Sens Game

Last night Pete and I went to the Sens game, well ok we saw 2 of the 3 periods. The congestion in the Corel Centre parking area is insane and the most poorly organized thing I've ever seen. We got off the Queensway at 7:05 and slowly inched our way to a parking spot, it kinda felt like we were trying to get away from Hurricane Rita. Pete managed to cram his Ford F150 king cab between a couple of cars and we managed to "wander" our way through the parking lots and finally made it into the building at 8:20. We missed all of the first period and most of the intermission before we made it to our seats.
One would think that leaving an hour before a game would allow enough time that you MAY miss the opening face off but still see most of the first period, but not in Ottawa and especially not the Corel Centre. If they ever give out awards for the "Worst Designed Parking Lot" the Corel Centre would win hands down! There was a wile where we didn't know if we were going to make the start of the second period. Here's a little tip for the idiots that the Corel Centre - Forcing 5 lanes of traffic into 1 is not a very bright thing to do. From now on I'll just have to leave 2 hours before game time to see the opening face off. Tracy thought I was nuts when I told her we were leaving at 6:00 to see the game. Even leaving at 6:00 we still would have missed the opening face off. You shouldn't have to spend an hour and a half in a parking lot trying to park your car.
The game it's self was really entertaining and fast paced. I like all the new rule changes except the shoot out part. I wasn't all that excited by it but then again the game wasn't on the line. Sidney Crosby played well, but I think he's in for a long season and doesn't seem quite ready on the defense side of things but show a lot of promise. I'm not ready yet to jump onto the "Sens Cup" bandwagon yet, after all it is preseason.
After the game Pete and I decided to hang out at Finigans bar and have a few beers and wait for the madness in the parking lot to end. We left after an hour and had no problem getting out, I guess that's what they want you to do, show up early have a few beers and then stick around after the game and have a few more beers.
Overall it was just nice to be back out at a NHL hockey game. GO OILERS GO! Hockey starts next week!

Weekend Fun

We had a busy, fun weekend. Friday night we were over at Deb and CraigÂ’s house for dinner. Craig must have been cooking all day, it was a great meal of stuffed Cornish Hen, vegetables and one of the best tasting deserts IÂ’ve had in a long time. The whisky coffee was great too.

Saturday I got up and was at the gym by 8:00am doing my workout of 20min on the elliptical machine and 30min of weights. By 11:10 Tracy and I were on the road to Trenton to visit her friend Tonya and her boyfriend Dan. After driving non stop at speeds of 115 to 120km/hr, we got there at about 2:00 (I make note of this since Tracy is absolutely convinced you can drive from Ottawa to Trenton in just less than 2 hours). We had a great time there playing cards and drinking until 1:00 in the morning. The next morning we got up around 10:30 and had breakfast at a local dinner and were back on the road home by 2:00pm.

It was a fun weekend, just a little to much drinking and eating.

A fun Sunday

Had a fun day on Sunday, didn't to much and that's what made it fun. I sat around and watched the Bears play then went to the gym after the game, came home and had Fish and Brews that Tracy had made (really yummy). I love Sunday's like that.
I've started up a sports blog to keep track of my favorite teams, check it out if you want to. I hope to keep it as up to date as possible.

http://djfsports.blogspot.com/

Have a good one everyone!

A Fun Saturday

Yesterday, despite the constant drizzle and rain, was actually a fun day. Tracy and I headed out the Smith Falls to visit the Hershey Chocolate Factory. The tour was really interesting even though there wasn't any candies being made, the factory is closed on weekends. We did see the huge chocolate holding tank mixing chocolate (mmmmm..........Chocolate). After that we were like a couple of kids in a candy store running around looking at all the cheap prices for candy. Gotta love quality control, there was a lot of bulk bar pieces on sale for really low prices. It's the only place you can go and walk out with a grocery bag full of candy and not feel bad.
That evening Tracy and I headed out to one of our favorite restaurants "Carmello's", the food as usual was excellent. Carmello's is located on Sparks Street between Lyon and Kent Streets. We started our meal by splitting a Insalata Carmello's, which was by far the best salad either of us has ever had. I believe Tracy had the "Umbriana" dish which had grilled chicken on a green pasta with a cream sauce, it was very tasty and filling. I had the "D'Angelo" dish which had chunks of Salmon, lots of shrimp in angle hair, all in a olive oil and garlic sauce. The "D'Angelo" dish my just be my new favorite dish. It seems every time we eat at "Carmello's" we try something new and are almost always blown away by how good the food is.

Renegades/Oilers

Winnipeg Blue Bombers 37 Ottawa Renegades 21

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers beat the Ottawa Renegades 37-21 in a wet mistake filled game in front of 17,567 fans. The Blue Bombers snapped their 3 game losing streak and the Renegades extended theirs to 4 games now and may be out of the playoffs. This was a must win for Ottawa and things looked good at half time with Ottawa up 21-19, the third quarter saw no scoring and then Winnipeg scored 18 un answered points in the 4th quarter. Ottawa almost had a field goal to make things interesting, but the ball hit the cross bar and bounce out rather than in. That single play seems to describe the whole game for Ottawa, the whole season for that matter, almost there but not quite. It wasn't the kickers fault, it wasn't the holders fault and it wasn't the snappers fault either, it was a combined effort. Losses in Ottawa are always combined effort of mistakes. A lot of players played well, but for every good play they made they also shot themselves in the foot too. Winnipeg wasn't without it's mental mistakes either, I can't count the number of times they were called for offside on defense.
In the end all that this game managed to tell fans is that Ottawa is about the same level as Winnipeg - and Winnipeg isn't exactly a team that you want to compare yourself too.

Edmonton Oilers 2 Calgary Flames 1

In the first NHL game for both teams in over a year the Edmonton Oilers beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 in an overtime shootout under the new NHL rules in front of sellout crowd of 16,839. Calgary got the scoring under way in the second period with a short-handed goal from Lombardi. The Oilers finally got there powerplay clicking midway through the third period as Stoll scored on goalie Brent Krahn. The 5 min. overtime decided nothing and all 3 shooters for both teams failed to score in the shootout forcing a sudden death shoot out. Calgary has first chance at it and Nystrom missed leaving it up to Ryan Smyth as he scored a nice back hander to win the game for the Oilers.
Mike Morrison played well in goals stopping 24 of the 25 shots he faced as Edmonton out shot Calgary 31-25 overall in the game. Other notables, Chris Pronger had an assist in his Oiler debut and Rob Schremp got the first star of the game for his gritty performance.

More Sports Talk

Hockey

It all starts again tonight. The NHL opens up it's pre-season schedule with the Edmonton Oilers facing their hated neighbors the Calgary Flames. This game should be interesting just to see how the new rule changes affect the game. The elimination of the red line and smaller goalie equipment should open up the scoring and make the game entertaining. The NHL is also ending all pre-season games with a shoot out no matter what the final score is. Now that I think of it, both Edmonton and Calgary are speedy teams that don't trap, maybe a better gauge of the new rules would be a game between the New Jersey Devils and the Florida Panthers.

Football

Well - I'm off to the Renegades/Blue Bombers game tonight, hopefully we all won't get washed away in the heavy rains that are forecasted. The Renegaes are starting the usual suspects so here's hoping that most of them show up and play. I'll have a review of the game posted tomorrow.
Saying this game is a "must win game" would be using that statement too many times. It seams every game, every year at this time is a "Must Win Game", but if Ottawa loses it will be 4 strait losses and one step closer to once again not making the playoffs. For Winnipeg, who are winless on the road, it is (everyone now) "a must win game", they also have lost 3 strait coming in to this game. If you look back Ottawa has a history of "helping" teams break these sorts of streaks, so with Ottawa being 3.5 point favorites I'd take the points and Winnipeg.

Football Talk

Well it seems the Ottawa Renegades have announced they aren't going to bother trying to pry Jesse Palmer from Montreal. Apparently the asking price was just too much and I'm not really surprised. Don Mathews isn't stupid and knows that Ottawa is desperate for anything that could boost attendance. (How about actually winning games instead of stinking the place up?) I'm kind of glad Ottawa isn't going after him, knowing the Renegades they would have given up half the offence to get him and then where would they be.
Now the Renegades are after Tim Couch and Ryan Leaf. Ryan Leaf, "Cryin' Ryan" as he's affectionately called, is described by former team mates as immature, divisive, and confrontational. Sounds like a perfect player to go after and just what the Renegades need in their dressing room, another distraction. I hope that they get Tim Couch if they get anyone, he would be a better "team" player and less likely to start problems in the dressing room. The last thing the Renegades need is another distraction. Personally though I think they should bench Kerry Joseph for the next game and go with Brad Banks and forget Cryin' Ryan and Mr. Couch Potato.

Sports Time

Anyone that knows me at all will tell you I'm a big sports fan and I love hockey. That's why I'm so happy the NHL is back this year. It won't take you long to figure out what my favorite sports teams are - LOL.

Ryan Smyth Signs a 2 Year Deal

Today the Edmonton Oilers announced that they have signed Ryan Smyth to a 2 year deal that is worth $7 million dollars according to TSN. With out the deal Smyth would have become a free agent at the end of the upcoming season. Ryan Smyth had already agreed in principal to the one year deal the Oilers had earlier offered. I'm really looking forward to this season as it should be quite exciting with the additions of Mike Peca and Chris Pronger. What the Oilers really need to do now is go out and get a proven goal scorer at center and they could go from a team expected to make the playoffs to a team that could contend for the Cup.

Renegades Friday

Looking forward to Friday night (I think so anyway), my dad and I are heading out to see the Renegades take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Here's hoping Ottawa shows up for this game and breaks their 3 game losing streak in which they have looked really bad.

The Big Weekend In Newfoundland

Thursday September 1^st

Our flight took off on time and we got to Halifax on time and from there to St. John'’s the flight was also good, we got in around midnight and Tracy'’s parents were there to pick us up with Tracy's Aunt Jean and Uncle Barry. We got back to Tracy's parents place just outside of St. JohnÂ’s around 1:00 am and by 2:00am we finally got to bed.

Friday September 2^nd

The day started with Tracy figuring out that her brother and his wife was coming for a surprise visit. The secret was out when Tracy'’s father complained that his back was bothering him and Tracy suggested that he call Chris, which Tracy'’s father answered "He'’ll be here later to have a look at it."” Tracy picked up on this right away and her father tried to cover up by saying when he comes down for Christmas. Her Uncle Barry also hinted at it the night before by saying "“At least you have a bed tonight, don't know where we are going to sleep tomorrow night"” but I think Tracy was too tried to pick up on it. After Tracy'’s father and uncle left she managed to pry it out of her mother that indeed Chris and Laura were coming for a surprise visit.

The weather was lousy, we started the day with thunderstorms and heavy rain. The rain let up a bit and it looked like we were going to have a nice day so Tracy and I headed out the St. John's. Tracy took me on a quick tour of St. John'’s and showed me where she went to University and where she lived in St. John'’s, She also took me up to Signal Hill, which overlooks the city of St. John's, but the visibility was bad due to the fog and pouring rain.

That night we had the first of several big family meals and the food was great. After supper we all headed back to Mr. Cole's house and had a nap before getting up and going to the air port to pick up Chris and Laura.

Saturday September 3^rd

The weather was a lot better on the second day and the cruise ship Queen Elizabeth II was anchored in the bay near the house. Tracy and I took a nice walk out and took a few pictures of it. The walk was actually kind of challenging since we didnÂ’t see the path and we ended up walking along the "“beach"”. In Newfoundland beaches are not sand they are just areas of large rounded stones that are hard to walk on. It took us a wile the find the path and we had to climb a wood ladder to get back onto the path but all turned out well.

That afternoon was another family gathering, this time at the Cole'’s house. Once again the food (sandwiches and deserts this time) were great.

That evening Tracy and I headed out to her friends Katherine and Bill'’s house and had a great steak dinner on the BBQ they had just purchased for an awesome price and Katherine had managed to put together just before we arrived. We sat a round drinking and talking for a wile and then headed down to George Street and I had a fun time getting screeched in at local pub. We spent the rest of the night out drinking and we crashed at Katherine and Bill'’s that night.

Sunday September 4^th

After getting picked up the next morning, Tracy and I along Chris and Laura took a quick tour around St. John'’s again and with the great weather the view from the top of Signal Hill was amazing. I took quite a few pictures. We then headed out the Cape Spear which is the most easterly point of North America, and again I took quite a few pictures.

That evening we had yet another big family dinner with yet more great food. The celebration this time was for Tracy's Grandfather'’s 84^th birthday.

Monday September 5^th

We got up and had a huge Cole family breakfast with scrambled eggs and bacon, it was really good. Once again the weather was great and Tracy and I headed out to Bill and Katherine'’s house to see their daughter Julia (she was being baby sat on Saturday night). She was a really cute, friendly, outgoing kid. We only visited for an hour or so before we had to leave. The rest of the day was quite relaxing. That evening we had cab legs and scallops for supper which were really good.

Tuesday September 6^th

More great weather and another relaxing day, Chris and Laura had an emotional departure around noon. That evening Tracy, myself and her parents took a boat tour that departed from St. John’s Harbor, through "The Narrows" and out to the Atlantic Ocean (my first time on a boat out in the ocean). Even thought the sea was relatively calm the boat rocked quite a bit, but it was still a really nice tour that took us out to Cape Spear. Once again I took quite a few pictures (OK I took over 320 on this little trip – LOL). I didn’t see any whales but I did see quiet a few jelly fish.

Wednesday September 7^th

We got up early and had one last breakfast and headed to the Airport for our flight back to Ottawa. It was a great trip and I can't wait to go back to St. John's again!

Back From Newfoundland

Got back from Newfoundland on Wednesday, had a great time out on the "Rock". Got Screeched In, met Tracy's friends Katherine and Bill and their daughter Julia, visited Signal Hill and Cape Spear (most easterly point of North America) and ate Ches's fish and chips. I also had a great time visiting with Tracy's family (and eating a lot). Anyway, I'll have a bigger blog about the trip later.