies starring Emilio Esteves and Joshua Jackson (you listening Gil Stein?). If team nicknames was a reason to avoid a league, I would have stopped watching NHL hockey in 1993 (Which actually would have made sense on another level, as the Oilers missed the playoffs that year).

Meanwhile, moving to a different version of "football" it's good to hear that England is off to a good start under the new coach. I obviously didn't watch the game, so I have no insight at all, apart from the fact that a 4-0 scoreline looks good, particularly in light of the fact that it was accomplished without you know who.

On the rugby front, good on the Canadian national rugby team for clinching a berth in the World Cup next year. The rest of the pool looks pretty tough (Australia, Fiji, Wales and probably Japan), but I think it's better to get qualification taken care of early. I'm not sure I like our chances of getting out of the group, but you never know what can happen. A year ago we lost to the Americans in the Churchill Cup, so a lot can happen.

On the topic of rugby, it appears that they are building a new stadium in Dunedin. Ordinarily, this wouldn't merit a comment by me, but it does mean that my dream of watching an All Blacks Test at Carisbrook will likely never be realised. Heck, I'm not even sure if there will be anymore All Blacks tests at Carisbrook, depending on when this stadium is to be built (though, you'd think they'd have a farewell one or something). If the last test has been already been played, then in close to 100 years of international rugby (the first international was played there in 1908), the All Blacks have only lost twice there. Once to the Lions, and once to Australia. I recognise that they don't play a test there every year, but that's still damned impressive. Here's to the House of Pain.

Picks

2006-08-10T10:52:00.000-06:00

I was going to post a longish rant on what's wrong with the Eskimos, but that will have to wait. Hopefully they'll win on Friday so I won't need to. At any rate, here's how I see this week:

Winnipeg and B.C.: I'll be pulling for Winnipeg, but B.C. is just less banged up.

Toronto and Hamilton: Uggh. This is going to be a bad game. While Hamilton is on the upswing, I'm looking for the recent changes to be a wake-up call for the Argos.

Edmonton and Saskatchewan: While they beat us pretty badly in the pre-season, generally Edmonton doesn't lose to Saskatchewan at home.

Calgary and Montreal: A lot of the talking heads are calling for an upset here, but I just don't see it. Montreal.

The Gauntlet Has Been Dropped

2006-08-03T00:19:00.000-06:00

It appears that some things, in fact, do not change. Gary has quite rightly pointed out that I haven't been prognosticating football results this year. I can explain that with the fact that at the time the season started, I was somewhat preoccupied with another local sports team.

That being said, while I can't promise that I'll have time to stick it out through the season, I do feel a bit like pontificating on the state of various teams this year. For that reason, and because for the most part the games this week pick themselves, I present my thoughts for the week ahead in the CFL:

Toronto and Montreal

With all the talk about how dissapointing Hamilton has been there year, I think Toronto is really the most dissapointing team this year. Two years removed from a Grey Cup, and coming off a year when up until the second half of the Eastern Final they were a solid bet to represent the East in the Grey Cup, they've looked very bad this year. Part of it has been injuries, but Damon has been injured in the past and they've been able to make due. While they don't have Michael Bishop anymore, I would think that Spergon Wynn wouldn't be that much of a step down given how he looked in B.C. (though, his time in Winnipeg was admittedly less inspiring). I'm not as surprised that Ricky Williams hasn't done much, given that Toronto hasn't exactly been committed to the run, and Ricky isn't exactly known as being great catching the ball out of the backfield (I seem to recall reading an article the year he came out where the coach of the Colts said one of the reasons they took Edgerrin James ahead of him was that they weren't confident in his ability to catch balls out of the backfield). I have been a little surprised at the lack of hype in other cities when Toronto comes to town. When they had the Rocket, it was a huge event. Even for non-football fans (though, part of that may have been that John Candy was travelling with the team, and in the case of Edmonton, riding the firetruck around and chucking footballs into the stands). There hasn't been that same hype with Ricky. At any rate, the Argos problems go deeper than that, as apparently this week not only is Damon hurt, but so is John Avery. On Damon Allen, I'd venture that his last birthday was one of his worst. Not only did he lose the game, but it was to the most recent team to have cast him aside. The Argo defence has also not looked as tight as it has in past years.

On the other side of things, Montreal is doing their typical early-season dominance act. However, watching them last week, they didn't look as overpowering as they normally do this time of the season. Part of that may be that the last couple of games I've seen have been generally poorly played. As well, they weren't blitzing Edmonton as much as they usually do. Their offence in the fourth quarter still looked solid though. At any rate, Montreal is going to lose some week but it won't be this week. Toronto is just too beat up and Montreal is just too good right now.

Hamilton and Winnipeg

While I think that Hamilton will at least score a point this week, I don't think that th result will be any different.

I must admit, both of these teams had me fooled going into this season. While I've never been a particularly big Jason Maas fan, and I thought that the Journal's prediction that Hamilton would be representing the East in the Grey Cup was laughable, I thought that they would be doing better at this stage this year. With Terry Vaughn, Corey Holmes and Josh Ranek, they added some key pieces on offence. However, their offence has been largely unimpressive this year (apart from the last Montreal game). I don't recall their defence being this bad last year either. While they have been unlucky in a few games (the first one against Calgary could have gone either way, as really could have the most recent Montreal one), they haven't looked like the team that a lot of people were expecting them to be during the pre-season.

Winnipeg has been the surprise of the season. I had them picked to miss the playoffs this year, but right now they're on pace for a home playoff game. Milt Stegall is playing as good as I've seen him play, while the addition of Barrin Simpson seems to have solidified what was a pretty pathetic defence last year. I anticipate this game being closer than the last one, but with the same result. Winnipeg should win.

Saskatchewan and Calgary

I'm aware that this is the Saturday game and that there is a game before it, but I'm leaving that one for last.

This one is a bit tougher to pick. I'd also like to take this opportunity to shake my fist at the CFL schedule-makers. I'm aware that Ottawa folding made things a bit more difficult, but having the same match-ups every week gets rather annoying after a while (much like the NHL's newly contrived rivalry creation scheduling system). Anyways, Saskatchewan seems to have finally gotten the monkey off of their collective backs and beaten their former quarterback. Calgary also looks to be in a bit of a freefall. Playing at home should help, and this is a team that demolished Saskatchewan earlier in the season. That being said, while I recognise that it's quite hard to beat a team twice in a row, I'm still going with Saskatchewan.

Edmonton and B.C.

I have my own thoughts on what's wrong with the Eskimos, that would probably take up an entire post (this one is probably long enough as is). Suffice to say, there are a lot of problems. All of that being said, they usually seem to come up big against B.C. when the vultures are circling (those with good memories will recall it was on the road against B.C. that they snapped their 3 game losing streak to start the 2004 season. Those with less good memories will recall that they beat B.C. at home the week after getting tuned by Winnipeg on Canada Day of this year).

B.C. has been improving the last couple of weeks, after looking a bit unsettled against Saskatchewan. Joe Smith seems to have provided the needed spark, and Simon is still one of the most dangerous receivers in the league. The smart money on this one says to go with B.C., but I think that the Eskimos can turn it around this week (if not, there will really be hell to pay in Edmonton).

Untimely Meditations

2006-07-31T00:04:00.001-06:00

A lot of changes lately. Last night I went to Roman's going-away party. I've known Roman for about 6 years, since he applied to be a judge for Glasgow Worlds and I was head of the selection committee (actually, I was the only person on the selection committee but Kirsten thought that I should have an important title). At any rate, Roman and I have had a number of adventures throughout both undergrad and law school. Here's wishing him good luck in Africa in helping the world and not dying. I'm not sure what the conversion rate for a Delasi is, but hopefully it's somewhere in the neighbourhood of 20 Baht.

To add to the changes, on arriving at Keegan's after the party I was informed that it would be closing, to be replaced with a Chinese Restaurant. This, along with the closing of Scholar's, means that a a couple of places where I spent a great deal of my weekends are no more. It sort of underlines the nature of change that this summer represents. Keegan's was always a great place to go after a night out on Whyte. While the food may not have been necessarily great, it was a good place to sum up the events of the evening and to put off the end of a night that you weren't quite ready to end. Whether it was for the Tummy Teasers or 3 Fluffy Pancakes Keegan's was always a great place to end the night.

Blitz

2006-07-21T02:36:00.000-06:00

And here I wanted to talk about the parade. Maybe tommorrow...

That was a very poorly played game all around. While the ending was exciting, I don't think it's a stretch to say it was a bad game. And I would have said this before the last 8 seconds too.

I'm also a little concerned with the play calling. Had this been a playoff game, we would be hearing about Danny Maciocia's "resignation" within the week. I'm not advocating anything drastic at this stage, but I think there were definitely some "questionable" calls this game and I'm very interested in hearing what answers emerge on Monday.

One Ring

2006-07-19T00:45:00.000-06:00

I was reading an article today in Sports Illustrated by Rick Reilly. It talked about how when you want to trash talk your friends about the ineptitude of a team they follow, to save on long distance bills you just phone them and let the phone ring once. I'm not sure what I think of this. I'd personally find it a little unsatisfying. After spending the past 3 years lobbing verbal grenades back and forth with my Calgary classmates, I think that moving towards one-ring phonecalls would be a decided step down. Admittedly, it's harder to trash talk when your interlocutors are in different cities. As well, it's easier to dial a phone during a game (after a key play) than compose a snarky e-mail which may not be read until after the fact (though, with the prevalence of Blackberries...). Nevertheless, it also doesn't take into account the fact that said individual may not have their phone on (because they want to enjoy the game, perhaps). With that, letting the phone ring once (and just having your number appear in caller ID) finishes a distant second to leaving snarky voicemail messages. While I admit this undermines the whole "cost-savings" aspect, I'd think you'd want to save the trash-talking for rare occasions. For instance, I only phoned to gloat over the Oilers once they'd advanced to the finals (come to think of it, that may have been karmically unwise). At any rate, I'm not sold on this whole "one ring" business.

In other news, I think Thursday's game will be key for both Edmonton and Winnipeg. The Esks still seem to have a number of injuries, in spite coming off the bye week. As well, Mitchell was their best player against the Bombers last time out, so his absence will hurt. As for Winnipeg, I remember in 2004 Ottawa got off to a 3-0 start, then never recovered after getting pasted by Montreal in a match up of undefeated teams in week 4. Winnipeg wasn't undefeated, but getting blasted like that (at home no less) has to have an impact on team psyche. This week should see if the Bombers are able to bounce back.

I see that Mike Peca has decided to leave, but I never much expected him to stay anyways. On the bright side, given that he's going to Toronto I don't have to worry about him winning a Stanley Cup anytime soon.

When It Rains It Pours

2006-07-05T00:56:00.000-06:00

For me, it has been a rather rough go of it in the sporting world as of late. I would have liked a bit more in the Pronger deal, however given the circumstances I suppose it's not too bad. I think it's better than the rumoured Kaberle deal, at any rate.

I think that a lot of the personnel errors that the Eskimos made early in the season (and before the season) have come home to roost. The re-signing of Montford is a recognition that the pass rush hasn't been up to snuff thus far. I understand they had no control over losing Jeanty, and the salary reasons behind letting Montford go the first time. That being said, Collier seems to have caught on well in Hamilton, and he would have provided a bit more of a proven commodity with the pass rush.

I'm a little more concerned with the secondary. They've looked poor all season, and there must be something we don't know about with the release of Donny (sorry, Donald) Brady. I'm definitely concerned with them having to face B.C. this week, though apparently Dickinson may not be 100% so that may provide a bit of a reprieve.

As far as the offence goes, I think that a lot of it comes down to play selection. We aren't seriously committing to a running game, and for some reason Danny Maciocia seems to be wedded to the idea of always using the quarterback sneak in short yardage situations (observers may recall that this cost Mike Pringle sole possession of the career touchdown record back in 2004). I don't have anything against the QB sneak, but you need to mix it up once in a while to keep the defence off balance. Likewise, the short dump passes out into the flat, 3-4 yards short of what is required for a first down, only work when you have a Terry Vaughn who can break about 3 tackles and rack up the yards after the catch. We haven't had Terry Vaughn for two years now, and those plays have predictably had limited success.

All of that being said, and in spite of how bad they looked last week, I am hopeful for this week.

Finally, as an additional kick (no pun intended) there was the World Cup. More capable people than me have pored over what went wrong, but suffice to say it was certainly disheartening (and I don't usually follow this brand of football as closely as other forms). One thing I haven't noticed brought up in the to-ing and fro-ing over who is to blame for the send-off is the possibility that if you're Wayne Rooney, you're not going to get the marginal calls. At any rate, I suppose England has waited 40 years, they can wait another 4 (Tam and I were discussing the parallels between England's international performance and that of Canada in the Olympics prior to 2002. The Maple Leafs are another potential parallel, but I don't particularly like that one since I don't particularly like the Leafs). At any rate, for those hoping for England, this should help cheer you up. So catchy.

For those wanting to know, I am now backing France for the World Cup. These are desperate times indeed.

A Season Ends

2006-06-20T00:25:00.000-06:00

Well, I guess that's that. I really thought they could do it. However, from the drop of the puck they never really looked like they were going to win. They came on in the third, but it was sort of too late by then. I suppose at the start of the year if you'd told me that the Oilers would get within a win of taking the Stanley Cup I would have taken it. And if things had bounced a little differently in Game 1, it might have turned out much differently. I suppose there's really nothing to do now but focus on football season. Go Esks.

Where Everyone Knew Your Name

2006-05-31T01:38:00.000-06:00

In late summer 2003, while Helen was up making her last good-byes to Edmonton, I got word that The Library (which had closed earlier in the summer), had reopened, under a new name: Scholar's. When I started Law, they took people there after the Pre-Orientation Party at Red's. Over the next 3 years, I spent countless hours there. Along with the Windsor Park Plaza Party Room, the Chateau Lacombe Conference Hall, and The Druid, it's a place that is filled with memories of Law School for me. If an evening on Whyte was ending earlier than I wanted it to, I always knew that I could swing by Scholar's and there was sure to be a few law students hanging out. Apparently Scholar's been bought by Hudson's, and will be turned into a Hudson's. Today was the last day before Hudson's takes over. Roman, Cam and I stopped by for old time's sake. There wasn't anyone else we knew there, and the beer actually tasted semi-decent for a change. I'm not sure what the future holds for that location of Hudson's, but the new owners should keep in mind the support the law students and faculty pumped into the location over the past 3 years.

Back To The Commentary

2006-05-30T01:41:00.000-06:00

Theresa's mystery ailment notwithstanding, this looks like one of the more decisive final rounds of The Apprentice that we've seen (I think the only other one that comes close at this stage would be Kendra-Tana). If there were one of those "The More You Know from Trump" talks on this one, it would have been about separating emotion from important decisions (sort of like last week's, but mooore). Both Lee and Sean made picks that seemed largely predicated on attachment rather than what was needed to win. I don't dispute that both Lenny and Tammy could be very helpful in helping you win (Lenny is a bit rough around the edges, and hard for some to work with, but he had a few strong tasks). However, that didn't seem to be why either of them were picked. In most of the interviews, you get the sense that Sean would rather score with Tammy than win the task (that seemed particularly the case when they were picking the menu). Likewise, I think Lee placed too much trust in Lenny when picking the teams (as evidenced by the Boardroom crew yukking it up over the selection of Pepi after the fact).

Regardless, Lee really seems to be in over his head in this task. Pissing off executives and the heads of charities is usually a sure-fire way to lose, and Lee hasn't been helping his cause any. Likewise, I don't think Carolyn will be fighting too hard for him when it comes down to the hiring process. While things can turn around, at this stage Sean would definitely seem to be in the better position.

I'm not sure how they're planning to do this "You Can Help Decide" business, but needless to say I think it's a stupid idea. While viewers may be competent to pick who should be a recording artist whose records they will subsequently buy, on the basis of performances before them; I doubt that there is the same competency for deciding who should run one of someone else's organisations. I should hope that viewer input is kept to a minimum (I'm of the opinion that the only really good final boardroom was the one from the first year, when you couldn't tell that the studio audience was even there until after the final result was announced). All of that being said, based on what we've seen so far the choice should be fairly easy.

The Pawns Go First

2006-05-29T00:22:00.000-06:00

So, I saw X-Men: The Last Stand the other day. Good movie, though I'm not sure what comic book purists would think. Ian McKellan was quite good, but he's shown as of late that he can make the proverbial silk purse out of a sow's ear. Speaking of which, I suppose this was a useful form of penance for my selling out and actually paying admittance to the other movie which he stars in last week (I had intially planned on purchasing tickets for Over the Hedge instead, and then going to the other movie, thereby being able to mock it whilst denying Dan Brown the royalties and box office figures). Hopefully helping to knock Mr. Brown's movie out of the top spot will partially make up for my moment of weakness. Still wouldn't mind seeing Over the Hedge, if for no other reason than to see the vocal talents of Lee and Sean firsthand.

Apologies for the dearth of entries as of late, but for those that haven't noticed, we're in the middle of a Cup Run here. I was down on Whyte for the first time last night. Craziness abounded. Luckily I decided to leave before things turned ugly. Relatedly, in the May 22 issue of Sports Illustrated, they deigned to mention every Semi-Final team, except one (story on Teemu Selanne, with a brief mini-story on the excitement that was to ensue in the Carolina-Buffalo series). They can now stick it.

In other sporting related news, I was able to take in Fan Day with Edmonton's other professional sports franchise today. It was good to get a look at this year's hopefuls. As well, it's pretty tough to beat free pop, chips and pork.

Go Oil.

Duck Hunt

2006-05-18T00:14:00.000-06:00

I still have a lot of other things to talk about, but I thought I'd post this just to indicate that this blog still exists. I hope all the people complaining about Peca during the regular season now realise why we got him. If we'd wanted a regular season performer, there are a bunch currently employed by the Ottawa Senators. I was impressed with the entire team effort tonight, as Toskala actually played quite well but it still wasn't enough. Go Oil, bring on the Ducks.

Posts regarding Greece, DDT and no longer being a student will be forthcoming. Eventually.

Anniversaries

2006-04-21T15:52:00.000-06:00

A Happy Birthday to Her Majesty as she celebrates her 80th birthday. Long may she reign.

As well, to the City of Rome, congratulations on the 2759th anniversary of its founding. Imperium sine fine indeed.

Democracy Now

2006-03-29T20:20:00.000-07:00

So, one of the fellows from Brokeback Mooting is now the incoming President of the Law Students'Association (who should probably update their website).

It was funny listening to the Debate election speeches today, as many people's platforms advocated doing stuff that we actually used to do and just haven't done in a while. I suppose that's either a sign that I'm getting old, or was a bad President. Or both.

On the International Relations front, I'm quite interested in how all this Charles Taylor stuff is going to shake down.

Brokeback Mooting

2006-03-09T00:43:00.000-07:00

Alright, judging by my search results, since so many visitors are clearly in search of this, here it is.

In other news, I'm reserving judgment on the Roloson deal, though I think he is an upgrade. Also, good on Canada for beating the Yanks at their own game.

I also thoroughly enjoyed Spencer's letter in this week's Gateway.

Cross Canada Report

2006-03-08T02:48:00.000-07:00

So, taken a page out of Spencer and Jen's book, I thought I'd offer to my out of province readers the opportunity to pontificate on our SU Elections (which will be taking place Wednesday and Thursday this week, get out and vote you U of A Readers). So, same rule as Bond's blog. Information can be found here. Using only that, who would you vote for? (Insiders are welcome to comment as to who they're voting for as well).

Shameless Plug

2006-03-08T01:22:00.000-07:00

So, I recently picked up "Modest Charms" a CD by former 1L Beth Arrison. I'd recommend it to my Edmonton readers. It's quite easy-listening and jazzy, the sort of thing that I think Nick Tam would appreciate. CDs are available at Chapters and Megatunes on Whyte. As well, there is a CD Release Party this Friday at the Yardbird Suite, with doors opening at 8:00 pm. Support a local artist (that I've gotten drunk with a couple of times)!

Golden Geer

2006-03-07T02:04:00.000-07:00

This Saturday I received an Honourary Golden Geer from the Engineering Students' Society. It was a real honour, especially given that Golden Geers were given to people like Gary, Paul, Louis and Cole (among a number of others) who I've seen do incredible things for that faculty. I got to shake hands with the Dean of Engineering, and enjoy a great meal at the Faculty Club. Jones, Chelli and Mustafa were all there for added company. While I've never been enrolled in Engineering, and never even thought of being enrolled in Engineering, I've found the Engineers whom I've met on campus to be incredibly welcoming and interesting people. They've consistently had some of the best Councillors (From Brindle and Poon, to Jones and Weppler, to Crossman today), their programming remains top notch, and their recent focus on community outreach with events like the Head Shave is something that a number of other FAs could learn from (indeed, it was a pleasure to see Law running a similar event this year). So while I'm pretty sure that it wasn't for my handbook submissions 3 years ago (for which I was already compensated) it's good to see that some people thought that I've made a contribution to the vibrant community that is Engineering on campus.

McGoun

2006-03-06T00:00:00.000-07:00

As alluded to by the lovely and talented Ms. Bond in the comments section, Samuel and I are now the Western Canadian Champions. The tournament was a lot of fun, and the food was excellent. It was also good to just let loose with a partner, as by the end of the tournament Samuel and I were writing pseudonyms on the board and opening our speeches with rap lines. Given that this was my last Cusid West tournament, it was also really rewarding to go out with a win. Like Pac Cup, there were a lot of blast from the past moments, be it hitting Jeff Long and Dave Cram running a crazy case (the Government should lose this round); to another Saskatchewn kegger (I did two keg stands); to watching Chris Samuel take yet another Public Speech final with another innovation. Having the Olympics on at the same time reminded me of the last time McGoun was in Saskatoon as well.

26 Ounces, 26 Years. Hmmmm.

2006-02-24T00:45:00.000-07:00

Well, another year another quasi-depressing blog post. Nothing too different from this year as compared to last year at this time (though, for some reason I've been thinking that I was older than I am for a while, so I've sort of been denied the full enjoyment of my actual age). As well, unlike when I turned 22, it's clear that the Canadian Hockey team isn't going to win on my birthday (though, maybe the curlers might). I'll be spending the day on an airplane to Saskatchewan. I'll probably arrange something celebratory after I get back. Fortunately, I'm debating with Samuel this weekend. He's always lucky on my birthdays.

That Sucked

2006-02-22T14:55:00.000-07:00

I Hate Ovechkin.

I Submit That I Can't Quit You

2006-02-22T01:19:00.000-07:00

Carbolic was a lot of fun. Roman managed to get us an ideal table, right up by the screen and the stage, so we could see the speakers and videos quite well. There were some technical difficulties which prevented the showing of the third year video (in which I had a brief, and insignificant cameo). The second year video this year was exceptional, featuring "Brokeback Mooting". Gold, just gold. Right up there with this. As for the evening itself, it was quite enjoyable. Lots of pictures were taken, many of which are probably not entirely fit for public consumption. Apologies will likely be forthcoming to numerous members of the law school community come Monday. We also got little shot glasses commemorating the event, so I thought that was a nice touch. It's sad that this will probably be my last Carbolic. It's one event that I've partaken in every year (which is more than I can say for First Friday Back, or even the Rugby Alumni Game), and I've enjoyed it every time.

In other news, Pac Cup was also a lot of fun. We were at the West Coast Suites, which is where I stayed at my first Pac Cup (back in 2000, with T.J., Samuel and Candace). So that was a nice bit of nostalgia. It was also, by far, the smallest Pac Cup that I can remember, so it had that old-school Cusid West tournament feel to it (also helping was that the rounds on Saturday and Sunday were in Scarfe, like the Saturday rounds of the aforementioned Pac Cup 2000). We ended up dropping in semis. Regardless, it was good to see everyone (second last Cusid West Tournament ever).

On the sporting front, apparently my snarky remarks directed at the American Women's hockey team were perhaps a bit early, given recent results from the Canadian men. I'm a tad worried about Russia tommorrow, but I'm hoping that they'll be able to kick it up a notch.

On the topic of the Davis Sanchez trade, it makes sense to me. With the re-signing of Malcolm Frank, they have too many Cornerbacks (It's no secret that I'm incredibly high on Keyou Craver, and I think that he's definitely ready to start next year). Likewise, with the loss of Rashad Jeanty, they need help on the D-line and Robert Brown is a proven vet. Add in the fact that they haven't re-signed Shannon Garrett, and there's a spot on the roster for Durden. I like the deal, and while there may be some issues with the ratio, I think they've got sufficient Canadian talent elsewhere so that won't be a problem.

Do You Believe In Miracles?

2006-02-18T02:34:00.000-07:00

Sweden Does.

Free Agency Addendum

2006-02-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

So, I read in the paper today that Tucker and the Esks have verbally agreed to a deal. So perhaps all is not lost yet. No word on whether Garrett is going to be re-signed (though, in fairness, he only gave up one touchdown all year, and that was on the last game of the year after he'd been injured. As well, Frank is older than he is, and has a capable replacement waiting in the wings in Keyou Craver). Anyways, I hope they re-sign Garrett as well. Oh, and the Hockey men seem to be having more problems with Germany right now than they should be (though, part of that may be that the women have raised the bar).

Free Agency

2006-02-16T01:47:00.000-07:00

So, the Eskimos have failed to sign Jason Tucker in time for the free agent deadline. Needless to say I'm less than enthused with this development. I'm still hopeful that they'll be able to resign him after he tests the waters, but if he winds up on another team, that will be a big void to fill. Having never adequately replaced Terry Vaughn last year, to once again lose their best receiver would I think impact on their ability to repeat (particularly given the loss of Rashad Jeanty on the other side of the ball).

In terms of the free agent developments in the rest of the league, apparently the Bombers have added Barrin Simpson, which should be a good addition. As well, looks like Argos are once again attempting to develop Eric Crouch (they had planned on signing him a few years ago, but someone in the NFL picked him up on waivers. Green Bay I think).

Carbolic time of year again. Should be much merriment as always.

Odi Et Amo

2006-02-14T01:05:00.000-07:00

Happy Valentine's Day Everyone.

Mining Club

2006-02-11T23:26:00.000-07:00

Lost the moot yesterday. I still get a book prize out of it. We had a tough issue to argue, and I think we did what we could with it.

After the moot, a bunch of us went up to RATT for assorted merriment (astute readers will notice that I'm not mentioning the hockey game, that is by design). At one point in the evening, this drunk guy came up to a bunch of my classmates and informed them that "Mining Club Rules!". This prompted a number of us to spend the rest of the evening yelling out "Mining Club, F--- Yeah!" to the tune of the Team America theme song, and generally being as obnoxious as possible. We even came up with the following "Mining Nicknames" for ourselves:

- The Main Vein
- Big Brassy
- Klon-dyke
- Twin Peaks / Gemstone Cowboy (he replaced it mid-way through the evening)
- Gold Digger
- Strip Miner
- The Shaft
- Mother Load
- Yellow Gold
- Dirty Ore
- 24 Carat Bitch
- Petrified Woody
- Dead Pan
- Family Jewels
- Fool's Gold
- Deep Crevice

Apparently we weren't obnoxious enough, as one fellow managed to get a waitress' phone number. A cynic would perhaps interpret that as an indictment of the fairer sex. But I certainly wouldn't do that, least of all not before Valentine's Day.

In other news, I didn't catch all of the Grammy's, but I enjoyed Kanye West's performance. I was sort of hoping that 50 Cent and The Game would win for "Hate it or Love It", just to see if they'd go up to accept the award together. On a similar musical note, Nick Tam has alerted me to this. Sheer awesomeness (it's only the first verse, but it doesn't matter, it's still incredibly cool).

Good on Canada for shocking the world in Sevens. I know it's sevens, but regardless there are certain things that should never happen, and I'd think that Canada beating South Africa in Rugby is one of them. Pity that as a reward they get to play New Zealand in the Quarters.

Relatedly, the Six Nations has been having some crazy results. In spite of just squeaking by Italy, it's looking like the Poms are probably going to take it this year. Pity.

As far as Super 14 goes, I'd like to reiterate that I'm rather displeased at Sportsnet for not covering it anymore. From the results that I've seen, it's good that the Hurricanes won their first game. Also a nice touch starting off the Super 14 the same way that the Super 12 started: Hurricanes vs. Blues.

It's unfortunate that the Rush still haven't broken into the win column yet. I thought that they were really close tonight. Hopefully the next game will be different. It was good to see them get a couple of short handed goals.

Finally, as relates to Operation Slap Shot, am I the only one that thinks that the media is getting ready to cut Janet loose? I mean, she's been referred to as "Janet Gretzky" for some time now, yet most of the reports have her as "Janet Jones-Gretzky" or "Janet Jones". This reminds me alot of the descriptions of Ben Johnson as "Jamaican-Canadian Ben Johnson" after the positive test. Not sure what all will come of this, but it's just something that I noticed in the reporting of the story.

In happier Olympic news, Congrats to Jennifer Heil (whose older sister was a year ahead of me in school, and who was at one point a housemate of one of my Latin cronies). Hopefully this is a sign of more medals to come for Canada.

It Sounds Like Cold Medicine

2006-02-04T02:44:00.000-07:00

Unsurprisingly, I think that the new name for Edmonton's summer festival is rather stupid. I thought that they'd replace Klondike Days with something stupid, but I didn't think it would be so bland. But then, I'm of the opinion that a kitschy theme is preferable to no theme. More of my thoughts on the whole name controversy, from when it was still Klondike Days, can be found here. I will note in passing that I don't think that the "Ed Fest" component sports a name which is going to stand the test of time. What I did find mildly irksome was all the interviews with the proponents on the news this evening where they stated "It doesn't really matter what the name is...", and then proceeded to hype just a bigger version of what the festival already is (more space for the concert portions, an international marketplace in place of a showcase country, etc.). Funny how the name doesn't matter once it's been changed. At any rate, I shall probably still go to the festival as a good member of the civic community, though it will likely be in spite of any changes which they have made, not because of them.

On the topic of change, it's good to see that things don't change on Survivor. Tina joins B.B. and Hunter as a useful, resourceful player cut down in the early stages of the game because their (usually much less useful) tribemates were focused on strategy (Well, to be fair in B.B.'s case, they weren't really focused on strategy. That was more of a "we don't like bossy people", akin to what helped get Margaret booted in Guatamala. Either way, it was wrong). Still, when people are catching fish with their bare hands, you'd think that people would keep them around for a bit longer to at least get a leg up on the other tribes (though, perhaps the smaller tribe sizes may have factored into this).

The season looks like it should be ok, there are some decent personalities and it will be interesting to see how the new rules play out (though, I'm not sure this whole "Exile Island" twist is going to be as much of a factor as it's been hyped as). No early favourites yet, but this usually takes a couple of weeks (and it's good to see another lawyer on the show). With the Apprentice and the Amazing Race not debuting until the end of the month, Survivor will have to meet my reality tv needs until then.

All In

2006-01-30T02:24:00.000-07:00

I managed to finish in the top half of the 63 person No Limit Hold 'Em Poker Tournament we had last night in that bastion of unofficial Law Socials, the Windsor Park Plaza Party Room (The official name of the room is something named after one of the Lister Towers, but I can't remember which one. It's perhaps rather quaint that everything in that building seems to be named after something in Lister or on the campus generally). Anyways, I was generally doing quite well, then got greedy when other people started going all in. Since I had a bit of a cushion, I was willing to put a little in with a K-4 and an A-3, both offsuit, that I ordinarily would have folded but the prospect of knocking two people out and taking their stacks proved just too tempting. Needless to say, it didn't work out. Then, as my stack began to dwindle, I came to the realisation that I was going to have to start taking risks, as the blinds were about to go up. I probably could have hung around for a few more hands, but we were about to take a break and with the increase in blinds (and the stacks of most everyone else remaining) I went all in blind on the last hand before the third round (4-6 suited). After that, I got my money's worth of the beer that we all chipped in for (I even did a few keg stands, which was a bit of a new experience), dabbled in a side game, and then watched the final results. Surprisingly, Roman managed to finish in 6th. I joked with him that had he won the $1,000 pot, he probably would be about even lifetime in poker.

Better Late Than Never

2006-01-30T01:44:00.000-07:00

Dublin was quite enjoyable. On the first day, I was able to take in the Guiness Storehouse. Lovely place, and the free pint (which I poured myself) made it even better. Lots of interesting history, as well as information on the brewing process. Strange to think that Arthur Guiness signed a 9,000 year lease for the brewery (or that said lease was signed over 100 years before Confederation).

Apart from the Storehouse, most of the pre-tournament time was spent walking around Dublin and generally familiarizing ourselves with the city. As stated earlier, the tournament went quite well for Canada. I would have liked to have done a little better, but realistically we probably ended up about where we should have expected. The highlight would definitely be getting judged by a DCA in Round 8. It was my first Northern Hemisphere worlds, and there was definitely a different feel than in South Africa or Singapore. It was good to see a lot of people that I'd seen at previous worlds, as well as to reconnect with the other Canadians (and the Alaskans). Of particular note was the meningitis scare that they had during Comedy Night. It definitely killed the mood.

In terms of other Dublin sites, we were able to take in Dublin Castle, the GPO, the Four Courts (where I got them to sort of show us around by stating that we were law students from Canada, in spite of the fact that Crossman and Jones were not) and, of course, the Book of Kells at Trinity College. It was great to observe so much history. The Long Hall at Trinity was especially impressive. In addition, we were also able to check out the National Gallery and the Temple Bar district. And while it didn't take much time, I was able to see the Molly Malone statue, which was quite cool.

In terms of purchases, nothing major. Though, I am now the owner of a Lions jersey, as well as a combined Lions/All Blacks jersey (commemorating the tour). On the last day I was going to try and go see Landsdowne Road, just to take a picture of it, but I was too sick to leave the hotel. Apparently I went by it on the cab when I was leaving, so that will have to suffice.

The downside was, as alluded to earlier, I came home quite sick. The last day in Dublin I pretty much stayed back at the hotel. Particularly bad was the trip home. I don't think I've been that sick before when I've travelled. The time in the Frankfurt Airport was especially rough. On the bright side, I saw most of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory on the plane home. At any rate, I'm home now and am feeling much better than I was the first week back (though, I'm still trying to shake the cough a bit). It was a good trip, and I'd certainly recommend Dublin to those thinking of going there (the transit was quite good, complete with double-decker buses and the St. Stephen's Green and Grafton Street area is quite nice).

The Giz

2006-01-27T02:26:00.000-07:00

Good to see The Giz is going to be inducted into the CFL Hall of Fame. I was fortunate enough to see him play live on a number of occasions (can't say the same for Mario Lemieux, in spite of having ESA tickets to see him play his comeback year, something came up). I saw his last game (a bit anti-climactic when he got hurt), when they put him on the wall, one of the game's against Calgary when he ran two back, and the one against Ottawa when he almost ran two back (he dropped the second one on the 5 yard line, for no apparent reason). He definitely hasn't been replaced, on the team or in the league. In terms of the Esks, while Donnie Ashley, Winston October and Tony Thompkins have been good, they don't have that same power or explosiveness. Likewise, Bashir Levingston is too much of feast or famine returner, just as likely to end up with a 10 yard loss. Corey Holmes is good, but of a different mold. Keith Stokes is close, but really there will only be one Giz.

It's also good to hear Matt Dunigan get the call to the hall. While his reputation may have taken a hit during his tenure as Calgary GM and Head Coach, he was a joy to watch as a player. While I missed his tenure with the Eskimos (I went to my first game the year after he had been traded to B.C.), I often found myself cheering for him when he wasn't playing the Eskimos. My favourite Dunigan memory would have to be the 91 Grey Cup. It was after the Peewee Smith catch, so I was going to be cheering for the Argos regardless. The fact that they won while their starting quarterback had to have his shoulder frozen in order to play. I put Dunigan up there with Messier in terms of sports leadership combined with meanness/toughness.

On the topic of sports, I think with his outburst against Ryan Smyth the other night, J.S. Giguerre is showing further signs of being a (more) modern-day Ron Hextall. Sensitive about his crease area, carried a team to 7 games in a Stanley Cup Final, winning the Conn Smythe in a losing cause... Now all he needs to do is deck Chris Chelios.

What A Rush

2006-01-26T01:23:00.000-07:00

Went to a Rush game last weekend. I really enjoyed it. I went with my cousin, who plays lacrosse, so I was in the unfamiliar position of being the guy asking about the rules at a sporting event. I found the game to be really fast paced and think that I could definitely get into the sport. I never did make it out to a Drillers game, but I can imagine that it would have been fairly similar.

That being said, as a bit of an old school sports fan, I found all the extra curricular stuff going on to be a tad unnecessary. While it's a unique and interesting idea to have a house DJ playing music, I'm not sure what I think of the music being played during the game. Likewise, I found the PA Announcer to be somewhat intrusive at times. I recognise the need to build a fan base when one doesn't exist (contrary to the situation with the Esks and Oilers), and perhaps it creates more of a fun atmosphere for fans. That being said, I think that the game is also capable of selling itself. Anyways, I didn't find it quite as bothersome as at Eskimos games, but it was still a bit distracting.

Law Show was really good this year. I was doing operations so I missed the first song and dance, and the intro, but from what I saw it was good. I especially liked the songs this year (the Les Miserables medley in particular), as well as the "Professor Robertson's Neighbourhood Fact Scenario". Much merriment was had afterwards.

Dublin update is still coming, but I felt posting it on Burn's Day wouldn't make much sense.

This Blog Still Exists

2006-01-19T00:26:00.000-07:00

My Factum is complete and I'm starting to feel better. A report on Dublin will be forthcoming. But first, Congrats to Mikey and Jo. I can proudly say that I've crashed on the couch of a pair of world champions.

Surviving

2005-12-14T01:27:00.000-07:00

In the midst of the grind. Was a little disappointed with the Survivor results. I was hoping that Steph was going to be able to pull it out. The turning point was when they voted out Judd. If they'd got rid of Lydia instead, Danni would have still been on the block. I think getting rid of Cindy was a mistake as well.

As for The Apprentice,I'm going to have to tape it and watch it the next day (as I did for the Survivor finale). At any rate, I think Rebecca may win this one. Randal just seems to be making too many critical mistakes.

The Joe Piscopo cancellation is rather reminiscent of the Chris Webber one two seasons ago, so we'll have to see how Rebecca deals with that. Though, Randal is also having to deal with rain. It should still be a close one (this is the first time in a while when you haven't been able to call the winner before the tasks were even assigned).

Festive Food

2005-12-02T01:13:00.000-07:00

Lots of Turkey today. The LSA had their turkey lunch, and then I went to a Christmas party where I worked this summer, and turkey was also served. It was quite good at both events.

As far as reality television goes, I'm not sure that the folks on Survivor made the best move. I recognise that Judd was probably going to knife them before long, however I have a realy problem with Lydia getting as far as she has. As well, they should have told Cindy, as the message that she likely got from all this is that she's next (and I don't think that she should be).

As far as The Apprentice goes, I'm happy with the final two. I've been pulling for Randal and Rebecca pretty much all along, and their video was much better than Capital Edge's. I agree with Trump's assessment that Felicia probably would have asked for herself to be fired had Alla eased off a bit. It seems to be a bit of a fine line in the board room, but I got the impression that everytime Alla talked today she was digging herself a hole. Sometimes, you just have to sit back and let the other person damage themselves.

Green, Gold and Grey

2005-11-28T01:27:00.000-07:00

Weekend went rather well. Broke to finals at Hugill. I was sort of disappointed with the way I spoke Sunday, but I still found the tournament as a whole to be productive. It was also good as always to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. The Roast Beef at the Sawmill was also quite nice. That, and explaining what a Yorkshire pudding was to the Alaskans.

The All Blacks also completed the Grand Slam (though, the score was much closer than I would have expected).

Finally, it's not everyday that your team wins the Grey Cup. What can I say about the game? Lots of outstanding plays and individual performances, from both sides. Excellent vindication for Ricky Ray, given all the nay-Ray-sayers of the past few weeks. I wasn't sold on Mike Mauer as outstanding Canadian. I thought Cahoon had a standout game in a losing effort (as did Lapointe). That being said, it's a minor quibble. That, and was it just me or did Steve Armitage basically ask Mauer the same questions that he asked Jason Claremont last year ("Is this a dream come true?"...). This time they made a bit more sense.

In terms of other impressions of the game, I thought Mitchell played really well, as two of his catches were key (particularly the third down gamble one). Gaylor also impressed me, apart from the two drops (which is still an improvement for him, in my opinion). For the Als, Durden had a couple of monster hits (on Tucker and Hervey) that I'm surprised didn't make more highlight reels. Though, given the number of highlights in the game, that's certainly understandable. It was also hilarious watching Maciocia run onto the field before the game was over, then realise what he was doing.

Looking forward to the parade, as well as how the offseason shapes up (I may expound on this more fully at a later point, but in addition to the impending retirements of Bruce Beaton and Chris Morris, I'm expecting Malcolm Frank to hang it up. That shouldn't be as much of a loss, however, as Keyou Craver has shown that he's ready to step up into a starting role). But that's for another time. It's great that they won, and after such a great game. Also, while I will confess to being excited, I still prefer the previous, two 5-minute halfs, form of overtime. Much more reflective of the realities of the game.

The Good Old Hockey Game

2005-11-20T01:38:00.000-07:00

Leisure suit fashion show last night was quite fun. I attempted to leave the Funky Buddha after party on three separate occasions, only to get dragged back in by one thing or another. I'm glad I went back the third time.

Hockey game was tonight. While I'm glad that I was able to see the "New NHL" live, I could have done with a better final score. The third period was very exciting, though. After the game, a school bus took us to The Druid. I'm quite certain that the worse bus driving job one can get is the one that involves driving around drunk people.

I'd also like to point out the two tossers that had to effrontery to accuse me of only wearing a Scotland rugby jersey to look cool, and implying that I did not actually follow the sport that Scotland has not in fact played yet (they play tommorrow morning), and my guess of Samoa was correct. Eat it.

On a related note, I'm quite impressed by the fact that the All Blacks were able to pip the Poms, in spite of being down to 14 men for a substantial portion of the match, and being without Richie McCaw for the whole match. While the scoreline isn't as decisive as I might have liked, but should still be enough to ensure the Grand Slam (when they beat Scotland next week).

AK-47 Is The Tool

2005-11-14T01:14:00.000-07:00

I'm glad they won. That being said, I don't think that Ricky Ray was the problem. If they play like that next week, they're going to lose as I don't count on B.C. turning the ball over 6 times or suffering a complete mental meltdown in the fourth quarter (the too many men penalty followed by George White's facemask penalty was particularly entertaining to watch). It was also good to see Fleming hit all his field goals. Mostly, I'm relieved that they beat Calgary. I was reading in the Sun this morning that Nik Lewis wants to be considered "The T.O. of the CFL". I suppose that's appropriate in at least one sense: both their seasons are over. Merry Christmas Nik!

At halftime, I was actually mentall composing an "Eskimos: What went wrong and what needs to change" post (and Canons article). Luckily they were able to pull it out. I can now look forward to the playoffs ahead and know that whoever wins the Grey Cup, it won't be the Stamps.

As far as next week goes, it's too early to be making calls. I think that the Eastern Final is shaping up to be a really good game based on the way that Montreal played, though.

I caught Lord of War last night. Pretty interesting movie. I'm normally not a big Nicholas Cage person, but I enjoyed the movie. Lots of stuff about international arms smuggling, including one character rather loosely based on Charles Taylor. At any rate, I'd recommend the movie.

You Know Where You Can Get In 15 Minutes?

2005-11-12T00:59:00.000-07:00

People are probably going to be saying that the recent spate of multiple firings over on The Apprentice represents a desperate grab for ratings. Which is odd, as the impact of more than one person getting fired isn't the same as it used to be. That being said, I think both of them deserved it this time, so I'm not going to complain. You can't just change your mind about doing the presentation right before it starts. And the task was basically lost when they missed the meeting, so Brian definitely had to go (he wasn't a particularly good leader even apart from that, and I agree that he hadn't really stepped it up all game). While it may have been a tad harsh for Marshawn, who had performed reasonably well up to this point, she really needed a better answer for why she didn't present. This week's episode did make me look a tad foolish, given that only last week I said that Excel might not lose again. This coming week, if they're given the opportunity to pick an extra player (and they pick Alla, which they should) then I really can't see them losing again (though, stranger things have happened). The possible twist could be if Trump asks Capital Edge if they want to send someone over, in which case it will be Clay.

As far as predictions go, with things getting down to crunch time I'm thinking that your finalists are going to be two of Alla, Rebecca and Randal. Adam may be a possible dark horse. I can't see either of the other two making it to the end. I am curious to see how they assign the "staff" for the final. If they take last year's formula and assign the "difficult people" there should be plenty to choose from. Expect Melissa, Markus, Toral and Kristi to all be making return appearances.

When The Skies Of November Turn Gloomy

2005-11-10T18:14:00.000-07:00

Today is apparently the 30th anniversary of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald. It led to a good song, at any rate.

Yesterday we had a Head Shave in the Law Centre. There were two profs (and two girls) participating, and over $12,000 was raised. It's always great to see people come out to get behind a good cause.

At Scholar's got to chat with a bunch of Julia's cronies. (Namely these ones). It was fun times, but it also made me feel rather old.

Keegan's was fun last night as well, though apparently they were unaware that the University had the day off today so they were a little short-staffed. And they weren't serving beer.

Pub Crawl tonight, should be a gong show as always.

I'd Get A Divorce Too

2005-11-09T01:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not going to talk about football this week. I'm serious. On the bright side, as I mentioned to a couple of my Calgarian classmates today, they don't give out trophies for hosting the Western Semi-Final.

In other news, looks like I'm going to Las Vegas come February. I've never been before, but it looks to be fun times.

Also, this is awesome.

On the topic of the All Blacks, gutsy move by Graham Henry replacing the entire lineup for Ireland. Should be interesting to see what happens.

That Has No Place In The Marketplace

2005-11-05T00:39:00.000-07:00

You know, for people supposedly educated in Survivor history (witness the prolonged discussion of the lack of food at the merger) certain members of the Gang of Six on this year's edition seem to have missed all those times when the alliance with the numerical advantage got uppity and had the bottom couple of people switch sides on them. I mean, really. I think it's pretty obvious that there's going to be some sort of shake up in the next couple of weeks (I do like the hidden immunity idol. I think it adds a little more random-ness to the mix).

As far as The Apprentice goes, I think Clay was probably the reason they lost the task, but this was a convenient time to fire Markus, who was going to get fired at some point anyways. Additionally, he didn't exactly help himself. Even being able to answer "So, why did you lose?" coherently, and not telling Trump that he "did outstanding" in what he did may have been enough to keep him around. It should also be interesting to see the team dynamics on Capital Edge after they all cut Clay loose in the boardroom (perhaps his advice that Adam not talk to him in the elevator on the way back to the suite was a bit of foreshadowing). At any rate, with their current personnel, Excel might not lose again for a long time (if at all). Randall's stock is also riding quite high. It's the second time he's won as PM, and the second time he was picked to go to a different team.

In other news, this year's Churchill Cup looks like it should be really cool. While there's going to be matches in other cities again, having 6 teams should make things more interesting. As well, we get the Finals (though, it appears from the website that next year the finals will be in San Francisco, with us presumably getting a pool match). It's also good to see the Maori back again.

On a related note, I'm a little surprised that there hasn't been more information on the Women's World Cup. I recognise that it's still a ways away, but I think that the fact that it's in going to be held in Edmonton is pretty impressive (nothing like logging on to the IRB website and seeing Edmonton listed as the host city for a world cup, regardless of the categorisation or level).

Happy Guy Fawkes Day everyone.

The Last Week

2005-11-04T01:55:00.000-07:00

I've recently had a request for fewer sports scores/predictions and more analysis. I may go in that direction at some point, but first, here's this weeks picks.

Montreal and Hamilton
The Ti-Cats are playing for next year, while the Als should be looking to stay healty for the playoffs. That being said, Montreal will also want to have momentum going into the playoffs. While A.C. may not even play the second half, I'm still going to say that Montreal should do enough to pull this one out.

Toronto and Ottawa
Ottawa is really worse than they should be with their talent. As well, I think that John Jenkins is the wrong direction for them to go at head coach for next year (particularly given their strong running attack and Mr. Jenkin's aversion to running the ball). Likewise, Joe Paopao is all class. However, I doubt that this is the first time I've disagreed with the Gliebermans regarding what's best for Ottawa football franchises. All that aside, while Toronto is also a team that has the playoffs to keep in mind, they should also be able to handle the Renedages (though it would be nice to see them get one last win for Joe).

B.C. and Saskatchewan
There's really two ways that the Riders could respond to the recent distractions. They could either fall apart, or rally together. I'm not sure which will eventually happen, but I'm going to say that regardless B.C. should come out on top, clinching first place.

Edmonton and Calgary
This should be a great game. I'm a little concern with the lack of productivity on offence for the Esks of late, however they should have a more diversified attack than the last time they played Calgary. This is big in that not only is it likely going to determine homefield advantage for the playoff game, but also there should be a psychological edge as I anticipate a rematch next week. Where will it be? Edmonton.

Life Continues

2005-10-30T02:14:00.000-07:00

Halloween party on Thursday was a lot of fun. I always enjoy The Druid, and there were a lot of very creative costumes. My two favourites were one person dressed up as a professor, as well as another dressed as a Survivor contestant (complete with a knife in the back).

Speaking of reality television, I thought that Thursday's Apprentice (which I of course taped) was wonderful. Though, I'd never even heard of Dick's Sporting Goods prior to the episode. It's funny, as when they picked the teams I thought that it was the other team that was going to lose. Between taking on Markus and Clay, and getting rid of Rebecca and Marshawn, it looked to me like a mismatch. But wow. The fact that Capital Edge didn't have anyone that knew anything about sports either made it worse. One could make the argument that this is the biggest embarassment in reality tv since Gervase stomped Kelly in the canoeing challenge in season one of Survivor (how's that for a blast from the past?).

Anyways, as cool as it was to see all 4 get fired, I think that may have been a bit of overkill. I'm not sure that Mark really deserved to get fired, as he was just doing what he was supposed to be doing (working the ball machine). Though, I suppose one could argue that he was living on borrowed time after not getting brought into the boardroom in week 2 after the Lamborghini task. Even James was borderline, though he deserves some blame for the batting cage idea. The other two both deserved to go though.

Jennifer talked big, then didn't perform. As well, I don't think arguing with Trump when he was explaining what everyone did wrong helped her stock (though, by that point the decision was likely made that at least she was going) . Bill and Carolyn also wanted her gone last week, so clearly she was already on thin ice.

I had Josh pegged as a competitive player early on, but he clearly blew it on this one. Worse, he seemed to fall into the trap of thinking he was on Survivor by deciding he was going to just bring in Jennifer (apparently he wasn't paying attention when Chris just brought in Markus). Luckily, Trump didn't let it get to that stage. He also seemed far too smug for someone that had lost a task that badly.

At any rate, I'm excited for next episode to see whether they had to have Rhona call up and warn all the others waiting up that no one would be coming back. That, and how the new teams get re-shuffled.

The Round Table

2005-10-25T01:37:00.000-06:00

It's been an eventful couple of weeks. Welcomed Spencer from out of town last week. Karaoke in RATT was a tad low-key, but it still made for a fun evening.

Today I hit up the Faculty Club with Senator Kotovych and a couple of other classmates. That's really a swank joint. As well, the bartender there is clearly the best in the city. The party discussed making this a regular sort of event, I could definitely go for that.

Having thought about it for a while, I don't agree with Trump's reasoning for firing Kristi. While either one of them could have gone, I think that Jennifer M. more clearly contributed to the loss that week. Additionally, if he was going to change up the teams anyways (which he sort of implied at the end) "the rest of them can't work with her" doesn't hold as much water as a justification. At any rate, I'm looking forward to this week's episode.

Football:

Hamilton and Toronto
A week ago, I would have said that Montreal is going to be the team coming out of the East. No more. Toronto has just been taking it to teams, and that's not going to stop this week. Kevin Eakin had a strong debut, but he's not playing Ottawa this week. Toronto by a bunch.

B.C. and Edmonton
This should be the game of the week, and should go a long ways towards determining first in the west. B.C. seems to have turned things around, with two strong performances in a row. As well, Edmonton is coming off a bit of a mediocre performance, and a bye. I'm curious to see who starts for the Lions (we've beaten Dickensen this year, but not Printers). Regardless, I'd be remiss if I didn't pick Edmonton.

Montreal and Ottawa
Poor Ottawa. At times this year, they've really shown promise. However, I think this game marks the end of their slim playoff hopes. They have the misfortune of playing Montreal the week after an embarassing loss. While I don't think that they can be considered the top team in the East anymore, Montreal is still strong and should be more than capable of disposing of Ottawa this week.

Calgary and Winnipeg
You know, I really hate the Stampeders. That being said, after last week I don't really have any choice in this one. Calgary, as they've done all year, made good adjustments at half time. Winnipeg folded. Calgary should win this one.

In Case I Forget

2005-10-21T03:22:00.000-06:00

Football this week:

Ottawa and Hamilton: Ottawa
Toronto and Montreal: Montreal
Winnipeg and B.C. : B.C.
Calgary and Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan

On another note, what does it take to get kicked off on Survivor these days? Apparently not being drunk and belligerent. That's ok though, he amuses me.

Meeting One's Obligations

2005-10-21T03:17:00.000-06:00

So, I had the lovely and talented Jen Bond do this for me; therefore thought it would be sporting to comply with point 8.

Leave your name and
1. I'll respond with something random about you.
2. I'll tell you what song/movie reminds me of you.
3. A flavour of jello to wrestle in.
4. I'll say something that only makes sense to you and me.
5. I'll tell you my first/clearest memory of you.
6. I'll tell you what animal you remind me of.
7. I'll ask you something that I've always wondered about you.
8. If I do this for you, you must post this on your journal. You MUST. It is written.

Mascots And Trump

2005-10-14T03:15:00.000-06:00

Last rugby practice today. It kind of sucks to be missing the alumni game, but conflicting schedules happen. Rugby was something I'd wanted to try when I decided to go to Alberta for law. I can't say that I've regretted any of it. I've been able to meet a number of great people, have good times and learn a new sport (which I was also interested in before). Here's hoping that the alumni go down in flames on Saturday.

First Vin Ordinaire event as well this evening. The wine was quite good (not that I can really tell good wine from bad), and it was nice meeting people in other years.

As for the Apprentice this evening, Toral wasn't the reason they lost. That being said, that doesn't mean that she didn't deserve to be fired. While going in it looked like a foregone conclusion, at the beginning of the boardroom it actually looked like Felicia was in a worse position. Toral just kept shooting herself in the foot. I do agree with Rebecca's assessment that she was ganged up on, however, I found it a lot more difficult to feel sorry for her than others in similar positions. I think Trump may have to shuffle the teams in the next couple of weeks, however, as Capital Edge looks like they still have some issues.

Mush

2005-10-13T01:47:00.000-06:00

I find this rather amusing. Good to see the Flames adding players well suited to the "New NHL".

In spite of the loss the other night, I'm quite pleased with how the Oilers have been doing thus far. Hopefully they'll be able to keep it up.

On to football.

Calgary and Hamilton
While it's too early to tell these things after a week, based on last week's results I think we know who won the Troy Davis trade. Hamilton got embarassed by Ottawa last week, and I can't see them beating Calgary this week.

Saskatchewan and Edmonton
Good to see the running game finally established. However, the Argos aren't noted for their run stopping prowess, so this week should be more of a test. I'm also a little concerned with the fact that Davis Sanchez is likely out, given that we traded our back up defensive back to Hamilton. Nevertheless, I'm confident the the Eskimos will be able to pull this one out, once again putting an end to talk of a home playoff game in Saskatchewan.

B.C. and Montreal
How the mighty have fallen. B.C. is in disarray. Apart from a couple of drives, they looked awful in Winnipeg. Now, they're going into Montreal, when the Als for the first time in ages are actually still playing for something at this time of year. I'm not sure who's going to be in at quarterback, if Duncan O'Mahoney is still the kicker, or if the Lion DBs are going to cover any better this week. It doesn't matter: Montreal is the pick.

Toronto and Winnipeg
This is a bit tougher than it would have been a week ago. Winnipeg played their best game all year, and Milt Stegall put in a career performance. Winnipeg is still fighting for their mathematical playoff lives, however, I think that they may experience a bit of a letdown. Last week it was the 75th Anniversary celebrations, the third jerseys and the top team in the league. They're still up against the defending champs, but I can't see them coming with the same intensity. By the same token, Toronto was probably a little unlucky to lose last week. I think they'll bounce back, and therefore Toronto is the pick.

It's Back!

2005-10-06T00:14:00.000-06:00

I realised today that this blog has not been active while there has been NHL Hockey. It's been that long. Glad to see that Oilers pull it out (and the Flames lose). Hopefully Horcoff's production tonight is a sign of things to come.

On the other major Edmonton sports team, I like the trade. Comiskey shores up our O-line, and Davis is a proven back (though, I'll point out that with the amount we've been attempting to run the ball it wouldn't matter if we had George Reed back there). At the same time, we have sufficient Canadian and receiving depth so that we can afford to give up Brock Ralph, and Tay Cody wasn't really breaking into the lineup anyways. All in all, I think we came out ok from this one.

In other news, I opted out of AP!RG yesterday. I have now successfully opted out for every semester that I've been able to. I highly recommend it, it's quite the empowering experience.

On to the football games for this week:

Hamilton and Ottawa
This is a tough one. In spite of what they showed last week, Hamilton is still not a very good football team. At the same time, right now neither is Ottawa. Momentum is telling me to go with Hamilton, but I've been traditionally overly generous with Ottawa, and I see no need to stop that now.

Montreal and Saskatchewan
Ah yes, the "hottest team in the league". With the additional storyling of Marcus Crandell facing the coach who "didn't give him a chance" in Edmonton. Well, sorry Rider fans, but midnight has to come some time and I'm saying it's this week. Saskatchewan has been playing very well as of late, but Montreal is also starting to put things together. While the Riders will have the home field advantage, and still have the prospect of a home playoff game, I'm still going with Montreal to come out with the win.

Edmonton and Toronto
You know, by all accounts I should be picking the Eskimos to lose this week. However, I recall them turning it on last Thanksgiving against a Montreal team that should have beaten them (I think they may have been coming off a loss then too). As well, this team for the past little while has had an annoying tendency to come up big against big opponents. With the new additions to the O-line and running game, I'm counting on the Eskimos emerging with the win.

B.C. and Winnipeg
Well, as fun as it's been to watch the Lions lose the past couple of weeks, all good things must come to an end. Winnipeg has been tough to figure. As well, I haven't gotten an injury update on Dave Dickensen. Regardless, even with Buck Pierce at the helm, I'm thinking that the Lions should be able to take care of Winnipeg.

Off The Deck

2005-10-04T00:02:00.000-06:00

The game against UBC went rather well. The pubcrawl afterwards was also quite eventful. I shall refrain commenting on the football game for the moment, and only remark that I'm glad I was unable to watch it. At least B.C. lost as well.

As well, it seems to me that it is perhaps a bit more than a coincidence that the CBC has managed to solve their labour problems in time for hockey season.

I Don't See You Lasting

2005-09-30T02:10:00.000-06:00

Glad to see Trump putting a stop to this "bringing one person into the boardroom" nonsense. It's usually people that do little things to piss him off right before the boardroom that wind up with the axe (this was very much reminiscent of the Bradford firing for me). Chris may have still been able to get Markus fired if he brought Mark into the boardroom, so I'm not sure of the whole decision to bring just one person in. I also agree with the assessment that Markus will be gone shortly. He's sort of cut from the same cloth as Sam and Raj as the designated "zany character".

I'm cleared for the game against UBC on Saturday, so let's see if I'm actually successful at killing myself this time ;)

Rucked Over

2005-09-28T01:10:00.000-06:00

My face got a bit messed up in the Rugby intersquad game. It's starting to heal now, but for the first couple of days it looked like I'd gotten into a fight.

I'm not sure how this edition of The Amazing Race is going to go. For one, watching families fight isn't nearly as entertaining as watching couples fight. As well, it looks like (for the first couple episodes at least) they're just driving around the States. That's not nearly as fun as watching contestants interact with locals in other countries. Regardless, I think it will be hard to top last season. Rob and Amber were arguably more entertaining on The Amazing Race than they were on Survivor (I said arguably), and there were a number of other memorable characters as well (notably Gretchen and Meredith).

I had a long-ish post detailing my activities this past weekend, but it for some reason it didn't publish, and I don't really feel like re-typing it. Suffice to say that I went to a football game with a complete football neophyte, and missed out on debating in the final at Grant Davy's because I didn't guess the right debater.

In regards to Jeremy Roenick's remarks on Sportscentre this evening regarding Canadians giving him a hard time because of his birth certificate, perhaps Canadians are envious of the fact that he has so many more Stanley Cup rings than the majority of them. Oh, wait... (I agree it was much funnier when Patrick Roy said something similar, but that's because he could back it up, and, he's Patrick Roy).

Football:

Toronto and Ottawa
Well, it looks like we're once again getting a western crossover. Ottawa is in freefall, and I don't see it stopping now. Toronto will have Bashir Levingston back, and I'm looking for them to rebound from their loss last week.

Edmonton and Hamilton
There's a bit of a danger of a letdown from last week. However, even if the Esks haven't turned the corner, I think they can still beat Hamilton. There's word that Ed Hervey should be back in the lineup, and that should be enough to push the Esks over the top.

Montreal and Calgary
This should be an interesting one. While Montreal has shown that they can beat up on the Winnipeg's of the world, they haven't been able to dominate good teams in the same way. Calgary has been able to keep pace with Edmonton and Saskatchewan in the race for second thus far. While there will likely be a fair bit made about Jeremaine Copeland facing his old team (again), I think it's getting rather close to midnight for the Stampeders. Montreal should pull this one out.

B.C. and Saskatchewan
It sure was nice seeing B.C. lose last week. Well, guess what, it's going to happen again. I'm looking for the Rider D to get similar pressure on Dickenson to what the Eskimos got. Additionally, it was special teams that killed the Lions last week, I anticipate it being worse with Corey Holmes. Saskatchewan almost beat B.C. last time, but for a few mistakes. This time they'll actually do it.

PAC-Man

2005-09-21T00:29:00.000-06:00

Council meeting tonight was actually halfway decent. I think that the Senate Task Force stuff was productive, and I think there were a number of good ideas brought up on both sides in the Physical Activity Complex debate. That being said, I still think that Council tends to get a bit hung up on procedural questions (the whole PoI argument was really unnecessary, particularly since it's unenforceable. The solution needs to be Councillors showing discipline, not people having to resort to points of order "becuase that wasn't a question"). At any rate, it should be interesting to see how it all plays out in a couple of weeks.

I'm looking forward to the debuts of the new Apprentice series. I'm probably not going to keep watching the Martha Stewart one past the first episode, but I've always enjoyed the Trump one (even when it's been rather mediocre).

On the sporting front, none of the games last week went my way. Hopefully this week will be better.

Ottawa and Calgary
I really need to be objective about this one. While there should be no doubt which team I'm pulling for, I can't in good conscience pick the Renegades in this one. Sorry. Calgary it is.

Toronto and Saskatchewan
This should be a pretty good game. Saskatchewan's defence has firmed things up, and their offence isn't making as many mistakes any more. That being said, I think Toronto is still the better team at this point, and that will be shown on Friday.

B.C. and Edmonton
Pity the rest of the country won't be able to witness B.C.'s first loss on television. That's right, in spite of their recent struggles, I'm going with Edmonton. B.C. may be undefeated, but apart from Ottawa they haven't really been blowing teams away. While an undefeated record is still impressive, this isn't a team that has looked unbeatable, and I'm confident that the Esks are going to illustrate that.

Winnipeg and Montreal
Montreal is a really tough team to figure out this year. They almost took B.C. to overtime last week, but they've been beaten by teams like Winnipeg and Ottawa this year. Things are looking rather bleak in Winnipeg as well. I'm going out on a limb and picking Montreal in this one.

But Where's The Water?

2005-09-16T00:42:00.000-06:00

Well, Survivor is back on, so that means that in addition to football predictions, I'll also be talking about reality television again.

It always takes a couple of weeks to sort of figure who everyone is, but this season looks like it'll be ok. I do think that this emphasis on "let's see if we can come up with a challenge that will kill them" doesn't necessarily add all that much. If I were just watching for the challenges, I'd watch Fear Factor instead. That being said, it does have the added bonus of disadvantaging teams that keep around their lazier types, who always used to worm their way much further in the game than they had any business being (not that this sort of thing doesn't still happen, but maybe it might be a bit different this year). Anywys, Jim looked like he may have been an interesting character, but that's often the case with the first one off. I'm also looking to see how the experiment with previous players plays out.

For football, this should be an interesting week.

Winnipeg and Ottawa
This is a tough one. Winnipeg seems to be going down in flames, though they were quite close last week. Ottawa, on the other hand, is coming off getting blown out and is engaged in all manner of Negotiation List and Trade Rumour silliness. I highly doubt that The Bachelor is the solution to their problems, even if they are able to pry him off of Montreal's neg list. Regardless of all that, I'm going with Ottawa to right the ship, though I seem to have been overly generous with them so far this year.

Calgary and Hamilton
You know, I was sort of dreading reluctantly endorsing the Stamps in this one. However, Henry Burris sort of took care of that for me. While the other guy did well in relief in Edmonton (he scored on his only drive, which is one more touchdown than Hank was able to engineer), he should still be a step down. Calgary has a strong defence, so I'm expecting a bunch of Danny Mac picks, nevertheless, I'm going with a Hamilton win. Maybe Jesse Lumsden will make some nice tackles on special teams.

B.C. and Montreal
The Lions are going to have to lose sooner or later (I know I've been saying this most of the year, but it's true). The Als are clearly not the power that they used to be. All of that being said, I would personally find it amusing if they knocked off the Lions, given all the times when the Lions would end similar Montreal winning streaks. That reason is good enough for me, Montreal it is.

Edmonton and Saskatchewan
This is a game that the Esks almost always lose, and they usually look badly doing it. I would say that it would be good for them to be up for one of their former QBs, but there's basically nobody left from when Crandell was here (and that never seemed to work against Nealon anyways). For the Eskimos, the offence has been the proverbial whipping boy for the past week. I think that it would be foolish in the extreme to pull Ray. Hopefully the running game will continue to improve (and there will be greater committment to it as well). Anyways, I'm going with Edmonton to turn things around.

WOW Leather

2005-09-09T01:05:00.000-06:00

Volunteered for some Quad Games at WOW this afternoon. Managed to get Gary and Paul Ratti to compete. After I arrived for my shift, a couple of girls in leather jumpsuits pulled up in a Mustang and started handing out gift certificates for Full Throttle energy drink for 1 cent. Pretty tough to compete with that.

On a completely unrelated note, apparently they're letting everyone on wikipedia these days.

O

2005-09-08T01:29:00.000-06:00

Orientation was great. The presentations seemed to go really well, and the President's Address had what seemed like a bigger than usual turnout. I was a little disappointed with the understaffing issues at the Plant afterwards. This was my 6th year volunteering with Orientation, and it's consistently been one of the more rewarding experiences I've had in University. At the Plant afterwards, I bumped into one of my former delegates from my last year as an OL. I guess he's a 4th year now. Time flies.

In terms of football, it's a short turnaround week, which tends to make for unpredictable results. Nevertheless, here are my thoughts for the week ahead.

B.C. and Ottawa
One of these weeks B.C. has to lose. As well, Ottawa played them fairly closely last time out. That being said, Ottawa is coming off a big loss to Montreal. With that in mind, this prediction may seem foolhardy, but I'm going with Ottawa to keep things interesting in the east.

Calgary and Edmonton
It's a good thing I wasn't watching the game last week, or I would have been getting angry. At least they won. I'm confident of a repeat performance this week. While the lack of killer instinct, and a running game, continues to be disconcerting, I'm confident that Edmonton should come out with a win.

Hamilton and Toronto
Well, my one mistake last week. The Ti-Cats have now won two in a row, and most of the focus in the lead up to this game is on Bashir Levingston's helmet. Nevertheless, this is a game that Toronto should win, so that's what I'm going to go with.

Saskatchewan and Winnipeg
It appears that Marcus Crandell is the latest saviour in Riderland. However, I'd be careful of putting too much stock in one game, particularly given that the Riders did the same thing to Winnipeg with the other guy in. At any rate, I'm going with the same result, as Saskatchewan climbs back into contention in the west.

Labour Day

2005-09-02T01:13:00.000-06:00

So, another week, more football.

I should note that in making these picks, I haven't seen any of the games for the last two weeks, so apart from the results I have no idea how teams have been doing and what personnel changes, if any, have occurred. That being said, this is Labour Day, and certain patterns seem to emerge which should make this easier.

Anyways...

Ottawa and Montreal
This should be a good game, in what is shaping up to be quite the rivalry this year. Ottawa seems to have come a bit back down to earth lately, but they've still been looking good. Montreal has lost two straight as well, so this may be a chance for the Renegades to put some distance between themselves and the Als. However, Terry Vaughn doesn't lose on Labour Day. Montreal it is (I know this won't actually be played on Labour Day, but it's close enough for me).

Winnipeg and Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan has just been in a free fall as of late, so Winnipeg could come at a better time. The Bombers got whupped pretty bad in Regina in the season opener, however they've really improved since then. This is a game that the Riders traditionally win, so I'm going to go with Saskatchewan to pull things together and emerge with the win.

Toronto and Hamilton
Let's see, the best team in the East, who happen to be the defending Grey Cup Champions, or the team that's won one game. While anything can happen on Labour Day, I think it's pretty clear that barring a major disaster the Argos should take this one.

Edmonton and Calgary
This is what Labour Day is all about. I am a little more concerned about this game than I was at the beginning of the season, as Calgary seems to have been looking better as of late. As well, while they apparently won last week, it's clear that the Esks aren't going to be romping all over the league like it looked like they might before the season started. Nevertheless, Edmonton doesn't lose on Labour Day when I volunteer for Orientation.

The Race Is To The Swift Burch

2005-08-16T12:17:00.000-06:00

So, I shall be gone for a while, and likely unable to post my football picks. Therefore, here they are in advance, recognising that I shan't be able to account for injuries which shall occur between now and then. Apologies for the lack of commentary.

Calgary and Montreal: Montreal
Ottawa and Winnipeg: Ottawa
Hamilton and B.C. : B.C.
Toronto and Edmonton: Edmonton (I still have faith)

Calgary and Toronto: Toronto
Winnipeg and Hamilton: Winnipeg
Montreal and Edmonton: Edmonton
B.C. and Saskatchewan: B.C.

E-A-Ski

2005-08-09T00:06:00.000-06:00

After the fun that was last weekend, Lesley invited us out to her "lake" on Saturday for some waterskiing. Ragan, Cam and I made the trip. I hadn't really tried waterskiing in about 15 years, but it still worked out ok, as I was able to get up and not fall. The lake is actually a rather large pond on a farmer's field outside Sherwood Park. It was quite green (particularly around the edges) but also fairly warm. We had a round of skiing, with a break for snacks. During the break, we threw the football around and played Horse, though, at Lesley's suggestion to prolong the game (and pay tribute to a certain movie) the game was changed to "Smelly Pirate Hooker". We didn't wind up finishing, though I got up to R (one would think I was Trevor Gaylor). At any rate, after the break we went back out for some tubing, which as can be expected led to much amusement. Highlights included Alex's perseverence in continuing to hang onto the tube even after it had flipped over. After tubing, we had a BBQ. Not every day you get a chance to eat a burger whilst waving at cows (I didn't actually do that, as the cows weren't around while we were eating). I had 3 burgers, which were quite good. On the whole it was a fun day. Lesley's parents and brother were also very nice. I am still a little sore from the waterskiing, but that's to be expected.

On the sporting front. I, like my favourite team, had a bit of a rough week last week. While I shan't dwell on what went wrong in this particular post, suffice to say that I'm hopeful that they'll come back better after the bye week.

Saskatchewan and Ottawa
Nealon has seen this movie before. While I can't necessarily blame Danny Barrett for pulling him the past couple of games (he was looking pretty bad against Montreal) I don't think that will do much for his confidence. I also don't think that Marcus Crandell is the answer. At the end of the day, when you have that many injuries on your team it's going to have an impact. Regardless, I don't see Saskatchewan winning this week. Ottawa is on a real roll, with their defence keeping them in games until their offence starts firing. I don't think it will be a blowout or anything, but I still see Ottawa taking this.

Montreal and Toronto
I haven't heard anything as to whether Damon Allen is fully recovered from his injury against Winnipeg. I have however heard that Ben Cahoon will not be suiting up for the Als. At any rate, while Montreal bounced back against Saskatchewan, Toronto really seems to be on another level right now. While this may change if Damon doesn't play, I'm still going with Toronto for the win, pretty much ensuring that the Eastern Final will be in Skydome.

B.C. and Calgary
It should be interesting who starts for the Lions. While it shouldn't really matter, Calgary's defence did give Casey Printers a lot of trouble last year. As well, B.C. is probably due for a let down after a big win last week. That being said, I'm going to play it safe and go with a B.C. win.

Hamilton and Winnipeg
Alright, this is the week Hamilton. The Ti-Cats have come close on several occasions, but I'm thinking this is the week they finally do it. Winnipeg have looked very good and very bad at times, however I think that the Ti-Cats know that this is their best shot at breaking into the win column, and will step it up accordingly. Hamilton should take this one.

Skyrockets In Flight

2005-08-04T00:05:00.000-06:00

Went to Jasper this past weekend with a few classmates. It was quite enjoyable. We definitely made up for the lack of physical activity during Stampede weekend.

There was initially talk of leaving on Friday night, but we wound up leaving Saturday morning. We drove out to Hinton, where Alex's sister's in-laws have a place. Apparently it was Rodeo Weekend in Hinton. I was somewhat interested in checking out the beer gardens (beer gardens during rodeo weekends in smaller communities tend to be lots of fun), but it wasn't in the cards.

After settling in, we made our way to Jasper. The line up at the park gates was quite long, so Cam and I got out and walked to the gates from the car. We saw an interpreter handing out "through passes" who said that she hadn't seen it this busy before (though, it was pretty similar the next couple of days). There was a Folk-Fest of sorts going on, so that probably contributed to the busy-ness. On entering the park, we made our way to Miette. We did the Sulphur Skyline hike, which takes you on top of a ridge where you get a great view of the surrounding valleys and mountains. There's really nothing like the feeling when you get to a point and realise that the trail can't go up any further. It's been a while since I've stood at the top of a mountain, and in the previous instance there was a cable car up, so there wasn't the same sense of achievement (for the record, I didn't get lost this time). It was a good hike, though I thought it might kill Roman at points. Additionally, I now understand the value of tea houses at the top of mountains. After the hike, we hit the hot springs. It was a refreshing soak, and they've installed a cold pool since I was last there, so we were able to prolong our stay via periodic dips in the cold pool. After that, we headed back into Hinton, picked up a couple of safeway pizzas, drank rum and watched Will Ferrell movies. Alex hadn't seen Anchorman yet. After the movies it was quite late, so we went to bed. Well, most people went to bed, Cam and Roman stayed up serenading the house with "Dust in the Wind" and "Afternoon Delight"(which emerged as the theme song for the weekend).

The next morning we headed into Jasper for another hike, this time taking on Geraldine Lakes. Cam had an iTrip, so we were able to make use of my iPod on the way in, which made for a lot of Gordon Lightfoot and Gangsta Rap. Particular amusement was placed in the adjacent playing of Aqua's "Dr. Jones" with Spice 1's "Dumpin' 'Em in Ditches". Lesley was quite patient with the use of her car radio. As for the hike itself, it was quite muddy at points. The lake we made it to was quite nice, and we had a good view of a waterfall up past the lake. The incline was fairly steep, and there were parts that were basically just a big boulder field so it was good times jumping over those. After the hike, we headed back into Jasper for some food. We just missed getting free food samples outside the Jasper Brewery Company, and while the hostess was quite nice the food seemed fairly pricey. We went to L & W instead, which was very good. We also shared a couple of pitchers of strawberry daquiri, before returning to Hinton to play some Uno Extreme. I was doing well until the last round, when the wheels fell off.

The next morning we got up and then went into Jasper one more time. We walked around the Jasper Park Lodge for a bit, before heading home. All in all an enjoyable weekend.

This is already rather long, so I will reserve comment on the recent happenings in Oiler-land. Suffice to say this is all quite exciting.

Football.

Saskatchewan and Montreal
Both teams are on a bit of a downward slide as of late. I'm going with Montreal, due to the fact that they've got fewer injuries right now.

Edmonton and B.C.
This should be the game of the week. Both teams haven't been playing as well as they're capable of playing. In spite of the fact that they're a little banged up (though, B.C. is as well), I'm going with Edmonton rising to the occasion and pulling this one off.

Hamilton and Ottawa
Hamilton is better than their record, and they are going to win eventually. It's really tempting to go with them at home in this one, but Ottawa just seems to be on a roll. Maybe next week.

Winnipeg and Calgary
This time Pederson doesn't drop the ball. I'm of the opinion that Calgary got lucky last time around, and while Calgary has played better since then, so has Winnipeg. I'm going with Winnipeg to pull this one out.

First Prize In Bob's Lottery

2005-07-26T00:00:00.000-06:00

I'm aware that it's actually Gary's lottery, however I'm not going to let facts get in the way of a good pun.

Anyways, I'm glad that Crosby went to Pittsburgh as opposed to Anaheim. Yes, Edmontonians would have been able to see him play live more often were he playing in Anaheim, however at the same time it would mean that Anaheim would have yet another superstar that they didn't deserve. To say nothing of the increased odds of the words "Mighty Ducks of Anaheim" appearing on the side of the Cup. Pittsburgh at least has passable hockey pedigree. As well, I'm looking forward to a Mario-Crosby-Recchi line (though, by the time the Pens come to Edmonton two of them may be retired). Combined with Marc-Andre Fleury and the expected influx of free agents (when you can't make more elsewhere, you may as well sign to play with Mario and Crosby) the Penguins should be pretty good this year.

I am glad that hockey is back, and I like the agreement for the most part. That being said, I think a bunch of the rule changes are, well, stupid. Particularly the restriction on allowing goaltenders to play the puck and, of course, the shootout. I'm not sure who these fans are that are clamouring for shootouts, but I'm certainly not one of them. I just wish that the NHL would quit trying to suck up to people that at most will have only a passing interest in hockey at the expense of the die-hards.

And, on to football. I took a bit of a beating last week, but there were lots of results that few sane people would predict. Hopefully this week will be better.

Toronto and Montreal
Alright, we get it. The Als aren't as good as they used to be. And their vaunted defence gave up 51 points last week. I'm still picking them. This will be Montreal's first shot at Toronto since the Eastern Final last year, and they really are a different team at home. That being said, both teams should be looking to make amends for poor outings, so it should be a close game. While Toronto will have had the bye week to prepare, I'm going to go with Montreal regardless.

Ottawa and Saskatchewan
This is the hardest one to pick this week. As we saw last week, Saskatchewan is starting to feel the effects of all those injuries. Likewise, Ottawa has really improved over the course of the year, and were the first team to score more than one offensive touchdown on the Esks defence. I'd like to think that Saskatchewan is going to bounce back after what happened last week, but Ottawa really seems to be on a roll as of late. This is more a "gut" pick than anything else.

Calgary and B.C.
I think perhaps that I've let my disdain for the Stamps in general, and their overrated and overpaid quarterback in particular, influence my judgment. Calgary still has a good defence, and they have a lot of weapons on offence (I've been particularly impressed with Reynolds so far this year). As well, as we saw last week, B.C. is not as good as their record would seem to suggest. That being said, I think Calgary is going to have a bit of a letdown after last week's big win. B.C. will remain undefeated, at least for now.

Hamilton and Edmonton
Hamilton was rather unlucky not to come away with a win last week. Apparently they're also signing Khari Jones, though as I think we saw here during training camp, his best days are probably behind him. At any rate, after meltdowns by Montreal and Saskatchewan last week, I think it's fairly safe to say that Edmonton has the best defence in the league right now. As well, while the offence has been in a bit of a rut as of late, they're still doing enough to win. Hamilton will win a few games this season, but this game won't be one of them. Edmonton should win, as Joe Montford comes back to haunt his former team.

Winnipeg and Toronto
Well, this certainly puts Edmonton's poor performance against Winnipeg in a different light. The Bomber have really stepped it up on defence, and they racked up a lot of points offensively against the Als. Toronto has historically been weak against the run, so I'm expecting another big game from Charles Roberts. As well, Toronto does get stuck with the short week, which usually has meant a loss for teams in that position. That being said, I'm still not completely sold on Winnipeg. Toronto should win, but I'm a bit less confident than I should be.

Summer Festivals

2005-07-24T20:02:00.000-06:00

So, I've had a chance to take in a few of the summer festivities that Edmonton has to offer thus far. My thoughts...

I got time off for the Klondike Days Parade. The fact that many of my classmates did not represents one of the main difference between Klondike Days and the Stampede, with the whole city getting behind the latter to a greater extent. I don't think that the theme is a problem, and I think that people that complain about the theme are just making excuses. Yes, it's easier for people to just put on cowboy hats for the Stampede, however apart from "ease of participation" I think a lot of the other arguments are red herrings. While Edmonton's connection to the Klondike may not be as strong as a summer festival theme would imply, I don't think that a "Fur Trading Days" would be any easier to dress up for. Plus, a casino wouldn't fit as well with it. So, the way I see it, Edmonton would have the option of pursuing a theme with no connection at all to the city (Pirates, Hawaiian shirts, etc.), or it could try and be a me-too Stampede with people donning cowboys hats, which has the additional negative aspect of making the city look like a wannabe. Really, I don't think people not coming out has anything to do with the theme.

Anyways, on to the parade itself, it was pretty good but could have been a couple of floats shorter. By the end of it my feet were definitely quite sore. The floats were pretty good, but there was nothing that really stood out. It was good to see that the Leduc float won two different awards, however (Best float built by volunteers, float judged best by children). The one negative thing was that an antique truck which was pulling the "Klondike Kate's Tea Party" float broke down in front of where I was standing, so they temporarily had to divert the parade around it until a tow truck could come and pull it and the float through the parade. So I missed a few floats. In terms of "people I knew on floats", I saw Cam walking beside the ATB Financial float while Former Education Councillor Jason Baxter was riding an antique ETS bus. Both gentleman saw me in the crowd and waved. Sadly, no sign of Rachel on the Dragon Boat Festival float.

The taste of Edmonton was quite good as well. The one side close to Churchill Square is a bit crowded, however. I must say that the new Churchill Square does work well for summer festivals, as those steps they put in around the edges provide for good seating.

I was also able to take in the Opening Ceremonies for the Worlds Masters Games. My sister was volunteering for the Games so I was able to use her free tickets to the ceremonies (oddly enough, I'm not volunteering). The ceremony was fairly good. Randy Bachman was a nice touch. It's also always good to get a couple of Snowbird flybys. The one thing which I found a tad irksome was when some of the athletes started the wave during one of the speeches. I'm all for enthusiasm, but I don't think that the wave should be done during someone's speech. Particularly when it's a speech by Her Majesty's Representative in Alberta. (I would say that's the greatest indignity committed to a 1950's Eskimo in Commonwealth since they booed Don Getty when they put him up on the Wall of Honour, but that's perhaps going a bit too far).

I am impressed that Edmonton's been able to handle all these events at once. I haven't heard how the turnout was for the Triathalon this year, but I assume it was decent. I'm also looking forward to the fact that Leduc is apparently the venue for a couple of Masters Games events.

Champ Car Races Sing This Song

2005-07-19T00:16:00.000-06:00

It was good to see Edmonton turn out for the big race. That's the sort of civic pride I love about this city. I caught the race on tv (I'm not much of a car racing fan) and the atmosphere looked pretty cool. Here's hoping for a big turn out for the World Masters as well.

On to other matters sporting...

Edmonton and Ottawa
Lost in all the talk of how bad the offence played last week is the fact that the defence didn't give up an offensive touchdown. This isn't to take away from how bad the offence played, but sometimes it pays to look at the glass half full. That being said, Ottawa does concern me for a few reasons. They've certainly improved since the first week (when they were able to stay with Edmonton for a half), and have been very good at home. As well, they have some big playmakers in Murphy, Armstead, Ranek and of course Joseph. One question is how banged up the Esks continue to be, and if Ed Hervey will be in the line-up to face the team he almost signed with (though, with the way he's been playing lately it's an open question as to whether that's a good thing or not). I also haven't heard anything on the status of Davis Sanchez or Mike Bradley. Anyways, last week they did what they needed to do to win, and now is no time to be pressing the panic button. Edmonton should pull it out, but it should be reasonably close.

Montreal and Winnipeg
For all the talk of how good their defence was last week, Winnipeg still has a very bad offence. While I am in agreement with those that say that Montreal is not as good this year as they have been in the past, I think they're still good enough to beat Winnipeg. Montreal should win, mostly on the strength of defence and special teams.

B.C. and Hamilton
This is starting to look a lot like 1997, when the only wins Winnipeg and Hamilton got was when they played eachother (I think I'm exaggerating a bit, but it certainly seemed that way at the time). I'm actually starting to feel a bit sorry for Hamilton. And while I certainly still have no love for the Lions, it would be foolish to pick anything else for this game. B.C. wins to remain undefeated.

Saskatchewan and Calgary
Well, if it isn't the second most anticipated game of the year for Rider fans (the first being when Calgary comes to Regina). Saskatchewan has impressed me with their depth so far, as they've been able to keep winning in spite of having a lot of their stars out. Calgary looked quite bad against Ottawa last week, and I'm not sure things are going to get any better this week. While Burris should be up to face his former team it likely won't be enough. Saskatchewan wins, keeping pace with Edmonton and B.C. for top spot in the west.

Winning Ugly Is Still Winning

2005-07-16T14:37:00.000-06:00

Goodness that was a bad game.

I seem to be on a bit of a two-year cycle as of late. Went to my first game in College Corner in two years. Lots of parallels with the last one (and lots of things were different). Last time, like this, it rained and it was one of those buy-a-burger-get-a-free-ticket games (in the earlier instance beacuse the borders had recently been closed). However, last time it was a blowout win. This time was a little different.

I was there with a bunch of my classmates, so it was fun times. There's definitely a lot more activity up in College Corner. Not everyday you get to see a former Engg Week judge get thrown out by security.

With regards to the game itself, there's not much to say. I'm not sure how much worse they could have played and still won. Luckily Winnipeg played worse.

Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow

2005-07-15T01:25:00.000-06:00

Last night I went to former ESS President Angela Thomas' farewell shindig at the Funky Buddha. I hadn't actually been there for about two years, almost exactly, when it was still a Sherlock Holmes. Coincidentally, that time it was another farewell party. I must say, the menu was rather more extensive at the time.

Ang is one of those people I've seen in a bunch of different contexts over the years (In addition to hack-ism, as an OP she presented to my groups two years in a row during Orientation, and Phil was one of Helen's High School cronies so she was also at one of Helen's birthday parties back in the day). I'm sure she'll do quite well in Japan.

At any rate, Jones and I departed early to catch Shakespeare in the Park with William McBeath and former MatE Social Coordinator Sherry. Apparently Sherry had never been to Shakespeare in the Park before. It was a fairly packed house, as we all wound up sitting on the grass for the first half. Wisely, we moved under cover after intermission, so we avoided getting hit with the rain. It was coming down sufficiently hard that they temporarily stopped the play. Luckily they resumed after a short break. I find it's always better watching Shakespeare when you're at least passably familiar with the play, as you tend to miss less. Consequently, I think I got more out of this one than the last one given that I'd read it in grade 10. I saw a couple of my classmates there during intermission as well, so that was nice.

Save A Horse, Ride A Lawboy

2005-07-15T00:12:00.000-06:00

Well, last weekend was good times at the Stampede. We departed a tad later than anticipated, and for the second year in a row when Roman and I have hit Stampede, there were car problems. This time, the back window of the car wouldn't close, so we went the whole way there and back with it open. We stopped off at Glenn's in Red Deer, before arriving at Cam's around 11:00 or so. Cam had a pretty cool basement, and an awesome cable package, which included ESPN Classic Canada, the NHL Network, and Fox Sports World. Basically much of the weekend consisted of drinking beer and watching sports highlights (notably including game 7 of the 1997 Oilers-Stars series) and Family Guy episodes. Particularly enjoyable was watching the second Test between the All Blacks and the Lions from Wellington. Great match. It's perhaps a bit too early to tell, but methinks that Dan Carter's performance may prove to be the same sort of coming out party that another All Black had 10 years ago in a certain World Cup Semi-Final.

When we finally got around to hitting the Stampede, we hit the casino for a bit where we observed Roman playing roulette. I did a voiceover for a lacrosse highlight package at the Sportsnet booth, and they let me keep the tape. It was sort of tough syncronising the action on screen with the script they have for you, so there wasn't a lot of emotional expression that went into the call. We were going to meet my friend Clarissa and some of her friends in Nashville North, but the line was just too long already so instead we hit up a different beer garden. There, we proved our cool-ness by discussing whether the smoking bylaw in Edmonton would also apply to beer gardens or not (as I found out on the news after we got back, apparently it does).

After more walking around and a roller coaster ride, we headed to BP's for dinner and a team pitcher. We had initially intended to go out after, but that sort of fizzled. We did meet up with Julia there, though, and she gave us a ride back to Cam's.

The ride home was fairly uneventful, apart from the construction on the bridge by Leduc. All in all a good weekend.

So Much To Say, Here's Football

2005-07-14T00:39:00.000-06:00

Lots of stuff to talk about, but it will have to wait until I have more time. For now, it's good to have hockey back. Here's this week's football picks.

Edmonton and Winnipeg
Winnipeg may well be the worst team in the league. Couple that with the fact that the Eskimos probably should have won last week, and almost did in spite of playing rather poorly, and this should be a blowout. While I am a tad worried about facing Keith Stokes on special teams, I'm confident that those problems have since been ironed out. Edmonton will win this one, and it shouldn't be close.

Toronto and B.C.
While I'm well aware of what happened last time these teams played, I'm going to go with my previous pick here. Toronto almost beat them last time, and probably would have but for a few dropped balls. That being said, by all accounts the Argos should have lost last week. Nevertheless, I'm going to go with Toronto.

Calgary and Ottawa
After the first week, Ottawa's actually looked o.k. They beat Montreal and were reasonably close to B.C. Calgary is coming off a win, but that was against Winnipeg. I'm going to gamble and go with Ottawa for this one.

Hamilton and Saskatchewan
The third repeat match-up this week, the CFL really needs to do something about it's scheduling. With the season this young we shouldn't be seeing so many repeats already. Saskatchewan is yet another team that probably should have won last week. While not as bad as Winnipeg, Hamilton hasn't looked particularly good so far this season. Saskatchewan won last time, I don't see anything that would make the result different this time.

Hand On The Glock

2005-07-04T23:54:00.000-06:00

Jones, Roman and I decided to celebrate the 4th of July by getting our collective blast on. We all got turns on a 357, a 44 revolver, a 9 mm at the shooting gallery at the Mall. I was the first with the 9, so when the guy asked me which one I'd like to shoot I naturally opted for the Glock. I'd never actually shot a gun before, so it was quite an experience. They're quite loud. And it's kind of hard getting the bullets into the clip as well. And your hands get a little dirty after the fact. All in all, it was an interesting experience. The kick on the 44 wasn't that bad either. Next time, we'll have to go for the Desert Eagle.

Not sure how much time I'll have this week, so here are the football picks.

Winnipeg and Calgary
It really pains me to do this, but Winnipeg is really not very good this year. I anticipate Hank to make the same stupid mistakes as last week, and I think Tee Martin will be better this week. That being said, I can't see the Bombers winning this one. Calgary it is. I hope I'm wrong.

Edmonton and Montreal
Every year it's the same thing. Being a realist, I pick Montreal to win, Gary makes fun of me for lacking faith, and then to spite me the Esks win anyways. Well, not this time. Their fold job last week against the Renegades is evidence that the Als are vulnerable, and Edmonton's defence has only given up one offensive touchdown in each game. While I am a tad concerned about the injuries on the offensive line and what it means for facing the Montreal pass rush, I'm confident that I can predict an Edmonton victory.

Ottawa and B.C.
Ottawa got their miracle for the year last week. An Ottawa team hasn't beaten B.C. since they were the Rough Riders. Factor in the time zone change onto the coast, and this one should be a bit of a romp for B.C. That being said, I'm not going to predict a blowout, though I think that B.C. should still come out on top.

Saskatchewan and Toronto
You know, I was going to pick the Argos for this one. But then I just finished watching an interview with Prefontaine and I've changed my mind. This looks to me like a team in turmoil. And while the Roughriders didn't put away Hamilton as decisively as they should have last week, they've looked good in all three phases so far this year. Besides, Damon Allen is due for a bad game. Saskatchewan should win.

Let this also serve as warning to my Calgary readers that I'll be hitting up your city for Stampede this coming weekend, along with some of my classmates. Apparently Shakespeare in the Park has been moved due to flooding this year, so it can't be a complete repeat of last year, but it should be a fun weekend nonetheless.

Coast To Coast

2005-06-28T01:00:00.000-06:00

Well, as I'd feared Canada did wind up coming up short against the Yanks. They just made too many mistakes. I agree with others that the drop goal attempt at the end was rather ill-advised. Next year should be exciting, as in the Journal today they implied that the next invitation side will be South Africa. As well, the year after that they're talking about expanding it to 6 teams. Definitely something to look forward to.

On the football front, while it's still early in the week this week looks fairly easy to call:

Edmonton and Winnipeg:
Edmonton beat the Bombers quite convincingly in the second preseason game, and after what Saskatchewan did to them last week there should be more of the same. I've got a little bit of concern with Keith Stokes' impact on special teams, but the Eskimos should score enough points so it shouldn't matter. The offensive line should also be pressured, particularly with Lefsrud's injury and the Winnipeg front, but I'm still not seeing anything other than an Edmonton win.

Montreal and Ottawa:
Poor Ottawa. They had to open against Edmonton, and now they get Montreal. The only question in this game is whether Montreal can beat the total of 7 sacks that Edmonton hung on them last week. Montreal should win this one by a lot.

Toronto and Calgary:
Last year, Calgary had a solid defence. The addition of Jeremaine Copeland should also help. While everyone has talked about what a big addition Henry Burris was, I'm still not entirely sold on Hank. At any rate, Toronto's defence still looks to be quite good, and they should have the edge in special teams. As far as the offence goes, the Argo receivers need to hang onto the ball better this week than they did last week. Toronto was unlucky to lose to B.C. last week, the same thing won't happen this week. Toronto should win, but it may be close.

Saskatchewan and Hamilton:
Pretty much everything seemed to be going right for the Roughriders last week, from the opening kickoff on. I don't expect the same sort of a romp this week, but Saskatchewan is just a better team than Hamilton at this stage. Saskatchewan should win.

Wide World Of Sports

2005-06-26T02:20:00.000-06:00

I think I shall utilise this space to post football picks for the season. Obviously, I missed this week, so it will start next week. For the purpose of record calculation, I would have picked Montreal, Edmonton, Toronto and Saskatchewan.

On a related sporting note, good to see that the All Blacks kicked the Lions the other night.

Saw some classmates the past two nights. It was nice catching up with people, seeing how everyone's summer is going and what-not.

Churchill Cup Finals tommorrow. Should be fun times.

On another note, not having seen it yet, I strongly suspect that this will make me very, very angry. I shall wait until I have actually seen it before venting my spleen, but I will note in passing that just because something is intended as historical fiction doesn't give it an excuse to be bad. Additionally, sometimes people have difficulty getting the whole fiction part.

Churchill Week 1

2005-06-20T00:02:00.000-06:00

Caught some Churchill Cup action today. I was surprised by how well the Americans did against Argentina. Not sure I like Canada's chances against them next weekend. I'm expecting a few changes in the Canadian line-up before then as well. I noticed in particular that they seemed to have a lot of trouble finding touch on penalties. It would have been nice to have a bit higher turnout as well, given the nice weather. At the same time, 7,000 is still decent particularly when all the media had talked about for the past week was how these two games would be blowouts (and when the Journal preview from that morning had the wrong times for the matches). Hopefully it's a bit bigger crowd for the finals. It was rather interesting that pretty much all 7,000 people sat on the same side of the stadium (so it at least probably looked like a decent turnout on tv). I also enjoyed the Mascot 7's they had between the games.

What does have me rather choked is that the games weren't on Sportsnet this year. While I appreciate the 7's coverage they've had, the complete lack of 15 a side coverage this year is rather distressing. Particularly given that the Lion's Tour is going on, and I'm having to content myself with Planet Rugby and TVNZ's live text updates.

On the Eskimos front, I'm a little disappointed though not terribly surprised at Khari Jones' release. He didn't really impress in the game that I saw him in, and it sounded like the game in Winnipeg wasn't much better. While it was sort of an unfortunate situation that he had to play Winnipeg in both pre-season games, I can see how the Eskimos went a different direction. Quarterback is actually one of the positions that I'm not at all worried about (runningback on the other hand...). As well, I'm hoping that letting Danny Wimprine get away without getting a look at how he performed in preseason action doesn't come back to bite us, but I suppose time will tell.

Crack With An LCD

2005-05-30T23:53:00.000-06:00

Lots of Orientation stuff this weekend. On Friday it was a Presenter activity, which actually just turned into us going to the Plant and then dropping by the relay at Foote Field. We were going to watch Samuel do improv, however by the time we got to Foote we realised that we weren't going to make it to improv in time. We did get to see Samuel's PSP though. Quite impressive.

On Saturday, we had Presenter training. It sounds like all the groups have exciting ideas for their presentations, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what people put together. Afterwards, I caught a movie (yes, I saw it again). After that, I hit up Whyte with a couple of my classmates, before meeting up with Jones and Roman for some much needed Hack Talk at BP's.

Orientate That

2005-05-25T00:14:00.000-06:00

Today was the first game of Orientation soccer I was able to make it for. While we ended up losing, it was a lot of fun. It's been quite a while since I've actually played soccer, so there was a fair bit of rust. Participants included noted Engineering hack Stephen McFetridge. We both agreed that the referee looked eerily like Mustafa. It was also pretty cool to play on Fieldturf.

Q Is Our Queen, It Fills Us With Pride, To See The Queen's Coach, When The Queen Is Inside

2005-05-24T23:59:00.000-06:00

There really is nothing like seeing The Sovereign in person. Sitting out in the rain was well worth it (Ian Tyson was pretty cool too), and today was even better. However, I must say that I found it rather frustrating that the CBC commentator they had thought that the "R" in the G VI R stained glass window stood for "Regina".

Wedding Season

2005-05-23T20:50:00.000-06:00

Went to my cousin's wedding in lovely Dauphin, Manitoba. It was a long drive out (we left Edmonton at about 5:00 pm, and rolled into Dauphin around 5:00 am, Manitoba time). The lack of late-night gas stations (and gas stations in general) in Saskatchewan makes that sort of an all-night trip more difficult than it really needs to be.

The wedding was quite nice. Unfortunately the weather was similar to how it is here, so they were unable to go with the original plan of holding it outside. It wound up being held in the same hall as the reception (which is apparently the former city hall), so it was still nice. My cousin is the first one of our generation on that side of the family to get married, and it had been a while since we've had a family wedding, so all that combined to make it quite an event. It also made me feel rather old, but there isn't much that doesn't do that these days.

The amount of logistics that must go into planning and organising a wedding is just astounding. For better or worse, it's something that I'm not going to have to be worrying about for quite some time.

Always Two There Are...

2005-05-20T00:04:00.000-06:00

Yes, I have seen it, however lest it spoil the movie for any readers, I shall reserve comment for now.

The title could also refer to the fact that I seem to bump into at least two law students every weekday (I saw 4 today, as well as a former AAC). Having said all this, I suppose that it's likely I won't see any tommorrow.

Oh, and the last episode of The Apprentice (while arriving at the correct decision) wasn't particularly good. I thought last year's "ask the audience-fest" (which they thankfully avoided this year) was the low point of the series, so I would have thought that they'd avoid the studio stuff altogether (apart from maybe doing that "pull back from the final boardroom to reveal they're actually in a studio" that they did for the first season). At any rate, after the challenges the only sensible choice was to hire Kendra, and they really made it seem a lot closer than it needed to be (as I've said before, Bill didn't really turn on the jets either until near the end, so I think that entirely too much was made of Kendra's relatively late surge). At any rate, it's good to see The Donald do the right thing.

Return Of The King

2005-05-17T00:04:00.000-06:00

Much to my shock and amazement, Ricky Ray has come back. This is big for the Eskimos, who arguably have their best depth at quarterback since 1987 (Matt Dunigan, Damon Allen, Tracy Ham). It should be interesting how it all shakes out as well. The possibility of a trade is also enticing (It would probably be too much to ask for Maas to head to Toronto in exchange for John Avery, or to Calgary for John Grace, but one can always hope). I'm quite excited for this year, regardless. One could also make the case that the league as a whole has its best crop of starting quarterbacks since the beginning of the 1996 season (before Dunigan got hurt). I'm also predicting that at this stage we see a Western Crossover, as the west is just too deep this year. This certainly takes some of the sting out of losing Terry Vaughn!

Palau

2005-05-16T00:50:00.000-06:00

Survivor ended as expected. Katie never stood a chance against Tom (or, realistically, against any of the other final four). While a couple of weeks ago the prospect of an Ian-Tom show-down would also have been fairly close, Ian just kept shooting himself in the foot the past couple of episodes, really hurting his credibility to the point where he likely wouldn't have won even if Tom had taken him into the final two. Tom really dominated the game from start to finish anyways, so he's a deserving winner. He won the majority of the individual immunity challenges (which he sort of had to, given he was a physical threat), and when you look at the rest of his tribemates, I think he was a major factor in Koror never losing an immunity challenge. In the final analysis, as much as they talked before the start of the season about how different this incarnation if Survivor would be, it wasn't really that different. How they select the teams at the beginning usually always varies, so how they picked people wasn't really that much of a curveball. Immediately sending two people home was a bit different, but it was sort of a waste as well. All in all, I enjoyed the season nonetheless.

There Must Be More

2005-05-13T00:03:00.000-06:00

Well, I'm rather irate that Donald Trump saw fit to cut his episode off before the end. I really don't see how they're going to be able to take up a whole hour talking to the employees. Particularly when this was probably the most one-sided final task I've seen ( I know the editing could have made it seem more one-sided than it was, but it seemed to be pretty clear to me). Of course, I've been known to be wrong about these things.

Survivor is looking to be quite interesting as well. While he is quite good at the physical challenges, I find Ian to be rather inept at "the game" aspect of Survivor. While he didn't wind up paying for it in the end (mainly, I think, because Caryn played her hand too strongly at Tribal Council) taking Tom on the reward challenge was just inviting the rest of them to conspire against the two men (which he should have realised given how he and Tom spent their time when Gregg, Katie and Jenn were off on the reward challenge last week).

Vaughn Gone

2005-04-29T15:53:00.000-06:00

I'm less than pleased with the Terry Vaughn deal. Given that Kelly Wiltshire was signed in the offseason, it's unclear to me that William Loftus actually fills a need. Furthermore, it was Terry Vaughn! At the very least, I'm not sure why we had to send Montreal a draft pick in addition to our best receiver. If they're trying to get younger, they shouldn't have traded for Joe Montford. It's probably a salary dump, though I would think that there may have been other areas that they could have cut. A lot has been made of the fact that Vaughn only caught 2 touchdown passes last year, but he still had over 1,000 yards receiving. Mitchell caught a lot of touchdown passes, but didn't have near Vaughn's yardage, so I think it all balances out. In any event, games against Montreal just got a lot more interesting.

Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

2005-04-27T00:05:00.000-06:00

Well, apparently Johnny Wilkinson and Phil Vickery will be partaking in the Churchill Cup festivities. As if I needed any extra motivation to cheer against the Poms. Pity the Maori aren't coming this year (as given his current form we'd probably get to see Carlos Spencer too). Definitely makes for more excitement, and I anticipate that this will probably increase ticket sales as well.

Now I Can Mix The Coke

2005-04-26T19:01:00.000-06:00

Well, wrote Admin today. Done for the year. Always a great relief. One of my classmates decided to reward me with a present before the exam, as a thanks for sending my notes on to him. That was nice of him. Also, I suppose an indication that it pays to take good notes. It also occured to me that if you wanted to play headgames with your classmates, it couldn't get much better than getting drunk during the exam, while everyone else sits there with their earplugs and 13 pens (I'm not going to pretend that I also don't have way too many pens. I don't use earplugs though). Still not at the stage where I'd be ready to pull that kind of a stunt.

The Draft

2005-04-25T03:14:00.000-06:00

Well, unfortunately Stefan Lefors was drafted by Carolina, so it appears that he shan't be showing up in Edmonton (he was apparently on the negotiating list. But then, so was Michael Vick, so these things obviously always don't work out). Pity. As well, it appears Jesse Lumsden has signed with Seattle. It should be interesting to see if Calgary takes him in the draft regardless. I'd just as soon the next great Canadian running back not wind up playing for the Stampeders. I'd obviously like to see him here so he could follow in the family tradition and all, but I'll settle for anywhere that's not Calgary.

It was too bad to see Ishe go on the Contender. I thought he was one of the more interesting characters. As well, it always bothers me when "Survivor-style" strategy tactics make their way into other reality tv shows (Well, mostly. I don't mind what Rob is doing on The Amazing Race, but that's because he's Rob).

Where A Kid Can Be A Kid

2005-04-24T01:47:00.000-06:00

Well, exited my study cave this evening to take in a movie. Went to Chuck E. Cheese's with Roman, Jones and Uncharted. Fun times (though, I should have started out with the soccer game instead of the bowling game). Roman did fairly well at the bowling. Last time I was there I had a wine, but for the amount you get it really isn't worth it.

We went to see National Treasure at the Cheap Theatres. It actually wasn't half bad. I particularly enjoyed it as there were lots of scenes in Philadelphia. Though, as I pointed out at the time, I think the movie underestimated the distance between Independence Hall, Reading Terminal Market and City Hall. It was also pretty cool as it was just about a year ago exactly that I was in Philadelphia. At any rate, in terms of the actual movie, I was suprised at how many high powered actors were in it (ok, maybe just Christopher Plummer and Jon Voight).

NBA playoffs has a number of interesting match-ups. There's Larry Brown coaching against his old team, as well as the two "Michael Jordan Franchises" facing off. Interesting question as to which M.J. himself would be cheering for, given how he departed both of them (though, the Washington departure was far more acrimonious). Given that I'm all about A.I. (I wear his shoes) I'm pulling for the Sixers, however after they're inevitably eliminated I'll be cheering for the Heat. Dwayne Wade is the man, and that compensates for the fact that their mascot appears to be rather lame.

Habemus Papam

2005-04-21T00:29:00.000-06:00

Well, looks like we have a new Pope. I'm actually not Catholic, but I did go to Catholic School and I did enjoy all of the pomp and circumstance. And the Latin. Can't forget the Latin. Should be interesting how things all work out. I went to St. Benedict's elementary, so the choice in name of the new Pope is kind of cool on those grounds. I'm interested to see if he takes a major a role in international affairs as his predecessor did.

On Survivor, I think the prudent thing would have been for Tom and Ian to cut Gregg loose the other night. It's clear that there's eventually going to be a conflict between those factions of the alliance, so it would have made more sense to take out Gregg then (as apparently Tom and Ian were wary of getting rid of Stephenie, and it seemed to be Gregg and Jenn that were bent on getting rid of her).

I missed the tail end of The Apprentice, as my VCR timer wasn't working, but it was pretty clear which way it was going by that point. I think this is the weakest final 4 they've had yet. As well, it's sort of interesting that this is the first time that when it's been 3-2, the 2 has lost. I'm also looking forward to the fact that I should be done by the time the final episode airs.

I'm hoping that any election call doesn't jeopardise the Queen's visit. I'd be rather cross if we didn't get a Royal visit for the centennial basically due to the sponsorship scandal (it would mean another election however, so I suppose that there's good and bad in everything).

Mongrel

2005-04-17T00:12:00.000-06:00

Well, for those Journal readers out there, apparently the Eskimos are shopping my favourite player. Needless to say I'm rather displeased with this development. Given that by most account Vaughn had a "bad" year last year and still cracked 1,000 yards receiving, I think this is a mistake. As well, Vaughn has always had a grittiness to him that their other starting receivers don't have to the same extent. He never goes down after the first hit. At any rate, I hope that these rumours are just that and that we see Terry Vauhgn in Eskimo silks until the end of his career.

Dropped by Gary's BBQ this evening. Probably my last social outing before the end of exams. My team won at Taboo, despite being short-handed, so that's always good. I also got my Apprentice tapes back, so now I can finally ascertain how much of the final episode was taped over with Olympics coverage.

Exam schedule is looking pretty hectic, in spite of the load being eased slightly by the paper class.

Sleep Is For The Weak

2005-04-16T02:55:00.000-06:00

I'm getting too old for this.

The year has flown by, as always. Beergarden volunteering was fun. I'd never poured before, and by the end my hands were quite cold (and sore from opening cans) but I was quite impressed by the sheer amount of beer that they go through. At the same time, now that I've seen the proces that goes into bringing beer gardens beer to customers, I'm not sure I can enjoy it in the same way.

On Survivor, Coby was basically begging to get kicked off all episode, so it wasn't terribly surprising to see him go. I was a little surprised at how quickly everyone seemed to quit the challenge for the prospect of food. They'd just finished eating all that fish the night before, so it's not like they were starving. Furthermore, unlike when they usually do those endurance challenges it was later in the day, so it's not like they were dying of thirst or anything either (as is occasionally the case when Probst rolls up with his glass of water). At any rate, Tom is sort of in a position where if he loses an immunity challenge, I anticipate the vulture types to rally and vote him out that episode a-la Rupert, as he's a clear frontrunner at this point.

On The Apprentice, Chris was going to get fired sooner or later. I must say that I don't have a lot of sympathy for people that aren't able to stay up all night to do something important, so Tana, Craig and to a lesser extent Alex went down in my books. Though, Tana and Craig were able to avoid scrutiny as Kendra stepped it up. She's sort of, to use the reality tv cliche, flown under the radar thus far, however she may be peaking at the right time (in the same way that Bill did a couple of years ago).

Small Markets Writ Large

2005-04-14T01:45:00.000-06:00

So, another reason for the IOC and the IAAF to move towards a "one-country for life" rule, similar to the IRB and FIFA. Pity, I always liked Lagat too. At the same time, I suppose I don't complain when Daniel Igali is winning gold medals for Canada, so I guess it balances out.

Back On The Skoal?

2005-04-13T01:11:00.000-06:00

Well, I see Chris, of Apprentice fame, has found himself in trouble. Based on how his character comes off on the show, I don't suppose that's terribly surprising. This also means that he joins a long line of reality tv contestants that find themselves in trouble before the final episode airs (see: Hatch, Richard). I doubt that Chris will fair as well as Mr. Hatch in terms of the result on the show, however.

Sir Clive has announced the Lions side that will be touring New Zealand this summer. I'm rather distraught that it's probably not going to wind up being televised here, in light of Sportsnet not really covering rugby anymore. Jerks. Hopefully the Churchill Cup will be televised at least (though, I'm planning on attending that live, notwithstanding the fact that it will be on Sundays this year and I haven't got my tickets yet).

I'm really not feeling this "School up till Friday" thing they have happening this year. It may work out to the same time period between the end of classes and the start of exams, but it definitely feels like less time.

Yeah, But It Was Golf

2005-04-11T01:31:00.000-06:00

I was rather irate that The Contender was "joined in progress" on Global because of the Masters. Fortunately it was also on NBC. Shaping up to be an interesting second round, particularly given the Ishe-Anthony friction. That, and now when I see Ja Rule I can't help but think of Fiddy.

In other news, I'm volunteering for Beer Gardens. You should too.

Funspeakable

2005-04-10T01:42:00.000-06:00

Well, the Funspeak substitute was a lot of, for lack of a better term, fun. Big up's to the Chris' (Samuel and Bolivar) for stepping up and making it all possible. That, and Nick Tam does a pretty good impression of me.

Year is starting to wind down, which is sort of good but sort of stressful at the same time.

On the Reality TV front, I'm curious as to whether they ever are going to merge on Survivor, of if they'll just kick Stephanie off next week after she loses a one-on-one challenge. On The Apprentice, while less so this episode, it's almost like whenever Chris is in the boardroom he's trying to get fired. I also think what doomed Angie was the fact that she admitted she choked. If she'd kept fighting, Trump might have looked elsewhere. It should be interesting who they pick from Magna to come over (I'm assuming that's what's going to happen so that they can balance out the teams again).

The Pope's funeral was quite interesting. Though, I was rather irate that they dubbed over the Latin with English. The conclave coverage should also prove exciting, though it's unfortunate that I'll be writing finals at the time.

Your Brains Ever Seen The Light Of Day?

2005-03-31T01:23:00.000-07:00

Well, it appears that James will be my successor as UADS President. James has actually succeeded me in every debate related position that I've held that has required transitioning (External Director, VP West and now President). I think he'll do a good job.

With regards to The Amazing Race, I have a certain amount of sympathy for people that get lost in South Africa, as it's actually quite easy to do. In terms of the fact that Rob and Amber kept driving, I think they've sort of been painted into a position where they don't really have the luxury of being nice anymore. It's clear that they aren't extended the same leeway as other teams (witness Lynn and Alex's "No room" thing). As well, it's unclear to me that they would have gotten any positive benefit for "being nice" had they stopped. I'm not saying that it's good that they didn't stop (though, really, what were they going to do to help) however I think it's certainly understandable.