The Joy and Agony of Sports

I have had the pleasure of being an assistant coach at Concordia University for Men's Basketball for the 2007-2008 season. It's been an up and down year to say the least. We currently sit at 12-8, 3rd place in the ACAC North Division.

I have played basketball since I was 6 years old and now not being able to physically play anymore, have found great joy in coaching.

(Rick Majerus in action, one of my favorite coaches to watch)

This past weekend we traveled to Grande Prairie for a two game set against the GPRC Wolves. A key match up in our season as they sat in 4th place, 10 points behind us but with a chance to catch us if we were unable to win another game during the regular season.

Friday night we came out flat and disinterested and were blown out by 25 points...not much you can do about a 45-17 half time deficit except get get ready for the next game. Today we came out more ready to play, but only half the team. It puts a lot pressure on those who are ready to play when they know they aren't getting any help from the bench. It was hard fought, back and forth game. At the final buzzer it was a 64-64 tie, so we would play another 5 to decide this one. We continued to play well and with 12 seconds left and down by one, we had the ball out of bounds with a chance to win. I got the opportunity to draw up a play for the win. I went to my favorite sideline out of bounds play and with 6 seconds to go we were looking at a wide open lay-up for the win....and a miss! We had to foul and hope for another shot at the hoop, there were only 2 seconds left at this point...our desperation heave missed and we left Grande Prairie 0-2.

In my playing days, I was fortunate to play on some good teams. I have never lost 8 games in a season as a player or a coach until now. However, I have never appreciated the fight as much as I do right now. We still control our fate and have the opportunity to reach our goal of a National Championship, it's going to take some work, but I know we can do it.

As we prepare for our final 4 regular season games I am excited for what can happen. I hope that the players have learned from the experience of this past weekend...I know I have.

Is Everyone Ready for LOST?

The long awaited day is almost upon us. Only 9 days till the return of LOST. I don't watch many shows that are currently in production, but LOST happens to be one of them.

I think that we are about to get some questions answered but in true J.J. Abrams fashion even when this is all done I think we will all be left hanging. It will be interesting to see who goes and who stays, how honest Ben has been, what the smoke monster is...so many questions! There are so many tie ins regarding the links between Mittelos Bioscience, the Dharma Initiative, the Hanso Foundation, the Widmore Corporation...I can't wait. I am most intrigued by Richard Alpert. I think that he is the source of information regarding the island. I hope that he plays a major role in the upcoming season.

Anyways, in my opinion, LOST is the most intelligent and entertaining show currently on TV and I hope everyone enjoys the upcoming season!

Quite the Day

Today was full of interesting events. Perhaps not all the best Sunday activities but nevertheless they make for some good stories...

So I get up and leave to go to Calgary for the day with my friend Tom. The purpose of the trip is two fold; first to visit a friend that is leaving for Australia for a year and second to see some MMA fights one of which featured someone we actually know.

We left a little late to make it to Calgary in time for church, so Tom is going a little quick down the road and gets pulled over for speeding, not a bad ticket but there is never a good one. Not 5 minutes later we hear a loud noise coming from the rear of the car. We pull over to see what happened...flat tire. We are in dress clothes and so we decide to call AMA for a tow into Red Deer to get a new tire. After some contemplation we decide to change the tire ourselves and put on the "donut" size spare. So we change into our casual clothes on the side of the road, now remember that it is mid-January in Northern Canada which means -17 centigrade...kinda chilly. We get the tire on, I should say I got the tire on (Tom is not one for the mechanical endeavors), and limp it into the Red Deer Canadian Tire. We sit there for a couple hours while the tire gets fixed, mind you we could have been out of there sooner if the tires weren't on sale so Tom couldn't resist getting a deal. So instead of one replaced we got two done. Even the guy at Canadian Tire didn't want to do it.

We finally made it to Calgary at 2:30. We left Edmonton at 8:30, so a trip that should have taken 2 hours took 6. Anyways, we get to enjoy a lovely dinner with friends while taking the jeers for planning to attend an MMA event on Sunday, notwithstanding a great afternoon. Lots of laughs and great food.

On to the fights. If you imagined that semi-pro UFC style fights in northern Canada are not held at the classiest joints, you would be right. An interesting crowd to say the least. Some great fights though and the guy we came to see won via the choke out.

The drive home was uneventful, but that's what you want when it's dark and cold out.

People with Poor Driving Habits

I don't have many pet peeves, but one area of life/society that does get my ire up is poor drivers. Today, and I guess I missed the memo, was drive slow in the fast lane day. And not just a little slow, like 20 under the speed limit. I realize that winter in Edmonton can produce less than quality driving conditions, but c'mon 20 under? I don't think so.

My two other primary driving pet peeves are first, people who flick cigarette butts out their windows and second, people who refuse to acknowledge a poor driving move. I make just as many goofs on the road as the next guy, just be willing to own up to it.

First and foremost...

So I have wanted to have a blog for a long time and have only recently (today) learned how to do it as I am a little technologically impaired. You'd never know it by how many electronic devices I have, it's just a miracle that they all still work.

I will discuss many topics on my blog from sports to TV shows to the most random thoughts that pop into my head. I will try to make 2 entries a week at a minimum and grow it from there. Lets see what happens.