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Time To Relax

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009 | Author:
Time To Relax

Indulge Yourself

Welcome to my new home! I’ll borrow and paraphrase from The Offspring’s “Time To Relax” to set the mood:

Ah, it’s time to relax – and you know what that means; a glass of wine, your favourite easy chair and of course this sports blog displayed on your favorite LCD display. So go on: indulge yourself, that’s right, kick off your shoes, put your feet up, lean back and and just enjoy the blog posts. After all, reading soothes even the savage beast….

I’d like to thank Bucketo for all his help setting me up with my own spot on the internet: he really was like a real estate broker getting me from renting to home ownership. Check out his web hosting site if you’d like a smooth move with great customer service every step of the way.

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Anthems: Wake up! Time To Die!

Monday, April 27th, 2009 | Author:

I’m a little late to the party here, but I’d like to use my corner of the intrawebs to lend my voice to the rising chorus of people who think national anthems should not be played before professional sporting events. I’ve been saying this amongst friends and family for years now, but only recently have I heard my sentiments echoed by prominent figures. Imagine my shock when uber-nationalist Don Cherry was one of them.

The issue recently saw a spike in attention after some Montreal Canadiens fans booed the American national anthem before a playoff game. This happens every couple of years. I wouldn’t go so far as to boo their anthem, but I do sympathize to an extent. After the Iraq war began, my form of protest was to not remove my hat during the singing of the Star-Spangled Banner. Nonetheless, I don’t really get why you would boo an anthem at a pro sports game: there are so many nationalities represented on both teams that it completely obfuscates any objective (which is presumably to piss off the opposing team?).

The issue isn’t really the booing of the anthem but rather why the anthem is played in the first place. I’m told the playing of national anthems before professional sports games began after World War II to honour the men who had fought in that conflict. The thought behind this tradition is nice, but the execution is all messed up. We have Remembrance Day to honour our military heroes. On top of that, I doubt many people are thinking of military personnel when they rise for the anthem at a sporting event. Unscientific-off-the-top-of-my-head-thoughts-that-cross people’s-minds-during-the-anthems:

1. That girl can’t sing worth crap.

2. Is it disrespectful to take a swig of my beer during th – (gulp!).

3. The players look just as bored as me right now.

4. Dude next to me has got to stop brushing up against my arm.

5. …stand on guard, for thee!!

The meaning behind the gesture has long since passed us by. Besides, we need less military cross-branding with sporting events, not more. We’ve seen a definite uptick in military tributes at sporting events in the past few years. In my opinion it’s nothing more than an infiltration into our pastimes by warhawks and right-wing conservatives. Protest of any kind at these initiatives are met with accusations of unpatriotic sentiment or worse: pansification. Just take Carlos Delgado as an example: he was villified by the New York media for refusing to acknowledge God Bless America during Yankees games.

National anthems do have a place in sport. When matches are played between countries, it is more than appropriate to play the anthems. In fact, it adds to the spirit of the event. These renditions would take on even more significance if we weren’t so bombarded by the anthems before every single game we watch. Canada playing the USA in hockey? Hell yes play the anthems! The songs resonate with fans, players, and coaches alike because we are pitting countries against one another. Montreal and Boston facing off has nothing to do with Oh Canada or the Star-Spangled banner, so get rid of them altogether. Anything else is just inviting trouble.

The pre-game anthem ceremonies at the FIFA World Cup are always so beautiful to watch, and are enhanced by the fact that God Save the Queen or La Marseillaise isn’t played before every Premiership or French League match. When you line up the England team next to the French team and play those anthems it’s difficult to feel indifferent, even if you have no ancestors from those countries (same goes for Brazil, Italy, Japan, etc.).

With all this said, however, I doubt any of the professional sports leagues in North America will have the courage to mandate a change in pre-game ceremonies. Those that would be opposed to the change would howl long and hard about the lack of patriotism such a gesture would symbolize (again, why is Don Cherry on my side on this???). I seem to recall George Steinbrenner publicly voicing his disgust with Blue Jays President Paul Godfrey for not playing God Bless America at Blue Jays home games during the seventh-inning stretch. Can you imagine the reaction from the faux-patriots if Gary Bettman instructed teams to drop the anthems before games?

The status quo will continue, but you have my go-ahead to keep your hat on while the “bombs burst in air”.

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Tiger Saves Golf

Monday, March 30th, 2009 | Author:

I am not a fan of golf. In fact, there are many aspects of golf that I find repulsive. If forced to play 18 holes I usually want to go home by the eighth hole and watching it on TV is literally like watching grass grow. That doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate greatness when I see it.

I didn’t do much this weekend as I was still recovering from my nasty cold, and by Sunday morning I was pretty bored with playing video games. I felt like being more passive in my couch potato-ism. The F1 did the trick in the morning, but the afternoon’s television slate was filled with a triumvirate of things I don’t care for: golf, basketball and NASCAR.

There was something about knowing that Tiger Woods being five shots back of the leader at the Arnold Palmer Invitational that appealed to me, however. Much like I could stand to watch basketball when Michael Jordan’s Bulls were playing, Tiger is a compelling story. There’s something about watching greatness at work that is attractive. Throw in the fact that he was in only his third tournament coming back from reconstructive knee surgery and you had a ready-made Hollywood script. And, of course, he delivered.

The prey on which Tiger set his sights was Shawn O’Hair, a young kid with an already impressive three PGA wins. Poor guy looked like a deer in the headlights most of Sunday though, as he was paired with Tiger and had to try and calm his nerves as an 18 wheeler bore down on him. He was only able to do so on the back nine but by that time it was too late – Tiger had caught up. Nonetheless, it all came down to Tiger’s last shot, a 15-foot birdie that was as much a foregone conclusion as a dozen people yelling “GET IN THE HOLE!!” as soon as his putter hit the ball (one of my pet peeves about watching golf). It was exciting – no, it was exhilarating. You’ll probably never see me write those words to describe golf again. Then again, perhaps I’ll tune in again next time Tiger is hunting down an opponent.

Viewing note: The NBC coverage was brilliant. For the first time I can remember I wasn’t rolling my eyes every couple of minutes during the broadcasting of a golf event. The info was relevent, and the miking up of the caddies really helped the layman understand the strategy behind golf. NBC’s shot tracker was also spectacular, reminding me of the video game version of the sport and highlighting the acute skill these guys possess. One last thing about the coverage that I appreciated was that the guys in the studios weren’t whispering. Nothing drove me more bonkers in the past than knowing that two guys in a studio were trying to be quiet when they weren’t anywhere near the action.

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If Your Life Was A Movie, What Would Be Its Soundtrack?

Monday, March 30th, 2009 | Author:

Don’t usually do these, but the randomness of it appealed to me (yes, I will mix in some music posts on here once in a while).

So here’s how it works…

1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For the first question, type the song that’s playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button TWICE
6. Don’t lie and try to pretend you’re cool…just type it in man!

1. Opening Credits
Pretty In Pink: The Psychedelic Furs

2. Waking Up:
Hello Dave – I Mother Earth

3. First Day at School:
Safe and Sound – Hawksley Workman

4. Falling in Love:
Fool To Cry – Rolling Stones

5. Losing Virginity:
Butterflies and Hurricanes – Muse

6. Fight Song:
In You Soul – Corey Hart

7. Breaking Up:
Things We Said Today – The Beatles

8. Prom:
Action – Sweet

9. Life:
Rebel Girl – Bikini Kill

10. Mental Breakdown:
Scarlet – U2

11. Driving:
Jizzlobber – Faith No More

12. Flashback:
Vertigo – Sarah Slean

13. Getting Back Together:
Perfect – Smashing Pumpkins

14. Wedding:
Brass In Pocket – The Pretenders

15. Birth of Child:
Rebellion (Lies) – Arcade Fire

16. Final Battle:
Haushinka – Green Day

17. Death Scene:
Tom Sawyer – Rush

18. Funeral Song:
Eyesight to the Blind – The Who

19.End Credits
NIB – Black Sabbath

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Life Is A Lemon

Thursday, March 26th, 2009 | Author:

Hey, just wanted to drop in and say I haven’t renounced my blogging obligations, I’m just recovering from a bout of the flu with a heavy dose of a cold. I’ll be back to catch up on all the events of the past week shortly.

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Sunday Double Dip of Greatness

Tuesday, July 08th, 2008 | Author:

Sunday turned out to be much more epic than I envisioned. The plan was to to get up early, watch the British F1 GP, and tune into the tennis match after the race. I had set my pvr to record the race in case I slept in, which I did. So I got up at 9 and thought: “Ok, well the race lasts until 10 and Wimbledon is starting right now, so I might as well watch the tennis match and then watch the race”.

Now keep in mind I haven’t “planned” to watch a tennis match in a long, long time. I just had a feeling something special was going to happen, especially considering how much of beat-down Nadal had put on Federer in Paris. I started watching the tennis match, fearing McEnroe would say something like “A great day for the British, as Jensen Button won the F1 race this afternoon in this country and now they get to watch a great tennis match.” Turns out McEnroe held his tongue, or doesn’t care about any other sport (probably the latter).

The tennis match was the best I’ve ever seen in my life. It beat DanielNestor vs. Stefan Edberg, Michael Chang v. Edberg at the 89 French, and those Jimmy Connors matches at the US Open when he put on that run in the twilight of his career. The quality of play from both players was unbelievable. The shots they made 3 and 4 and 5 times per rally made me shake my head. Nadal especially, he makes shots that you swear when they come off Federer’s racket are winners, but Nadal tracks them down and makes head-scratching returns. And then Federer recovers to play a master shot, only to be countered, etc…Again, I had never seen anything like it.

What was kinda fun for me was the rain delays. Every time they covered the grass I’d switch to the race, one that was filled with incidents and one of the best driving performances I have ever seen. I know it’s tempting to use the “BEST “X” EVAR” cliché, but for me I think I’m being honest. At least it felt like it. Lewis Hamilton put on a clinic on how to drive in the rain. At certain points he was lapping 5 and 6 seconds faster than anyone on the track, on the SAME TIRE COMPOUND. For those of you who don’t follow F1, five or six seconds a lap is unfathomable. The announcers kept saying “we keep on getting letters from fans asking what is so special about Lewis Hamilton…well here it is”. The only thing similar I can remember was Ayrton Senna at the Brazilian GP in the early nineties where he raced like nothing was wrong, only there was torrential rain beating down on Interlagos while Prost and the rest of the grid kept spinning and splashing all over the place.

Switching back to Wimbledon, it was amazing to watch a match that felt like it could go on forever (there is no 5th set tiebreaker at Wimbledon..you keep playing until someone gets two games ahead). Darkness encroaching (no lights either), both players holding serve like their lives depended on it. Finally, on his 4th match point, Nadal put the match away, winning the final set 9-7. I’m happy they got it done before it got too dark or I would have missed it Monday morning. It was awesome to watch the trophy ceremony in the dark. Totally surreal. The only way the week could have been better for the Spanish would have been for Alonso to win the British GP, but we all know that’s not going to happen anytime soon (but hey, at least he’s the number one driver on his team)!

Anyway, it was great enough for me to feel compelled to write you all about it.

Can’t wait til the US Open and German GP!

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Calling All Ottawa-Area 360 Gamers

Friday, November 24th, 2006 | Author:

Hey everyone!

If you play on XBox Live and live the in Ottawa area, I invite you to email bucketo@hotmail.com to get added to this website. It’s a really cool site to keep track of what fellow gamers in the city are up to. Once Bucketo adds you, you don’t have to do anything – your achievements are pumped into the system automatically.

Having said that, if you’re looking for a quick pickup game of NHL or FIFA or whatever, get in touch with me. Another idea floating around in my brain, if this call picks up any traction, would be to host an NHL or FIFA tournament. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with me!

mimglow@gmail.com

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Appetite for Destruction

Monday, November 20th, 2006 | Author:

In honour of Axl showing up in Ottawa and rocking out (according to the Ottawa Citizen), here is a review of Appetite for Destruction I wrote a few years ago.

Appetite For Destruction

We knew we were listening to something…different. My friends and I (average age 11 y/o at the time) were sitting around listening to the radio, when all of a sudden a hellish guitar riff flooded the airwave. It was Welcome to the Jungle, by Guns n’ Roses. GnR hit the rock scene like a tonne of bricks in 1987 with the release of Appetite For Destruction. Absent from these rockers were the makeup, the blow-dried hair, the on-stage acrobatics or the fake street cred. These fellas were for real, and were as in your face about it as you could get.

My close friends often have to suffer my diatribes about how Izzy is the soul of GnR. I honestly believe that without him, there was no band. Proof is in the pudding, and upon Izzy Stradlin’s departure from the band, GnR failed to record any original material as a band ever again. Sure, Slash’s genius cannot be denied, Duff’s bass lines were crafty and Axl provided the necessary rocker angst, but it was Izzy who was the backbone with his hook, line and sinkerish rhythm guitar riffs. I’ll expand a little more on this in the specific songs, but you only need to focus your ear on the rhythms of Paradise City or Mr. Browstone to realize that Izzy Stradlin is a rock God.

Welcome to the Jungle

Everyone knows the opening guitar riff to Welcome to the Jungle. Heard regularly in many formats, from sports stadiums to Jim Rome’s theme song, Jungle is an anthem to youth, sex, and survival to which many people relate. The song’s lyrics were written by Axl, and chronicle his difficult transition from small town Indiana to the bright lights of Sunset Boulevard. For me, it was an introduction to the seedier aspects of life, a portal into post-teendom that every pubescent adolescent aspires to. Axl empowered me to rebellion, Izzy created a backbeat that added a distinctive strut to my gait, and Slash made me want to wear top hats (ok, he did more than that, but I’ve got to keep stuff for the other songs! Haha)

It’s So Easy

In case Jungle wasn’t badass enough, the boys from Hollywood hit us with a song about sexual domination, and the objectification of women, born out of Axl’s disgust with the smuttiness of L.A. women. The song has grown on me over the years, as I’ve learned to appreciate Axl’s sleaziness, and the equally degradatory guitar licks that support it. Here’s a telling lyrical sample from Axl’s philosophy towards women (which would change over time):

 

“Turn around bitch I got a use for you
Besides you ain’t got nothin’ better to do…and I’m bored” 

You’ll notice a pronounced change to Axl’s view of women in the Illusions albums, a reflection of falling in love HARD with Stephanie Seymour (who hasn’t?).

Night Train

Axl chooses Night Train to introduce himself to the populace, and to tell us all what a badass he is. A night creature, Axl was a self-conscious and uncertain country kid looking to make a mark under the big city lights. Night Train reads like a mini mission statement, letting everyone know that he’s arrived and the road better be cleared for him.

 

“Said I’m a mean machine
Been drinkin’ gasoline
And honey you can make my motor hum
Well I got one chance left
I’m a nine live cat

I got a dog eat dog sly smile
I got a Molotov cocktail with a match to go
I smoke my cigarette with style
An I can tell you honey
You can make my money tonight”

Out Ta Get Me

This one is another “Me v. the World” ditty that exposes the punk world’s influence on the band. This song earned the newly-minted “Explicit Lyrics” sticker for the cover.

Mr. Brownstone

An ode to heroin, I related to this song not for the drug undertones (I had no idea this song was about drugs when I was 11), but because of its procrastinating nature:

“I get up around seven
Get outta bed around nine
And I don’t worry about
nothin’ no
‘Cause worrin’s a waste of my… time”

…my teenage years in a nutshell, that. Steven Adler’s drum performance in this song is one of his best. He just keeps the song rolling along, as Slash and Izzy interlock in a beautiful rhythm/lead tandem.

Paradise City

One of the songs of the 80’s. A seven minute epic in a time where albums were over-produced to give us neat little 3 minute radio-friendly verse/chorus/verse/chorus/solo/chorus formulas. It starts out with a beautiful strumming intro by Slash, only to be railroaded (in a good way) by a heavy rhythm turn by Izzy. We get a glimpse into Axl’s soft core in this one, because the song is a tale of homesickness.

The final third of this song absolutely kicks ass. Played incredibly up-tempo and for a long while, it must have exhausted the boys in the band. Having seen this song performed live, I can attest that it grabs you out of your seat (if you have the gall to be sitting at a GnR show) and moves you every which way. There is no feeling like handing over total control of your body to a song (or a girl).

My Michelle

My Michelle is titled to give us the impression it’s another cute little ballad, but it’s actually a song about a bad girl gone good (and I’m not sure Axl approves). This one never really grabbed me in any way. Musically and lyrically it’s good, but just never stuck to me.

Think About You

Another one of those songs that slips under my radar. I quite enjoy the rolling rhythm guitar, and the hook of the chorus.

Sweet Child O’ Mine

“Her hair reminds me of a warm, safe place
Where as a child I’d hide. ”

The song kicks off with one of the most unmistakable guitar hooks in music history. I wonder sometimes about the day Slash first unleashed this baby on the boys in the band, and what their reactions were. Did they know they had struck gold? You’d have to think so. The beauty of it is that the boys didn’t sit on the riff and ride it to glory – Sweet Child contains 4 guitar solos, impeccable rhythm guitar, forceful drum beats, a wonderful break-down (“Where do we go, Where do we go now?”), and lyrics to make any girl’s knees go weak. I really admire the guts it took to get away from the simplistic rock-ballad formula they could have stuck to and been guaranteed a top 10 hit. It worked out for them, but in doing so they broke the mold that was strangling rock n’ roll.

For me the song represents the youthful innocence with which you are filled every time you become infatuated with someone. It is also a reminder of how fragile we are when confronted with beauty. This song makes me want to run my fingers through her hair, leave a nail mark in her side and nibble on her neck. Mmmm…

You’re Crazy

This one has recently come to signify a part of my life. Isn’t it great when a song you’ve listened to your whole life suddenly morphs into a metaphor for a life situation, and you suddenly feel a bond with the singer? Well, in this case I have to remove the obvious anger Axl feels toward the girl he’s singing about. For me, saying “you’re crazy”, or in fact being told so, is a fun little teasing thing.

“I’ve been lookin’ for a trace
Lookin’ for a heart,
Lookin’ for a lover
in a world that’s much too dark
Because you don’t want my love, no, no
You want satisfaction” 

Damn straight, Axl.

Anything Goes

Just pure sex.

“My way, your way, anything goes tonight.”

How could I possibly have anything to add to this?

Rocket Queen

This has come to be my favorite song on this album, if not my favorite GnR song. Rocket Queen has everything I love about GnR; sex, aggressiveness, vulnerability, great guitar hooks and tempo variations. Musicianship at its best. Just do yourself a favor one of these days and block out all other aspects of the song except Izzy’s rhythm guitar. It’s a mesmerizing performance, one in which Slash comes in and out, with Duff’s bass providing the skeleton. The meat is all Izzy, though.

I see you standing
Standing on your own
It’s such a lonely place for you, for you to be
If you need a shoulder
Or if you need a friend
I’ll be here standing
Until the bitter end

No one needs the sorrow
No one needs the pain
I hate to see you walking out there
Out in the rain

So don’t chastise me
Or think I, I mean you harm
Of those that take you
Leave you strung out much too far
Baby-yeah

Don’t ever leave me
Say you’ll always be there
All I ever wanted
Was for you to know that I care

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Homecoming

Thursday, November 16th, 2006 | Author:

No, I didn’t get killed in Buffalo, although my buddy Karl did his damnedest to get us in trouble with the Amerkans (Way to go, Jamocha!).

I’m finding blogging regularly very challenging when big things are happening to me and the sports world takes a back seat. I wonder how the better amateur bloggers do it, like Neate over at Out of Left Field?

Anyway, the toughest thing to do when you’ve been away from your blog for an extended period is to figure out where to get started again. I suppose I’ll go with a story that really caught my attention this morning: the Evgeni Malkin court ruling.

Yesterday, a U.S. district court ruled in favour of the NHL against Russian hockey clubs that wanted to bar some of its players from playing in NHL games until a decision is made over compensation for those players. I imagine most NHL fans welcomed the news with a shrug of the shoulders and a “way to stick it to the Russians!”.


As is my nature, this turn of events has me wondering, especially on the heels of the Matsuzaka sweepstakes in baseball. The two cases are similar at their core: a bigger league covets a superstar in the making from a smaller league. This happens all the time in soccer, where one team will compensate the other with a “transfer fee”, usually in the millions of dollars (depending on the player, of course). This appears to be modus operandi for the Boston Red Sox, who have offered $51 million to the Seibu Lions should they succeed in signing their star pitcher.

Meanwhile, in what seems like another world, the Pittsburgh Penguins practically smuggled Evgeni Malkin away from Metallurg Magnitogorsk without compensation. This is a player that was under contract to the Russian club, and the Penguins were able to sign him to a contract and have him play.

How can two situations that seem so similar at their core produce such differing results? Imagine this scenario: have Sidney Crosby signed by, say, Spartak Moscow. For whatever reason, Crosby decides this is the right career move and leaves the Penguins for Russia while the Pens get nothing in return – like the NHL wouldn’t go all the way to the Supreme Court over something like this.

It’s been mentioned that it’s the Russian Federation’s fault for not signing an agreement with the NHL, which would have capped the amount of compensation given to Russian clubs at $200,000 per player. Can we blame them? 200 grand when the Penguins will make millions off this deal? There’s a certain hypocrisy from the NHL wanting to globalize the game, yet when rival leagues try to hold on to their talent (or get fair compensation for being pillaged), the NHL tries to kick them back into the backwater. It’s only a matter of time before the Russian league will be able to hold
its own against the NHL. Bettman and company need to embrace the fact that they’re succeeding in making the game a global success, and everything that comes with it, including successful leagues in foreign countries. It’s not because a bunch of NHL execs get together in a room once a year and decide who gets what (the NHL draft) that the rest of the world have to abide by these terms, as if we were back at Versailles in 1919.

I’ll say it again: North American sports leagues need to look at soccer for guidance on how to go global. The systems are mostly in place when it comes to soccer, and all the NHL needs to do is model themselves after them. Baseball seems to be getting the message, and the NHL, as usual, is lagging behind.

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Great Quote

Wednesday, November 01st, 2006 | Author:

I decided that tonight I’ll be watching the Sens-Habs game on RDS, since I can’t really stand Dean “Oh MY HEAVENS!!” Brown. So they have a pre-game show where they sit down with Guy Carbonneau, the Habs head coach, and the interviewer asks him:

- “Any changes to the lineup tonight, Guy?”.

- With a wry smile he answers: “I’ve put Aaron Downey in the game tonight, since you never know with Neil and McGrattan.”

Nice! Let’s get it on!

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