*Top Secret* U19 Coaching Clinic

It is less than one week away to the U19 Women's Ontario Lacrosse Provincials to be held in Whitby, Ontario.

One thing that experience in lacrosse (and all sports) has taught me it that to win a championship, at any level is a very difficult, whether it is for the NBA crown, The Stanley Cup or The Women's U19 Provincials....to win it all is tough. So when you have the opportunity to do it, you must take it. Owen Sound U19's have a great shot. A great bunch of girls with balanced skill levels, have put together a 10 win 3 loss season (their best ever), combine that with some fantastic coaches Jessica and Tristen, it is "GO" time.

I have enjoyed my time this year as an assistant, and am disappointed that I won't be there, although I will be in spirit.

I have never been shy to voice my opinion...as most of you know, so today is no different. I have a couple of things to say to the girls...

Let's start with goaltending - Shelby - You are the rock. Defence starts with you. Offence (transition) starts with you. Relax. Talk. Play your game. It is that easy. You had a great season. Feed off of that. If a goal gets by you..shake it off....time to think about the next shot. Have fun!!

Kayla - use your voice to rally the team - we need the team spirit....1-2-3- NORTH STAR

Mackala - remember to slide your hand up on the stick....easier to catch...

Bo - Good transition player - stay low on ground balls.

Brooke - intimidate on defense...go for a run with the ball - use your athleticism.

Sarah - use all your skills - give and go - back door to the net with Torey or Kate - own those faceoffs

Jenn W - you have some goals in that stick - but.....follow your shots....ball possession

Tessa - tough midfield player....push the ball......when you get to the net - shoot with authority!

Jenny L - run the ball....draw a crowd...and dump to an open player...works every time

Shayla - tough on defense, if you get a chance grab that ball and run....when you see a player closing in...pass it off.

Taylor - soft hands when you are catching the ball...keep your feet moving on defence (and don't get hurt)

Jordaine - catch the ball before you run - softly - bend your knees....and then run!! - Use your speed on defence...chase them down and hit their stick.

Nicole - use your speed and chase down the ball - relax on offence - catch before you run.

Kate - share the ball - give and go - mix up your shots...go low go high.....come to the ball, then hard to the net...catch the pass....GOAL.

Torey - mix up your shots - be a leader - talk to the team - keep things positive - share the ball - play tough.

*Quick hitters*

• know your role, and play within it.
• remember the offsides....who is responsible to count.....if Brooke or Shayla go for a run someone must stay back
• give up the ball - you will get it back.
• cheer each other on...tap your goalie, be loud and proud
• if you get down - stay "up" - in lacrosse you can always turn the game around
• Listen to Jessica and Tristen, they have a tremendous understanding of this game, it is easier to see things from the sideline...when there is a timeout, get your water quickly and listen to what the coaches are saying...timeouts are short.

RESPECT

• your opponent
• your  teammates
• the officials
• your coaches
• yourself

Provincials are a blast - Have fun, laugh, and when it is game - focus.

Good Luck Girls - I am really proud of you all.

Mike.

Long Weekend

What a beautiful Day! I guess it depends where you are reading this from this morning, but for those of us in Ontario, Canada, we are beginning a gorgeous Civic Holiday Long Weekend. Most of us don't really understand this holiday, if you google it, the descriptions are even a tad vague. Here is an example.

http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/canada/civic-provincial-day

Nonetheless, most of us, accept it with open arms, with the beautiful warm sunny weather we are having, 3 days off in a row - I call that good timing.

I am on the front porch in Owen Sound, sipping on a coffee, planning how to attack the day....the weekend. Perhaps a nice drive might be in order, Grey Bruce has so much to offer. Perhaps a trip to the beach? No, too busy. I think though that it might be necessary to throw my golf clubs in the car, you never know....if not a quick 9, maybe the driving range to hone my game.
Of course I will include the fishing rods...many lakes and rivers and accessible shorelines make possible the chance to find the elusive monster small mouth bass I am in search of.

We love to drive around and look at some of the incredible homes and cottages that are in the area, and of course the water views and vistas, I never get tired of that.

Tomorrow will be our athletic day. We plan on starting early with the kayaks....maybe even close to home in the Bay or the local river. That way we can drop the kayaks at the house, and head north on the Peninsula. We want to hike tomorrow.... the Grotto would be a nice place to start.

                 

Spectacular view after spectacular view.

From there we might keep heading north and grab a bite in Tobermory, a beautiful little town at the tip of the peninsula. Walk around a bit...look at the shops, etc. They boat tours to look at sunken ships and tour flowerpot island.




So much to do, so little time Ha!
I have to stop blogging...and start doing.

Enjoy your weekend!!!

Lake Placid

One week from today our Team Ontario team will be representing Canada in Beautiful Lake Placid, New York. I would like to thank my good friend Warren Dimarco for doing the tedious job of organizing this ordeal, it is a lot of work, and we all appreciate it.


This team is a mish mash of players from various parts of Ontario and most of us were in Manchester, England last summer and ended up with The Silver Medal.

Here is our most up to date lineup.

Goal:Ted Sawicki

Attack:
Peter Follows
Gary Walker
Bob Wasson
Scott Aird

Left Midfield:                           Centre Midfield:                    Right Midfield:
Kevin Board                                Dave Johnston                      Cort Sanderson
John Elliott                                  Mike McMillan                       Brad Wales
                                                 Warren Dimarco                    Joe Masterson


Long Pole:
Stu Aird
Brian Shanahan
Steve McMillan
Bob Simpson
Jason Donville

We are playing a very good team from Baltimore, Maryland - Baltimore is a hotbed of great field lacrosse, and box lacrosse and this game promises to be a tough one. The Team is called Mr. Boh  and I have dropped in the link to their website here.  http://mrbohlax.com/home  
Have a look around their website and you will see how they take their lacrosse seriously, and they seem to have a lot of fun doing it. My type of team.

They also even linked to my video from http://www.passitonsports.ca/

This is an important game, because although we are all guaranteed 4 games in the 4 days, whoever loses the first game cannot compete for the championship.

I will do my best to continue update through the 4 days, but you can also follow along through the Lake Placid Lacrosse Website.

www.lakeplacidlax.com

If you go to this website....click on Schedule and Results tab and then open up Men's Grand Master's D2 Schedule.
We are Team Ontario and we are seated 14th out of 16 teams and you will see Mr. Boh seated 3rd.
You will have to hit the plus sign on the screen to enlarge the schedule and actually read it.

I am looking forward to the tournament. It should be a great time. Please follow us and cheer us on.

Mike.

Time

Where does the time go. I can't figure it out.
Now I am not talking in the broader sense....like in life "were did the time go"?
 I am talking about in the now. Where did my time go today?

I don't even have my usual excuses either, like so many of you do. My oldest daughter lives in Toronto, she is no problem...my son just moved to Thunder Bay, so he definitely is not a problem and my youngest is in Calgary visiting her cousin. To top it all off, Patti is in Owen Sound, 2 hours away.

I am alone.....and i am out of time.....again! How is it possible?

Patti nicknamed me "the planner" because I really do like to look ahead and figure out how to fit it "ALL" in. I don't like to miss out on things, so I try to fit it all in.

What I try to do, is to always work backwards, figure out what time I have to leave and then try to fit everything in between the time I leave work and the time I have to leave. Sounds logical....but does not always work out. The thing is, you can focus on the now....what needs to be done
the next hour and so on, but there are the intangibles.

for example:

• things I forgot to do yesterday (or even further back)
• things I have to do, but don't want to do
• people I am supposed to call, or better yet visit
• lose some weight, start to work out more, read more etc.
• looking further ahead to vacations and events that are coming
• writing my blog

....the last one...my blogging, is actually helping a bit with my, organization....as I write I remember and as I remember I usually get it done.

Tonight for example.....I have a game at 9pm with MOB Lacrosse...I want to be there by 8:30 pm so I need to leave the house at 8:10 (I am not being anal....i am fine lining my plan is all).
I finish work at 5pm. So I have just over 3 hours.....I leave work to go and have a look at some tshirts for passitonsports.....and then home to do some laundry (overdue...supposed to do yesterday) - make something to eat (tonight a simple BLT) - ok that is done...but it is already 10 minutes to 7. I want to call Patti to say hi...and talk about the shirts....and I want to try to write a blog....so I am trying to both.

Shoot, hang on, forgot to throw the wash in the dryer.

I'm back....it is almost 7:30...I need to dishes, take the garbage out...and take the bird out for a "walk" or a fly in her case. *note* yes I have a bird....you heard that right...."Tweet Pea" - I call her Tweet and it is a long story...for another day. We have a special bond though. I let her out, she flies around, lands on my shoulder, and craps on me. Now you know why I do so much laundry.

....and I am out of time....gotta go.

Big Coming Events

August Long Weekend - My Plans are not solid just yet...but I do have one idea.....

Have you ever been kayaking. If not. put it on your list. There is nothing like it...and pick someone special to go with. Ontario is full of beautiful places to go kayaking. If you don't own, you can rent.

http://www.kayakingontario.ca/

Wednesday Night August 3 is MOB Lacrosse Playoffs

August 4th is off to Lake Placid for the Lake Placid Classic... where our Team Ontario Grand Master's Field Lacrosse Team will be playing. I will try to keep you updated on the games.

http://www.lakeplacidlax.com/

The same weekend The Owen Sound U19 girls will be playing in their Provincials in Whitby.

Go North Stars Go!!!

The Master's Lacrosse Ontario Provincials to be hosted by MOB Lacrosse in Oakville Ontario on August 19, 20, 21.

........and at the end of the month....my birthday.......whew. (can't wait)

Hope you have some big plans too.

PIOS Photo Gallery

Hi Everybody. I decided to send you a blog on the passitonsports Gallery. This is what you need to use the gallery.

1. a great sporting event
2. a camera and someone who knows how to use it
3. a special moment like this picture of Shelby and I discussing strategy

You then take the pictures home and put them on your computer. You might have to resize your photos to fit in our program. Now you must be a member of www.passitonsports.ca and login and go to the gallery section and create a name for your album, and add your pictures. The other great feature is that if you have a couple of people at the same event...you can all add pictures to the same album, so all the team can check all the pictures in one spot.


the girls doing their stretching in the shade, on a very hot day.



Tessa draws out the goalie and the defender and is getting ready to go to the net.

Some great pictures.

To see the gallery follow this link....a lots of lacrosse pictures, from the great season of the U-19 Girls team.
http://www.passitonsports.ca/apps/newgallery/index.php?level=collection&id=4

Any problems or questions email us at info@passitonsports.ca

If you know anyone who would like to be on my email list...forward this blog and tell them to email me at mike@passitonsports.ca

Thanks.

Great Weekend

Another Great Weekend. Where should I start?

PGA - The Canadian Open was won in Vancouver and was won by Sean O'Hair. Cool thing was 23 year old Canadian Adam Hadwin came in tied for 4th....and was in it right to the end.
http://www.adamhadwin.com/

Baseball - Roberto Alomar first BlueJay to get inducted into the BaseBall Hall Of Fame in Cooperstown.

Lacrosse - My Oakville Master's Lacrosse team won the "B" Championship at the Owen Sound Tournament this weekend.....3 wins 1 loss, a solid effort by all....and a ton of fun.
 I would like to thank some of the U19 girls that showed up to cheer me on....and especially Torey for making the great sign.
Congrats to the U-19 girls for running a great fundraising car wash.....Great Teamwork!

Mike Weir

The Canadian Open Golf Tournament is upon us and is being played at the beautiful Shaughnessy Golf & Country Club in spectacular Vancouver, B.C. The Canadian Open has gone through many changes over the years, at one point it was thought of as almost a fifth Major. The date has changed, it has now been plunked in the week after The Open Championship, which of course has really hurt the field over the last couple of years....coming from Europe On Sunday or Monday and going to Canada is really not an easy thing to do. However this year, there is a great field, Number one in the World, Luke Donald is here, Paul Casey, young guns like Rickie Fowler and Anthony Kim and a great group of Canadians, led by Matt McQuillan who is currently sitting in second 1 stroke off the lead after day 1.
It is Mike Weir I want to talk about briefly. When you talk to people about Mike, I always get different reactions. I have friends that call him a choker...he can't perform on Sundays...he is washed up etc. I am of course, a huge Mike Weir fan. I think he embodies all that is right with an athlete. He is talented, humble, dedicated and focused. Some people might argue that point with me, feel free.
I really empathize with what he is going through professionally. He has struggled with injuries and his swing is reinvented more times than my swing (and that is a lot). It makes the average golfer wonder, with all the technology available and all the coaches, sports psycholigists out there, why can Mike not find the fairway off the tee. Look at these stats from yesterday.  

Mike Is 147 out of 156 in driving distance and 155 in driving accuracy and 155 in Greens in Regulation. Brutal. Oh, tied for 5th in putting in Greens in Regulation...but he never gets on the green.

Any of you athletes out there must understand the frustration he is going through. In 18 holes I can hit more fairways than Mike Weir, even with my banana slice and duck hook combination. There is something wrong with that.

I really know nothing about his problems with the mechanics of his swing, but I personally think it is 98.6 % mental. I mean he has been hitting fairways since he was probably 8 years old. Striping the fairways is second nature for these guys.....and boom all of a sudden 155 out of 156. Frustrating to be sure.

I will continue to watch this weekend with interest....I love golf....but I am here to say that I am pulling for Mike Weir to figure it out.....Relax Mike...think back to playing golf with your buddies when you were a kid....laughing, having fun, and start to stripe some fairways, it will all turn around for you....and I am going to be cheering you on.

My Thoughts

It is time for a Passitonsports.ca update.

We have been live since the middle of March, 2011. since then....

• UConn won the NCAA Basketball Championship
• The Boston Bruins won The Stanley Cup
• Dallas Mavericks won the NBA Championship
• Charl Schwartzel won the Master's in Augusta
• Rory McIlroy won the U.S. Open
• Darren Clarke won The British Open
• Japan won the FIFA Women's World Cup
• My nephew Konner made the York Simcoe Express Minor Midget Triple A Hockey Team
• Owen Sound U-19 Women's Field Lacrosse finished the regular season with a 10 win and 3 loss record and look to do well in Provincials.
• Black Storm and Red Heat are tied for first place with 15 points in MOB Master's Lacrosse House League Play
• there is a group of 3 runners that just ran past my house - it is 27 degrees out there, and they had a good pace
• Patti taught a Pilate's class tonight to a very appreciative group.
• ...and lots more....

What do all the things on this list have in common?
Simple. They are all really great stories.They are all completely different stories. Each one of these stories, also have many stories within them. Your point of view, your coaches opinion...your parents take on it, your competitors, your teammates and so on and son on.

Passitonsports.ca was idea that was created to share some great stories. I have copied my Mission  Statement right from my website.

Our Mission

To provide an opportunity to share your feel good sports story and to show gratitude to those who have helped you along the way.

At this time I would like to thank all of you for your contributions to PIOS. There are some great stories and photos....but it time is to do more.

We are all full of so many "feel good" sports stories...and it is time for you to share them with other PIOS members and more importantly, share with someone you want to say thank you to. Or just write a great sports story about a great moment that you witnessed or were involved in.

Here is all you need to do.

1.  go to http://www.passitonsports.ca/ and become a member...it is free
2. once signed in have a look around and when you are ready....click on "Add A Story" and away you go...you are a writer.
3. Once that is done...forward the link "your story" to your family and friends...try it,it really does feel good.
4. join me on facebook and twitter
5. Please pass it on to other people you know that have not heard of PIOS....pass it on.

Thank you all for reading.

Mike
 

 

Preparing for Placid

The fun has begun. My buddies and I are getting ready for a filed lacrosse tournament to be held in Lake Placid. Our dates are August 4 - 7. This is a tremendous tournament in a gorgeous setting, well organized and a lot of fun.

http://www.lakeplacidlax.com/page/show/233783-home

We are representing Canada as Team Ontario and will be in the Grand Master's Division. I thought that was a nice way of putting it. When they were trying to name our division these were the options they had to choose from:

• The Too Old to still be playing Division
• The over 45 Division
• The Grand Parents Division (yes some of our guys are Grandfathers)
• The Grand Master's Division.

I think they made the right choice. We are playing in the Grand Master's Division. Sounds impressive.
We did play in this tourney 2 years ago and held our own, ending up with a 2 win and 2 loss record. We hope to improve on this record this year, we feel like we have a fairly competitive team. We have numerous former Team Canada players on our team. Bob Wasson, Stu Aird, Ted Sawicki (goalie), Joe Masterson, and Peter Follows. More importantly, it is a really nice bunch of guys...that have being playing this beautiful game for a very long time.

We had an exhibition game against a Metro Police team last week....they are a little younger than us, and we have played them before...we looked solid in the first half, but...guess what?? - we ran out of gas in the fourth quarter. I am not really sure of the end score....but for this article, we will call it a draw, 8 - 8.

We need to get in shape. That is difficult...speaking for myself of course. Our Leader Warren has sent a workout schedule out to the team, I misplaced it....but I thing I memorized it. I will definitely get going on it...tomorrow.

Next week I heard rumours we are playing a Midget Team form Oakville........these guys are young and in shape, can run forever and are good. I will let you know what happens. (HELP!)

In any case it should be a lot of fun.

Oh and by the way (and this is a secret) - We are preparing for the World Lacrosse Championships in Denver, Colorado to be held in 2014.

Feel Like A Champion

You have all witnessed this scene before. You have just won the Superbowl (or some other major championship) and the camera pans towards the coach...a couple of veteran players are seen...tiptoeing towards the coach...with a huge container of Gatorade raised above their head. As they get closer to the coach, the coach suddenly realizes that something weird is going on as people start to back away from him...but is always too late. The big bucket of icy cold liquid gets dumped on his head. It is a sign of respect in a funny way, it is a way for the players to cut through all the tension leading up to this moment...and a way of saying thanks...we did it.

Well, just to set things straight, I did not win any championship this weekend. But thanks to the girls from the Owen Sound U-19 Lacrosse team...for a few moments they made me feel like a champion.

We were playing in our last weekend before the Provincials in August. As some of you know, I have been assistant coach along with head coaches Tristen Cruickshank and Jessica McCallister. I told the girls before our first game that I would not be at provincials with them, as I am playing with my Master's Field team in Lake Placid on the same weekend. And yes...I do feel bad about it.

All the girls have made me feel welcome since I arrived on the scene...and I thank you all for that.

On this day we were playing the only two teams that we had lost to all season: St. Catherines and Orangeville. Before the first games, I had some words for the girls about effort and dedication. Tristen and Jessica relayed our game plan and we were ready. Temperature at game time??? (flat out hot!!)

The girls were amazing, passing, chasing down loose balls, defence and stellar goaltending from Shelby. We won going away 14 - 3. It was pretty to watch.

Next we had the revered Orangeville squad. They are undefeated all season. 11 wins, no losses. Our girls came out with the (sometimes typical in sports) "Deer in the Headlights" look....and before you could say Lacrosse stick, we were down 5 - 1....and the girls were not having fun. Tristen called a timeout to rally the troops...and after that we toughened up. This was not our day though. We ended up with a late rally that fell short, and ended up losing in a close one 9 - 7. It was over...we shook hands with our opponent, and headed to the sidelines, and that is when it happened. The cooler that I brought with me, and I filled with ice....the drinks were quickly emptied out...and veteran Torey Barfoot led the attack...and suddenly I was drenched with cold water and ice. I was shocked...and when I realized what had happenend, I was touched. On this very hot summer day, after a very difficult loss...these girls had made me "Feel Like a Champion".  I just want to say thanks.

Best of luck at provincials girls. Play like you can.

Mike

Daily Routine - Do you have a good one?

Everybody has a routine of some sort, and of course some routines are much better than others. Your diet and exercise combined with your job and other daily commitments and extra curricular stuff, of course all play a part. Today I am going to talk more about the inner self daily routine.

A good daily routine actually starts when you go to bed. Give yourself enough time to get a solid 6 - 8 hours of sleep. Go to bed grateful with what you have, and you will sleep better.

Sarah Ban Breathnach said:Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.

When you wake up, be thankful again for what you have and look forward to a great day! Start smiling immediately. Share your good mood with everyone you meet, and you will get it back.

Some things I learned:

• say please and thankyou
• say "nice job" - "good effort" - "excellent idea"
• have a sense of humour (especially about your self)
• open doors - be polite.
• be respectful to everyone you meet (say hi to a stranger here and there)
• smile
• admit a mistake, learn from it.
• take some personal time each day, might be an hour, might be 10 min.

And here is the big one(and difficult). If there is someone that you had an arguement, disagreement etc. with, whether it is personal or business, you be the one to forgive and forget. Time to get on with your day.

Try making this your daily routine...and see how it makes you feel.

I would love to here some of your ideas.

Top 10 Annoying Things

Let's face it - we all have things that annoy us. Some of these on my list are quite old, but still pertinent and some have appeared in the last few years. I'm sure as a group we could come up with hundreds.

Here is my top ten list of things that annoy me.

10 - You buy 12 hot dogs, and buns come in packs of 8. (an oldie but a goodie)

 9 - Eating food that is "good for you" costs more money.

 8 - Watching TV when someone else has the remote.

 7 - ...and while we are on the TV theme - having 300 channels and not being able to find anything to watch. (except for Two and a half men)

 6 - cleaning my keyboard at work.

 5 - car alarms.

 4 - plastic on a pizza and the instructions say "REMOVE BEFORE PUTTING IN OVEN"

 3 - gas prices

 2 - someone that is texting when I am talking to them.

 1 - THE NUMBER ONE THING THAT REALLY ANNOYS ME IS SMOKERS THAT THINK IT IS THEIR RIGHT TO FLICK THEIR CIGARETTES OUT THE WINDOW OF THEIR CAR, OR ON THE STREET OR IN MY YARD OR IN A GARDEN OR ANYWHERE ELSE THEY FEEL LIKE. WHEN THE ARE DONE - THEY FLICK - AND MOST DO NOT CARE! IT IS WRONG AND IT IS REALLY REALLY ANNOYING. If you fall into this category. Please stop.

Anything to add?? - Just click on the comment box below and share.

Weekend Sports Update

I know a lot of you are hard core hockey fans...and might be missing hockey this time of year, maybe even some NBA and NFL fans that long for their sports to come back, t not have a favorite sport at this time of year.....but if you think there is nothing happening...lets do a quick recap.

• Derek Jeter of the New York Yankees was sitting at 2,998 hits yesterday before the start of his game against Tampa Bay. No Yankee has ever reached the 3000 hit plateau while playing his entire career with the Pinstripes. Typical Yankee fashion...what did Jeter do?? He only went 5 for 5 with his 3000th hit being a home run. Say what you want...very impressive. http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=16784445&topic_id=&c_id=mlb&tcid=vpp_copy_16784445&v=3
• Jose Bautista of the Blue Jays hit is 31st home run of the season heading to the all star break, very impressive in what we like to call the "non steroid" era of baseball. (nice answer to the critics that did not think he should be signed to a long term contract.
• In Golf news - #1 in the World Luke Donald won a tournament in Europe, which bodes well for this weeks Open Championship in Sandwich, England
• Steve Stricker, who I think is one of the most consistent golfers on tour won the PGA event...and Canadian golfer Matt McQuillan tied for third in that event...that is Great news.
• Honda Indy was in Toronto....won by Dario Franchitti
• Are any of you watching the Tour de France....talk about your contact sport. There were more bodies hitting the ground then an old time NHL Donnybrook. The tv crews along with the racers crews mix in among the bikes, which seems to most completely ridiculous. If you have not watched, go to TSN tonight and check it out. Wild. Check this out  http://ewoud.home.xs4all.nl/cycling/20110710_tourdefrance_carcrash.html
• and just to keep you in the loop, The Owen Sound U19 girls won again, 14- 8 over Kitchener Waterloo to go to 9 and 2.

....so there you go, you are up to date....lots happening in the sporting world.

CFL vs NFL

This an interesting subject, and I have debated this myself many times over the years. I know a lot of people that just flat out worship the National
Football League. They have the fastest, biggest, players combined with sold out stadiums throughout the USA.

The Canadian Football League, to a lot of people has always had it struggles, poor crowds in some pockets, the teams often fielding a lot of NFL wannabes and a smattering of Canadian players. And yet the "game" itself is intriguing. In Canada we have 12 players vs 11.    110 yard field vs 100   also a wider field.
In Canada, we only have 3 "downs" to make 10 yards, compared to 4 down south. There are all sorts of other subtle differences between the two games. Many a good man has debated this over a cold beverage of choice.

I am lucky (I think) - I like both leagues, love the CFL game, can be so much fun to watch....but I too have fallen in love with the Glitz and Glamour of the NFL Product. What are your thoughts.

Feel free to add a comment to this blog.

On that note, a good friend of mine is the one that inspired this blog, he shot me an email after the Toronto - Winnipeg game last night. Thanks Keith. Read on.

I often hear many friends and acquaintances wax poetic about how the NFL is such a superior game than he CFL with Superior athletes and a more Hyped up atmosphere. But i gotta tell ya that id rather watch a 19-13 CFL game where the defence dominates any day rather than a 10 -3 Cleveland victory over the Jets.
Case in point. IN A SLOPPY DEFENSIVE AFFAIR IN Winnipeg tonite, the game was constantly in doubt. Both defences dominated and offences struggled. Yet with 2  minutes left in the game, there was 4 possession changes where the Argos had several shots at stealing an undeserved victory
Contrast that with the NFL. At times, comparing the flow  of the game to watching grass grow is a compliment. Often, the possession changes 3 times a quarter and you can throw in 11  minutes of commercials in the mix.
Tonight's Argo Bomber game  was perhaps the poorest CFL game I have watched in a couple of years yet the outcome was in doubt up till the last few seconds. As fans, is that not what we all want ? Think about it, take away the glitz and glamour and the 75000 screaming fans and what type of product does the NFL have? or better yet, what kind of exciting product does the CFL have?
Keith

Being tough - Final Chapter.

Who would you rather have on your team?

Wayne Gretzky or Scott Stevens  - who was tougher?

Mike Bossy or Denis Potvin?

If you had to pick one player... would you pick...Joe Montana? or Dick Butkus? Actually I am aging myself....would you pick Tom Brady or Ray Lewis, who do you think is a tougher guy. The Guy who makes the big hits, or the guy that takes the big hits.

Of course there is a lot of other information you would need to make these decisions. i am being a bit goofy...because there is no solid answer.

In sports, you need tough guys. Guys that can take a hit, and guys that can deliver a big hit.

Here is where I think the difference starts to affect your team. If you have a "tough" guy that will make a really stupid hit or make a bad slash late in a game when your team is up 3 - 2 (hockey) or 11 - 10 (lacrosse) etc. and you are now are a man short....this is where I have a problem with the "tough" guy.

The team is not his concern. Being tough is. Not good.

In fairness...we have to talk the other side.

The "scorer" who late in a game, with their team down 8 - 7...and the ball goes into the corner, and the "scorer" is not "tough" enough to go in after the ball/puck...and get it.

The team is not his concern. Not good (again)

I find this interesting....because once again there is no solid answer. I am sure if I was a team owner...I would have a team full of hockey players like Doug Gilmour and Wendal Clark.......guys that are tough on defence, and tough on offence, but we always don't have that luxury.

Tough players come in all shapes and sizes...some can hit, some can take a hit....but what i really think is we need to respect each other, learn to play together....and understand that being tough means a lot of different things.

If you want to see another side of tough....i have copied my Mom's comment to my last blog. Read on. (thanks Mom)

TOUGHNESS!!
From a woman/Mother's perspective..toughness for me is defined in the "SPIRIT"! I have met so many extremely challenged
friends and read many stories about incredible tragedies that effect families.The "heroes" in these stories meet these
moments with an attitude and determination that cannot be matched.

Toughness in Sports is another story.

Toughness is:
1. Showing up for a practice/game when you miss a special occasion
2. Playing with the minimum number of players
3. Playing when your body is not at its "best"
4. Not retaliating when some "goon" is bound to stop your scoring
5. Congratulating your opponents on their victory(OH HOW THAT HURTS)!
6.  Rallying around your goalie and/or player(s) that did not "show up" for the important match
So...be "tough" in SPIRIT AND DETERMINATION AND RESOLUTION to be YOUR best in all walks of life.

Toughness Question.

Who is tougher?? A fighter or a scorer? Does it make you tough because you can fight (or will fight?) Does it make you tough because you are willing to slash someone to hurt them, or is it what makes you tough that you are willing to be physical, and also are prepared to back it up.

Who is tougher - the lacrosse player who cuts the middle, catches the ball, gets whacked by a stick 3 or 4 times...or the player doing the chopping?

I can speak on this to some degree. I played lacrosse for many years at a very high level, and those of you that know me, know that I am not "tough". One of my many nicknames over the years was "Bambi", if that gives you any indication.

I learned early on that getting punched actually hurt. My one regret in lacrosse is perhaps my lack of toughness. My strength was scoring.

 One thing I am actually quite proud of is my Senior/Major stats... I played 205 games and scored 368 goals and had 368 assists for 736 points. I had the ability to put the ball in the net. However, I do have big regrets. Had I been tougher, would I have scored more, or less? I didn't win a lot of the "big" games. That is something to ponder. I would also argue that i had a level of toughness that went unnoticed. I scored many goals, cutting the middle, receiving a pass, getting chopped and putting the ball in the net. I have had multiple fingers blackened, elbows swollen, knees, hips....any part of my body that they could whack, they would...it was free game. I had cracked ribs, twice, multiple face cuts (before the face mask), and so many welts and bruises that you could never count. I rarely retaliated. So that made me soft. (i guess)


So I ask the question again. Who is tougher? How do you define toughness?

                  

Toughness in Sports

There are two types of toughness really.

Mental toughness: the ability to play under pressure. Jerry West from The Los Angeles Lakers (1960 - 74)was called "Mr. Clutch". He made many great plays when the game was on the line. When Tiger Woods was on top of his game, it was his "mental toughness" that made him so good. He could focus like no other athlete, no matter what was going on around him.

Physical Toughness, the ability to play through pain and still perform at a high level.
How is toughness defined?  Bobby Baun of the Toronto Maple leafs scored an overtime winner with a broken ankle.  That is toughness. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/29182-bob-baun-scores-winner-on-broken-leg-defining-moments-in-leaf-history-no-5

The rare athlete that can combine mental and physical toughness, well, for me they are just fun to watch. I loved watching Dougie Gilmour back in the day. He was not big, but when he hit the ice, pound for pound, there was nobody tougher. Wendell Clark, same thing. These guys would never take a night off. If they suited up for a game, put on the sweater, no matter what kind of pain they might be in on a given night, they would play through it, and excel.

Whether you like him or not, Brett Favre defines toughness. He is 41 years old. Check out his injury list. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/players/1025/injuries.html  Here is a quarterback that is playing arguably the toughest pro sport and is 41 and has the record for consecutive starts.  318 including playoffs.
All you athletes out there, even you Favre haters, think about that. Imagine starting 318 games of any sport, without missing one. That is phenomenal.
Who is on your list for "tough" athletes?

Karma - Women's World Cup.

Karma - According to karma, performing positive actions results in a good condition in one's experience, whereas a negative action results in a bad effect. The effects may be seen immediately or delayed. Delay can be until later in the present life or in the next.

Do you believe in Karma in sports? Are you superstitious? Are you someone who thinks that if an announcer say during a basketball game "This guy has hit 24 foul shouts in a row" that the player will miss his next shot?

I believe LeBron James and the Miami Heat lost the NBA championship for one reason. Bad Karma.

I am jumping around a bit here, but this whole topic is interesting to me. Here is another spin on it that bugs me. Sports Journalists have a responsibility, they report on what they see, and of course will often offer their thoughts and perspectives on things. Nothing wrong with that. We all have our own opinion, and have every right to express it.

But, this is what bugs me.
As recently as last week, Canada lost a close game to Germany (2-1) after Christine Sinclair broke her nose in the Women's Soccer World Cup. After that many reporters were glowing about the effort of the women.
They talked about how solid the effort was, and many talked about how this could be a big year.

 Here is where (in my mind) things turned. I listened to the radio, read some articles and they all said the same thing. "All we have to do is beat France, which we should do fairly easily"

(YIKES) - I thought to myself. Don't ever say that. Always respect your opponent.

 I am not saying the Canadian Women did not respect The French Women, but as a group, a lot of people were looking past them to Nigeria.....which again, by the way, everybody said Canada would win that, no problem......sigh.......I really don't like that way of thinking.

The Karma had now been affected.....in my mind. I thought to myself, this game against France is going to be tough. If you have not heard, we lost 4 - 0. A very tough and demoralizing loss. They are now talking about how tough it is going to be against Nigeria. Nigeria was supposed to be a "gimme" game according to the "experts"

Nigeria 1   Canada  0            There are no freebies in sports.            Respect your opponent at all times.

The talk has all changed now. This morning on the radio, a reporter from the World Cup said, how the whole program might now have to be revamped. It was all negative, down talk.....how did it all change form less than a week ago, when it was all optimism? What changed? One bad loss and combined with a second loss today........everything has changed.

Does not make any sense to me.

But that is sports.....and that is how Karma can change things.

My opionion for Team Canada. Hang tough. It was not the tournament you wanted. Learn from it.
Time to move forward.

Play the Game - Again.

Why do we play the game - twice?  There are so many things around sports that make it enjoyable, hanging out with your teammates (your buddies) - replaying the game over again, play by play is just one of them. It is hard for some people to understand why we play the sport, and then have to talk about it afterwards, but we do. We play 18 holes of golf, and then sit down and discuss the round, one shot after another. "Do you remember that 6 iron I hit on hole number 7. It was amazing" ...or.... "that pass you made in the second period was incredible, how did you do it"? This part of sports is just as big as the game itself, it justifies why we play, it makes us feel good to talk about it, and we want to go out and do it again...only better. We of course sometimes take this process much further, we will talk about a great shot or pass or move or moment that happened last year, 5 years ago, even 25 years ago. A true "athlete" can recant an amazing play, with great detail, minute by minute, with great enthusiasm, no matter when it happened (and it was just like yesterday). Why do we do it? That is simple, it feels good. With all the stress and problems that people deal with on a daily basis, this is one opportunity to not only make us feel better, but we can make other people feel better about themselves as well. "That was a great shot, nice pass, amazing move". To pass on a compliment to another person, is the simplest and yet most important thing that one person can do for another. So remember that next time you are in the "post game" moment find someone who did something great and compliment them about it. Let them retell their story....and Pass it on.