Happy Hump Day

Mid-week...and it's a good day. It's a beautiful warm sunny day outside in Ottawa and though I'm stuck inside at a course, at least I can look out the window. And it was nice to be outside this morning. The other reason it's a good day, volleyball tonight. It's playoff time in the Statscan league and we are looking to win the whole B division. It should be an easy game tonight but I'm sure it'll be fun. Tomorrow I'm subbing for the same competitive team I subbed for last week. Hopefully my legs hold up a little better this week. Well, break's over so it's time to get back to the wonderful world of SAS *yuck*.

Saturday night hockey update

Well, two periods in the book for the Habs and Leafs and Sens and Flyers. Also, the University of Alberta Golden Bears are on their way to defend their title tomorrow as they dominate the McGill Redmen 5-1. GO BEARS GO! I can't wait until tomorrow's final. I wish I was still in Edmonton to be there for it. I'm sure there will be some partying done tonight...and hopefully tomorrow.

As for the NHL games, the Sens came out really flat and were lit up for 4 goals pretty quick. With the help of former Oiler goaltender Mike Morrison who relieved Ray Emery, the Sens are on the march to get back in the game, scoring in the second (almost two goals but I won't get into that). The Habs let Toronto get the first goal of the game in the other important Eastern matchup but came back to buildup a 5-1 lead going into the third. This could be the knockout punch that pushes the Leafs out of the playoff picture (hopefully). Maybe the sports news networks can focus on teams that still have a hope of making/going far in the playoffs rather than the practically done Leafs.

Well, back to the game...I love Saturday nights!

Hockey Hockey Hockey Hockey

It's that time of the week again. And tonight is an even more special night because the U of A is playing in the national semi-final as well as a major night for 5 of the 6 Canadian NHL teams. So as the games start I'm going to park my butt and cook up some mozza sticks.

Go Bears Go!
Go Oilers Go!
Go Sens Go!
Go Habs Go!

(in that order...aproximately)

Legs of Jelly

Boy it feels good to play competitive volleyball again! Not that the Statscan league isn't good, it's challenging in its own way and is a whole lot of fun but the team I subbed for tonight, wow. It's the competitive division of OSSC (Ottawa wide sports and rec organization) and we played one of the top teams (the team I played on is a basement dweller in the division but still pretty good). It was fast, hard hitting and I played pretty good for someone who hasn't played at that level for a couple years. And of course since I can jump (somewhat less than what I used to be able to do but still better than most) I was stuck playing middle, a position my short stature is not built for. But I had some huge blocks on some 6'2" guys and a couple of major kills. Plus I played some pretty good defense and dug up some huge hits (some luck was involved in this). Anyway, my legs are killing me and we only played 3 games but they were intense and I loved it.

That all being said, I'm headed for bed. At least tomorrow is Friday.

Hockey Night in Canada

Well, it's Saturday night and guess where I am...parked squarely in front of the glowing box as are many Canadians on every Saturday night. I do have one major issue with the sports broadcasting in Canada (more specifically in Ontario) and that would be the intense focus on Toronto. Not that this is a whole lot different than a lot of other news coverage or anything in Canada but for sports it just annoys me that much more. Every set of sports highlights starts and ends with something to do with the Maple Leafs, or the Raptors, or the Jays. Even when the Leafs aren't playing that night or didn't have a game the night before, the geniuses at Sportsnet and TSN still find some little bit pertaining to the Leafs to show and waste our time. CBC is even worse. Did you know that Toronto plays every Saturday of the season and is always the the early game on Hockey Night in Canada this season? That's just rediculous. At least tonight I don't have to put up with the lame Leafs thanks to my timeshifting cable package and coverage of the Montreal game (which is turning out to be a great game by the way). At least soon we won't have to hear as much about the Leafs because the playoffs are coming and I don't think Toronto is going to make it...yay!

Speaking of the playoffs...I think the Oilers could go deep this year...seriously for real this time. I was hesitant at first but Roloson has found his place in Edmonton now and it looks like he's starting to settle and play like the #1 goalie we were looking for. And Samsonov...what a great pick up. 4 points already with the oil drop on his chest and I think the good times will only get better. We'll see how the Oilers do tonight against Detroit but I'm definitely looking forward to the game. Well, I'd better make some supper before Don Cherry comes on so it's ready for the second period of the Habs game.

GO OILERS GO!!

Video Clip

I just had a friend send me this link to a really cool video clip. Take a look, especially if you like the Simpsons.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=49IDp76kjPw

And yes...for those that are wondering, I am going to post again soon. Right now I'm just a little hungry and would like to eat first.

I'm a procrastinator

Yeah, yeah, it's been a few weeks since I posted. And despite my best efforts to start a post, I always end up saving the draft of it and putting it aside to finish it later. Well it's later, and I don't feel like finishing those posts. Some about the olympics, others about the NHL trade deadline (about to hit in 15 min by the way which is why I'm on the net right now at work), others about random thoughts.

Here's a summary of the olympics first:

Canada did extremely well. Despite the many 4th place finishes that could have been medals had the athletes had that extra little push or training (I blame some of this on lack of amature athlete funding) we still managed to finish with the best medal total at an olympics ever (for Canada). This is also in spite of the men's hockey team not medalling (don't get me started, it still is a sore spot with me). Much of this total comes from Cindy Klaussen. Amazing athlete and my vote for Canadian athlete of the year...not to mention athlete of the games. Ok, so there's my olympic wrap minus the rant that I have let defuse.

Summary of the NHL and the trade deadline:

As I write this post the last few trades will trickle in so pardon me if I interrupt myself with an update. So far there hasn't been any really huge trades with the possible exception of Theodore for Aebischer. It's still been incredibly exciting for me and I love watching the rumor sites and message board discussions over possible trades. Next will come the analysis of what happened (or didn't happen) and that part is almost as fun. As for my Oilers...we lost possibly our best goalie (Morrison) to Ottawa on waivers but gained an even better one in Roloson coming back in a trade with Minnisota. I was a little unsure of Rollie the Goalie at first but I think it'll prove to be a good trade. Hopefully he's the answer to the goaltending problems in Edmonton and the Oilers go deep in the playoffs (or all the way to the cup if we're lucky). I'll probably end up writing more about hockey in the next couple days but again, we'll see.

Summary of my life right now in general:

Good. Not super fantabulous or anything but everything is going well. I've been getting some exercise playing badminton and volleyball, I'm still enjoying pool (and am back to helping run the league), and am getting more and more comfortable in my new place. I still need a couch and TV though. The one snag that has hit is that I need a smaller couch or at least a couch that can fit through my smaller front door. This could be a problem but one that I'm going to have to work around. Work is going well and I'm starting to get a lot of stuff to do. Not all of it is glamorous and exciting (to some of you my job is never that) but it's a living and I enjoy the people I work with and most of what I do.

Anyway, that's the update as it stands right now. Hopefully I'll write again soon.