Soooo whaaas happinin'? Minus 20 and 30 and all of a sudden it turns to five below. I'm loving it! The winter is really long at -30C. Could have done without the wind though. The snow even melted a little on the patio after Bev shoveled (again). Nice!
The great milestone coming up this week is the shortest day of the year is Dec. 21. I value it as important a milestone as Christmas Day or New Year's Day. It just seems like once the days start to lengthen out the winter is not so bad. It is depressing to have miserable cold weather and no sunlight. By the time January rolls around the days are noticeably longer and a person gets to thinking that spring cannot be far away. That's my theory and I'm sticking to it.
On the home front, I still need to get the bin yard cleaned out so I can start cleaning seed. When the weather was so cold I didn't want to get out there and stumble around. Now the weather is better I will get at it today providing the creek don't rise and all those things that can get in the way of best laid plans of mice and men.
I had a couple of nice phone calls last week. I don't always get nice phone calls. The first call was from the land man wanting to survey a new well site in my hills. Of course, I said yes. Then a couple of days later another land man came along and signed me up for two seismic lines in my hills. I said yes to that, too. I look upon this as found money. The oil companies are keeping my farm running and whenever they come by, I'll take their money, thank you very much.
I see in hockey news there are plans in the works for two new NHL teams, one in Seattle and one in Markham, Toronto area. I would have thought that Quebec City would have been one of the new teams, but I guess not this time. The Quebec City fans really supported their team and it is a crime big money sold them out and then sold the team.
In the article the writer bemoans the fact the league will be watered down and there is not enough talent to be competitive. I hate that kind of screwed up thinking. There is lots of talent out there. Young guys will give their eyeteeth to play in the NHL. What we don't have is coaches and managers with brains enough to give all the players a chance. As soon as the things get a little tough, the common strategy is to shorten the bench. So then you have half a dozen guys with their tongues hanging out and half a dozen guys fresh as daisies sitting on the bench. They never see the ice. And the team loses. How do you know if a guy can play hockey if he is always on the bench? How will he develop his talent if he is always riding the pine? There has never been a hockey team that won the Stanley cup that didn't play all four lines. They played all four lines, all year! That is how you have a Stanley Cup contender. It is a long season and the playoffs are a long grind. Players get worn down. Then we have these "coaches" shortening the bench, so only the best players, in their opinion, are out there.
There is the thought out there that young men get their skates tied too tight and it cuts off blood circulation to the brain. They all start acting like young bulls, ramming and bunting and trying to knock the other guy on his butt. The fact that there is a puck out there becomes secondary. Well, the same could be said about some coaches as they get their tie too tight and cut off blood circulation to the brain as they try to emulate Don Cherry. A good coach should realize his job is to allow his players to develop and that means play everyone right from the first puck drop at the beginning of the season. This is true right from pee wee right through to the NHL. As I said in the beginning, no team has ever won the Stanley Cup that did not play four lines. Seems simple, but it is true!
The writer ends the article by saying he would rather see two teams cut than two teams added. I could never agree to that. One of the teams cut might be the Edmonton Oilers. I am tired of watching them with the "defence" playing the puck with the end of their sticks and the goalie letting in a shot from the blue line. The new coach isn't getting much out of the players. There are a few guys hustling, but it must be very discouraging to have a soft goal put you down every time you turn around
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is in the news again. Toronto Star reporter Daniel Dales has threatened to sue Ford for slander. Ford has a six-foot high fence around his back yard. When Ford found out that Dales was standing on some cement blocks and taking pictures of Ford's children, Ford said Dales must be "one of them." Dales took it to mean that Ford was insinuating that he was a pedophile. So now Dales is suing Ford if he doesn't apologize. Ford has apologized, but Dale's said it wasn't sincere. Really! When is the "Rob Ford" drama going to end?
Joke of the week: David remembers accompanying his father shopping in the toy department of Sears one Christmas Eve. Dad said, "What a marvellous train set, I'll buy it! The girl behind the counter looked pleased and murmured, "Great, I am sure your son will love it." Dad replied, with a glint in his eye, "In that case I'll take two!"
