5 things that sound dirty but they aren't while bowling

5: Why do these balls feel greasy?
4: My fingers barely fit in these holes.
3: All these balls feel to heavy.
2: You need to find a bigger hole for your thumb.
1: I'll give you $20 if you hit that splitter.

Hockey Day in Canada

Man I love hockey. Shocker, right?
For me, one of the best things about hockey has always been the honour amongst the players.
Without honour, you have nothing. Don Cherry calls it "The Code". I am really not sure where The Code disappeared but it's gone. What happened last night in Long Island is a disgrace to the game, the fans and most of all The Code.

I can't put my finger on the exact moment when we lost our way but I think it might have been when Ulf Samuelsson knee'd Cam Neely. That lack of respect for another player's safety was disgusting. Our game never recovered and it's been downhill ever since. Now we have so many examples of that lack of respect that we can't keep track of them. Rule changes and suspensions will not solve the problem.

We need a culture change and that change begins and ends in minor hockey. To take that point even deeper, the change begins and ends with hockey parents. Young hockey players must be taught to respect their opponent. Putting a 'STOP' sign on the back of their jersey's isn't enough. The discussion about respect starts at the dinner table.

Finish your check--yes. Nail a guy into row 8 just because you can---no. Dangerous hits--bench clearing brawls are only symptoms of a huge problem. I also find it troubling to see our sports media glorifying these acts with multiple replays and excited hyperbole. Enough already. Some of these 'great hits' ended careers! Eventually someone is going to die as a result of a 'great hit'. It has to stop.

Mike Milbury calls this kind of thinking the 'pansification' of hockey.

I call it 'The Code'.

I call it respect.

Happy Hockey Day in Canada!

Cheese and other Friday laughs.

Friday should about smiles. My sister in law (outlaw) sent me this.

If it doesn't make you actually laugh out loud (not LOL) than you need to get yourself checked out. This too.

That's it for now.

Thanks for tuning in.

And now a word from our sponsor. (My son's favorite commercial)

Ricky Gervais

Ricky Gervais is far and away my favorite comedian right now. Probably because he combines intelligent writing with sarcasm.

Here is one of my favorite bits.

Rumour has it that he will be asked to host the Golden Globes again.  In case you missed it. I really hope he does. I have never really been a fan of watching the Golden Globes. At least they were tolerable with Ricky hosting. He sure raises a few blood pressures! Some would argue that he took it too far. That he was mean to the delicate celebrities. I disgaree. This is a great point of view.

I have always enjoyed intelligent comedy. Probably the first comedian I noticed doing intelligent material was Dennis Miller. Bill Maher and Jon Stewart have also made a career of it. And let's not forget Tina Fey.

I think our political dialog needs more intelligent comedy. We take ourselves WAY too seriously sometimes. We should be able to take a step back from our viewpiont and have a laugh. The right side of the aisle would disagree with me. I'm not sure they have a sense of humor that we are aware of.

So here's to the Ricky's, Tina's and Miller's of the world! Intelligent comedy is hard to do because you can't rely on sex jokes and the f-word to get a laugh.

Not that I don't appreciate a little f-word now and again.

Zombies

The wrong generation is in charge. It's not their fault.

My generation (I'm 36) refuses to engage or vote.  Some do but the majority do not. I know I've been guilty of sluffing off responsibilty for who gets to be mayor/premier/prime minister.

I was going to go to a meeting that was being held to discuss the merits of building a medium security prison in my little town. This prison would provide jobs and local revenue that is greatly needed. I didn't go and now I regret it. These are the kind of meetings that we should be attending. This is the basis of our democracy. What side of a particular issue you fall on is beside the point. Get out and be heard.

Our senior generation has this all figured out. I'm sure last night's meeting was filled with people that were missing Wheel of Fortune to be there. They are, of course, opposed to the idea.

The problem is that this senior generation will be largely gone before the decisions that they have imput on will truly take effect. Decisions like whether or not to build a prison, a bridge, reform our health care...you get the idea. Meanwhile people still in the workforce, paying taxes are forced to leave for greener pastures because there is no chance at a well paying job or an affordable place to live.

My point is simple. Get involved. If the zombies have their way, we will never expand, never improve, never change the status quo.