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Monday, June 1:
Halfway home for the Detroit Red Wings and the words that come to mind when thinking about this team are poise and unflappable. Nothing seems to get to these guys and why not? The franchise is attempting to win its fifth Stanley Cup in a dozen seasons (not including the lockout year). Detroit's been outplayed two nights in a row by Pittsburgh and the Penguins have nothing to show for it.
I know it's not October because the leaves are still solid green. But it was cold enough for October yesterday. And I saw two guys in the 'hood throwing around a football!
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Wednesday, June 3:
And just like that, we have a series. The Detroit Red Wings had chances galore in the second period last night but Pittsburgh survived the middle frame and scored on its power-play chance in the third. And just like a year ago, the Penguins avoid going into a 3-0 hole and now have a chance to square things up tomorrow night. It will be the pivotal game of the final. If the Wings win it, they'll be coming home up 3-1 and in outstanding shape to end it at home. A loss and the series is tied with the Pens holding all the momentum.
We're off to see a Blue Jays matinee tomorrow but won't be snapping any pictures. Sorry about that but this is just a social gathering. With luck, the predicted forecast of sunshine and 19 degrees Celsius will mean an open roof.
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Thursday, June 4:
Interesting that the team that's been outplayed in the Stanley Cup final has yet to lose. The road teams have had the edge in all three games but the home teams are 3-and-0. One thing Detroit will have to do a better job of tonight (aside from staying out of the penalty box in the second half of a period when the younger Penguins have the fresher legs) is winning offensive and defensive zone faceoffs. They dominated in the neutral zone Tuesday but were brutal in the key draws held in the goalie's shadow, both in their own zone and Pittsburgh's.
Looks as if my weather luck is holding for today's Blue Jays matinee. Sunny and a high of 18 Celsius, they say. It will be cooler than that at the stadium, as it's close to the lake but it should still be warm enough to guarantee an open roof.
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Friday, June 5:
OK, I lied. I brought my camera to the ballgame after all. Just the small one but it was a great day for taking pictures, especially as we were three rows from the field beyond first base. And a superb game, too. The Blue Jays were down 5-1 but rallied to tie it, only to have the Angels score a textbook run in the top of the ninth -- bunt single, hit-and-run single, double play with the runner scoring from third -- to take it 6-5. Toronto left the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom half, so a thrilling afternoon. But I got a bit of a burn on my left wrist. You would think I'd know better after all these years.
One of my work colleagues went driving by the Rogers Centre on his way to Pittsburgh yesterday afternoon, where he saw his Penguins square the Stanley Cup final with Detroit. The Red Wings were stunned by a shorthanded goal and never seemed to recover. Suddenly they look old and tired and the Pens have all the momentum going back to Motown. Pretty even series, though. Two wins apiece and all four games decided by two goals.
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Saturday, June 6:
I wasn't around for D-Day, day one of the Allied invasion of Normandy, 65 years ago today. It was a major turning point in World War II and an especially proud day for Canada as Canadian troops met all their objectives at Juno Beach. We always do this November 11, but if you see or know a veteran or soldier today, no matter where or in what war they fought, whether they saw action or not, take a moment to say thanks. By their presence, they did not make the ultimate sacrifice but they were prepared to -- and still are.
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Sunday, June 7:
So much for "old and tired." The Red Wings reached back for their experience and got a tremendous boost from the return of Pavel Datsyuk in their 5-0 romp over the Penguins last night. So, just like last year, Detroit is up 3-2 and going into Pittsburgh with a chance to wrap up the Stanley Cup in game six. Unlike last year, they're coming off a decisive game five win instead of a triple overtime loss. The Penguins won't roll over Tuesday night, but the Wings will sure take the two-day break (the first of the series). I hope they can wrap this up in Pennsylvania (I'm working, so I won't be at the Joe to watch it on the big screen as I did a year ago). Flirting with danger is never good because anything can happen in a game seven.
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Tuesday, June 9:
I'm kind of glad I am working tonight, because there is no "JoeVision" for game six of the Stanley Cup final at the home of the Detroit Red Wings, as there was a year ago. Nor is there a big screen set up in Pittsburgh outside Mellon Arena for people who can't get inside. It seems NBC, in an effort to get more people to watch its coverage, has ordered that Joe Louis Arena in Detroit and the giant screen at the Igloo are off-limits. This is the network, by the way, that is paying the NHL exactly zero dollars and zero cents for broadcast rights. The NHL should have told them to scram.
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Wednesday, June 10:
One thing about game seven of the Stanley Cup final -- the Detroit Red Wings should be well-rested. They certainly didn't put in a full 60 minutes last night in their 2-1 loss at Pittsburgh. More like 20 minutes, at best. So, it's a winner-take-all affair and frankly I don't care that the game is at Joe Louis Arena. In a seventh game, anything can happen. A bounce here, a goalpost there, a hot goalie at the other end, a cold one at yours. Pittsburgh went into Washington in game seven of their second-round series and buried the Capitals. Carolina won two game sevens on the road in these playoffs, at New Jersey and at Boston. Detroit played most of last night's game without any alacrity, as if they knew they had that one-game edge in their back pocket. And forget about the third period push -- without brilliant goaltending from Chris Osgood, the outcome would have been a foregone conclusion. I think their casual approach last night will ultimately cost the Red Wings Friday night -- I believe Pittsburgh will win it.
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Thursday, June 11:
Today is my Thanksgiving. For today, I give thanks to my pal, soulmate and lover for 26 years of wedded bliss. Happy anniversary, Hon!
Because of our schedules, we don't see each other today. So we went out last night and ran into friends of ours at dinner in an unexpected treat. They were celebrating, too. Yesterday was her birthday and today is their niece's 19th. So it all turned into quite a party.
A pretty good party in the afternoon, too. My pal Snacksy was in from the west coast and we hooked up with our buddy E-T for our annual wings and sody pop reunion. Good times and ever better tall tales!
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Friday, June 12:
I haven't changed my prediction. I still think Pittsburgh wins tonight, probably by a goal and maybe even in overtime. Detroit has squandered too many chances to take this thing and that will ultimately come back to bite them.
Off on a week's vacation after this evening's shift and away on the long-promised midwest baseball trip. Lots of pics coming from Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Kansas City and St. Louis.
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Saturday, June 13:
It was agonizing -- like watching a nightmare played out in real life. Last night's Pittsburgh-Detroit game seven of the Stanley Cup final went exactly, exactly! as thought it would. Detroit came out flying, Pittsburgh weathered the storm, received a gift-goal from a brutal giveaway, and then as the game went on, proved to be the better team, gaining a two-goal edge with younger and fresher legs. Then the finish -- a Red Wings' goal and the defending champs doing all they could to get the equalizer, only to no avail. Congrats to the Penguins -- they are deserving winners. I was wrong about one thing, though. Months ago, I predicted the Wings wouldn't get close to the Cup this season because of their goaltending woes. Chris Osgood was the least of their problems and probably, more than any other Wing in the playoffs, deserved to be on the winning side.
Such is life, and I knew I'd pay for last year when I celebrated ultimate championships by the Wings, Boston Celtics and Manchester United. Little did I expect Detroit and Man-U to come so agonizingly close to a repeat only to fail. But hey, I start a week's vacation today, with the midwest baseball excursion. Four games and some side trips, so watch for some photo updates!
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Sunday, June 14:
MILWAUKEE -- I took a brief detour on my way here yesterday, jumping off the 401 at Windsor -- my birthplace -- to take a picture of the new arena. I had to find it first as the city hasn't gotten around to posting any street signs directing drivers to the new home of the Memorial Cup champions. (I asked three people and they all looked at me as if I was from Mars. "New arena?!" They didn't have a clue). I finally found it, further north than I anticipated, just northeast of the corner of Lauzon and Tecumseh. I'm very familiar with that area, as my grandparents lived up the road on Lauzon, just south of Wyandotte. There was no Lauzon Parkway or E.C. Row Expressway then. What was depressing was the Lauzon-Tecumseh corner itself. Eastown Plaza was boarded up and crews are demolishing the GM Trim plant just to the north. I remember when the plant and shopping plaza went up. Kind of shocking to see it all come apart.
I didn't want to look, I really didn't. But the Ambassador Bridge road construction meant a detour along Rosa Parks (nee 12th Street) in Detroit, and there I was at Michigan Avenue, staring at the gutted shell of three-quarter demolished Tiger Stadium. That's my favourite piece of real estate on earth and I had to keep on driving as things were getting a little misty.
A perfect day for a ballgame today at Miller Park, with a couple of firsts thrown in. White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle cracked his first-ever major league home run and the Sox scored the winning run in the ninth off Brewers' closer Trevor Hoffman -- the first run he's allowed all season. Good game, and a great crowd!
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Monday, June 15:
MADISON, WI -- Took another detour on my way to Wisconsin's capital city. I made my first-ever visit to Green Bay after yesterday's ballgame. I didn't stay long, just toured through downtown and drove around Lambeau Field. It was closed of course, but I snapped some pictures of the exterior.
This state is "American's Dairyland" and they're not kidding. I've seen dairy farms before -- our friend's brother-in-law runs a large one east of Newmarket. But his farm is about a tenth of the size of one giant operation I saw yesterday. Incredible!
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Tuesday, June 16:
MINNEAPOLIS -- No, I guess it's not heaven but Iowa is pretty special. I was only here once before (in 1977) but never forgot the hospitality of the people. I was at the coke machine last night at my hotel, and I heard, "how are you tonight, sir?" from down the hall. Certain that the comment was directed at someone else I didn't reply right away until I realized the young gent was talking to me. I quickly recovered and had a quick chat. I had forgotten that Iowa is all about please and thank you and sir and ma'am. A lesson for the rest of the world.
I had promised myself a trip to the Field of Dreams movie site near Dyersville and I wasn't disappointed. The corn wasn't high of course, but everything else looked just as it did in the movie. And there's no gaudy museum or tourist trap -- just a long trailer off to the side selling souvenirs. I didn't run the bases, but took some pictures and thoroughly enjoyed my brief visit.
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Wednesday, June 17:
KANSAS CITY, MO -- It doesn't take long to go from northern midwest cool to hot and humid. Yesterday was simply perfect for a duck. Somehow it was appropriate that I visited the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa on a rainy day, 50 years, four months and two weeks after the day the music died. Especially later on at the site where the plane went down that took Buddy Holly, Richie Valens and the Big Bopper to their deaths along with the pilot. And just like Dyersville, they did it right. The only way you know you're on the right path is a marker along the dirt road, featuring a pair of black glasses. Then you walk beside (or slog in the mud, as I did) the tiny orange flags along the fence line for about half a mile. There you'll find another small memorial where the plane went down. As for the Surf, it's a time machine into the past, before discos and rock clubs. (It still features acts -- Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels play there this weekend). And there are pictures galore of just about anyone who's had a record on the charts. And as Flo and Eddie of the Turtles wrote on their picture, the Surf is the real rock and roll hall of fame.
Baseball fans in Minnesota are eagerly awaiting next year and outdoor baseball at the new Target Field. But tonight, baseball would have been rained out so the Metrodome came in handy. Unfortunately, it's just as dank and dark inside as it was outside. The great baseball fans of the twin cities deserve far better - and next year, they'll get it.
The Detroit Tigers, with their loss in St. Louis tonight, haven't won since the Red Wings dropped game seven of the Stanley Cup final.
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Thursday, June 18:
ST. LOUIS -- Long before Camden Yards became the first and best of the new retro parks, Royals Stadium in Kansas City was built, the epitome of '70s cool. Orange seats, artificial turf, a modern scoreboard, intriguing architecture, it was an exception to the multi-purpose cookie-cutter stadiums of the day. It was a baseball-only park, right next door to Arrowhead Stadium, a football-only park. That's what you see today in places like Baltimore, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, but Kansas City did it first. And today, Royals Stadium -- now Kauffman Stadium -- is the epitome of '00s cool. It has every feature of the new parks (except an asymmetrical outfield) and its upper deck is also closer to the action. It has a grass field now and the new crown scoreboard is laid out perfectly with every bit of in-game information any fan could ever want. And it still has the fountains beyond right field featuring a dancing water spectacular. The game was a blowout but I didn't want to leave early. And didn't.
My satellite radio features all MLB broadcasts, a must for long drives. And I must have laughed out loud half-a-dozen times thanks to Dodgers' broadcasters Charlie Steiner and Rick Monday. Steiner on an Oakland centre fielder playing deep: "He might as well be sitting at the base of the flagpole." Later, when mentioning the Washington Nationals' futility, he remarked with wonder, "They're on a pace to never win again." (They won last night by the way, at Yankee Stadium of all places). Then Monday had this gem: "Casey Blake didn't do anything except what he actually just did." What??!! And better still, in the next sentence he made it all make sense.
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Friday, June 19:
INDIANAPOLIS -- We get thunderstorms in Toronto, some of them severe, but rarely like the ones that visit central Indiana rather regularly. This is part of tornado alley and tonight proved why. Tornado warnings were posted not far from us and the sky was lit up by a lightning show that would put any Fourth of July fireworks display to shame. One year when we were here for the Indianapolis 500, we were making the annual race eve trek along Georgetown Road when a group of religious fanatics stopped to warn us of our sins. The sky was as volatile as it was tonight. A gent carrying a ten-foot high metal cross approached me and told me how my soul could be preserved, adding that he knew he would be saved. I glanced at the constant flashes of lightning and told him that he'd likely get confirmation from his Saviour in about 30 seconds.
They'll never let me into St. Louis again. I've seen three Cardinals games at their new ballpark and the home team is 0-and-3. That includes the first game the franchise ever lost in the new digs and an ugly 6-3 loss to the Tigers last night, Detroit's first-ever win there, following three straight defeats in the 2006 World Series and losses in the first two games of this series.
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Sunday, June 21:
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY, guys! Embrace those socks and ties. It's the thought that counts!
Funny game this baseball, eh? The Toronto Blue Jays get waxed at home by Florida to continue their interleague woes, go into Philadelphia and sweep the World Series champs and then travel to Washington and drop two straight to the woeful Nationals.
Anyone notice the Washington Nationals are unbeaten since Charlie Steiner suggested they were on a pace to never win again?
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Monday, June 22:
Bloody 'ell! I saw more stupid and dangerous driving during a two-hour span in Toronto today than I did in a full week of touring the U-S midwest and driving in major cities like Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis-St. Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City, Indianapolis and Milwaukee. You want to win a Darwin Award and help cull the herd, knock yourself out. Just don't endanger the rest of us. Toronto's unofficial slogan: There's an idiot born every minute and they all moved here.
I'm usually grumpy (see above) at 4:30 a.m. but today was an exception. It was a clear and beautiful morning when I climbed into the car for the drive to work. Birds chirping, the sky starting to brighten in the pre-dawn conditions, the promise of a great summer's day. And tomorrow promises to be the same!
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Wednesday, June 24:
In retrospect, I'm glad I looked a week ago Saturday at old Tiger Stadium. What was left of her came tumbling down two days ago as crews resumed the work they started before a preservation group briefly halted the demolition. But this is how it should be. A one-quarter slice of the old ballpark wasn't worth saving -- it was all or nothing. And with the Tigers moved and settled a decade into their new digs it was time for the old place to fall. But I'll always remember the June 22nd anniversary of its final demolition as I saw my first major league ballgame 47 years ago that night, June 22, 1962 -- Tigers 7, Yankees 5.
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Thursday, June 25:
A year ago last night, I saw the Blue Jays light up Cincinnati starter Bronson Arroyo on their way to a 14-1 romp at the Rogers Centre. Due to a scheduling quirk, the Reds are in again this year and Arroyo -- a pretty good pitcher -- started again last night, one year to the day after the demolition. Same result. He gave up three homers in the first inning and the Jays cruised to an 8-2 win. Kind of glad I gave it a pass this year.
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Friday, June 26:
This time last year, we were mourning the death of comic George Carlin. And this week, three stars have been lost -- Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett and, most shockingly, Michael Jackson. Say what you will about Jackson's personal life and appearance, the man had talent oozing out of every pore. And I believe -- and fervently hope -- that he'll be remembered for that and be mentioned in the same breath as other musical groundbreakers like Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley and John Lennon.
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Saturday, June 27:
I'm not much of a draft guy. Draught, well that's another story. But I don't find the NHL, NBA, NFL or MLB drafts compelling television. They must be to many folks though or else they wouldn't get the wall-to-wall coverage they command. Last night's NHL draft was back in Montreal where so many of them have been held. But the ones I remember, and covered, were low-key, midweek matinees at the Forum. As I recall, both team executives and reporters were keen to get everything finished by sunset, so as to enjoy a long dinner and a night of partying on Crescent Street.
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Sunday, June 28:
I shake my head at the wonder of Brian Burke, the general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. In explaining why he wants to build a fearsome team (i.e. a goon squad), Burke was reminded that Pittsburgh and Detroit built their championship teams a different way. Burke replied that he didn't give a "rat's ass" (his favourite saying) what Pittsburgh and Detroit do. What codswallop. All the Red Wings and Penguins do is win Stanley Cups, a combined seven since 1991. Burke points to his Anaheim Ducks, Cup winners in 2007. That team had great defence and goaltending to ward off all the opposition power plays, something Toronto is not blessed with. I still think Burke will make a difference in Toronto but his blarney is little more than off-season entertainment.
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Tuesday, June 30:
Is this it? Another year without a meaningful September for the Toronto Blue Jays? Their loss tonight drops them seven games out of the division lead and four-and-a-half back in the wild card race. Not insurmountable but here's the problem: too many teams to catch. They're fourth in the five-team American League East and now three games behind third-place Tampa Bay. They're also fourth in the wild-card standings. Add in the injuries and the fact that the Jays, who started 27-and-14, are 14-and-24 since May 18th and I'm thinking this -- again -- may not be the year.
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