Big Hurt = Big Mistake

Frank Thomas has been released by the Toronto Blue Jays.  I, for one, am shocked and pleased that the Jays have released the Big Hurt Frank Thomas.  I’m shocked mostly because in today’s world of pro sports you don’t often see a big ticketed player cut for under performing.  I applaud the Jays for cutting bait with the Big Hurt. Quite simply (as explained to me by the First Lady of Sport) his job is to be the Designated Hitter,  if he isn’t hitting then he’s not doing his job. 

I’m sure he’ll hook on with some other squad and continue his march towards the Hall of Fame, but it was time to make a move.  The Jays can’t afford to lose any more ground in April.  They can’t wait for Thomas to get hot during the dog days of the summer when padding his stats don’t really mean anything to a team that is 10 games back in the standings.  My only worry is that the Jays will look towards making a deal with the devil himself, Barry Bonds.  These are desperate times in Toronto and I’m sure the talk shows will be fired up about this possibility.  I’m not sure that Toronto would be ready to be the final resting place for Bonds and his career. 

Mom to Mom sale…..Motherhood Playoffs Round 1

I had an experience today that was out of this world.  The First Lady and I went to a baby sale this morning called “Mom to Mom”.  In essence this sale was pretty much a yard sale for mothers to sell their old baby items to expectant mothers and recoup some cash for their troubles.  I saw the ad on Kijiji and I sent it to the First Lady and my sister (who is also expecting a child in late May).  I thought it would be a fun way to spend some time with my sister and also perhaps find some stuff for Baby Siemens at the same time. 

We arrived to the sale and there was a line-up out the door.  It was apparent that we weren’t the only people ready to bargain at Mom to Mom.  There was expectant mothers everywhere.  You could tell at first glance that they weren’t rookies at this type of sale either.  They came to the sale prepared. You could feel the daggers being thrown at you as the ladies (a term that could be used loosely when describing some of the participants at this sale) were sizing us up and down.  You could feel the intensity while we moved slowly through the line.

The sale was held at this old Christian elementary school.  One would think that the school would act as a backdrop for some good old Christian fabric and morals.  Inside was anything but that.  The hormones must of been working overtime on these  new and expectant mothers.  It was packed out.  Moms everywhere.  Strollers everywhere.  Kids in their strollers.  Kids out of their strollers.  Complete chaos.  No doubt there was some kind of fire code being destroyed.  I couldn’t handle it. 

I made my way up some of the aisles.  I was wandering around aimlessly as the gypsies asked me if I was interested in any of their goods.  Sensory overload started to overtake me.  I had to leave.  I left the First Lady and my sister to fend for themselves.  I was left hiding out by the door.  Ladies were bumping each other belly to belly to create space.  Many angry looks were exchanged. The whole episode was very reminicent of watching playoff basketball.  The ladies were trying to create space with their bellies so that they could create ample room around a table of goodies and thus sealing off another mother-to-be from a bargain.  Much like how Chris Bosh will try to seal off his defender tomorrow afternoon against the Mickeys from Orlando.  It was crazy.  

It would appear that the First Lady and I aren’t nearly tough enough for playoff motherhood just yet.  Perhaps we’ll get there one day, but these ladies were intense and playoff ready (I might of seen a couple with playoff beards…it’s true…really it is). I did manage to buy one thing for Baby Siemens.  I bought Baby Siemens a mini basketball net/baseball tee/football goal post set.  So all was not lost.  If anything Siemens will be able to use this toy to train for his/her own experience at a Mom to Mom show.

Where are they now?

As a classic college sports nut I often wonder what happened to some of the former college athletes I used to follow after their pro careers fizzle out.  If you’ve been wondering what jobs Tony Mandarich, Steve Wojciechowski, Gino Torretta, Heath Shuler, Felipe Lopez, Curtis Enis, Miles Simon, Bobby Hurley, Eric Montross, Richie Farmer, Mateen Cleaves, Tony Rice, Ryan Leaf and Jason White are holding down these days, you’ll want to take this quiz. 

To me the quiz was quite enlightening.  The last time I saw Tony Mandarich he was giving me change at Century Pines Golf Course and telling me “Hit’em straight today and please stay on the cart path”.  In any event I only scored a paltry 7 out 14 on this quiz.

http://www.mentalfloss.com/quiz/quiz.php?p=1&q=289

I found a grey hair in my beard today….what should I do?

I turned 31 today.  Thank you to all for your well wishes.  If I don’t get back to you, my press agent surely will. My class had a not-so-secret party for me today.  They were really pumped.  They brought in some junk food, some cupcakes and pop.  I think they wanted to throw me a party so they could have less work to do.  Smart kids - it worked.  We played some Rock, Paper, Scissors games and partied like it was 1999.  One poor gaffer had too many cupcakes and had to sit out due to a bad stomach.  He’s listed as day-to-day, but I’m sure he will bounce back. 

Tonight, the First Lady and I are going to get some din din and my bday will be capped off with some Jays vs. O’s.  All and all not a shabby day.  It’s funny because now that I’m a father-to-be, I’ve begun to rethink the whole birthday system.  Shouldn’t the parents of said child be celebrated and feted on the day that marks the childs birth?  The parents are the one’s that did something (insert sexy music and get your mind out of the gutter because I’m trying to keep this blog a clean site and I don’t want the regulating bodies of the blogdom to shut me down and make me go all Pump Up the Volume to reach the masses so I want to keep this as clean as I can) . The kid, in this case, me, didn’t do anything but show up.  The parents did all the work and the kid reaps the benefits.  For a sports analogy, it would be like  a running back banging the ball all the way down the field, running between the tackles, and then when it’s 1st and goal from 3-yard line, the coach sends in big bruising back for one carry and all the glory.  It’s now my belief that the parents should receive some love on the birthday.  So let me thank my folks, Rick and Julie, for bringing me into this world.   

As I’m getting older things are starting to change.  Weird things are happening to me.  For example, I’m 31 years old today and it happens to be the day that I find a grey hair in my beard.  Weird eh?  I’m beginning to feel like an elder statesman now.  I now know how the Ol’ Silver Fox, Craig Maclean, felt back in Grade Four.  Grecian formula, here I come.  Does anyone have any tips on how to apply that stuff?  Please help me. 

My interest in track and field has been rekindled

With the Olympics seemingly on their way, I thought it would be a good time to look at some track and field sports to better familiarize myself with the ins and outs, so I can be ready for the Olympic competition.  Luckily, I came across a new shining light in the world of pole vault.  Allison Stokke is a pole vaulter from the University of California.  I now know the name of two pole vaulters (which probably makes me an expert on the topic in some circles, at least the ones in which I travel).  Allison Stokke…

and Sergei Bubka…

Now that I’m armed with the knowledge of two pole vaulters I feel the question needs to be asked. STOKKE vs. BUBKA?  I think I’ll take Stokke.

Bell Centre: Is there a better place to play while you’re on top?

Watching the end of the Habs vs. the Bruins game the other night made me think that MTL is best place to play while you are riding high and on top.  The crowd was buzzing and the singing of the fans was amazing.   The players must get such a rush playing in front of such loyal patrons. I’ve been lucky enough to witness and absorb this atmosphere in person and it’s quite an amazing thing to see and feel.  You can start to feel the atmosphere outside of the building before you even get through the doors.

The fans for les habitants (obviously I’m not one of them, although I do have a deep respect for their past) are so passionate and live and breath on every moment of the game.  What a far cry from attending a game at the Bell Centre vs. the Air Canada Centre.  I don’t doubt for a minute that the true Leaf fan matches a Habs fan with their passion and boisterous ways, but apparently this type of Leaf fan is persona non grata at the ACC.  The suits that occupy the platinums at the ACC barely move a pinky when something happens during the game (although this year it would be tough to blame them due to the stinky nature of the Leaf season). 

I hate to admit it but I’ll be cheering for the Habs tonight just to see the crowd go nuts.  It’s that cool of an image to see.

Hello Head Office…..we are fed up and we don’t want to work

The Office is back.  Thank god.  Thursday’s episode was perhaps the funniest of all time.  If you haven’t seen it please find it and check it out.  Guaranteed laughter will ensue.  Check out the EW link below the pic to check out their review.

http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20190749,00.html

 

The Masters is here……Where’s my jacket?

 

Nothing gets the golf blood pumping like the opening round of The Masters.  The first major of the year is always a must watch for me and the First Lady.  I’m anticipating Tiger being in the hunt all weekend long, so that he has a chance at the Slam this year.  I’m excited to see what The Masters looks like on our new HDTV.  I was lucky enough to see Tiger’s Nike roll on my father- in-law’s tele, but this year, Claire and I will be at home wearing our green jackets and watching the final round at home. 

Unfortunately, I couldn’t watch the coverage of The Masters until I came home from school today, but, fortunately, I logged onto The Masters homepage and had a few opps to go and catch up with the movers and shakers throughout the first round.  Ain’t technology great?

Now that the NCAA is over please check out this bracket

http://www.armchairgm.com/Article:2008_Hottest_Sports_Wife_Tournament_-_Second_Round_Voting

For those who need to get their bracket fixes please click on the above link.  Where else would find a guy like Cale Hulse relevant? I wonder if “ONE SHINING MOMENT” will be played for the winner? Do you think Billy Packer and Jim Nantz get to wax poetic about the “INTANGIBLES” each contestant brings to the court? Regardless, I think Tiger’s wife wins hands down. 

Happiness is here again

Ah the joy of life.  Tonight, happiness is here again.  No, I didn’t win the lottery.  My wonderful mood isn’t because the NHL playoffs have started without the stumbling and bumbling Maple Leafs.  My euphoric state obviously isn’t because of Jeremy Accardo’s performance on the mound tonight.  I can say that happiness is here again because today, when I arrived at my humble abode, my wonderful wife alerted me to a package that had been delivered.  Our new lap top had arrived. 

It’s been a trying time over the last month and half for the folks at the Villa del Arsenault.  A nasty computer virus zapped us from the wonders of the Internet.  It won’t be until this weekend when we finally find out if our original computer is salvageable (Thanks to Dr. Mathieu Whelan for the house call). Thankfully the public library didn’t seem to mind housing me and this blog for that time.  It must be also be noted that my brother-in-law, Andrew Baillie, did his best to keep me a float by lending me his computer at times. But it would appear my days of sharing the information highway with the teens of Burlington are over.  Thank you Dell.  Thank you.