Another One in the Books

Sunday saw another Northwood season come to an end, save one consolation game Thursday that Brandyn will play in unfortunately. We had hopes of making one of the trophy games but our last round robin game saw us struggle and the puck just didn't bounce our way. He has really stepped up his game of late, skating harder to back check and taking the puck to the net when he gets a chance.

Sunday's games were surprising as two team that played close games all season resulted in a 5-1 blowout where I expected overtime. In the Championship a team that finished 6th in the regular season took down a team that had not lost in the playoffs and was 2nd overall in the season. The Gardens was electrified and loud as the game went on. Many of the parents and players from the first game along with a bigger than normal contingent of family and friends watched and cheered on the underdogs. A 2-1 game is always exciting but this one was a real nailbiter for the fans of the team that no one picked to take the title.

A just when I think I can relax I get email from a parent whose child was punched during the handshake after a Saturday game. No penalty called of course and now it ends up a major incident and the team I helped coach was on the delivery end of the alleged punches.

This week's Marinoni Monday features Richard Lee's repainted 1987 beauty. He sent his frame back to the factory for a fresh coat of paint and updated many of the components. Sound familiar? I'm still mulling it over.

 

Back to Work, Back on Track

After a long break over the holidays it was back to work this morning. With -34 on the dial and 23 kmph winds it was Defcon 5 for clothing, ski goggles et al. Only my legs felt any cold and just as I made the last bit straight into the wind. My back was actually sweating where my packsack made contact so one less layer would have worked.

I have reversed the direction my weight was going over the last five days, sticking to the Lose It app and riding as many kms as I did in all of December, 75.

On boxing day our tv box decided to stop working, Shaw tried online to fix it to no avail. They finally came on January 2nd. The tech tried everything I had already been told to try and then advised me that we needed a new $350 cable box. I said I could always call Tbay.tel and get two for nothing with a new sign up. Some how everything was working five minutes later after "one more try".  The "one more try" included an ipad and some on screen diagnostics that were not even attempted the first time. Oh the wonders of technology, and competition.

The Northwood season has one more weekend of regular season and then playoffs that are stretched out over more than two months. The Robin's Tournament grabs a whole weekend of our ice and Family Day weekend takes another. We have a meeting scheduled for January 19th to try and get some help for next season. I'm just not going to do this on my own any more.

This Might Be It

I know there's a point in every hockey season when I feel like what I'm doing and have been doing for nearly 20 years is time wasted. I don't remember that feeling ever creeping in this early. People just don't seem to care about anything, commitment is not in their vocabulary. I'm tired of it already. Maybe I'm just too far removed from what makes the modern family tick but what I need from them, and what I'm getting are miles apart.

A month from now when teams are all over the place in the standings because we have no full set of evaluations to base a draft on, they will care. They will email, complain and talk about how bad things are in the league. But right now they are just expecting everything to fall in to place.

AJ's Dodgers are one win from another championship. In a battle of the top pitchers they came out on top 3-1 last night. It was actually a great night for baseball, not even cold.

End of an Era

I just finished a book in three days, a rarity especially at this time of year. Khalid Hosseini's 'The Kite Runner' was one of the most moving books I've ever read. I woke up at 5:30 on Sunday morning and planned to read just long enough to fall back to sleep. I got no more sleep. I read and read, and only closed my eyes after the book was done. Even then what I had read kept me awake. I won't spoil it for anyone who wants a great read but it takes place in the turmoil of Afghanistan from the time of the Russian invasion through 9-11 but is not about terrorists.
We've been going to the Dodgers playoff games, even the last two when AJ was in Calgary. It looks like he may be moving out west and sadly this might be the last we see of his baseball career. He has played since he was 5, so for more than 20 years we have enjoyed his love of the game. Hopefully the Dodgers can defend their title so he can put one more championship in his pocket.
Hockey is a mess right now. I have 5 1/2 teams registered. I need to settle on whether to keep going for our normal sixth team. Kids register and then another quits. One step forward and then two back, it's very frustrating to say the least. It will work out eventually I hope. I'd much rather be out riding than dealing with it all.

Nothing Better

With meetings, drafts, on ice hockey starting and a wet start to the week my mileage is down. Monday and Tuesday saw a meager 10km but I've managed to add 70km in the last two days and it looks good today. After the AA draft on Monday I picked up a Minoura trainer from a Kijiji posting. Brand new other than about ten minutes use it will make the winter go by as I can attach it to most of the bikes and ride in front of a book or tv. Walking just isn't going to cut it and I don't want to give up my legs.

I have fallen in love with road bikes. Riding Bonnie is just about as much fun as I can have. She flies, even up hills. There's nothing better than putting my hands 'in the drops' and descending a hill or taking a corner. With the worst of my excess weight gone I can actually get low and pedal. I think next year I am going to join the cycling club and try some racing to see if I'm as fast as I feel. Yes they do have an old guys bracket.

Northwood registration is down for the first time in years. We're still looking for a dozen kids to fill the teams. Not sure where this came from. I advertised this year but maybe word is out we fill up fast and people are not even trying.

Where Did That Come From?

I was taking a walk on my lunch hour yesterday. Some of my cold weather gear was unusable because I hadn't dried it from my morning walk to work so I was a bit colder than normal and heading straight into the wind. Without really thinking about it I started jogging. I never jog, it's just too hard on the knees etc. but off I went for about a half a km. to the far point I had planned.  Not winded or sore, just sort of shaking my head as I turned back to finish the walk. I'm feeling pretty good but jogging, I don't think so. 

Northwood playoffs are going to be a mess. Final spots in the championship will probably be sorted out with a calculator. After 3 complete rounds of the round robin there are 4 of 6 teams tied in first place. The regular season champs haven't won a game and only have one goal so far, and the second place team in the regular season has managed two ties. Brandyn's team has only 2 goals but have three shutouts to give them a share of the top spot. He played his best game of the season on Sunday checking very aggressively, at least for him. We have a two week break before it all wraps up at the end of the month. 

20 and Counting

This morning's weigh-in saw me down 20 pounds since January 1st. What's better than the news from the scale is that my clothes are starting to fit much  more comfortably. I've only had a few lapses where cravings had me wandering to the kitchen but I've stuck to 60 calorie pudding, carrots, crackers and 100 calorie bags of popcorn. I'm finally walking at full speed. I really wish the weather would stay a little cooler than this morning. Walking in a wet mist on packed snow that is crumbling underfoot is tough on the hips.

Northwood playoffs kicked off yesterday with the last place team in the regular season dumping the first place squad 4-0. Brandyn's fifth place Leafs team tied 0-0 with the second place team and a 2-1 nailbiter closed the day. This could be the closest playoffs we've ever had.

I finally had some time to go out with my camera and try to take some pictures. Other than a quick run to Mission Marsh without even cracking open the manual and a couple of hockey team pictures it hasn't left the case. I dropped Sal at work and headed out towards highway 130. I was thinking some farmland with the Norwesters in the background as the sun went down might be interesting. But the farther I got the less promising the sun was. It started into some clouds and the western horizon was heavily overcast. I have trouble 'seeing' what's around me. I always wish I was in Banff or somewhere more photogenic than Thunder Bay. I'm strying to train myself to see past the familiarity of everthing and appreciate it. And then the sun goes out an hour before sundown and everything just goes flat. Patience is something I have to learn as well. I took 4 shots in 2-1/2 hours.

One More Day

Another season of hockey is almost done. In a few hours two teams will be crowding around a trophy, two others will have a short cry and then leave it all behind. It's been a good year, no major problems. I've tried to downplay having a grandson in the league and since he's not really a big factor in the games yet it has been easy. It will get harder once he gets more involved. Two weeks ago they were down 1-0 in a game against the weakest team. The other team had 2 in the box and a minute to go. The clock might have run for a few seconds longer than it should have. A parent wanted me to have the timekeeper put time back on the clock. Not going to happen. I'll be pulling for his team quietly in their big game today, but very very quietly.

Sal and I stopped in at Petrie's this morning. Farzam was quick to show me some of the new bikes that have come in. Hopefully I'll be able to ride once spring gets here. My hands haven't really gotten any better. Not sure what to expect. Some mornings they are so stiff I doubt I could squeeze a brake lever. It's going to be a long way back. Walking has stabilized my weight but I still feel lousy. Maybe just feeling sorry for myself but there are so many worse things so I should just get at it.
 

Keep It Short

This will be a short post because Dr. thinks I have carpal tunnel x2. I've been having tingling in my hands for quite awhile and I was fearing a stroke and or heart problems. He says no, the symptoms are all carpal tunnel, probably caused by long periods on the handlebars and not helped by long periods of typing.  It is common in cyclists along with something called 'cyclist's palsy' which I haven't looked into yet. Anyway the girls will be getting some fine tuning to eliminate any numb hands, which I have experienced on just about every long ride to some degree. Ergon grips will work on the regular bars but I don't know about Jill and her drop bars, they are the worst culprits in the handful of bees contest.

I wonder how the NHL hotshots liked sitting on the hotseat to be last pick in front of millions. I'll bet they were thinking about some of their buddies back home who were always the last kids picked. But there was no car waiting for the poor kid, just another round of embarrassment.  

Hockey Nuts

This week has been an endless procession of stupidity in the hockey community. In Northwood we have a team  with the best goalie and marginal scoring power. The goalie can't play last weekend. The head coach show up 5 minutes before game time and scurries around trying to talk one of the goalies from the previous game to play even though he got the call 5 hours earlier. On Sunday he comes to the rink without securing a goalie again and this time his only choice is a young and far weaker netminder. He loses 10-2, the biggest blowout of the year but he can't figure out why I ask him if he has given up on his team. He whines about a disallowed goal. When you have about 7 more of those get back to me. All he had to do was call or email me and I would have found goalies for both games.

In Lakehead Minor a coach can walk all over every rule in the book and when we call him on it and we're too picky, he's just a volunteer. So far we're sticking to our guns, something LMHL has not been known for in the past. My gmail suspension folder is growing almost daily. Every single thing they are getting nailed for is in the 20 page constitution I sent to every team. You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink. But then we don't have to listen when they get dehydrated either.

On the work front we had our best week in the new building. I could actually say I was busy with orders and phone calls. The make-work projects were put on hold and parts started moving out the door. Lets just hope the trend continues.

Ten Minutes

After game one on Saturday I was disgusted, disgruntled and disappeared. A game ends early and neither team is close to ready, coaches arriving at the scene of the crime 5 minutes after the standard 15 minutes they ask from parents. For ten minutes I went for a walk. I headed for Petrie's and the refuge of hearing someone else's problems while my own were still steaming. But Farzum was busy upstairs and Nathan had few tales of the past week. No new bikes to drool over this time of year so I headed back down the street to confusion. Refs that don't understand the way we handle penalties. A brief explanation and quick solution to that one. A coach running around the end boards from the bench, here it comes. He has been after me for weeks to replace a player that has made 1 game out of 12 and 1 practice since teams were formed in late September. This week I arranged for a new player and the old one surprises everyone by showing up. The mom has done more bingos than the player has games. Dad offers the coach $100 to let her play. Surprising as they registered through ProKids. Dad meets me in the hallway and offers me an escalating bribe that ends at $10,000 to let her back on the ice, "you're breaking her heart" I'm told. Money is not the issue. I broke her heart? Maybe for one week but what about the other 10. A full refund of bingo credits in exchange for sweater and socks will be offered and I'll probably be told where to put that. Next time I'm going for a 209 minute walk.

Another Make Work Project

walk:3km (Peter Frampton-Frampton)
2 pcs. toast, banana, coffee, chicken stroboli w/salad, iced tea, cheese, lemon square, diet 7up/grapefruit juice, 1oz Famous Grouse

I just went thru a 3 hour ordeal trying to get coaches a records check. There's a website setup so we can invite them and they get a quick $25 return. After numerous emails to set up a league account the invitations were wrong. They came up with a $29 option. The dropdown would not work and they could not tell me what was wrong. I tried the page in explorer and it worked there. I let them know that chrome is not compatable with their site. Then cancelled all the invites, emailed everyone so they knew what was up, redid the invites and sent them again.

I gpsed my walk this morning. Reception from my pocket must have put things off a bit, check out my drunken stagger down Simpson St.

View Track 14 in a larger map

Opening Day

walk:2.6 km
cycle:3km (wow)
2 pcs. toast w/peanut butter, coffee, dim sum, nachos, diet 7up

Opening day was non-eventful. Three teams picked up wins, three got losses. I found a backup timekeeper, another former player who picked it up quickly leaving me to do my running around between coaches, collecting registration and so on. Brandyn came out and I think he's over his not wanting to be. He touched the puck twice in his first shift but not much after that. His skating gets better every time he is out there. His Canadiens won 5-2.

I really wonder why some people put their kids in. One girl has missed 5 of 6 team practices and was gone again today. What is the point of taking a hard to get spot if you never show up? If they miss again I'm going to look for a replacement.

Time For a Sip

A long day at the rink today but all 6 teams are up and running. I started the day dragging team sweaters, socks and accessories out of storage. From noon til 5 I met with coaches and got everything handed out, made a visit to Petries just to visit and went for a half hour ride between teams. With just a few loose ends left I can at least take a bike to the rink and come and go as I need to. I came home and did up the schedule and got it on the webpage, season kickoff is 2 weeks away.

I guess the HNO job is out. I haven't heard of anyone getting an interview but it seems to be taking a long time. My guess is they have imported another graduate of sports administration. Hopefully they found someone with a reason to stay in Tbay.

The season for Lakehead Minor starts Monday and I'm working the clock again. Every little bit helps and it gets me exposure to what really goes on at the rink. Hearing about incidents a few weeks after in a room in the college just doesn't give a true picture. Not that I'm going to witness every half-crazed coach or parent that throws a tantrum because an offside is missed, but being around some of the other side of the game gives me a clear vision of what I don't want to see Northwood become.

Seems like I'm talking about nothing but hockey lately. I guess it dominates a lot of my time and thinking. As of Monday I want to start more walking and riding to burn off some of the summer. I've been saying that to myself for a month or so but maybe saying it here will make it happen.

A glass of Famous Grouse tasted so good tonight.  

Teams Made

It was along week from evaluations on Sunday, goalie testing on Monday and Thursday and work in between. There were eager kids trying out the pads without the basic skating skills that are a recipe for disaster. And parents whose kids are skilled enough and antsy to play in net but don't want them to. By the end of Thursday's practice we had 3 full-time goalies and 6 part-time. Of course the part-time path is one way to go but puts a strain on the equipment we have, Tom Petrie is smiling. I made about 5 trips there and had a few kids go for sizing.

I'd worked all day Thursday, rode across town to pick up the car and then picked up every piece of goalie gear we have from storage. After walking back and forth to Petrie's twice they were all geared up and ready to go. One kid didn't like his chest protector, tried two more consecutive sizes (1 too big, 1 too small) and then decided to get his old one back. I had to take it from another kid who isn't ready to play in net after breaking the news to him because his parents couldn't convince him. Once the goalies were all set it was time to make teams. I had to pick up Sal and sat in the parking lot reading emails and surfing for an hour, thank God for my phone. We had supper and watched Grey's anatomy and then I hit the drafting of teams. I was shocked when I checked the time and it was 2:18am. I had the teams but still had to get the info out to coaches and parents. I finally landed in bed at 3:38. I just hope the teams are close to equal. One more day of hauling equipment and then I can start biking back and forth to the rink.

The Face of a Future Star?

He came a long way this weekend. Last week he was barely standing, spent more time on his butt than his blades. This week he was moving. Small strides, the hint of a glide and a lot more blade time. He even dangled the biscuit from one side of the rink to the other. None of the other bambis could keep up. Check out the highlights.

 

Here It Comes

Hockey season is coming at me faster than a transport on the other side of a narrow highway. I'm at 55% of capacity for registration and our first ice is already scheduled. Ice rentals went up more than $13 per hour with a slight increase and the addition of HST. I raised our registration price by $10, dropped the credit card option (was costing about $15 per player) and the cheaper fundraising option. If they want to save now they work first and then get the credit. I put up an online form so people can still sign up online and that seems to be working well. I get an email seconds after they register and then send them an email to confirm. Pretty slick and doesn't cost a dime.

Long Way To Go To Watch A Game

I was all ready to send an email to Northwood parents as one of our former players (and current ref) was in Regina for the Women's Canadian Midget Championship. I watched most of the third period and she never got on the ice. That has to be devastating. I almost hope she was injured. The Thunder Bay Queen's won the game 4-3 over Notre Dame. 

I got out for another hour on Eowyn late this afternoon. Went out through the LU campus and back. No dozing even while reading lying down so there must be something to the CPAP settings fix. I can't wait for the chance to hit some of the trails in Calgary, riding around TBay is all been there done that, infinutm.

Tinkering With CPAP

I'm not sure if messing with my CPAP settings last night has anything to do with it yet but I took a 'no destination' ride tonight for the first time in a long while. My thinking is that with putting on some weight the prescribed pressure setting was too low and I might have been having some low level apnea episodes. Not severe enough to have me nodding off at traffic lights but enough to where my energy for extra activity was just missing. I've been reading lots and often have to munch on something so that I don't snooze, not abnormal I guess but I can do without the munching.

Eowyn has benefited recently from the donated gift card I was given by the Northwood parents. All used parts but definite upgrades. Front wheel, tires, stem and hopefully a new 'old' crank soon. I ordered from ebay for the first time ever, picking up some Giant decals, and she looks almost complete. I sawed off 2 inches from the On One Mary handlebars and have a saddle on the way. Building her up is a big incentive to get out and ride more.

My new plan for Northwood registration seems to be working. I have 6 kids signed for next season. Bingo participation is up and people seem to be happy with the setup so far. Over at Lakehead Minor we're putting in a new constitution and I think the group is finally all on the same page.

Sal and I have tentatively set the first couple of weeks in July as holiday time so we're planning a trip to Calgary. We've decided to take the Impreza as airmile bookings are already filled for the summer months. Once we hit the divided highway Sal says she'll help with the driving. We'll hit in time for the Stampede and maybe even find a few days in BC. Now if I can just find a way to stow a bike so I can do some riding out there.

Northwood Awards Banquet...Done!

Saturday was a long...long day. I went out with the coach that did most of the organizing for the banquet at 11 and didn't get home til 3:15. Trophies, prizes, ice cream and three trips to unload at the hall. The banquet was a good one, a few glitches that will end up costing the league some extra dinero but the first time in the Slovak Legion was a popular move. The coaches and parents raised some cash for me to replace Bridget and awarded a trophy for a consolation game in my name. The cash gift card at Petries will cover the upgrade Jill went in for Saturday morning. Ironic but the amount was almost to the penny what was raised for the first Conquer Cancer ride 2 seasons ago. As nice as the gesture is I wish I could take it to Toronto.

The reunion portion was not what I hoped. 20 people showed up. For two months everyone I talked to was coming and had passed on the word to others, plus 2 ads in the paper. Disappointing but I did get to meet John Belluz who started the league as part of the Northwood Association in 1970. It was very interesting to listen to him speak about the origins. I'm proud to say we haven't strayed very far from the goals that were set for the league in 1970. I'm going to get together with him next fall to get everything written down so it's finally recorded.