How do you get down off an elephant?

... you don't get down off an elephant; you get down off a duck!

Embarrassingly, I never got that joke until many years after I first heard it; and only then when my big brother explained it to me.

How do you get down from a Stanley Cup championship in southern California? If you're a Duck, it's from meeting a hot team in the first round of the playoffs.

The Dallas Stars were full measure for their eliminating the defending champion Anaheim Ducks in 6 games. Stars netminder Marty Turko was almost unbeatable much of the time. I think the Ducks just never quite recovered from that blowout in game one on home ice.

Am I disappointed? Yes. However, the Ducks did provide an exciting season, especially with the return of Scott Niedermeyer and Teemu Selanne who scored several key goals down the stretch.

I am mostly disappointed that the Ducks have missed the opportunity to repeat as Stanley Cup champs. Winning back to back may have placed them among some of the great teams in NHL history. But it was not to be. Quack.

Never give up

I can't believe they actually came back and won it all. The Kansas Jayhawks men's college basketball team had led at various times during the the NCAA tournament final against the Memphis Tigers, but they were down by 9 points with two minutes left, and were not shooting well. Miraculously, they came back to within 2 points with sufficient time, but the real miracle was yet to come.

Kansas missed on a good chance to tie it from 2 points down, and then, after fouling Memphis, the Tigers went up by three with about 10 seconds left. That meant that Kansas had to make a three pointer, something that they were lousy at doing all through the game up to that point. But then it happened.

With Memphis playing tough defence, Kansas somehow got the ball down court quickly (remember, they only had 10 seconds to do something). The Kansas dribbler was completely covered, but managed a pass back to Mario Chalmers just outside the 3 point circle and it was all or nothing. Memphis players were also all over Chalmers by the time he received the pass, but he let fly a shot with a great arc and somehow we all saw and heard the swish of nothing but net. Tie game with 2 seconds left!

So we are off to overtime, and Kansas, with the momentum, puts Memphis away for good to win the title. What a stunning turn of events. I keep learning from determined young athletes to never give up, even when it looks hopeless.

Sad All Over

I am grieving over the death of Mike Smith, lead vocalist and keyboardist for the Dave Clark Five, today near London. Mike died of pneumonia at age 64. He was too young to leave us.

I was only a wee lad when the DC5 hit the top of charts in the UK and, for a time, were as equally well known in the British Invasion as were the Beatles. In fact, the DC5 made 18 appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show, the most by any British group.

Smith had a distinctive voice, which some writer described as "leathery", that made the popular music of the group so appealing. I feel blessed nowadays to be able to see old performances of the DC5 on YouTube. Mike is a real presence in the performances.

Smith's passing seems even more tragic with the somewhat recent passing of the saxophonist of the group, Denis Payton, at age 63.

It is just really sad to lose the rock and roll stars of my youth, when they are still relatively young. Their music lives on, but it is sobering to realize that this is the end of an era.

"I'm in pieces, bits and pieces" over the passing of Mike. We will miss you, Mike. The song was always so true of you, that "You got what it takes."

What would Mark and Jake think?

The Buffalo Bills playing regular season games in Toronto? Former MP Mark Lalonde and former CFL Commissioner Jake Gaudaur would be horrified. When tycoon John Bassett announced his new Toronto franchise in the World Football League in 1973, Lalonde introduced legislation blocking the American invasion so quickly, it made Bassett's head spin. And Gaudaur was firmly in Lalonde's court, in seeking to preserve the Canadian game.

How times have changed.


PS: Here's another opinion on the matter

NFL's Foray Into Canada Will Doom CFL: Ackles
Ed Willes, Canwest News Service; Vancouver Province
Published: Friday, February 01, 2008

PHOENIX, Ariz. - When commissioner NFL Roger Goodell announces today that Toronto will play host to eight Buffalo Bills games over the next five years, he will present it as a positive development for both his league and the CFL.

B.C. Lions president Bob Ackles, on the other hand, has a different take on the matter.

Ackles believes this move is the toehold would-be NFL owners Ted Rogers and Larry Tanenbaum have been looking to secure in Toronto and, ultimately, it will lead to the demise of the CFL. Ackles, whose feelings on this subject are well known, has been silent on it for a while.

Lord of the Rings Bobby Ackles began his career with the B.C. Lions in 1953 as their lowly water boy.

Thursday he broke that silence in a big way.

"That's no CFL, no Grey Cup and, in the end, no minor football in Canada because kids will see they don't have a chance to play pro ball," Ackles said, reacting to the news which is expected to come out today at Goodell's Super Bowl press conference.

"(Goodell) will handle it very diplomatically but this is the tip of the berg. It might take some time but you can see where this is going."

Today's announcement has long been in the works and is expected to include some concessions for the CFL. The games - five regular-season contests, three in the pre-season over the five-year period - will be played in December after the Grey Cup. It's also thought that Toronto Argonauts' and Hamilton Tiger-Cats' season-ticket holders will get priority in the purchase of tickets.

But Ackles says that's just a flimsy attempt at spin control.

"I'm just one guy," Ackles said. "But I think it's just a matter of time. There are two guys (Rogers and Tananenbaum) with a lot of money and they usually get what they want.

"Why would anyone want to go to Toronto? No. 1, it's ego. No. 2, it's the money. It's a big foot in the door and they'll draw sponsorship money out of southern Ontario. And that means there won't be a national TV contract (for the CFL)."

Ralph Wilson, the Bills' owner, is 89 and has said his estate will likely sell the franchise to the highest bidder on his passing.

There is still no NFL team in Los Angeles but there's no ownership group, either.

"(Former NFL commissioners) Pete Rozelle and Paul Tagliabue wouldn't have handled it this way," Ackles said. "Goodell came out and said he wants to grow the game internationally. Well, it's failed in Europe so where does that leave?"

Vancouver Province
ewillespng.canwest.com
© CanWest News Service 2008

Teemu is back!

Oh joyous news! Teemu Selanne announced he is returning to the Anaheim Ducks' lineup this season. Welcome back, man. I remember how excited I was when you returned to the Mighty Ducks from your travels to San Jose and Denver. I am glad you have re-discovered the passion and we can enjoy your exciting play again. Go Ducks!

Thank you, Saints...

... for another great season. "Great season?" you ask. "They missed the playoffs after being picked the team to beat in the preseason."

Well, yes, but after starting the season 0 and 4, everyone had given up on them (please refer to earlier post dated Sunday October 7). However, the Saints managed to rebound from that huge hole to still be in contention for a playoff spot on the last weekend of the season. And they did that without Deuce, Reggie, Aaron, Marques and Mike.

Hey you Saints, thanks for all the great exciting action this season, and for keeping us in suspense about the playoffs until the last moment.

HOW COULD THEY?

I am deeply grieving today. We lost a great one, Benazir Bhutto, much too soon before she should have died. How could they just simply kill her? She was special.

I know that I really have no clue about Pakistan politics, but I have admired and have been entranced by Bhutto ever since she became Prime Minister of Pakistan twenty years ago, and actually gave birth while in office. I was saddened when she was forced from office on charges of alleged corruption.

How could she now meet the same fate as her late father, murdered by a citizen of the great state for which Benazir and her father had such great love and vision? It is just not fair. She should have had a chance to contest the current election to see if the majority wanted her back, or if maybe there was a possibility of a workable coalition.

I just cannot believe it. The beautiful, well educated, well spoken and affable Benazir Bhutto is suddenly gone, all because of some coward with a gun. This is indeed a great tragedy.

We will miss you, Benazir.