Off The Grid

It is has been quite a while since my last post...some would say I was "off the grid" so to speak.

I have not really been hiding, but there has been a lot going on.

November was one of the craziest months I have been through...kind of a Yin and Yang month.

On November 1st, I was honoured to be inducted to the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

We had a tour of the Museum in the afternoon, followed by the induction dinner at night.

                      Me, Patti, Cort, Sue, Steve, Sue, Brad and Mom...in front of the "Wall"

The Ceremony was in Niagara Falls and there was a great group that came along in support.

                                                     Patti and I sharing a toast.

 

                                                        

                               The Boys (Cort - Tippy - me -Don - Brad W - B Hall - Brad S)

                                         Stu and I (Stu is a big reason why I made it into the Hall.)

It was incredible night to be sure. I won't bore you and replay my speech on this night...but I would like to thank all that came to the big event. Patti, Mom, Aimee and Matteo, Steve (Tippy), Don and Rosie, Stu and Laura, Brad and Sue, Brad and Carolyn, Cort and Sue, Brian Hall. Thank you all!!

Special Thanks to Mom for all of her years of support. You are amazing.

Thanks to my brother Steve who helped to organize this night and make it incredible.

Such a great "High"...but things quickly came down, as on November 12th I went in for a total right hip replacement. I have been living in pain for some time, and the time had arrived to fix it.

Once again, my brother Steve, (who is really having a good month in my eyes) - helped to arrange my surgery in Newmarket. Steve works for Zimmer - specializing in the products needed for hip and knee replacements.

Surgery went great  - And here is my new hip.

                                                  My New Hip. - Looks good (to me)

This whole adventure I found amazing. I am now 4 weeks plus after surgery and am progressing at an amazing rate.

I have been doing my exercises and am getting stronger.

                              Yes, I do have a "ballet bar" made by my buddy Brad Sanderson. It has been great to help with my rehab.

Special thanks to my wife Patti, who has gone above and beyond to help in my rehab.


SO, as you see...I have had a little bit going on...but I am making my comeback.

Btw - Raptors are in First Place - Leafs are rolling - So all is good in the sporting world.
                                   
 

Ray Rice - NOT!!

A few years back...I started passitonsports.ca

Here are the word directly from my About Us page.

Our Mission

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

Our Vision

Inspiration. Attitude. Enthusiasm. Gratitude: Pass It On.


Ray Rice a professional Football player with the Baltimore Raven of the NFL has been in the sports news 24/7 this week. To me, his story is not sports news. It is a disturbing story, and I am not going to bore you with the details here...it bothers me that much....I am not giving even my opinion on the subject.  Is is NOT a sports story... to me.

...and guess what? Every day there are "feel good" sports stories, and I am here to keep you up to speed.

Let's review what is going on.

• US Open Tennis. The big guns Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer both lost in the Semi-finals to big underdogs. The tourney was won by Marin Cilic a 14 seed and I can tell you this, for his friends and family, this is a great sports story.

                                  Marin Cilic - 2014 US Open Tennis Champion Marin Cilic

• The Victoria Shamrocks and the Six Nation Chiefs are playing this week for The Mann Cup, Canadian Senior A Lacrosse Championships. Six Nations are hosting and the tough series is tied at 2 games each. Six Nations have a fantastic year going, already winning the Founder's Cup (Junior B) and The Minto Cup (Junior A). If you get a chance slip down to a game. This is the best box lacrosse in the world....and you can go to a game for $20.

                                                     The Mann Cup.

• Canada Men's Soccer team defeated Jamaica on Tuesday night 3 to 1. This is big soccer news. Read the story from Gareth Wheeler from TSN....his article is Titled: A Feel-Good Night for Canadian Men's Soccer.

(man....I like the ring of that title).

• The Tour Championship in the PGA Starts tomorrow. Top 30 golfers play Thursday to Sunday...and The Fedex Cup Champion will take home a cool bonus of $10 Million Dollars.

• It is a great time of year for sports fans......NFL has started....NHL and NBA are around the corner.
• ...and Blue Jays are still "in it" - they really are.
• ...and Toronto FC Soccer...might make the playoffs for first time ever....they might.
• Canadian College Football....Canadian Football League etc. etc.

Every single day there is another "feel good" sports story. Watch for them...share them with friends...and don't forget if you have a feel good story of your own you can got to www.passitonsports.ca and become a member for free...and write your own feel good story.

Enjoy.

Mike

 

 

MOB Lacrosse Championship - 2014

I may not be the only one saying this.  Where did the summer go??
The CNE opened today...and MOB Lacrosse is over. Two sure signs of the warm summer nights slowly disappearing.

MOB (Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington) Lacrosse has just completed it's 9th year. We first handed out the coveted Campbell Cup in 2006.

The MOB is a group of players....men/women/age range of 21 to 65. - We compete every summer in a friendly game of lacrosse and an occasional beverage to follow the game.

This years championship games were exciting. The underdog, last place Blue Thunder team managed to sneak into the final against the tough Gold Rush team. The Gold team had great goaltending all year and tonight was no different as Ron Larose led his team to victory and the Campbell Cup. Gold was led by Mark Fryer with 3 goals and "gutty" Brad Wales chipped in a pair.
Final Score  Gold 7 Blue 5.

                                       Gold Rush - 2014 Campbell Cup Champions



There were some other awards handed out on this great night.

My assistant this year...and CFO (Classy Friend and Organizer) Chris Kluczynski surprised and humbled me by coming up with an new award in honour of me being inducted into the OLA Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

  Chris showing us the new award. The McMillan HOF Most Valuable Player award.

 The award will be presented annually to the MOB Lacrosse Most Valuable Player and this years winner was an easy choice.

          Black Storm Goaltender Brent Thompson is presented with MOB League MVP Award.


Another very important award from the MOB is the Scott Smith Award, presented annually to the player who embodies the spirit of the MOB, show up weekly, plays with sportsmanship week in and out.

     Dave Johnston (black) presented the Scott Smith award to Jim "Styx" Walker (gold). Also in the picture is Jesse Smith (Scott Smith's son) and me. Congrats Styxie....well deserved.


In the second game of the night...Red Heat defeated the First to Worst Black Storm (sorry guys) to win the Toilet Bowl with a score of 8 to 6.

                                                   Red Heat wins the MOB Toilet Bowl.

 

 

 

I want to thank everybody for another great year of lacrosse. Enjoy the rest of your summer.

Mike