So on Monday, the Fraser Institute came out with its annual rankings of Alberta high schools. My old high school, Fort McMurray Composite, came in at 251st out of 288. Obviously, I was a little upset about this. I went on the air and said it was a load of bull, and did a little defending of the high school.
In my attempts to defend the school, I noticed on the school’s website they had a list of famous grads. There was Mayor Melissa Blake, MP Brian Jean, Ottawa Senator Chris Phillips, and country superstar Aaron Lines. All very big names, and all backed up my point that Comp was a great school to attend.
However, you may have heard that there was an outcry support from my countless fans about the lack of my name on the website. OUTRAGE!
So if you heard yesterday, I called up current Comp Principal Tony Zeglin and asked how to get on the website. After a little bit of fun on the air, it was decided that I need to have more Miner Pride. I’m down with that.
Okay, so I haven’t blogged in awhile. I apoligize to all three of you readers. Times have been busy as of late, so let’s catch up.
- Kanye West is simply amazing. As I said on the air on Monday, dude’s ego may be massive but he can back it up. His performance was easily the best single concert act I’ve ever seen in person. He’s such a good entertainer.
- Rihanna was looking and performing fantastic too. The appearance from Chris Brown was a huge surprise and very cool since he didn’t sing during the Edmonton show. As for N.E.R.D., I only got to see their last two songs since we had plane and bus troubles, but what I watched was wicked. Just seemed like a fun party on stage, which is exactly what their music is. “Seeing Sounds” drops on Tuesday, and I’ll definitely be picking it up.
- The Stanley Cup Finals are over, and last night’s Game Six drew a massive rating for NBC. Hopefully this isn’t a one shot deal for Americans, as hockey needs to get the ratings down south to survive. Oh, and congrats Detroit too I guess.
- I lost our Mix Hockey Pool to Nick by two points. Damn you Zetterberg.
- CFL training camp started this week and I cannot wait to get this going. For the first time in my adult life, the Saskatchewan Roughriders are defending champs. I’m taking holidays at the end of the month and will be going to Regina for the home opener. Can’t wait to see that banner raised. (along with the other ones too hopefully, as the banners went mysteriously missing when they renovated Taylor Field last year)
- Unfortunately, my holidays at the end of the month are going to cause me to miss both Sean Kingston and Fred Penner. I don’t know who I’m more upset about missing. I would love to jam with Fred and sing “The Cat Came Back”.
Going back to work after a fun and exciting long weekend. Ahhh, is there anything better in life?
So the Stanley Cup Finals are set, and honestly, the NHL couldn’t be happier with who’s in. Detroit vs. Pittsburgh really is a dream final for the brass in Toronto and New York.
You have the Red Wings - the powerhouse franchise who have dominated hockey off-and-on for the better part of 12 years. Due to arguably the best GM in hockey, they’ve consistently finished in the playoffs and have drafted so smart that they’re always on top.
And then you have the Penguins - a team that has been mediocre for the past 12 years, and built a monster on high draft picks and a little bit of luck. This team would have been great with Malkin and company, but when the won the Sidney Lottery a few years back you knew it was only a matter of time before they’d be Finals bound. It’s been stated countless times, but this team has to remind you of the Oilers of the 80s. They’re just so fun to watch.
You have to give the edge to Detroit due to the experience factor. If the Penguins can calm their nerves early, then they stand a good chance. They just cannot get blown out in Game One. If they lose a close one, or pull of the win somehow, then they’re set to win the Cup. If they get down early and are dominated Saturday night, it might be a quick series.
Either way, if this doesn’t put hockey on the radar south of the border, then nothing will. This isn’t a lame Calgary-Tampa Bay or Edmonton-Carolina matchup. This is the best young players in the world going up against the best team of the past decade. It should be a blast to watch.
As for picks, I’m 8-6 so far these playoffs, so my prognosis means nothing at this point. That said, I really like the Penguins to pull this off. I see it going the distance, with Sid the Kid and pals hoisting the cup in the Motor City on Game Seven night!
So ASRD tells us the forest tent caterpillar situation is going to be even worse in Fort McMurray this year than last. For those who weren’t here last year, this is what we have to look forward to over the next month.
So I haven’t touched my blog in a bit, mostly because I’m trying to recover from Montreal’s loss to Philly and my 0-4 in second round picks. Yeesh, what a depressing round of the playoffs. It was good to see Fort Mac’s Scottie Upshall get the game winner Saturday night. If it’s going to be anybody to kill my spirits, at least it was a local boy.
As for the Conference Finals coming up, I’m kind of stuck in a grind. We have local guys on both Philadelphia and Detroit (Mark Hartigan), but I can’t stand either team. I’d really like to see the Stanley Cup come back to Fort McMurray, but I don’t think I could live with the fans of either team gloating. Therefore…
Penguins over Flyers in 5
Stars over Red Wings in 6
And if my picks from the second round are any indication, we’ll be seeing a Fort Mac vs. Fort Mac Stanley Cup!!
Well things are not looking good for the Canadiens right now. After losing yet again last night, we’re now down 3-1 in the series and are on the ropes. I can’t believe how well Biron is playing for Philadelphia. It’s just sick. Him and Briere deserve a tonne of credit. Of course it’s the Quebec natives that are killing us.
Here’s to hoping they can turn things around Saturday night and get a little momentum going. I still really believe they can make the comeback and pull this off. Come on Habs!!
Switching from the sports talk for a bit… the story of the 500 ducks landing on the Syncrude Tailings Pond is just baffling me. It’s baffling me from the stand point of how many people are picking up on this story around the world. Every single news outlet has the story going… with headlines like “Ducks die in toxic sludge” and “Ducks die a crude death”.
This is not a good thing for Syncrude or for the Alberta Government. It’s a PR nightmare. If I’ve learned anything in my couple years in the news business it’s that the most response comes from stories about children and animals.
All you have to do is look at the google news search of Fort McMurray and see 315 articles on the ducks and 14 on the death of Chris Vanmoorsel at Albian last week. I’m not sure what this says about the news businesses, but it says something.
- Wow, what a first game for the Habs-Flyers. If last night proved anything, it’s that Montreal is meant to win the Stanley Cup this year. Scoring in the last minute of regulation and then in the first minute of overtime. I think it might have been the greatest “Two Minutes of Hockey Turned into a Half Hour” ever. I think I scared the crap our of my dogs too when T.K. scored in overtime. Good times!
- Since I forgot to post my picks yesterday, here are my official Round Two Picks: Montreal in 5, New York in 6, Colorado in 7, and San Jose in 6.
- Big win from the Raptors last night. Very nice! Just think how different this series would be right now if Bosh had hit that shot in Game Two. Egads!
- The snow is finally starting to melt. It’s a good thing too. My car has still yet to move from my garage since the Municipality hasn’t plowed my street. I understand the reasoning as to why they aren’t, but it sure has been a frustrating week for many. Let’s hope Mother Nature melts the snow away this weekend and all us two-wheel drivers can finally make it down the street.
- We’re going to start 10-digit dialing here in a matter of months. Yeesh, I have a tough enough time remembering 7 digits. Now I have to remember which area code my friends have too? Thank you address book in Blackberry!!
I moved to Fort McMurray nearly two decades ago, and have never seen a “spring” like this. The amount of snow we’ve received in a two day span is simply amazing. It was essentially a Snow Day today, and while the schools weren’t officially shut down… they basically were. Growing up here there wasn’t a single day when we weren’t recommended to go to school. In nearly 20 years, this is definitely the worst of the worst.
However, even Old Man Winter’s return couldn’t make me upset today. Why? Because the Montreal Canadiens are so awesome.
I’ll fully admit, I was a nervous wreck going into last night’s game. I honestly thought this could be the end of what’s been an amazing season. Luckily, it wasn’t the end. Oh no, it’s only the start. Carey Price was simply sen-say-she-nall! The brothers had it going on! Kovalev was motivated! It was the team we saw in the regular season.
Tonight, we’ll find out who the Habs play in the next round. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have any preference. I definitely want to play Philadelphia in the next round, as the Rangers scare me much more. However, for the NHL’s sake, a Washington win tonight would be awesome, as it’d set up Crosby vs. Ovechkin. Either way really, it’s going to be a fantastic second round.
Oh, and I understand there might be a Calgary - San Jose game on the go tonight too.
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