The SBP Archives - Your less than frequent dose of SBP!

The highlight for me after watching Quantum of Solace last week wasn't anything particular in the movie itself (it was an average action picture, I liked Casino Royale a lot more) but the trailer in front of it for the next Star Trek movie coming out in May next year! I didn't really watch the TV series all that much but I'd always give the films a day in court. The last few Star Trek movies weren't all that memorable, so Hollywood has wisely decided to go for the reboot by potraying Kirk and Spock at a young age. Combined with a new vision for the series, hopefully the end result will produce a good picture.

I think the NHL should involve the fans as much as possible with the growth and promotion of the league. One of the ways it has done so is to have the fans vote for their favourite players in the annual All-Star game. I won't ask whether or not it's an exciting game or what should be done to make the players actually play a little physical during the contest, but I do think the idea to have one makes sense.

I'm surprised it's taken this long to have online fan voting cause a few people to raise their eyebrows and maybe say to themselves, "We might have to fix this." I wasn't one of those that raised their eyebrows though; instead, I rolled my eyes. The leading vote-getters in every position for the Eastern Conference are all Montreal Canadiens: According to the voting by the fans, who can vote an unlimited amount of times, the best team you can dress in the east right now are: Carey Price in goal, Andrei Markov & Mike Komisarek on defence, while Alex Tanguay, Saku Koivu and Alexei Kovalev are your forwards.

By the way, I'm also playing backup in case Price goes down.

No problem Habs fans, the All-Star game is being held in Montreal this year so perhaps you can feel justified in stuffing the ballot box with 200 votes from each email address you own for for three forwards who aren't even in the top FIFTY in scoring. Here's my Eastern team I'm suiting up:

Forwards: Alexander Ovechkin - Sidney Crosby - Evgeni Malkin
Defence: Zdeno Chara - Mike Green
Goalie: Henrik Lundqvist (Brodeur is injured at the moment so Henrik gets the call)

I don't think it takes a brain surgeon to figure that team out; I could probably even ice a 2nd team that I'd put up against those voted-in Habs that would be better.

But what do I know?

I'm a member of a union. I'm someone who thinks a union has its place to ensure fair wages, decent hours, safe workplaces, etc, as there have been too many examples of employers taking advantage of the system and doing the bare minimum with little regard for the people they hire.

Sometimes a union has to strike if they feel their employer has treated them unfairly or if they have to fight to obtain certain rights or concessions. But what I cannot stand, is when a union takes it too far, and affects those who have nothing to do with the issues at hand.

I've read an article today where CUPE is planning a strike on December 23rd for its OC Transpo employees it represents, upset at potential 2-year wage freezes and job cuts.

Sure, you're upset about that...I'd be upset about that. But why are you striking on December 23rd, right before the Christmas holidays?

Why do these unions think this will get the public on their side? If anything, this will make the public side with the city. There's a looming recession and tax hikes are already on the table, so the mindset is everyone will need to do their part to get through this. Why does OC Transpo think they're insulated from this?

If CUPE was smart, they should have stated a strike wouldn't happen until after New Year's. They could issue a press release declaring they could strike on the 23rd, but being sensitive to the needs of the citizens of Ottawa, they will continue with their service and allow their patrons to better prepare for ways to commute after the holidays are finished. If you're going to ruin the way I get to work, fine, but my Christmas Holidays come once a year, don't ruin it for me by being selfish and insensitive to the riders on your bus.

But what do I know?

Things are starting to turn around in Ottawa...slowly. The Sens played two of the better teams in the East in the last week, getting 4 out of a possible 6 points. Perhaps I'm biased, but I thought they outplayed their opposition in each of their last three contests and probably deserved to get a W for each game. But when you're snake bitten for an extended period of time, it seems even the nights you deserve the win it doesn't happen, either a blown call from a ref or an opposing goalie who decides he's going to be Patrick Roy for the evening. The whole idea though is to stick with the plan and the results will take care of itself, and Saturday's win demonstrated that. Hopefully this will be the turnaround they've been looking for and they'll work their way into playoff contention.

In any case, it's no secret GM Bryan Murray has been looking for a a top four defenceman to round out his group of six, and with the Florida Panthers in the basement of the NHL, there are rumours abound they will move stud d-man Jay Bouwmeester at some point, as he doesn't want to play for a team that hasn't seen the playoffs in what seems like forever and the Panthers don't want to lose him for nothing as he'll be a free agent at the end of the season. So can Murray swing a deal? It all depends on asking price. I think Ottawa could put together a good package: maybe the first round pick they got in the Meszaros deal, Jacques Martin's favourite Antoine Vermette and a prospect like Brian Lee. This deal would only make sense if they could immediately sign Bouwmeester to an extension, but that would be a given if the Sens gave up that much.

It's not like this guy is a well kept secret in the NHL. He plays big minutes, is one of the fastest defencemen in the league combined and plays a solid physical game so I can't hold my breath over this. But to see him don a Sens uniform, yes, even the one that just says "SENS" on it, would be a dream come true for Senators fans.

Mohawks





I thought they died a terrible, terrible death back in the late 80s/early 90s, but I've noticed a resurgence in the last six months or so. Whereas before the sides of the head were completely shaved off, now it seems the style is to leave hair there. Really, it doesn't matter either way: They look terrible! Now give me Johnny Unitas...there's a haircut you can set your watch to!

There aren't too many films I'm clamoring to see this Christmas, but I definitely want to see how The Wrestler turns out after so many critics have praised the film (highlighting Mickey Rourke's performance as a broken down performer) and winning the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival. Initially, the picture was thought to only have a shot for Best Actor at the next Oscars for Rourke but the initial buzz has been so strong, a Best Picture nomination might even be a possibility. With a soft Bruce Springsteen tune over trailer just released this week, this picture looks to be very, very good. I have a feeling it might be one of those movies, even if you hate the subject matter, you'll look past that to see something with a lot of heart. It won't be out for over a month, but I can't wait for it to hit theaters.

A little SBP contest. If you can correctly guess who the person in the image above, you win, um, 100 points! :-) Anyway, it was shocking to see how old this guy looked. The last time I had seen him was just six years ago and he looked to be in great shape, but now he's aged so much since. Crazy. Anyway, leave your guesses in the comments section, and I'll respond when someone gets it.

I actually like the stripe design on the sleeves and underarms, but I don't know: the "Sens" part on the front...that's just a nickname for the team! Could you imagine if they wrote "Habs" on the front of Montreal's jersey for instance? I think the barber pole old school "O" would have been a lot better choice. But hey, maybe it'll grow on me. The players will wear this jersey for the first time against the Rangers on Saturday.

Two suspensions were handed out last week for players deliberating attempting to injure their opponent by "finishing their check" and making hard, deliberate contact to the head. Using the elbow to bodycheck is illegal, but players still do it. I should also point out a lot of these head injuries that lead to concussions or worse are shoulder checks that are well within the rules, and don't merit any penalty so long as no one was jumping or charging the player.

Newspapers and the league bring up the subject on whether heads shots should be banned from the NHL as soon as more than the usual number of players have to be helped off the ice. The OHL has adapted the rule barring head shots and other leagues may follow suit. Will the NHL do so?

I can understand both arguments. We don't want to see the physicality taken away from the game, as a good solid check adds intensity and excitement to it. On the other hand, there are many times a player will go after another even though the play is long gone from the area of the rink, in deliberate attempt to hurt the other player. No one should be shocked that when a guy is going in at 100 mph with his elbow raised, that the end result is a guy being taken out on a stretcher. And I certainly do want to see star players like Sydney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin being forced to stay on the sidelines.

Whether or not you in favour of barring heads shot in the league, the NHL and their players' union need to find a solution together. I was thrown aback with this comment from Bill Guerin on this issue, "I heard somebody say the other night they're looking for the (NHLPA) to step in. Well, the (union) won't step in. They're not going to suspend players. They're not going to jump in and take money out of guys pockets. It's up to the league to step in and start handing out the stiffer penalties."

Hey Bill, how about stepping in to protect your members from injury? How about making sure your members aren't sucking their meals through a straw for the rest of their lives? How about making the players who have no respect for the well-being of others obsolete: you can have gritty, physical players who don't take things too far, but unfortunately for every few of those, a Chris Simon can be found within the ranks.

A union should not just be about dollars and cents. It's also about the health of their players, and I hope the NHLPA big-wigs realize this when they decide how they want to proceed with the NHL on this issue.

It doesn't seem right that a guy with a 3-1 record in mixed martial arts competition is now the heavyweight champion, but Brock Lesnar hardly took the "normal" route to get to where he is today.

It wasn't so long ago that Lesnar was the newest WWE sensation, winning the world title at the young age of 25 by beating "Do you smell what I'm cooking?" The Rock back in 2002 before Rocky headed off to Hollywood. The sky was the limit for this guy, but as time wore on he decided being a full-time pro wrestler wasn't enough. He quit the WWE in 2004 in attempts to join the NFL; he had played football in high school, but opted to pursue amateur wrestling while going to college. It was a smart move at the time: He was an NCAA champion and finished with an impressive 106-5 record. Vince McMahon came a callin' pretty quick, and Lesnar quickly signed on.

But I admire his competitive desire. Making the Minnesota Vikings roster would be an extremely difficult task, highlighted by the fact he hadn't played football in years, but he still gave it a shot. He was offered a spot on Minnesota's NFL Europe team, but he decided it would be too long a time to be away from family. He could have easily come back on his hands and knees and asked Vince for his old job back, but he didn't. He did wrestle the odd independent show in Japan, but he wanted to cause a bigger stir by entering the world of MMA.

There were a lot of doubts about how a "fake" wrestler would fare, but many forgot his legitimate NCAA wrestling background, not to mention his 260 pound frame (cutting back 30 pounds as per UFC rules) and the fact he is so agile for a big man. He lost his first UFC fight to former champ Frank Mir, his inexperience exposed but his raw ability showed the world he was no joke. Two fights later, the biggest card in UFC history fighting legend Randy Couture in the main event and beating him in two rounds by TKO. The championship belt is now firmly around his waist.

It will take a few more fights to realistically know where Lesnar stands amongst the best of the UFC, but his desire to be the best is something we can all admire. He could have very easily stayed in the WWE: fame and fortune were already his, and he would be one of the few wrestlers who didn't have to worry about a random firing. Even when he tried out for the Vikings and didn't make it, he still sought other goals. He had a fire in him to accomplish more: I respect that, and I admire Brock now more than I did before. The world is in the palm of his hands, and I can't wait to see how his future unfolds.

A lot of people have different ways of dealing with an upsetting event. Some need to go for a quiet walk alone, others need to call up a close friend or family member to vent, some need a good cry to get it all out of their system to feel better. But to ease the pain for something that really isn't all that life altering (in retrospect) but still hurts, I eat.

April 2004. Sens vs Leafs, game 7 in Toronto. Ottawa is riding the momentum of winning game 6 in OT just two days before. But it wasn't meant to be, Lalime shockingly let in some weak goals and by the end of the 1st period it was pretty much done.

I was pretty excited about this game, but when Lalime was pulled from goal, I remembered I didn't have dinner. So I hopped in my Jeep, headed to McDonald's (yeah I know, terrible) and placed my order.

"Give me a double quarter pounder with cheese, extra-large fries and large chocolate milkshake". Oh yeah, I was going to eat my sorrows away. The kid taking my order, probably fifteen years old, saw my Sens jersey and was excited. "My boss won't let us turn on the radio! What's the score? What's the score?"

"3-0. Leafs."

"Oh." He slumped his shoulders and slowly made his way to the deep fryer. He was hurting, much like I, but there's not much you can do about it. We had no control over the outcome.

Those ten minutes it took to down all that food provided temporary pain relief like an aspirin, but I still forced myself to watch the rest of the game as the Leafs took it down 4-1.

I felt disgusted after eating that huge McDonald's meal some time later, but hey, for those ten minutes, it made me forget the hurt.

As I look over past blog entries, it's become evident that I haven't written a lot about my Sens nearly as much as I used to. Right now, it's hard to do so. Some might find it easy to write about them because they enjoy pointing out everything that is going wrong with the team and go on about what players needed to be traded of town to either start from scratch or save the season depending on how bad you think the Senators are. Myself, I don't take much pleasure in that.

There are simply too many players that I like that I don't want to see go. I like Alfie, Heatley, Spezza, Phillips, Volchenkov, Neil, Fisher...even if they're stinking it up. These guys have been around for a long time, I identify them with not just a sports franchise but the city I live in. But I wonder how many other fans feel the same way I do. I used to read message boards and visit rumour sites quite a bit and read what was going on in the mind of the internet smarks out there, but it's much too negative for my liking right now, so I stopped going. BTW, my personal favourite is when they take a player like Spezza, throw him under the bus for being a horrible player, then propose trading him for someone like Roberto Luongo or Eric Staal, in a way admitting he's in a category with the elite of the NHL.

So tonight, the Sens crashed and burned with a 3-1 loss to the worst team in the league, the lowly New York Islanders. The Isles had their THIRD string goalie in net and three of their regular d-men were missing. They almost seemed like they wanted to hand the game to Ottawa by taking stupid penalties one after the other in the final period, towards the end being assesed a five minute major for elbowing followed shortly by a slash giving a two-man advantage. And they still couldn't score. Boo-urns.

The loss wouldn't sting so much if they hadn't gotten spanked the night before 4-0 by the Habs. Luckily the NIN concert was the same night so I didn't have to subject myself to that debacle as well, but these losses are piling up and there is something seriously wrong with the team.

I have no answers on how to fix it right now, but if they do keep on losing, major changes are coming, whether I like them or not.

Last night Nine Inch Nails' Lights in the Sky tour stopped in Ottawa and it was a fantastic show. Unfortunately, the turnout wasn't as high as it's been in other venues: just under 4,000 people were in attendance. But it didn't seem to matter, as lead singer Trent Reznor energetically led a 2 hour show that combined great sound with fantastic visuals. One of the best uses of the special effects on hand may be hard to explain in writing, but picture a light "curtain", sort of like the sliding screen door that leads to your patio, encircling the stage and the band members. The flashing lights, pictures, illusions of water, and sand illuminating all in bright bold colours by this screen, really added to the concert. Even tracks of off the recent Ghosts I-IV, which is strictly instrumental and not something I would tune into voluntarily, were passable with the light show that accompanied the performance.

The selection of songs spanned all of their albums and was a good mix that got the crowd going, but just two minor complaints: First, they didn't play my favourite song, The Perfect Drug. Second, the encore was rather tame. Maybe I'm a tad predictable, but I prefer encores with high-tempo music that has you leave the show on more of a high. A minor quibble though, to a really great show.

The Memorial Plaque, later nicknamed the "Dead Man's Penny", was given to families to commemorate the loss of a loved one who died while fighting in World War I. Approximately 1,150,000 of these plaques were issued, an even more startling number when you consider these plaques were issued for the side that won. This particular plaque was issued to reflect the loss of my Great Uncle, James Patrick Madden, who was in his early twenties when he was killed on August 25, 1916.

Not one of these plaques mentions the rank of the deceased, the reason being they wanted to demonstrate the equality of each person's sacrifice.

The world did not anticipate the huge number of lives that were lost, so the British Government felt it had to do something to demonstrate their awareness of the sacrifice the troops and their families made during that horrendous time. Some families actually returned these plaques as they found them insulting; a medallion made of bronze could not replace the loss of a loved one.

How do you show gratitude for the death of a young solider, someone who paid the ultimate sacrifice for their country? I think not doing anything would have been much worse. On Remembrance Day, we say "Lest we Forget". There are many ways to remember those who have died before us in battle, and one of them, is the Dead Man's Penny.

The last couple of weeks have been pretty straining for me at times trying to figure out what to post on my blog. It sort of trickled down to my writing project I've told you about, that unfortunately, had to come to an end.

In some ways, it's rather amusing. My story that I was writing with my friend Nino involved the idea of humans creating a "clone" of themselves to serve them and to avoid the struggles of hard labour; almost like creating a race of slaves. I won't go into specifics as to how this story was to progress, but my brother Peter lent me the pilot episode of Battlestar Galactica and, horror of horrors, the first 15 minutes pretty much outlined the entire story I wanted to write about. Never before had I seen this TV series, and I sort of wish I had prior to this year. And what's even more amusing, is that despite the fact that Battlestar Galactica has won numerous awards and critical acclaim, I couldn't watch it. Not because the thoughts running through my brain were, "Damn, my idea!" but simply because I didn't like what I was watching. Currently I have no idea where this series goes, and really I have no interest in finding out.

Anyway, perhaps there's a way to tweak my story so it's not ripping off Battlestar Galactica, but that's more thinking than I can do right now. But writer's block is something that a lot of times I've wrestled with since starting up my blog.

Guess it's just a part of the process.

I own three jerseys with this logo on it. In 1998, 2002 and 2004, the fun of seeing Canada compete at the Olympics and World Cup with the best players from the NHL was just pure fun (interestingly enough, when I didn't get a jersey in 2006, they had their worst showing ever). There was always a lot of debate on who should go on the back of the jersey.

I'm not going to pretend I know exactly what is going on with the Olympic committee's decision to enforce a rule it had no problems with for the last few Olympics: Sports federations are not allowed to display their logos on team uniforms at the Olympics.

It seems rather petty, but perhaps, it's appropriate. There is a lot of talk that this will be the last time the NHL will allow its players to compete on that international stage. Injuries, disruptions of schedules, the fact that team owners don't get a cent of the profits: the only international competition they would endorse is the World Cup of Hockey. The reason simply being the NHL and its players control all revenues and TV coverage, and there really isn't much in it for them money-wise to send their players off to the Olympics.

Regardless of whether 2010 is the last Olympics NHLers participate in, remember this great logo will appear elsewhere: The World Juniors, World Championships, and even the aforementioned World Cup. It's still something young Canadians can aspire to wear as they dream one day of playing for their country.

There were two victories last night. Not just Barack Obama's historic election win, but also my Sens coming through in OT with a victory over the Capitals. A lot was made of Mike Fisher's overtime goal and earlier assist that finally snapped him out of his scoring slump since the start of the season (say that five times fast), but I also have to hand it to Alex Auld, the new starter for the Sens.

Entering this season, everyone was wondering if Gerber can maintain his solid play he demonstrated during last year's playoffs, but after letting in too many softies and getting an "injury" he was put aside. Enter Alex Auld. This journeyman goalie did post decent numbers for the Bruins last season, but as I've said before, why has his previous NHL teams not try to keep him? I'm still somewhat nervous about this guy, and this feeling may continue all year. But he's been doing something pretty well lately, and that's win some games.

Last night he made some excellent stops against the two Alexanders, Semin & Ovechkin, two of the best in the NHL. He looked calm; confident. Can this last all season?

Another thing that impresses me is that the goals that have managed to have gone through, most have come on the opposing team's powerplay. If it takes a man-advantage for the other team to have even a chance at scoring, this bodes very well for the Senators.

It doesn't look like Martin Gerber will get the #1 post again anytime soon. It's now Auld's job to lose, and if he can just keep up the good work he's doing, maybe the Sens season won't be in shambles as many have predicted.

We did it!

- The whole world will hold its breath tomorrow as the fate of the world (Yes, world. The Americans have too much influence and that's why this entire planet will be watching with their fingers crossed) will be decided upon for the next four years. Senator Obama does NOT have this in the bag. He has the lead according to research polls, but the difference is marginal enough that a comeback by McCain is definitely possible. If you have any American friends, family, whatever...get in touch with them and tell them to VOTE OBAMA!

- I saw W. Friday night and thought it was decent but nothing that's off the charts or anything. Josh Brolin did a really good job as Bush Jr, and I also liked Richard Dreyfuss and James Cromwell portraying Dick Cheney and Bush Sr. I'm not sure who played Condolezza Rice and General Powell, but they looked like the came off a Saturday Night Live set and weren't very polished: Rice actually sounded a lot like a martian. Nixon portrayed the agony of a President wishing to be as loved as JFK but never realizing he could never achieve those heights. W. had the Jr. vs Sr. conflict with Jr. trying to prove to his Dad he can be somebody. Not a bad angle to take, but it wasn't as interesting.

- I enjoy reading today's Ottawa Sun with the news the Sens are still pursuing Mats Sundin. The chances he'll sign here are slim, but still, I love the fact the Sens have an owner willing to eat salary by sending Martin Gerber to the minors (this is the only way I could figure they can make the cap space for Mats) to try to have another Cup run.

- I read a very interesting article about a boxer by the name of Peter Buckley who fought in his 300th fight Halloween night and called it a career. What makes his story interesting is his incredible losing record: 31-256-12. But he didn't care, he just loved boxing and wanted to make it last as long as he could. He left on a high note, winning his 32nd and final fight. The Super Featherweight hopes to remaining in boxing in some other capacity. I have to admire his heart.

- Tonight was my first indoor Ultimate game and my first round of exercise in just over two months. I'll just say this: yikes. Well, I didn't start off too bad, but the gas was running out of the tank much faster than I would have liked. On the upside, looks like we have a good team this year (just like last season) and we started off with a 25-18 victory. Woo-hoo!

These last few weekends I've stuffed my face with a fair amount of garbage. Well, not necessarily garbage, but a lot of rich, high-fat, high-sugar stuff that my doctor would cringe at if it was a regular occurrence. My body had no time for rest with Thanksgiving, my Buffalo trip and then this, uh, weekend. Well actually my weekend wasn't too bad, but with Halloween treats all over the office and at everyone's home, it can be hard to stop myself from having a few. Then last night while playing cards with work colleagues: the inevitable pizza order. No one suggested fruit and vegetables!

Anyway, I was thinking back to what was probably the WORST thing I ate this past month, and it was really easy to pick Wendy's baconator, the first time I've ever ordered this burger. Two 1/4 pound patties of beef, two slices of cheese, mayonnaise and of course, the reason why they call it the baconator, six slices of bacon to top it off. To make up for this cholesterol disaster, I ordered a Coke Zero to go with it. It's all about sacrifice.

So the calorie count on this puppy amounts to 840 calories, with 51 grams of fat and 23 grams of saturated fat (115% of your daily recommended intake). It also has 2.5 grams of trans fat, which I thought was banned by now, and also contains nearly 80% of your daily salt intake. On the upside though, it has 56 grams of protein!

This sandwich is unfortunately very very delicious. But, it is definitely something that should either not be consumed at all or at the most, only on a special occasion. Unfortunately there are lots of people who consider getting up in the morning a grandiose event, so they'll make a daily visit.

If I ever recommend heading to Wendy's while in my company, please stop me. Remind me that Fridays aren't that special and they occur 52 times a year.