The Toronto Rock

I went to the Toronto Rock - Buffalo Bandit game last night.

It was fantastic. Now this is not my first trip down to the ACC for  game - as a matter of fact, I have been to all but two games this year and last night, like most, was a lot of fun.

But last night was a little different than most.

First of all, we organized a group to go down to the game, and within a quick two weeks, we had 27 people decided to join passitonsports.ca at the game.

100%  The Best Bang for your Sports Buck in this City. Our special rate for the game was $29 for adults and $16 for kids under 16. We were in Gold Seats in the Lower Bowl 14 rows behind the net. They were great seats.

  Jess, Patti, and Tristen, at the Toronto Harbourfront, getting ready for Rock Lacrosse.

This night featured the Toronto nemesis The Bandits from Buffalo. A Toronto win solidifies first place, and sends a message to the league that The Rock, are the team to beat.

My group included quite a few members from MOB Lacrosse, along with a few Rock Virgins. I really do think the key to continuing to build attendance and add to the amazing experience is to bring some newbies to the games - and let them decide if they think the entertainment value is worth it. It is easy to know, because if they love it, they will do it again.

      Shannon and her Mom Carol...Rock newbies...said "We will definitely be back"!


Tonight's game had a lot of action. It was rough, a few fights, and lots of scoring, some beautiful goals. To top it all off the Rock went on a 9 goal run that salted the game away, and the home side ended up with a 18 - 11 win in front of one of the best crowds of the season. What a great night.

           The teams shake hand after a rough game. The home fans go away happy.


All in all it was a perfect night of lacrosse. The crowd, the game, and best of all the 27 fans of the passitonsports.ca group.

There is one more game left before playoffs. Sunday April 7 at 3pm against Rochester. If you want to come with the passitonsport.ca group....email me mike@passitonsports.ca and I will add you to our group.

If you want to organize your own group, contact Nick Yates of the Toronto Rock at nyates@torontorock.com. Nick will set you up in no time and give you a lot of different options to pick up your tickets. You need at least 10 in your group  to qualify for the discount.

Guaranteed! A great night. Click to follow The Toronto Rock.

See you at the game.

A Time to Give - MOB Lacrosse

I started passitonsports.ca two years ago April. The story of Passitonsports is a long one, so I won't repeat it again here...but you can have a quick look at my About Us page.

I am a big believer of giving thanks to people that deserved to be thanked....and if you want to go to www.passitonsports.ca and sign up (always free) you can write a quick thank you to anyone you think needs to hear it. It only take a few minutes...and it feels great.

This blog though, is about a Masters Lacrosse League that has been going for about eight years. It is called MOB Lacrosse. MOB stands for Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington which is where most of the players now live, and also played their minor lacrosse careers.

The MOB is the best of all worlds. For me, for example, I am in my 50th consecutive year of playing lacrosse. I know that sounds frightening, but, trust me it has been special.
For any kids out there that are just new to the game, believe me, it is the best game in the world. The friendships I made when I was five are still with me today. I play with my brothers, my best friends, and even played a couple years with my son until he moved to the great white north. It is amazing.

We also had a MOB tournament team, travelling all over Ontario, playing in small town Ontario, and loving every minute. We hosted a couple of tournaments as well, and with A LOT of help, we had some great tournaments.

As the years have gone by, we have managed to save a little money. Not a lot, but nonetheless we had some money in the bank. We have talked about what to do with the money and the decision really seemed like an easy one. Why not give back to the game we all love. Why not "passiton" to the place where it started for most of us. So that is what we have done.

We decided to write a cheque in the amount of $750 to each of the minor lacrosse programmes in Mississauga, Oakville and Burlington.

Mississauga Tomahawks Minor Lacrosse

I made the trip out to Mississauga last Friday and met the Mississauga Tomahawks President Lori Shewchuk and the Administrative VP Teena McKeon. Both women looked like they were each doing four jobs. They were registering players...there were tryouts going on...merchandise sales...etc., etc. This is not news for anyone involved in minor lacrosse. It is a tireless, often thankless job, yet they were doing it with a smile - and they had a lot of other people helping as well. It was fun to watch...it felt so good to hand over the cheque. They deserved every penny.
p.s. Like all minor lacrosse programs, they could use some coaching help (bantam Boys last I heard)

                                       Me top left (me 50 years ago bottom right) (kidding)
                                         Lori and Teena and some of the stars of tomorrow.
                                 



Oakville Hawks Minor Lacrosse


I dropped by the Toronto Rock practice facility to meet with MOB Lacrosse Superstar Keith Kennedy, and the two of us were there to meet Grant Sloane, Chief Administrative Officer of the Oakville Minor Lacrosse Association. Once again, as is always the case with lacrosse people, Grant was very busy...Tyke tryouts were just wrapping up and Grant was replacing the lacrosse nets with hockey nets...as ball hockey was next up.
On the other side of the arena, The Toronto Rock were getting ready to practice...kind of cool I thought...The Pros on one side and the Tykes on the other. Great Stuff. I even bumped into Troy Cordingley (Head Coach of the Toronto Rock) as he balanced watching his two kids on the tyke side, while preparing for the practice on the Pro side. Awesome.

                                         The Toronto Rock getting ready for Sunday!

                                            Keith Kennedy, Grant Sloane and me.





Burlington Chiefs Minor Lacrosse

I now live in Burlington and I know a lot of people that do so much for Burlington Lacrosse. The list goes on and on.
For example Silvana Yee is seen on girls field lacrosse fields all over Ontario, it seems like every weekend to me. She is an enthusiastic person that never stops giving back. (She also plays MOB Lacrosse.)

Jamie Sinclair is just your average Dad. He is the Secretary of Burlington Minor Lacrosse. He was also the Secretary last year...oh and he helped run the Burlington House League...oh and the Championship weekend...oh, and was trainer for the Peewee A team. At the annual awards banquet Jamie was presented with the Presidents Award. An excellent choice. It was our pleasure to give Jamie and The Burlington Chiefs a helping hand. (and yes...Jamie plays MOB Lacrosse)

                                          Me and Jamie Sinclair.



It was such a great experience this year to do our part in helping minor Lacrosse...but like all things there are so many people that helped achieve this for MOB Lacrosse. The list is endless and I am sure I will forget somebody...and I humbly apologize...here goes:

Bill and Donna Sanderson, Marj McMillan, Phyllis Walker, Edie Sammut, Cort Sanderson and Sue Steele, Brad and Sue Sanderson, Styxie Walker, Bob Simpson, Kira Simpson, Dave and Carol Johnston, Keith and Liz Kennedy, Brad and Carolyn Wales, Warren and Robin Dimarco, Brad Campbell and Christine Keeler, Carl Krebss, Jamie and Leanne Sinclair, Patti Cruickshank...and me.

For many years these people have put their heart and soul into the game - on and off the floor - and we should all be proud. Congratulations.

MOB Lacrosse takes place on Wednesday Night at Glen Abbey Arena from 8pm starting on April 17...if you are in the neighborhood drop by and say hello.

There are so many great people involved in lacrosse...and in all sports. Their stories are wonderful, and if you have someone to thank...Pass It On!!!

Kobe Bryant - now what?

The Los Angeles Lakers have had a whirlwind season.......they made a lot of moves for some big guns in the off season.......

Their lineup is phenomenal .....on paper.

Check out these names.......

Kobe (nuff said)  -  Metta World Peace (don't ask) - Steve (Captain Canada) Nash - Pau Gasol and last but not last Dwight (Superman) Howard.

This lineup is unstoppable.....the next Miami Heat.....how could they lose?

Well, most of you know what happened....the chemistry experiment didn't work...and the "Lake" Show was losing....a lot. They could not string any wins together....and up to about a week ago...they were not even in the playoff picture.

They have clawed their way back to the 8th and final playoff spot....at a paltry 34 wins and 32 losses.

I guess they have figured out something....not sure what. But.....and this is a BIG BUT.....last night....love him or hate him....the incomparable Kobe Bryant went down with a bad ankle sprain. "they" say he is out indefinitely. (whoever they are) - but they said it......Kobe is out.

                                          hmmmm.....now what?

Now....here is the reason for my blog tonight. I have always wanted to conduct the "Kobe Affect Experiment". I wanted to see how the Lakers would perform without their superstar.....MVP.....Mr. World Championship....Kobe. I have thought about it a lot.....I wanted to see it.....and it has happened. The Lakers are Kobeless.....and it might be my fault. Now, don't take this the wrong way....I have nothing against Kobe personally (i don't think).....or do I?

The point here is....I love team over the Superstar.....I always have. I think the team will reign supreme if given the opportunity to be a "team". Team Sport....team "anything" is amazing to watch. When the "team" plays as one....it is flat out fun too watch.

Now the problem with my little experiment is that their are still a lot of "Stars" on this team...so that in of itself will be interesting.

Here is how I would run the show....if I was asked.

Turn the Ball over to Steve Nash now. Make this the Steve Nash team....because simply, the 2 time MVP Nash does one thing very very well. He makes everybody else better....and he can still do it here.

Give Steve the Ball. I am going to make a note here. It is March 14...the Lakers are 34 and 32.
 Let's see what happens with the "Kobe Affect Experiment".

                                                     Steve Nash.

FOCUS

In my opinion the most important component of a great athlete. You might not be the most talented...or the most athletic....but if you have FOCUS....you can still be the best athlete in your sport.

It is great to watch athletes that have focus. Athletes that are "in the zone" are just fun to watch....you may have read my "in the zone" blog last year.

Here are some great athletes that I love to watch....simply because of their ability to tune everything out....and play the game.

     Love him or not....Tiger Woods has the ability to focus like no other athlete I have seen.

                                Maria Sharapova is a beautiful Russian pro Tennis player.

When Maria moves to the tennis court, her focus is second to none. Next time you watch her, check out how she gathers herself between each point. Good or bad point, she will take a second...to focus on her next point. Great stuff.

Alexandre Despatie is a great Canadian Athlete. Watch as a great diver stands on the platform or board before a dive. Focus, focus, focus. They will see the entire dive in their mind before it even happens.

Usain Bolt. The greatest sprinter in the world.....maybe of all time. He makes it look easy when he runs. However, at the start of the race...it is all about focus, he concentrates, waits for the gun....and boom....he is gone. It is all about the Focus.

 

 

I could go on and on. I think it is a fascinating topic. Do you know of any great "Focus" stories. I would love to hear about them.