53 year olds - now and then.

When my Dad was 53, I was 22. As far as Dad's go, I thought he was pretty cool. He was a very active parent, and he loved to golf. The thing I can't really remember clearly was, what else did 53 year olds do then? I didn't really listen to hi music. I didn't play organized sports with him.I feel like there has been a huge change over those 30 some years.

Here are some examples. When I was 22 I listened to rock music, played lacrosse, basketball, golf, and loved to fish.

Let's compare that to today - I am 53. - I listen to rock music, play lacrosse, basketball, golf and I love to fish. What does all this mean? - There might be a few theories.

1. I never grew up
2. My life is mundane and things never change
3. I am in desperate need to hang on to my youth

or...

1. I am part of an evolution of change, where I have learned that you don't need to stop doing things you like because of your age. An active lifestyle is good for you and sharing those activities with the people you care about is really the essence of life.

If there is only one thing I pass on to the younger generations is "life is like a lacrosse game". There are three periods, and to be successful, you need to work as hard in the third period as you do in the first two if you want to "win" the game.

Do you agree with this theory, I would love to hear your thoughts.

A Feel Good Canadian Sports Story

I am a Proud Canadian. Always have been, always will be. I love sports, you all know that. When you combine Great Canadian Sports with Great Canadian Athletes you can get some really great Canadian Sports Moments. I am sure by now you have all heard that the Women's World Cup of soccer is on in Germany, and I am sure you heard that the underdog, but feisty Canadians were taking on the heavily favoured women from Germany. We lost 2 - 1. A very solid effort. The big story was the tough play of the gritty Canadian squad, led of course by their captain Christine Sinclair.


If you have been hiding from the world, you may not know this great story.
Chris Dart from www.thescore.com  wrote a great little description of the events and also a video of her beautiful goal.....please read it.
http://www.thescore.com/buzz/articles/148159-christine-sinclair-is-tough


Thanks.

Lacrosse Weekend Update

Another weekend has come and gone with the U-19 Owen Sound Women's Lacrosse team. For those of you that do not know, I am helping to coach with Tristen and Jmac as they lead the Owen Sound girls in their quest for Gold at this years provincials. This week we travelled to Orangeville, a great lacrosse hotbed in Ontario. There were 3 fields going for the girls, plus there was a boy's box lacrosse tournament going on in the arena.
Things started early once again, as the carpool headed out of Owen Sound shortly after 6am for an 8:30 game. We were a little late in our warm up, but the girls pulled it together, and some great goaltending combined with some great balanced scoring led to a solid 12 - 5 win over Brampton.
Our next game was against Oakville, and once again we won by the same score, 12 - 5...and suddenly the Lady North Stars were a very respectable 6 wins against 1 loss. However, one game to go on this busy Saturday....and things were taking a bit of a downward turn. Jmac and I had to leave, leaving Tristen alone to coach, but worse than that, she also had a depleted squad. We lost 3 girls to commitments and 1 to injury, and suddenly we were in really tough. The girls fought hard, only to lose 9- 5 in the nightcap to St. Catherines.
I just want to say congratulations to the girls on another great weekend. We need to learn from our wins and our losses, and figure out what we did right, but more importantly, areas we can improve. Ask yourself if you gave it your best effort at all times, if the answer is yes, you can do no more...if you think you could have played harder or tougher, than remember that too.
Use every minute of every day to learn something new, and always strive to get better. Next game - Kawartha. Go North Stars - Go!!

Note - In between games the girls made the effort to go into the arena and cheer on the Owen Sound Midget boys playing Orangeville in the tournament. The girls were loud and supportive. - this message is for those Midget boys...if you guys get a chance, you should get out there and return the favour and cheer on the girls.

Here is a link to the passitonsports.ca gallery pages.

http://www.passitonsports.ca/apps/newgallery/index.php?level=collection&id=4



I have loaded up some pictures from the three weekends so far, Toronto, Brampton and Orangeville.
These girls are a blast.

Leborn, DWade, and Bosh.

i wrote this blog a couple of months ago. Funny how it turned out.

These guys are very wealthy twenty-somethings.I wonder if they fit into my twenty-something theory. They were all working, had really good jobs, making some decent money (enough to make ends meet) but were not really happy with their work environment. I will leave Dwayne Wade out of this for the moment, because he did stay with his employer. On the other hand, let's talk about LeBron James and Chris Bosh. What did they have in common? They both were working for "companies that were happy with their work. They both were millionaires. They were adored by their fans, and were the "go to" guys for their respective teams. So what was the problem then? The problem is, in my opinion, is that loyalty is no longer in the equation.
"I don't care about my employer, my fans, nobody but me. I want to win, and I don't care how I do it. I will give up my integrity to "buy" a championship. I have not got time to wait. I don't care about building something where I am, I want it right now!!"
This is one of my biggest pet peeves in sports today. It is a rare athlete that stays with a team from start to finish...and yes I am naive and a bit of a dreamer, but i love to see a team grow over time make the odd draft pick and trade and eventually make the playoffs and win a championship. I miss guys like Magic, Joe, Cal Ripken and Michael. Where is the next one. Maybe Dirk Nowitski....he is a loyal one team guy.
Makes me think, what will come first a loyal athlete, or a Leaf Stanley Cup...ok now I am getting off track.

The Twenty Somethings.

I wrote this blog a while back. Before the Vancouver riots. Since the riots, there has been a lot of photos of people looting, burning cars and smashing windows. There were definitely different age people doing it, but young males did seem to dominate. Why? Here is my blog - maybe totally unrelated.

The twenty somethings. Very interesting age group. Now we can spend hours discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each generation, down the line, but not today. Today I am looking at the group born in the 80's. I have some experience in this area, as I have a 23 year old daughter and a 22 year old son. I love my kids, they are incredibly dynamic, interesting, polite and intelligent young adults. You know there is a "but" coming don't you. The twenty somethings that I know personally and in the sporting world, seem to have a common thread, and that is a sort of sense of entitlement. They are the "instant gratification" generation. I want it now. I don't want to wait. They have instant messaging, facebook, twitter,  and blackberries. They take pictures of wverything around them and share it with everybody.They know everything about everybody, instantly. This is the group of young adults that my generation created. We read them stories when they were little, taught them right from wrong and passed on our experience to help them grow up to be the next powerful generation. I think we did a great job. My kids and my friend's kids are all such a great bunch of people. But it is this instant gratification thing that keeps haunting me. Where was the disconnect?
"Back in the day" (i had to say that) - we were taught to , respect your elders, work hard, "pay your dues" and over time you will eventually move up the "corporate" ladder. The harder you work, the more time you put in, the quicker you move up in a company. If you don't like your boss, you still do the job, because he/she is the boss (no other reason needed here.)
This is not about "we did it right" and "you are doing it wrong" It is about, why is it so different?
In today's world if you don't like your boss - you quit. If you disagree what they are saying, you tell them - immediately. It is almost like the "discretion filter" has been removed. When we were that age, we would bite our bottom lip almost off rather than talk back, or disagree. I guess that could be looked at as weakness. We looked at it as, I really need this job, I need the paycheck, so I will say nothing. Am I right about this or am I overreacting? I would love to here from all ages.

Pro Lacrosse - Music

Lacrosse has gone through so many transitions over the year. I think we all agree on one thing if you love lacrosse, and that is we want our game to sell out arenas across North America. But all these face lifts just don't sit right with me.
Here is another item I would like you to ponder. Do you like music playing during the play at the lacrosse games?  I am a music lover, and old rock and roller from way back.
Should music be playing while the play is on? I am not saying here that it should not be, I would like your opinion.
For me? It is too much. I like to hear the game, while the game is playing. I like to hear the hits, hear the guys, and the coaches yelling out instructions, I  like to "hear" the guys running. Music between plays, etc. I can tolerate. I know the loud speaker guy is yelling to get the crowd going, but it wears on me. The problem is, as I have mentioned in earlier blogs, Lacrosse people are not filling lacrosse arenas...and Owners are trying anything to find "first time fans". So maybe the music works for "most" people.
Maybe I am getting old and miserable. Yikes. I hope that isn't it.
Let me know what you think. All ages, Lacrosse players and non players. I really want to know what you think. Is the music what you want?

Big Sporting Moments

One of my favorite things in watching sports is being able to see some special, extraordinary moments. There are names that come to mind over the years.

 Wilt Chamberlain (100 point in a game) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilt_Chamberlain's_100-point_game

Joe Montana and Dwight Clark (the catch), http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-LmPFHgE3k  -

Kobe Bryant's 81 points http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeXZY4eVLlo

Wayne Gretzky's 92 goal season. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMh6ncdrLo4

There are so many more to talk about in so many sports. I would love for you to share your favorite moments as well.

However the purpose of today's blog is to talk about the most recent Greatest Sporting Moment...and that would be this weekends performance by a 22 year old from Ireland name Rory McIlroy. What did he do? First of all, and foremost, he won the 2011 U.S.Open Golf Championship. What makes it so special? Check out these numbers.
Lowest score in relation to par in a U.S. Open, 72 holes: 16-under, Rory McIlroy, 2011 U.S. Open. Tops the 12-under mark set by Tiger Woods at the 2000 U.S. Open; McIlroy was never lower than 13-under at any point in his final round.
Lowest aggregate score in a U.S. Open, 72 holes: 268, Rory McIlroy, 2011 U.S. Open. Previously: 272, held by Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Lee Janzen, and Jim Furyk.
Lowest score in relation to par in a major championship, 72 holes: 19-under, Tiger Woods, 2000 British Open. McIlroy never got closer than 17-under late on his back nine; only Woods and Bob May have ever been 18-under or below after 18 holes of a major championship.
Lowest aggregate score in a major championship, 72 holes: 265, David Toms, 2001 PGA Championship. McIlroy's even-par back nine (two birdies, two bogeys) gave him a 268 for the week.
Largest margin of victory in a major championship: 15 strokes, Tiger Woods, 2000 U.S. Open. McIlroy never led by more than 10 strokes, and his eight-stroke margin of victory is fourth in U.S. Open history.
Fewest bogeys in a major: Three, multiple times, most recently by Tiger Woods in the 2006 PGA Championship. McIlroy made two bogeys on the back nine of his final round to lose his shot at setting this record.


It was fun to watch....and the fact that he seems like a nice kid made even better.



By the way Jack Nicklaus has won the most Majors ever. When Jack won his first major he was older than Rory. I am expecting big things. Thanks Rory, for A Great Sporting Moment.

Happy Father's Day

The day after 9/11. That is the day my Dad died. That was a tough week.
On father's day, I always think about him. He wasn't a "normal" Father - or maybe he was. All i know for sure, as I get older, my memories of him are all good. He did things with us kids that made sure the memories would stick.

Examples -

1/ showing up one night with our new dog (boxer named Chips) - not sure Mom was happy at the time, but in retrospect, he was a completely necessary part of the family.
2/ The best backyard hockey rink in the neighborhood. Huge snowbanks, beautiful ice surface (he would spend hours out there in the cold flooding the rink) - and of course lights for night games.
3/Driving to Talisman Ski Resort in the station wagon (packed) to ski for a day.
4/Using the same Dodge Monaco Wagon to pull us using a ski rope on our toboggan behind the car at the Rattary Marsh (not sire if it was legal - or safe - but man it was fun.
5/ taking us water skiing - pulling a record 7 skiers behind the boat, and than driving the boat around the entire lake so everybody could see us, are arms falling off, but we loved it.
6/ passing on golf - lacrosse - fishing - skiing etc to me, and driving me everywhere, any where, any time. Until you get a little older, it is hard to understand what it takes to make that happen.

He had a way of making the ordinary, extraordinary...and that is something special.

I could go on and on. He was a Dad. A Dad I still try to emulate. I love you Dad. Thanks.

Mike.

Vancouver - 24 hrs later

I don't really know what to say, but I feel like I want to say so much.

Reckless Disregard

(n) the phrase Reckless disregard is used to represent utmost stage of negligence in doing anything with a mentality of disregarding the existence of the society and its well being.

That is probably the best way to describe last night in Vancouver.
24 hours ago I was playing a Masters Lacrosse game with my pals. We were excited to get it over, and run to The Tin Cup for a beverage an see the last period of the game. It was anticlimatic...I wanted a close, exciting last minute finish. It didn't happen, and a deserving Boston Bruin team accepted their well earned hardware.
Even as this was going on the first car was on fire. It got a lot worse.
I have a hard time figuring out this mentality. Yes, I have seen it before. The most recent was the Toronto G20. I was disgusted.
Last night made me feel worse. Why? I asked myself that, and the answer I came up with this. It is a sports event. That is all. Please tell me that these were not people that were "hurt" by losing a game. Please tell me that.
It was shameful....embarrassing, and brutal. The perpetrators seems to be very similar. Young and male. If I offend you here, than send me a comment, but look at the pictures and videos. Some say it was an organized terror group that started it, I don't buy that...but I could be wrong. The point is there were a lot of Canuck sweaters involved in the riot...and they all seemed pretty proud of themselves.
What I want to know is this. What are they really so mad at? What has gone wrong with society. People stood around watching and taking pictures of the horror. Why hang around? Leave. Go home.
I am not sure if you have figured this out, but I am not really saying much on this blog. I am mad. I am upset. I am venting.
I would love for someone, anyone to make sense of it for me. I can't.
I commend the people in Vancouver that stepped up to help. We need to figure this out.
A short video to show a small section of the damage.
http://www.vancouversun.com/Video+Horrendous+damage+stores+Vancouver+Riot+2011/4958053/story.html

Take care.   Mike.

Stanley Cup - Final Thoughts

Congratulations to the Boston Bruins. Tim Thomas, a deserving MVP.
Here are a couple of quick thoughts.

• The Vancouver Canucks played 3 soild games out of 7. The other 4, they were horrible. There was no middle ground.
• Luongo will take a lot of heat, and some of it deserving, but this loss is on the team, not him.
• Cancucks went into the third period 6 times without a goal. Wow.
• Team wins over individuals. It happened in this series. It happened in the NBA. It happens a lot.
• I am not very good at picking final scores.

Final Note. - Shame on the people that trashed that beautiful city. I would love to know how many of the "trashers" were actual sports fans, and how many were just knobs! Sad.

No Hockey! No Basketball! -  Time for this guy to maybe get my first game of golf in. That is truly sad.

The Stanley Cup

Game 7 Wednesday Night!! - This is what sports is all about. Game 7 Baby!
First of all, no matter who you are cheering for...you have to give Boston and Vancouver props for getting here. Anybody that has ever played competitive sports at any level can attest to the fact that getting to the championship game is tough. Your body is in pain, your mind is exhausted at this point you are basically on auto pilot. So give the boys credit to get it to a game 7. I cannot remember a series like it. Ever. Totally two different series in one. Defensive low scoring in Vancouver, and blow out city in Boston. If you follow the script, it is a one goal low scoring win for the Canucks on Wednesday night....and the Cup. Sports though, rarely follows the script. I have no idea who will win. I would not bet on this series.
I know this. Once again karma has played a roll. I feel as though some players have been talking too much. When will athletes learn this simple rule? When in a "battle", do not talk about your opponent, focus on your own game. Play hard, as hard as you can. When it is over, and you have won the big game, you still don't need to talk about your opponent. They already know who won.

                  Be strong. Be humble. Show respect.
                     That is what makes you a winner.

Good luck tomorrow. I am cheering for the Canuckleheads. If Boston wins it, good on them, they have played tough. I think I will go with my same score as the one I so horribly messed up on Monday night.
The Cup comes to Canada. Vancouver 2 Boston 1.

*other sporting news* MOB Lacrosse Blue vs Gold 8pm
                                                    Red vs Black 9pm

The Playoffs (Revisited)

One Down - One to go. Did you watch the basketball? I did.

I loved it. I enjoyed the drama, the story lines, the hot and cold shooting - I loved it all. The right team won. Hardest working, "put in their time team won" the game.
The "Instant Championship" that Miami tried to manufacture, didn't happen. Why? - For me it comes down to respect. Simple. Dirk and Jason Kidd and Jason Terry and Shawn Marion had the opportunity to play basketball. And play they did. They respected their team and their opponent, right from the start. Also unsung heroes like Jose Barea, DeShawn Stevenson and Tyson Chandler played their heart out. Why? They had no distractions (kind of).Can you tell I am getting to something? I am.

Miami made their bed, and then they had to sleep in it. Ok, I will get to my point. LeBron did his made for TV announcement that he was leaving Cleveland and going to Miami. The Big three were born, Wade, LeBron and Bosh. And they gave birth to a whole new group of people that did not like Miami. Suddenly, people hated Miami. Is that fair. Of course it is. The fans pay the salaries....they have a right to hate or love a team.
How does all this relate to last nights win? Simple. LeBron could not take the pressure of it all. I don't care what he says. He couldn't deal with it. Last night was a real eye opener for The Big Three. Do I think they will ever win? Yes. And sorry to say they might win a few...they are amazing, phenomenal athletes, but before that can happen, it is time to grow up boys. LeBron in particular needs to rebuild some bridges. If I was him? - I would hold a press conference and apologize to the Cleveland fans for they way that I left. I would admit that the TV show was wrong. I would say that I realize that to win at this level (at any level) - you need to do it as a team. A lot of you I am sure thinks that is a wimpy way to deal, but it is my opinion. Once he has done that, he can then go back to playing basketball, the game itself, and not the sideshow. (the little stunt by Dwade insinuating that Dirk was "faking" his illness??) - childish. Play the game boys. You were a sideshow, the media was in your face, every game...and you choked. Sorry. Congrats Dallas Mavericks.

Tonight. Cheering big time for Canucks....low scoring Vancouver 2 - Boston 1.

The Playoffs

Wow - That is how I sum up the playoffs. Now for me I am talking NHL and NBA. I know most of you are hockey nuts, me too, but I love my round ball and the Miami - Dallas series has a lot of drama and story lines, just like the hockey.
First - NHL - I am Canadian. I am cheering for the Canucks, seems like a no brainer to me. For you long time Bruin fans, I of course make an exception, but for the casual fan? - if you are in Canada cheer for Vancouver. Besides, my Aunt Linda lives in downtown Vancouver, that alone is reason enough. It is a funny series. A homer series big time. You can drop all the cliches right about now, about winning the next game(or else) etc., but I think the Canucks might just win this now in Boston. Lesson Learned. They have to play more physical (early) in Boston...and Roberto needs to shut the door in the first period. They do this, and the Stanley Cup will be won on Monday night. Go Canuncks Go!

Second - NBA - Again - what a great series. Homer series again. Miami won 2 in Miami and Dallas then won 3 in Miami. So come Sunday night, Dallas has to chances to win the NBA title. It has been fun to watch. Who should you cheer for? Again seems like a no brainer. Of course it depends on your age I think. (See Twenty Something Blog coming soon) - but being Old School as previously mentioned it does seem simple. You decide.
Miami - a team that was put together (behind the scenes) as a "Super Team", a carefully calculated sideshow, even a Live television event to announce it, touting the "Big Three" as the Unstoppable force that will win championships for years to come, hoisting the big Trophy at the end of the year, over and over. - so you can choose Miami (I could have gone on longer)
Dallas - a hard working team, with an inspired exciting owner, with journeyman players that have paid their dues. Jason Kidd has worked his butt off his whole career, and Dirk Nowitzki. He has played his entire career with the Dallas Mavericks - say no more. He put in his time. He is loyal, hard working and flat out fun to watch. And to appease my brother Tippy I will add, Nowitzki has "earned his stripes". Go Mavericks!!
Enjoy a great Sunday (NBA) and Monday (NHL) of sports. It does not get much better.

Pro Lacrosse - Bring back the fast break!

I talked to one of the coaches in the NLL who will remain nameless, he explained the logic to me, and how teams are adapting now and instead of doing 5 on and 5 off, they are now sending 3 and 3, and sometimes they call a play to bust it out, and this to me is a start. But for an old school guy like myself, i want more. I look at it this way. The owners in the NLL have done a great job to get us here. We have a good league with a good group of solid franchises, and the game has tried lots of rule changes (bigger nets for one) to make the game exciting. They have introduced a new group of fans, that were never lacrosse fans before, which is great, but i think it is important to not forget the games roots, and what made it great in the past. FastBreaks!! How about this radical idea? When I was six years old we had what was called the “three” minute line. These kids would start the game, play three straight minutes, no matter what, the buzzer would go, and the next line would come out. Hmmmm. Care to try that at the pro level? That would be fun to watch! How do you ever stop the constant line changing? Can you make a rule saying no line change for 45 seconds? I don't know the answer. But I need an answer.
I am here to tell the people at the NLL, that when I am watching, I really miss the fast break. Bring me back lacrosse. I am not some old school guy that cannot grow with the game. I can. But we have to look at the game and think about what has made it great.
"The fastest game on two feet"! Please let us not forget this.
Just my opinion.