The NHL had a serious concussion some time ago that was never disclosed. In spite of
all the big numbers and all the fancy gibberish thrown at the fans and the media ‘watchdogs’, the NHL is steadily digging itself into a deep hole. Refereeing is a farce (ever try to explain calls to a neophyte during a game?), several teams are in the wrong markets (no need to expand here), too many are losing money hand over fist, the USA media is tentative and highly concentrated (but admittedly getting better than it was), serious injuries are getting out of control (permanent injuries are already a reality and mortal injury an increasing probability), and on and on (I’m sure you can add to the list). And all the while Mr. Bettman is going through well prepared talking points, justifications and arguments at every opportunity as if addressing a group of eight year olds. No clear convincing answers are ever given.
I am a Canadian, properly biased and totally peeved. How is it possible that so few of the now seven NHL teams based in the best hockey country in the world usually make the annual playoffs? And yet, Canada regularly wins on the International stage (Olympics, World Cups, etc,). Oddly, Canada wins its reasonable share of events anywhere the NHL has no control and cannot influence the outcome. Why is that? Luck? A recurring fluke? And when Canadian teams do make the playoffs they usually don't get beyond the first round (ok, some exaggeration
here). I hear Mr. Bettman and his obedient disciples with their cue card answer: conspiracy theory! hogwash! Consider the following alternative answer.
It might very well have to do with a very closely monitored and micro-managed NHL by a
very few individuals at the very top who have all the discretionary powers to nudge and prod in whatever subjective direction they chose on a daily basis. In the end, it all adds up to the results we all know and see while shaking our heads in disbelief. That is why these folks love 'parity' at any cost as well as ‘leveling from the bottom’. These are actually handy dandy tools for ‘managing’ outcomes. If Canadian teams won too often the US market would falter even more and that my friend is not part of Mr. Bettman’s strategy hence, a no-no at any cost.
Similarly, is it normal to have the NHL 'disciplinary operations' answer directly to the owners and specifically a handful of NHL micro-management executives using a rule book that allows whatever interpretation that suits the immediate needs. The results are subjective decisions
objectively justified after the fact and on-ice officials who make calls and non-calls that have everyone shaking their heads in disbelief? On and off-ice decisions based on the perpetrator rather than the offense. Mr. Bettman’s contribution is even more troublesome by making statements like: “It’s a matter of perception” “It’s a hockey play”
Concussed or what?
On another front, what organization rewards its best upcoming talent by forcing them
to join the worst part of the organization? How encouraging is it for young players to strive
to be the best only to be drafted but the worst? Such is the NHL draft system. Is levelling from the bottom really a good thing? Does it make any sense? The smartest of the best young players may start playing at their full potential only 'after' they are drafted to avoid playing with
a bottom team. Maybe that's why many Europeans are now crowding the top of the draft. They haven't caught on yet. But look closely at who is making the difference on the ice: Canadian players from Quebec, Ontario and the Western major junior hockey leagues with a proportionate bias towards former French Canadian players.
Of course, all NHL executives are experts in the art of paying public lip service through their
media partners and vested interest collaborators using well rehearsed and too often repeated lines that we have all heard time and time again. This is the crux of their job. Where is the arm’s length input, the truly independent and open reviews, the even-handedness, the transparency, the answerability and so on? It all takes place behind closed doors of boardrooms where decisions are made without any significant external scrutiny. Are the owners being intimidated by their own executive management? Are the master legal beagles running the show?
How sick is that!
Maybe NHL owners and executives are so tightly wound up in big business, big media and
local government politics that they too have lost sight of what hockey is all about and effective control over what is happening. There is very little up front input from the players partnership?) and no consultation with the fans that ultimately pay for the whole thing. Where is it all going? What is the strategy going forward (as they would say it)? Only Mr. Bettman knows for sure. Or does he?
Maybe the upcoming round of contract negotiations will begin to veer towards a corrected course for the NHL professional sports entertainment business in which the players get a much higher priority and fans more attention. Hopefully the NHL and NHLPA will begin to re-balance some of this nonsense but I for one am not holding my breath.
Someone call the hockey doctor!
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
Monday, September 5, 2011
NHL Hockey Fights: A Suggestion
NHL Hockey Fights: Assuming the league will not want to ban fighting altogether, why not give it structure. Gloves are dropped, the closest referee (or linesman) blows the whistle to indicate the belligerents have 15 seconds, they can dance, wrestle or fight, after 15 seconds the official blows the whistle again, the belligerents have to break off and back off immediately, one or both who do not get automatic 'Out-the-Game' and additional game(s) suspension.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Papa Clifino’s Spaghetti Meat Sauce
The following recipe requires two large pots and fills about 20 two 2 lbs margarine containers, so plan accordingly or cut the recipe as needed.
Ingredients
Meat 4-5 lbs (2 kl): I use half and half lean ground beef and porc but all beef is fine.
Vegetables
Diced fine or coarse according to preference.
Celery 7 branches
Onions 6 medium
Bell Peppers 3 or 4 (green, red and/or yellow)
Jalapeño Peppers 2+ (optional depending on how spicy hot you like your sauce)
Canned Tomatoes
Tomatoes diced or stewed 1 x 28 oz
Tomato paste 3 x12 oz
Tomato sauce 1 x 28 oz
Tomato juice 2 or 3 x 28 oz (add as needed to preferred thickness)
Spices
Thyme 1 tsp
Allspice ½ tsp
Marjoram 1 tsp
Oregano 1 tsp
Rosemary 1 tsp
Cayenne Pepper 2 tsp
Red Pepper 2 tsp
Bay leaves 6 tsp
Chilli 1 tsp
Italian Seasoning 1 tsp
Garlic 2 or 3 cloves chopped or squashed
Dry Mustard 1 tsp
Cloves 1/4 tsp (optional)
Pepper 1 tsp
Salt 3 tsp (add to taste during cooking but be very careful)
Method
1. Dice all vegetables.
2. Mix spices in a bowl. (Separate in half if using two pots)
3. Oil bottom of cooking pot(s) with two tsp of olive or vegetable oil.
4. Add meat and brown. Stir often.
5. When the meat is brown strain the juice into a container and put it in the freezer for a few minutes. This will enable you to remove the fat. (This is optional but makes for a leaner sauce).
6. Set the meat aside for now.
7. Once the fat is removed put the juice back with the meat.
8. Cook onions and celery until transparent. Stir often.
9. Add the meat to the vegetables.
10. Add spices, tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced/stewed tomatoes. Mix well.
11. Add tomato juice (Can be adjusted for thickness). I put two 28 oz cans and then add more later if needed. if I find it is too thick. Remember that the sauce will thicken as it cooks especially in the last hour.
12. Cover (not tight but just to avoid splattering) and cook on low heat for 3 to 6 hours.
13. Remove the cover completely and reduce to very low heat in last hour to get the desired thickness.
14. Stir and taste often… Adjust to taste as needed.
15. Put in containers.
16. Serve and/or freeze.
Ingredients
Meat 4-5 lbs (2 kl): I use half and half lean ground beef and porc but all beef is fine.
Vegetables
Diced fine or coarse according to preference.
Celery 7 branches
Onions 6 medium
Bell Peppers 3 or 4 (green, red and/or yellow)
Jalapeño Peppers 2+ (optional depending on how spicy hot you like your sauce)
Canned Tomatoes
Tomatoes diced or stewed 1 x 28 oz
Tomato paste 3 x12 oz
Tomato sauce 1 x 28 oz
Tomato juice 2 or 3 x 28 oz (add as needed to preferred thickness)
Spices
Thyme 1 tsp
Allspice ½ tsp
Marjoram 1 tsp
Oregano 1 tsp
Rosemary 1 tsp
Cayenne Pepper 2 tsp
Red Pepper 2 tsp
Bay leaves 6 tsp
Chilli 1 tsp
Italian Seasoning 1 tsp
Garlic 2 or 3 cloves chopped or squashed
Dry Mustard 1 tsp
Cloves 1/4 tsp (optional)
Pepper 1 tsp
Salt 3 tsp (add to taste during cooking but be very careful)
Method
1. Dice all vegetables.
2. Mix spices in a bowl. (Separate in half if using two pots)
3. Oil bottom of cooking pot(s) with two tsp of olive or vegetable oil.
4. Add meat and brown. Stir often.
5. When the meat is brown strain the juice into a container and put it in the freezer for a few minutes. This will enable you to remove the fat. (This is optional but makes for a leaner sauce).
6. Set the meat aside for now.
7. Once the fat is removed put the juice back with the meat.
8. Cook onions and celery until transparent. Stir often.
9. Add the meat to the vegetables.
10. Add spices, tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced/stewed tomatoes. Mix well.
11. Add tomato juice (Can be adjusted for thickness). I put two 28 oz cans and then add more later if needed. if I find it is too thick. Remember that the sauce will thicken as it cooks especially in the last hour.
12. Cover (not tight but just to avoid splattering) and cook on low heat for 3 to 6 hours.
13. Remove the cover completely and reduce to very low heat in last hour to get the desired thickness.
14. Stir and taste often… Adjust to taste as needed.
15. Put in containers.
16. Serve and/or freeze.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Mon Murphy
Murphy est le nom que j’utilise afin de personnifier le ‘pésant’ banal du quotidien. Murphy est la cause des contretemps anodins, des obstacles triviaux, des petits accidents, etc. Il contrarie et empêche la facilité, l’aisance, la désinvolture, l’apesanteur, l’insouciance et la grâce.
Murphy est celui que je rends responsable, d’une façon pas sérieuse donc avec ironie et astuce, de tout ce qui n’arrive pas d’une façon facile ou automatique dans le banal de notre entourage physique. Si j’échappe quelque chose, c’est Murphy. Si je me cogne l’orteil, c’est Murphy. Si je frappe le rebord de la poubelle en essayant de lancer un papier dedans et le papier tombe par terre, c’est Murphy. Si je tente de sortir un article d’une armoire et j’accroche quelque chose en passant, c’est Murphy. Il est souvent caractérisé par ‘si ça peut aller mal ça va aller mal’[1].
Murphy se cache partout. Il est partout. Il est toujours prêt à nous surprendre surtout lorsque nous nous en attendons le moins. Il est le contraire de la grâce, la bonne étoile, l’ange gardien ou l’heureux hasard (serendipity)[2].
Il est le petit démon dans le banal de notre vie. À ne pas confondre avec le gros diable, le Mal qui existe dans notre Univers, dans la Nature et dans la nature humaine. Celui là est la cause des désastres, des guerres, des atrocités et des abominations. Il est très puissant et au-delà du contrôle humain. On ne rit pas avec celui-là.
Mon Murphy est plus serein, plus doux, plus acceptable. J’aimerais bien m’en passer à l’occasion mais il a aussi ses bons côtés. Il me rappelle continuellement que je suis un être physique sujet aux lois de la physique telle la gravité (les choses tombent), la tension (les objets se brisent), la friction (les objets accrochent), la densité (le mou cogne sur le dur), la force (on ne peut ouvrir ce satané bocal ou dévisser la quatrième de quatre vis) et ainsi de suite.
Murphy représente aussi la complexité et l’imprévu. Il en est même comique dans son acharnement et son omniprésence. C’est la raison pour laquelle je m’amuse à le personnifier. Ce n’est pas une question d’éviter nos responsabilités en blâmant Murphy pour nos maladresses, gaucheries, bourdes, bévues, distractions etc. C’est plutôt une façon d’en rire pendant qu’on se reprend et qu’on corrige.
Lorsque nous acceptons Murphy et que nous l’introduisons dans notre vie, il nous permet de passer outre les contretemps anodins, fréquents et souvent dérangeants de notre entourage.
[1] Voir les sites suivants sur Internet :
http://www.michelmartin.ca/ecrits_murphy.htm
http://www.andyville.com/home/Murphy's_laws.htm
[2] C’est-à-dire le don de faire par hasard des découvertes heureuses.
Murphy est celui que je rends responsable, d’une façon pas sérieuse donc avec ironie et astuce, de tout ce qui n’arrive pas d’une façon facile ou automatique dans le banal de notre entourage physique. Si j’échappe quelque chose, c’est Murphy. Si je me cogne l’orteil, c’est Murphy. Si je frappe le rebord de la poubelle en essayant de lancer un papier dedans et le papier tombe par terre, c’est Murphy. Si je tente de sortir un article d’une armoire et j’accroche quelque chose en passant, c’est Murphy. Il est souvent caractérisé par ‘si ça peut aller mal ça va aller mal’[1].
Murphy se cache partout. Il est partout. Il est toujours prêt à nous surprendre surtout lorsque nous nous en attendons le moins. Il est le contraire de la grâce, la bonne étoile, l’ange gardien ou l’heureux hasard (serendipity)[2].
Il est le petit démon dans le banal de notre vie. À ne pas confondre avec le gros diable, le Mal qui existe dans notre Univers, dans la Nature et dans la nature humaine. Celui là est la cause des désastres, des guerres, des atrocités et des abominations. Il est très puissant et au-delà du contrôle humain. On ne rit pas avec celui-là.
Mon Murphy est plus serein, plus doux, plus acceptable. J’aimerais bien m’en passer à l’occasion mais il a aussi ses bons côtés. Il me rappelle continuellement que je suis un être physique sujet aux lois de la physique telle la gravité (les choses tombent), la tension (les objets se brisent), la friction (les objets accrochent), la densité (le mou cogne sur le dur), la force (on ne peut ouvrir ce satané bocal ou dévisser la quatrième de quatre vis) et ainsi de suite.
Murphy représente aussi la complexité et l’imprévu. Il en est même comique dans son acharnement et son omniprésence. C’est la raison pour laquelle je m’amuse à le personnifier. Ce n’est pas une question d’éviter nos responsabilités en blâmant Murphy pour nos maladresses, gaucheries, bourdes, bévues, distractions etc. C’est plutôt une façon d’en rire pendant qu’on se reprend et qu’on corrige.
Lorsque nous acceptons Murphy et que nous l’introduisons dans notre vie, il nous permet de passer outre les contretemps anodins, fréquents et souvent dérangeants de notre entourage.
[1] Voir les sites suivants sur Internet :
http://www.michelmartin.ca/ecrits_murphy.htm
http://www.andyville.com/home/Murphy's_laws.htm
[2] C’est-à-dire le don de faire par hasard des découvertes heureuses.
Sunday, February 8, 2009
Cornwall - the place where Ontario began
CORNWALL may not first come to mind as "the place where Ontario began", but that's exactly what it is, says area historian Carol Goddard.
She says it all started on June 6, 1784 when a group of United Empire Loyalists, refugees from the American Revolution, landed on the waterfront in what's now known as Lamoureux Park, not far from where the Cornwall Community Museum now stands.
Museum curator Ian Bowering said Loyalist leader Sir John Johnson was related to Mohawk warrior and Six Nations land negotiator Chief Joseph Brant. The site of what became Cornwall was picked when the two men reached an agreement that the Mohawks wouldn't contest the choice.
"We wouldn't be here had the Mohawks said no," Bowering noted.
"Native Peoples, the French Canadians, African Canadians, Italians, Dutch, Poles, Irish, Scots, English, Americans, Germans, Chinese ... our first Jewish family settled here in 1792."
Goddard said many of Cornwall's founding families were members of the King's Royal Regiment of New York and the Highland Emigrant Regiment.
To reach the safety of British North America, they traveled through the wilderness by foot, cart and canoe. They arrived in what is now the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry -- including Cornwall -- after drawing lots for land grants provided by the Crown in return for loyal service.
The moment was captured in a watercolour by James Peachy -- now owned by the National Archives -- which depicts an encampment of Loyalists at what was then New Johnston. It shows what the riverbank looked like before it was backfilled as the site of the Civic Complex and a bandshell.
To mark the spot , the committee plans to build a memorial cairn, not just in honour of the Loyalists and Brant, but to recognize all of the city's 18th and 19th century founding peoples, Bowering said. The fieldstone cairn will stand up to seven feet tall and bear a plaque paying homage to the city's founders. It'll be modeled after a war memorial in Berwick.
Carol Goddard is a member of the 225th anniversary Committee of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Historical Society and past president of the regional United Empire Loyalist branch and a latter-day Loyalist who uses the letters "UE" behind her name (Unity of the Empire).
She says it all started on June 6, 1784 when a group of United Empire Loyalists, refugees from the American Revolution, landed on the waterfront in what's now known as Lamoureux Park, not far from where the Cornwall Community Museum now stands.
Museum curator Ian Bowering said Loyalist leader Sir John Johnson was related to Mohawk warrior and Six Nations land negotiator Chief Joseph Brant. The site of what became Cornwall was picked when the two men reached an agreement that the Mohawks wouldn't contest the choice.
"We wouldn't be here had the Mohawks said no," Bowering noted.
"Native Peoples, the French Canadians, African Canadians, Italians, Dutch, Poles, Irish, Scots, English, Americans, Germans, Chinese ... our first Jewish family settled here in 1792."
Goddard said many of Cornwall's founding families were members of the King's Royal Regiment of New York and the Highland Emigrant Regiment.
To reach the safety of British North America, they traveled through the wilderness by foot, cart and canoe. They arrived in what is now the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry -- including Cornwall -- after drawing lots for land grants provided by the Crown in return for loyal service.
The moment was captured in a watercolour by James Peachy -- now owned by the National Archives -- which depicts an encampment of Loyalists at what was then New Johnston. It shows what the riverbank looked like before it was backfilled as the site of the Civic Complex and a bandshell.
To mark the spot , the committee plans to build a memorial cairn, not just in honour of the Loyalists and Brant, but to recognize all of the city's 18th and 19th century founding peoples, Bowering said. The fieldstone cairn will stand up to seven feet tall and bear a plaque paying homage to the city's founders. It'll be modeled after a war memorial in Berwick.
Carol Goddard is a member of the 225th anniversary Committee of the Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Historical Society and past president of the regional United Empire Loyalist branch and a latter-day Loyalist who uses the letters "UE" behind her name (Unity of the Empire).
Friday, January 30, 2009
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