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

I've talked about my love of chocolate, chocolate milk, cheese...but have I mentioned a constant staple in my diet: bread?

Bread is actually pretty bland for the most part when you stop and think about it (or taste for that matter). It mostly serves as merely a holding cell for a delicious sandwich. Nothing like a toasted ham sandwich with melted cheese, for instance, with a touch of BBQ sauce on top. Warm bread fresh from the bakery is something nice, too: the scent sometimes better than the flavour of the bread itself. It doesn't have to come in the form of a loaf either: a roll or croissant types can be yummy, too.

Yup, SBP likes his bread, his sandwiches...couldn't imagine a diet without it!

- I hope you participated in Earth Hour like I did today. The lights were out, my netbook streaming the Senators - Thrashers contest from its battery. For some, that scene might be considered poetic as the Senators lights were put out and with it their playoff aspirations for this season.

- Speaking of being environmentally sound, when I went grocery shopping the other day, every person in my checkout line was using a re-usable grocery bag for their items, including yours truly. Very impressed. (Doesn't take much to make me impressed, huh?)

- The city of Ottawa must have been put in a time traveling machine, as I read Ray Emery got pulled over for going more than 50 km/h over the speed limit and had his white Hummer impounded. I'm all for anyone getting a 2nd chance, but this guy has had more than his fair share and I'm sure I am in the majority who feels his act is getting old. Why does he insist on tarnishing his reputation further, as he tries to make a return to the NHL? Doesn't he realize these stunts will NOT help his cause?

- With a 93 point lead over my nearest rival, it looks like one positive that will come out of this NHL season is that I will finally win my first Stubie's Cup after about five years of paying for the chicken. Now the chicken gets paid for ME, the way it should be. Yummy!

Lousy recording job, but good nostalgia!

Only 7 points back and 10 games remaining on Sunday, even the most pessimistic of Sens fans might have paused just briefly and thought to themselves, "What if...?"

Seriously, going 9-1 in their last ten games is no small accomplishment: That shows you're a tough team to play against. They'll be some that say they were just playing "loosey goosey" since the season was pretty much over and there was no pressure on them anymore. But it's amazing what happens when you get 1) a goalie than can actually make an occasional save and 2) a second line that can put the puck in that net once in a while.

These two things were missing for most of the year, and it unfortunately took too long to implement the changes needed to get the roster the Sens have today. So with only 9 games left, the Sens pretty much have to get all 18 available points and hope the teams ahead of them falter to get that 8th playoff spot in the east. It's not looking too good: Last night they lost to the Hurricanes which, if they had any leeway, was their only loss they could afford.

But that's okay. I'm just interested in seeing some competitive hockey games and some pride towards the final stretch of the season. There are some good reasons to be excited for next year, and hopefully the strong effort and character displayed since new coach Cory Clouston was hired isn't just a blip and will continue on to the 2009-10 season.

Is it my "old" age, or just my character...or just a bad day?

- I don't get why they're doing all these tributes to 67's coach Brian Kilrea right now. His team is still in the playoffs, thus he's still coaching!

- Extremely happy that the word out of the NFL is they want the 2006 Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts & Peyton Manning to play the Buffalo Bills @ the Rogers Centre. Last year's Miami Dolphins selection was weak in my opinion, and having the Colts this year will put, to quote someone not so famous, butts in seats. My tickets I'm trying to get rid of should not be a hard sell.

- Got my new driver's licence in the mail yesterday, and boy, do they zoom in on your noggin real good. My head looks frickin' huge on it!

- Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun wrote a good article today about surcharges and ticket companies. It is outrageous how a pair of tickets costing $60 somehow end up being $92.53 after all the "extras" are included. But, we pay anyway, don't we?

- I can't believe there are some people criticizing John Tavares for publicly announcing he'll sign with whatever team drafts him, respecting the formal process for integrating a player in a pro sports league. The last person to think he's above being drafted by a certain NHL team, Eric Lindros, ended up winning no Stanley Cups, a career shortened by concussions and had his reputation tarnished from the very first day he came on the NHL scene. How do you get ahead by not going along with the rules like everyone else?

- I place a $5 bet, with 10-to-1 odds, that the Senators will make the playoffs this year. My pal Nino that made the bet with me, a Sens fan, said "it would be the best $50 I'll ever spend, but, I'm already counting on that Subway sandwich." Hey, at least I'm putting my money where my mouth is!

I'll admit I'm one of many that didn't like the idea of a rookie coach taking over the helm of fired Craig Hartsburg, thinking a veteran coach who won't let the players run roughshod over him was the answer to the woes of the Ottawa Senators (well, one of the many problems, anyway). But Cory Clouston has done a tremendous job in turning the team around and although it might be too late for a shot at the playoffs, at the very least they can build off the end of the season into next year and get back into contention again. It's nice to see some effort from the boys again, and turning in some W's sure makes watching their games a lot more enjoyable.

One new Senator that has left an impression on me lately has been winger Ryan Shannon. He's small (5'9, and actually if he, Daniel Alfredsson and Mike Comrie played together, that might be the shortest line in the NHL) but he's got wheels. And he tries to play big, not afraid to mix it up with his larger counterparts. He also has as a nice touch of skill that has earned him some powerplay time. Next game he'll get a shot at playing with Heatley and Spezza, and it'll be interesting to see how he meshes with the big boys.

I have to admit if I had $100 and was told I could bet either for or against the Sens making the playoffs, I would certainly bet against that happening, with just 13 games left and 11 points behind the 8th place team. But at the same time...well, I haven't lost all hope. They've been playing some good hockey, and they're still mathematically in the hunt.

I've seen weirder things happen.

Today would have been Test's birthday. So unfortunate he couldn't heed his own advice.

Andrew "Test" Martin, former WWE star, died yesterday at the age of 33 years old, found motionless at his home in Tampa Bay, Florida. Cause of death has not yet be determined, but no foul play is suspected.  He was an athletic, well-built individual whose death came unexpectedly, and so like many involved in his trade, it will probably come out his death was due to drugs or some form of substance abuse.

Test had unofficially declared his retirement from professional wrestling near the end of 2007, and I'm not too sure what he was doing to earn a living after that time.  And to be honest, I had forgotten about him.  Not all WWE performers capture the fans attention, and while he had the look to be one of the main players, his lack of charisma and mic skills cost him a higher slot on the card.  To be fair, he worked hard at his craft and the Canadian was always well liked by his peers, but the fans never did embrace him fully.

I went to see Mall Cop tonight. No, really! Good times. The best part was that the movie theatre wanted to make myself and, uh, anonymous, feel really special. (Anonymous doesn't want to admit she, um, or he, picked the movie). So we were allowed to watch the movie by ourselves! That's right! I never got such red carpet treatment before! Not one other patron to bother us with their chit-chat or accidental cell phone call. The theatre made sure not one other ticket was sold so we could enjoy the feature in peace.

Now the movie itself is what it's all about. I don't want to spoil too much for you, but if you're going to the movie expecting the following, you will definitely have your day made!:

I guess for some it might be too easy to forget who you are and where you've come from, forgetting at one time you were a schleb like everyone else hoping one day you'd be noticed. Christian Bale is perhaps the latest big star to come out of Hollywood these days, but unfortunately humility isn't one of his attributes. He laid into one of the camera crew and unluckily for him (but fortunate for us!), it was all caught on tape. Family Guy did a funny spoof on it and I thought it was pretty funny. Enjoy.

Oh, I'm still going to see Terminator 4 despite his rage issues. Cheers!

- I love my blu-ray...but I'm learning quickly that not all transfers are created equal. Depending on the movie and effort put forth by the studio, some blu-ray discs have a picture quality no greater than a DVD. It's best to read a review before picking up a disc to make sure there's a worthwhile upgrade to the film in question.

- The recent Buffalo Bills signing of Terrell Owens makes me hope the demand for the Toronto Bills game might be higher than the last one...and help me recover some of my losses!

- We won't see new Sens goalie Pascal Leclaire until next season, but already he's won me over with this quote. When asked about his knowledge of Ottawa, he responded, "I know the main things: I know the St. Hubert is not very far across the river and I know how to get there."

- My washing machine is now finished. It's running 20 years old or so, and after going through a much noisier-than-normal session today, I found bits of plastic and something that looked like bits of rock in it. Not good! But bleah, buying appliances isn't exactly the most exciting thing for me. It's just an additional cost to do something that I already do now: wash clothes. What else can I say about that except good times! Wait, that doesn't make any sense...

The rich tastiness of chocolate that touches my lips every morning at about 8:40am Monday to Friday is no more.

Well, we'll see how long it lasts. But what constituted breakfast for me, a drink with a fair amount of sugar, is probably something my body won't miss. Everyone says breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I don't even bother to have anything that's a solid! That needs to change.

I don't want to eat anything too big though since I'm really not all that hungry in the morning, and like any time of day, I'm not one to want to prepare anything too complex. So yesterday I had a blueberry bran muffin and today someone let me try a peanut butter breakfast bar. It at least filled me up until lunch time.

This may not seem like a big deal, but for me it's hard! I LOVE chocolate milk. But I'm going to try to cut it out.

Okay, so that might be a pretty lame title. But with the NHL trade deadline today, it made for some great water cooler talk and of course some anticipation for weary Sens fans wondering if their team can make any moves that would right their ship that has gone way off course this season.

My master plan of signing goaltender Niklas Backstrom from the Minnesota Wild went astray yesterday, so the list of available goaltenders became thin. Since Ottawa won't make the playoffs (listen, they aren't going to win 20 games in a row), they could afford to make a deal for injured Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Pascal Leclaire. Now Leclaire posted really good numbers last season but he has been plagued by injuries and it's uncertain whether he's a flash in the pan or the real deal. But in my opinion, he a better option than what the Sens have so far. And you have to like the fact Leclaire is from Quebec, where for some reason churn out quality NHL goalies one after the other. There is no certainty he'll work out, but all I can do as a Sens fan is cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Antoine Vermette was sad to be let go and had to fight back some tears in his press conference, but I really think a change of scenery is what's needed for him. I don't think he ever really reached his potential as a true top six forward, and getting a chance to play on a regular shift with Rick Nash might do the trick.

It was surprising to me Ottawa re-signed d-man Filip Kuba for another three years. I think this was an area Ottawa needed to improve on...he's a more skilled defenceman than your average player but I don't think he's in the same league as a Phaneuf, a Green or a Bouwmeester. His $3.7 million salary per year is actually reasonable for NHL standards, but I don't think Ottawa can try to land a true #1 d with that money tied into him.

At the same time, it was nice to hear Kuba talk about the Senators organization and how much he liked playing here. And when you have Vermette sad to leave...despite the disappointing season and all the criticism the team has had to endure this year, seeing players still wanting to stay speaks volumes on how well the organization handles its players. If Ottawa develops a good reputation in this area, this bodes well when they pursue UFAs and draft picks to play for Ottawa.

This runs a little longer than your typical Academy Award speech which is the whole point. No censors, no limit on how long you want to talk; they figure you've earned that right if you won an award. It's crass and crude but pretty funny in spots. Definitely would have been interesting to see what Rourke would have done had he won the best actor Oscar.

I managed to miss last night's Sens-Leafs tilt and caught the highlights on the web to get a grasp on how the Sens managed to blow yet another game. They've only managed one win in their last six and it's fair to say any thought of a surge for the last playoff spot is gone...long gone. If I were one of the players, I would like to at least end the season with the ability to hold my head high and give a good, solid effort each night so perhaps there's something to build on for next year.

A lot of fans, analysts, etc have been trying to figure out how the Sens can fare so poorly when it appears on the surface they have a decent enough core. Maybe we think too hard because too many nights it's the same story that's plagues the Sens for most years they have been in existence: goaltending. I don't know how many times the Sens would start off solid, make one mistake, and that mistake seemed to always find the back of the net.

Gerber couldn't stop a puck to save his life. Alex Auld played well enough when handed the #1 job but soon fell into old habits, reminding the hockey world why he has moved to five different teams in his career. Then Brian Elliott, with nothing to lose, was given a chance after showing much promise in the AHL. I really thought he might be the answer, looking fantastic in his first string of games. But now he looks like a lot of past Sens goaltenders. He's been pulled in three starts the past month and two of the four goals last night, the first and the OT winner, are stops he should have made. The first is the worst kind as the Sens psyche is already fragile and falling behind early doesn't help things. And well, letting in the winner that should have stopped is the worst kind of goal you can allow.

To be fair to Elliott, he's just started in the NHL, and it's unfair perhaps to think the 2nd last pick in the 2003 draft should be the Sens' saviour, and probably should be brought up to backup first before being handed the #1 moniker. But the Senators still have a problem that doesn't look to be solved anytime soon: The player between the pipes to start next season.

Murry has already started his "rebuilding" by acquiring Campoli and Comrie, and it appears Chris Neil and Filip Kuba will likely be dealt for prospects. Murray must must must use these assets for goaltending help when the March 4th deadline hits. The Senators cannot expect to compete in the near future with the tandem they have on hand.