I was flooded yesterday with people’s own remedies for my canker sore. Thank you. I was receiving more than I expected I would and was pretty overwhelmed with variety of interesting suggestions. More to come today and an update on my own canker (I tried a remedy not listed here that came from a caller, it didn’t improve the sore too much) but here’s a sample of the suggested remedies I heard yesterday:

-Ted, among many others, said that gargling with salt water was the best way to go

-Bill said putting salt on a cucumber and sticking it on the canker

-Dale recommended a combination of mouthwash and hydrogen peroxide (he says it doesn’t sting but I find that hard to believe)

-Link said skip the water and go with straight salt

-Crystal had an interesting suggestion. She told me of this plant called “bug brush”. You stick it into some boiling water and then you drink the boiled water and it’s kind of like tea. The problem? As far as we know, it only grows naturally in Saskatchewan. A bit of a hike to cure a canker.

-Rick, I have no idea what possessed him to put this in his mouth, said shaving lotion worked for him. I’m not brave enough to try that one.

-Megan had the most unconventional concept of the day. She said that she was raised with the belief that canker sores are caused by the lies you tell, even if they’re small lies. I’d like to think there’s a little more science involved than that but maybe there’s something to that. Not that I lie a whole lot.

-after day 1 I went with the suggestion from Cathy that I should apply toothpaste to the canker. I went with this because it seemed like the most practical, as I had toothpase in the house, and the least gimmicky and off-putting like salt water. However, it didn’t work so it left me looking for more remedies on Wednesday.

-Alana suggested powdered cinnamon. There would be multiple uses for powdered cinnamon so it’s good to have it on the house. But I was warned that it would really hurt, as I would expect.

-Kim didn’t have a suggestion on how to cure cankers but she suggested that they could be prevented by changing your toothbrush every month or two.

-Steve called his Mom, whom he says has the remedy for everything suggested Oral B Amosan

-Jennifer told me I should slice open a raisin (this would take some precision, naturally) and apply the insides of the raisin on the canker

-I tried another remedy suggested by Rene, who said that I should apply a slice of banana on the canker and that the potassium would reduce swelling and pain. It worked a little bit but didn’t completely kill it.

Thank you all for your help and remedies.

I missed The Oscars last night because I was attending The Gold Star Awards, Fort Mac’s version of the Oscars essentially. For this I was reasonably satisfied because unless someone I’m a hardcore fan of is hosting, like Jon Stewart or Chris Rock, it’s hard to sit there and watch all three hours of the show or however long it is. In a way it’s like when there’s an All-Star game on. Yes, I’ll make a point of turning it on and watching a little bit but you feel guilty for turning the channel because you might miss something that people are talking about the next day, but most of the time you miss nothing.

Anyway, the Gold Stars were good for the fact that I wasn’t faced with that dilemma. I’m a little bent though that I didn’t win our Oscar pool, I was one pick short of the victory. What’s particulary vexing was that I watched The Hurt Locker, and thoroughly enjoyed it but went with Avatar for some of the picks, most notably Best Picture and James Cameron for Best Director. I haven’t seen Avatar but I knew it was getting a lot of buzz and figured that Cameron would win based on reputation alone. However, after I submitted my picks and did my homework, it looked like The Hurt Locker was getting the last-minute buzz and I was kicking myself.

Anyway, I’m actually more interested in The Razzies, which honour the worst of the motion picture industry. Interestingly enough, Sandra Bullock completed a very rare feat as she won Best Actress at the Oscars for The Blind Side and the previous night at The Razzies she won worst actress for her performance in All About Steve. Like most class acts who don’t take themselves too seriously, Bullock actually was in person to accept the award. Here’s her speech:

And the list of winners:

WORST PICTURE— “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

WORST DIRECTOR— Michael Bay, “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen”

WORST ACTOR— All Three Jonas Brothers, “Jonas Brothers: The 3-D Concert Experience”

WORST ACTRESS— Sandra Bullock, “All About Steve”

WORST SUPPORTING ACTOR— Billy Ray Cyrus, “Hannah Montana: The Movie”

WORST SUPPORTING ACTRESS— Sienna Miller, ” G.I. Joe”

WORST SCREEN COUPLE— Sandra Bullock and Bradley Cooper, “All About Steve”

WORST REMAKE RIP-OFF SEQUEL— “Land of the Lost”

WORST PICTURE OF THE DECADE— “Battlefield Earth”

WORST ACTOR OF THE DECADE— Eddie Murphy, “Adventures of Pluto Nash,” “I Spy,” “Imagine That,” ” Meet Dave,” “Norbit,” and “Showtime”

WORST ACTRESS OF THE DECADE— Paris Hilton “The Hottie & the Nottie,” “House of Wax,” and “Repo: The Genetic Opera”

I’m still working out the camcorder. The sun through the window wreaked havoc on our shot and hurt the quality. I debated whether I was going to post this or not but figured it’s a worthwhile discussion. Plus, it’s the uncut, unedited version so you see the blooper of the door opening by itself in the studio. So I apologize for the poor quality and lack of professionalism at the start.

As you can tell, I have been enjoying shooting with my new camcorder doing video blogs and shooting shenanigans at our Mix 103.7 office. But I thought I’d go old-school today with 13 Thoughts.

1. Now that the Olympics are over, I don’t have to prentend to be excited when told Canada medalled in something other than hockey (I’ll save that rant for tomorrow). This might not be politically correct, but truthfully, I didn’t care if Canada won gold in combined cancer-curing. For me, nothing else mattered but gold in Men’s  Hockey. Fait accompli.

2. For Christmas I got a 2010 Team Canada jersey. I decided I was going to put a name and number on it once the team was announced. Once I knew he was going to wear #16, I didn’t take long on deciding that I would go with Jonathan Toews, for no other reason than he was amazing in the shootout at the World Juniors a couple years ago against the U.S. and it would be a good conversation piece for when I go back to Chicago. Game-for-game he was our most consistent forward. Any line combination he was on (especially with Mike Richards and Brenden Morrow early in the tournament) made something happen on the ice. I am on board with Captain Serious. He brought us gold, delivered every game and justified my jersey selection.

3. As for our most consistent defenceman was also our youngest, Drew Doughty. I felt like he belonged on the team from the beginning but  for him to be our most valuable D-man? And to think that some people thought Mike Green should’ve been on the team over Doughty. Which brings me to my next thought….

4. There should be no more second-guessing as to who should have been on the team and who shouldn’t have. The desired result was achieved. No, Brent Seabrook wasn’t as much of a shut-down guy as expected, Patrice Bergeron had some bad moments at the wrong times against Slovakia and Martin Brodeur almost single-handedly lost the first game against the U.S.A but every pick was justified. No more what-ifs or “so and so would’ve been better”. These players are champions. Which leads to…..

5. I’ve been vocal in my dislike for Sidney Crosby. I’ve never disagreed that he’s been a tremendous talent and that he’s a wunderkind and everything else. So with that, Crosby was my least favourite player on the team because I have never liked his act. From seeing him hot dog as a junior, to chewing out veteran Mark Recchi on the bench in his rookie year, to his chronic diving and whining to officials, I have never been a fan. I think his image is as contrived as Tiger Woods. I don’t buy the nice-guy, class-act, act. I feel like Don Cherry’s past criticisms of him were justified which jusified as he was the only one out-spoken (read: crazy) enough to vilify this hockey player, seeming beyond reproach. Obviously, I will be obeying my rule that that will be no haterade consumed at the expense of any of these players. They brought us something as a nation that gave us such joy and the components of this team shouldn’t be forgotten…..

6. And I know Sidney Crosby joins Paul Henderson and Mario Lemieux for scoring iconic goals for Canada (Toews, Jordan Eberle, Anson Carter and Joe Sakic would be in the secondary conversation) and deservedly so. However, not to take anything away from him and not to completely dismiss the goal as “right place,  right time” let’s not forget two things: a) Jarome Iginla made a BRILLIANT pass back to Crosby on their beautiful give and go, which he’s not getting his due props for and b) as absolutely spectacular as Ryan Miller was for the Americans, there is extreme irony in allowing such a weak goal at such a crucial moment. I would go to war with Miller any time and after this tournament he can’t be denied consideration as one of the five best goalies in the game BUT he didn’t make a relatively easy save when he needed to. Just saying.

7. If anything, I’m happy this game didn’t go to a shootout. 1. I wouldn’t have been able to handle the intesity of the moment. 2. I think shootouts are a ridiculous way to resolve such an important game. Especially with IIHF rules which allow a player to continue to be sent out as a shooter in the sudden death round if nothing is solved after the first three shooters. I know this has worked to Canada’s benefit in the World Juniors with Toews aformentioned heroics but it’s a stupid rule and I would’ve felt guilty winning by sending Rick Nash out four times in a row and I would have been catatonic if we lost a game in that fashion.

8. There were no shortage of “Luuuuuuu” chants at “Vancouver Hockey Place” or at Longshots, where I watched most of the games. While he was just what Canada needed in relief for Brodeur and was tremendous in the clutch, especially against Slovakia, he looked a little shaky and allowed a soft goal in each game against the Slovaks and the USA. Unlike in ‘02 where Brodeur was one of the primary reasons Canada won, Luongo was good enough but not spectacular like Miller.

9. Mike Babcock coached his ass off. He pushed the right button every time. There were a couple times I thought he should’ve done something different. Against Germany he allowed Crosby to take a penalty shot over Rick Nash (not that it made a difference) and he allowed Bergeron on the ice against the Slovaks at crucial times where you could argue it might be too much to ask of him to be out there (results would back that up). But from the line combinations to the amount of time he played certain players, to matching up with other teams, Babcock was brilliant. If the NHLers are back in 2014, barring something ridiculous, Babcock will be back behind the bench for Canada.

10. Say the same for Steve Yzerman. He’d get all the blame if this team came up short of gold and isn’t getting the credit he deserves for building this squad. Stevie Y was my favourite player when he was active…now, like Gretz…he’s done it all.

11. While I’ve blasted him (most emphatic) and praised him (most recently) on this very blog, I can’t imagine how Brian Burke is handling everything emotionally. His son Brendan, who made headlines for announcing that he was now openly gay, died days before the beginning of the games. Then to endure one of the most, perhaps THE most, heartbreaking loss in U.S. hockey history, is more than most people can handle. This might be the only time I say this…but I genuinely feel for him. He looked devastated on the U.S. bench. He has nothing to be ashamed of. He built a strong USA team that gave Canada all it could handle, on two occasions in these games.

12. As much as we may loathe the U.S. winning any hockey tournament, I will say this…they must be respected for no other reason than they would never give up the way the Russians did against us. Some may argue that the U.S. development program is a rip-off of the Canadian system, but the Americans show Canadian-like heart. Whether they ripped that off too or not, at the very least, it should be respected.

13. It’s stupid and completely hypothetical but today I haven’t been to help but wonder if the 2010 gold medal team would beat the 2002 gold medal team. I know, I know, it’s like the whole “Could Dream Team I beat Dream Team II” USA Basketball debate, and I know it’s hard to compare because the ‘02 team was built for a larger ice surface but still…let’s explore this. Here’s the breakdown:

Goaltending-Edge: ’02 Team-Marty Brodeur relieved Curtis Joseph in a controversial decision after the first game against Sweden. Brodeur had more to do with the success of that gold medal team than the Brodeur/Luongo combination this year.

Defence-Edge: ‘02 Team-Both units were great but I’ll take the younger versions of Niedermayer and Pronger. Plus Foote, Blake and MacInnis before they got too old.

Forwards-Edge: ‘10-A difference in philosophy in selecting both teams but there was little drop off from the top line and the 4th line on the 2010 team. Plus, any line on the team could be a checking line or a scoring line depending on how you wanted to use them. You couldn’t say that as emphatically about the ‘02 team where the roles, on the whole, were more rigidly defined.

Coaching-Edge: ‘02-Come on, I’ll never give Pat Quinn the benefit of the doubt most of the time. He did a good job with the talented team he had. Babcock did a great job with the talented team he had.

Leadership-Edge: ‘02-Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic were alternates to Mario Lemieux. Plus you throw in Blake, MacInnis, Foote, Ryan Smyth and Joe Nieuwendyk. In fairness, Niedermayer was a good captain this year and most of the guys on the team are too young to bear that type of responsibility yet. Although, Eric Staal, Crosby, Iginla, Richards, Toews and Shea Weber could all get consideration in 2014.

Depth-Edge: ‘10 team-It’s easier to remember who was left off the ‘10 team that could’ve made it. Although time may make the names that didn’t make the cut this time around less significant, we left behind Steven Stamkos, Jay Bouwmeester, Dion Phaneuf, Mike Green, Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards and Jeff Carter.

Verdict-The ‘02 team. The right blend of youth, experience and unmatched goaltending. Again, this has a time bias but considering the current Hall of Famers on the ‘02 team (Lemieux, MacInnis and Yzerman) and players who will likely make the Hall of Fame that were on both teams (Pronger, Brodeur, Niedermayer, Iginla) there are some highly likely Hall of Fame candidates that are about to go in (Sakic, Blake and Brendan Shanahan) plus a couple that are on the fringe (Nieuwendyk and Eric Lindros).

There aren’t too many surefire Hall of Famers exclusive to the 2010 team that if you project their body of work, that are on pace to be recognized: Joe Thornton, Dany Heatley. It would be easy to say that Crosby or Staal or Doughty will be Hall of Famers but they’re still too early into their careers. Who thought that Simon Gagne and Eric Brewer were on the fast-track to the HOF after the ‘02 gold medal? Time will reveal all of this. But in the meantime, I’m taking the devil I know: The 2002 Gold Medal winners in Salt Lake City.

I know Jerry Seinfeld has talked about this before in regards to a restaurant tab but I saw it in action at Longshots over the weekend. We were having a farewell get-together for one of our employees here at Mix 103.7 and some of the crew, predictably, was hitting it hard. What’s always amusing to me, as it is to Jerry, is when the bill comes and the disbelief that follows. “I didn’t have six Captain Morgans……did I??!!” Then the person attempts to take a mental inventory of how much they had to drink and shortly after that, they resolve they can’t prove (read: remember) how much or little they had to drink so they dejectedly walk over and pay their bill.

It’s good times while you’re eating and drinking. It’s never fun paying for it. This is not to say that some establishments don’t attempt to take advantage of those who indulge in alcohol and charge them for phantom drinks and bill them for eight beers when they’ve only had six.

Here’s my suggestion for you: text yourself each time you have a drink, including the type of drink you’re having. When the bill arrives (hours later) check your phone and you’ll see what you’ve had to drink. Have a tip to remember how much you’ve been drinking? Post a comment.

In case you missed it earlier today:

1. As I predicted, another amazing Super Bowl. It’s just sad that in a couple years people will look back on the game and see that there was a 14 point differential and think that it was a lopsided game that was determined early. While it’s fresh in our memory, let’s remind ourselves that that wasn’t the case.

2. Dwight Freeney was a beast in the first half with a sack and in the second half faded. I don’t know if he took a pain-killing injection that just faded or it was fatigue but he was invisible in the second half.

3. So, everyone loves Sean Payton’s call of the onside kick to start the second half, right? Well let me paraphrase some of the platitudes that would’ve been espoused had the Saints not recovered and subsequently lost:

-Sean Payton didn’t trust his defence against Peyton Manning. If you can’t live with your defence in the Super Bowl, you don’t deserve to win

-The arrogance of thinking you could fool a team like the Colts coming out of the half with a trick play…the Saints deserve to lose.

-Giving Peyton Manning the ball on your own 40 in the biggest game of the year, already trailing four is a death-wish. Then you’re playing catch-up against the Colts for the remainder of the game. That’s not a race you can win.

So while Payton is getting his props, can we take Bill Belichick off the hook for his 4th and 2 call against the Colts? It was the wrong decision for two reasons 1. It wasn’t a forgone conclusion that the Colts would score if the Pats punted to them (Manning had thrown 2 INT’s in the game and didn’t look particularly sharp), you take your chances with your defence. 2. Because the Pats didn’t convert, if they did, Belichick could have taken off the hoodie and headset and marched straight to Canton and the Pro Football Hall of Fame that SECOND and be inducted…the major differences between the two calls is the magnitude and juncture of the respective games. Arrogance, a lack of confidence or fear of Peyton Manning didn’t play a factor for either Payton or Belichick. It just worked out for Payton. But could you image if it didn’t? And you thought the debate over Belichick’s call was overkill….

4. If Drew Brees doesn’t have the amazing game he has, Garrett Hartley probably should have been the Super Bowl MVP. 3 clutch kicks giving the Saints 9 points when drives stalled. No gimmes either. 46, 44 and 47 yards.

5. After watching all the features on Brees in pre-game, if you don’t like Drew Brees, then you don’t like anyone. The man is a class-act all the way, a consummate leader and competitor. I’ve liked Brees since his days at Purdue and after what I saw this season, he’s one of my current faves. I wouldn’t trade Tom Brady for anyone but now that Brees has won the big one, we can put him among the game’s current elite.

6. Which brings me to Peyton Manning. Ohhhhh Peyton. He played a tremendous game overall. However, can you consider someone who threw a pick-six at a critical juncture in the most important game of the season one of the all-time greats? Tom Brady, while losing Super Bowl XLII, never threw a deflating interception in the big game. Can you think of one that Joe Montana threw? With or without the Super Bowl win, the talk of Manning being the unequivocal “Greatest QB of All-Time” was premature. Now, I can only hope the talk subsides until he actually wins at least two more.

7. …which brings me to this point. Let’s compare the main bullet points on the epitaphs of Kurt Warner and Manning (so far, anyway).

Kurt Warner-2 league MVPs, 1 Super Bowl win, 1 SB MVP, 3 appearances.

Peyton Manning-4 league MVPs, 1 Super Bowl win, 1 SB MVP, 2 appearances.

Look similar enough, right? Well  how come Warner isn’t being considered a lock for the Hall of Fame but Manning is even being considered one of the all-time greats? Granted, Manning’s career doesn’t have valleys and peaks like the middle of Warner’s (which looking at it now, the injuries he sustained in that time certainly contributed to drop-off in his final years with the Rams and one season with the Giants). Fact is, while Manning may have more impressive individual statistics and more league MVPs, Warner holds the top-three single game passing records in a Super Bowl. No Manning, Brady, Aikman, Montana or Bradshaw. The top three reads “Warner, Warner, Warner” but only has one ring. Wow.

It’s all about perception. You can’t argue that at this point in his career, Peyton Manning has played better in the most meaningful game of the season than Warner. Yet, the perception is that Manning is waaaaay better than Warner. Look again.

8. And one last shot at Manning (I promise). I’ll spare you the anecdotal evidence and wordy opinion on my end. Tom Brady is still better than Peyton Manning (for now). Despite having a better supporting cast most seasons, Manning has 1 ring. Brady has 3. Scoreboard!

9….and the reason why I don’t need to take a shot at Manning is because Payton did on the podium after accepting the Lombardi trophy as he couldn’t have done it without “the Super Bowl MVP…and the MVP of the league, Drew Brees”. OOOOOOOOH SNAAAAAAAP!

10. I can’t decide whether it was poor tackling or if it was because he ran with vigor but Joseph Addai and the running game can’t be blamed for the loss.

11. I watched the game at the Blackhorse Pub with most of the Mix 103.7 crew. The first time I have watched the Super Bowl in public in about seven or eight years and I’m reminded why. I was seated next to a group of…gentlemen…and one of them kept singing the “Pants on the Ground” song.

I swear, it was every 10 mins. It doesn’t sound like a lot but it was about 6 times an hour over the span of seven or eight hours. It was cruel, unusual and unnecessary.

12. The loudest cheer the at the Blackhorse was during Carrie Underwood’s rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. It wasn’t because it was a stirring performance but because at our table we had a prop bet of whether the length of the anthem was going to be over or under 1:43. Once it got to the 1:25 mark, people were yelling “Nooooo, slow down!” or “Go longerrrr!”. There was huge applause at the end as, evidently, most people (including myself) took the over. By the way, the final length was 1:48.

13. How great do you think Buffalo Bills fans feel knowing that Gregg Williams was once their coach, then deemed not good enough to be their coach and then see him hoisting the Lombardi trophy? Since his departure, he has resumed being one of the best defensive coordinators in the NFL and just neutralized Kurt Warner, Brett Favre and Peyton Manning as Saints DC. Just saying…maybe should’ve held onto the guy.