A True Playoff Game

The two teams took to their sides in the first round of the SDSA Men's Division 3 playoffs. It was the 3rd place Hawks vs the 6th place Tauro FC to see who would advance to the next round and push forward to the final coveted Championship Trophy.

It was a defensive battle off the start with both teams playing tight and a little slow. The chess match ensued until Rob Hydomako cruised down the left side of the field, beat an opponent and sniped a sharp angle shot into the far top corner to put Tauro FC up 1-0!

The Hawks didn't back down and a few minutes later a long chip pass was sent to an attacking forward. The forward flicked the ball forward towards the goal and his attacking midfielder ran forward onto the ball. The Tauro FC defensemen Sheldon Mathies didn't follow his man as he though the keeper would get the ball. The keeper thought Sheldon would get the ball. Needless to say it was an open shot at point blank range and the score was 1-1. (Sidenote: it was Sheldon's fault for not marking his man...never leave your man in front of the net!)

The halftime came and the Tauro FC guys were gasping for breath. Having just played in a co-ed soccer tournament all weekend a number of the players were worn out. But Isaac Hayes, the Tauro FC keeper, came in with a rousing half time speech to get the boys fired up! Tauro FC came out flying in the second half and when Robin Dalshaug passed the ball from the corner right in front of the net Kent Worthington was there to put away the go ahead goal.

But the lead didn't last long as the Hawks weren't about to give up. In a mad scramble of legs near the net a Hawks player managed to get off a shot and went into the bottom corner of the net just out of Isaac's diving reach.

With 3 minutes left to play it was time to give it one last push. Player/Coach Sheldon Mathies put Kurt Manz into a midfield position (he normally plays striker) in order to give us more attacking power. Suddenly a quick transition and a pass from Rob sent Kurt hurting towards the opposing net. Fighting off a defender that was right on his side, Kurt got a step on him and fired a shot into the back of the net. The Tauro FC bench went wild, but there was still 2 minutes to play.

And the Hawks weren't about to give up. Pushing all 5 men forward the Hawks were on the attack. Our Tauro FC played strong team defense and though the pressure was intense, the final 3 whistles from the referee were blown and Tauro FC advance to the next round of playoffs on Monday April 10th at 8:15pm with a 3-2 victory!

April Fools!

Well, for those of you that didn't catch on yet, the previous post was just an April Fool's joke! It worked even better than I thought it would...a lot of people fell for it and my phone was ringing off the hook (ok, maybe just a few calls). Sorry to anyone who had a heart attack after reading that...please email your medical bills to ifellforit@aprilfools.com to have them fully paid for.

See you again next year!

It's Sad to Say Good bye

Shiela and I have been keeping a secret for a while that I couldn't post. I really wanted to, but just in case it didn't work out I didn't want everyone to know. And no, we're not pregnant!

Shiela and I are moving to Abbotsford, B.C.

There, I said it, it's out there! Man, it feels good to get that off my chest! I know this may come as a shock to many of you, but here's the reason for the move. Many of you know that I have wanted to start up a new business for a long time...it's been a dream of mine. I finally just found out that I have been granted a franchise license to open a Dippin Dots in Abbotsford, B.C. I originally had applied for a license in Saskatoon, however the company would not grant it. They said that Saskatoon was not a big enough market, especially since no one eats ice cream for at least 6 months of the year. In Abbotsford you can eat ice cream year round which means a much larger demand and a whole lot more money!

This was not an easy decision for Shiela and I. Shiela loves her job here in Saskatoon but realizes that starting my own business has always been my dream and she has agreed to quit her job and try to find another EMS position in Abbotsford. It will most likely mean more schooling, but she is ok with that. She has decided that since she has to go back for more schooling anyway, she is going to get her Paramedic schooling right away. That way she will be one level higher up and can work in a lot more places.

We are definately going to miss Saskatoon. We have a lot of friends here and will miss them dearly. I know I am also going to miss all the poker games I have with my friends...thank goodness for the Internet. We've given our notice to our landlord and the plan is to be in Abbotsford by April 15th.

Anyways, it's late now and I need to go to bed soon. I have a big soccer game tomorrow morning at 8:30am. We entered a co-ed team into the Just For Kicks tournament and we play on Sat at 8:30am and 3:00pm. Then once more Sun at 8:30am. If we move onto the playoffs we'll play some more yet!

Ok, so good night and Shiela and I just want to say we love you all (our friends that is, any random strangers reading this that may not exactly apply to you in the same way). Feel free to leave any comments in the comments section!

Update: Click here for more details.

Any Simpsons Fans Out There?

If you are a fan of the Simpsons then you need to check this out. It's the Simpson's opening except it is done with real people, not cartoons.

Check it out by clicking here!

Hockey Goalie Training Video

This is the funniest and best hockey training video I've ever seen. I can't link directly to it, but click here and it is posted on Dave Carey's blog. You'll love it, I promise!!

I think this is how the Calgary goalies train! Go Oilers!!

Fight Night!

I was at the soccer centre Sunday night and saw that Arsenix and Eclipse United were playing their game. I was there to watch Shiela play but I wandered over to the other game for a bit and watched. I obviously didn't stay long enough.

With 10 minutes left in the game someone received a yellow card. That player went to the box, but then two other players who looked like they were just goofing around suddenly slapped (or hit) each other and all hell broke loose! The guy in the box came running out and started throwing punches. Both benches were cleared. The Arsenix goalie came running down from the opposite end of the field to get involved and started throwing punches. Apparently there was some vicious moves as guys were getting their heads slammed into upcoming knees, etc. One guy for sure left bleeding with a badly ripped jersey. The game was abandoned and both teams left the field. But it didn't stop there! The Arsenix guys walked on the outside of the field to the Eclipse dressing room, grabbed one of the players by the throat and threw him up against the wall.

Someone eventually called the police ( I have no idea where SPI Security was that night) but I didn't see them talking to anyone so I don't know if anyone was laying charges. There were a total of 5 red cards given out and I'm sure they will all get 6-7 if not more game suspensions. They can pretty much kiss at least a 1/4 of their outdoor season goodbye.

And where was I during the fight? On the other side of the facility drinking my butter caramel smoothie from Tim Hortens and watching our Tauro FC girls clean up on yet another team. It was a great game, but definately not as good as a fight. Oh well.

UPDATE: The rumor mill is buzzing and last night I heard that one of the players actually punched the referee in the face! If that is true that guy will be suspended for a couple of years!

Yep, I'm a Goon!

For those of you that follow our Tauro FC Men's team you'll notice that we are on a new kind of streak...a red card streak. Yes, I admit it, I was one of the ones that got a red card. Actually, I received 2 yellow cards which equals a red card.

The first yellow card I derserved. The ref called a passback on our team when I clearly played it to our keeper off my thigh. Anyways, the ref made the call, I turned around and yelled "No way!" and then I kicked the ball away that just happened to be at my feet. As soon as I kicked it I knew I had a yellow card. After serving my 4 minute penalty I went back out there again with no incidence. But on my very next shift another player and I were battling for the ball along the boards and no one had possession. I flicked the ball past the guy but he shielded me and passed the ball about two feet away from the boards to his player. As his player went by I stepped out to try and steal the ball, missed, and hit the guys leg. The guy yells (but he always yells whenever you touch him) and immediately the ref gives me a yellow card. Again, I said "You've got to be kidding!" but then I just left it at that and left the field. I figured if I yelled at the ref I would probably just get an extra game suspension or something. So I'll admit that second yellow was a foul, but honestly, there was way worse stuff going on and it did not deserve a yellow card. Oh well, I had to miss one game in which we killed the other team 5-1 or something.

What a Great Day

My birthday has now come and gone and I've decided to do a blog of the day to show you how I spent it:

7:30am - Wake up and decide to go back to sleep

7:58am - Shiela wakes me up and brings me breakfast in bed. It consisted of pancakes, hashbrowns, bacon, eggs and V8 splash. It was awesome!

8:15am - I opened up a gift from Christy and John (no they weren't here, but they sent it from BC). It was a nice Canadian Olympic t-shirt from Hbc. It fit perfectly and I love it!

8:17am - I opened up my birthday presents from Shiela. She gave me a Coca Cola napkin holder (which I used as a money holder for my poker game that night), a coupon for a massage, a Dealer button (which I've needed for a long time) and a coupon that entitled me to buy the new Daniel Negraneau DVD that I wanted (she couldn't find it online, and actually I couldn't either but I know it's there, so I'm get to find it and buy it).

8:20am - I get up and shower

8:45am - I head to the computer to start "working" for the day. My "work" for the day was going to be playing poker online.

8:45am - I read the online birthday card from Kurt and Kendall...it was great!

8:48am - I read the birthday greeting from Janelle Baerg...thanks!

9:30am - My grandparents phone to wish me a Happy Birthday

9:45am - My mom phones to wish me a Happy Birthday and I find out that someone crashed their truck through the large window of the Hepburn Co-op! I thought that only happened in the movies!

9:58am - I log out of Party Poker where I've been playing Omaha high low all morning...I'm up $5.00.

10:00am - Shiela and I head out to do whatever we want...which is go look at the Olympic clothing at Hbc.

10:35am - Shiela loves all the clothing they have (and if you haven't seen it you need to check it out, it's really nice stuff) and I make a mental note for her birthday

11:15am - Make our way to Soccer Locker to spend the $60 gift certificate I received almost a year ago and haven't spent yet.

11:19am - Rob at soccer locker tells me they are just unpacking all their new stuff and so if I come back in a few days they will have a lot more stuff. He said not to worry about my gift certificate expiring since he knows me. I leave happy and will come back in about a week.

11:34am - Shiela and I are in Superstore to buy snacks for the poker game that night

11:57am - I drop Shiela off at home and go read the paper at the library.

12:30pm - I make myself some Chunky soup for lunch and head back to the computer to play some more poker

1:20pm - I've lost $25 playing poker online...I'm debating whether I should stop

1:21pm - I switch over to playing no limit hold 'em and buy in for $10.00

1:33pm - I've now lost that $10.00 and decide it's time for a nap

2:30pm - Larry phones to say he can't make it poker. I get up and play some more poker.

3:30pm - I just won a sit and go tournament and pocketed $17.50. I'm also playing in a free tournament but doing badly.

3:45pm - Decide to clean the house for the poker tournament tonight. I put my tournament status to "post and fold"

4:15pm - I play a few hands in the tournament and am knocked out. Oh well, its was free.
4:17pm - I enter another sit and go tournament for $5.00
4:22pm - I'm knocked out...not a good showing. I shut off the computer.
5:00pm - I head to KFC to pick up my birthday supper...I bought the Fun Bucket and yes, it was a lot of fun to eat.
7:00pm - Poker tournament starts and I lose a lot of chips to Shiela in the very first hand (what was I thinking drawing to a low straight). I'm worried I will get knocked out early.

8:00pm - I won a couple big hands and am back in the game.

9:00pm (circa) - Colin is knocked out of the tournament first when Ben Lim's King kicker was higher than Colin's as they both had a pair of Queens.

9:20pm - I forget the order of who was knocked out when, but in the end it was just Gramps and I.

10:00pm - Gramps and I are the final two...Gramps has few more chips, but it's pretty equal.

10:05pm - I'm getting nothing for cards and am losing chips. I win a couple hands but can't pull ahead.

10:15pm - I hold Jack, 7 and the flop comes 7, 10, 2. Gramps bets 400 and I raise 400 more. He calls. the turn is an 8. I know Gramps doesn't have the 10 so he either has a 2 or else some high cards. He bets 500. I count my chips and go all in. Gramps calls and turns over 2, 8 for two pair. The river is a blank and I'm done in 2nd place and win $10.00.

10:30pm - Everyone heads home and my birthday is done. What a fun day!

I'm really looking forward to the party on Saturday night!

It's Here!

It's finally here and it's already got off to an amazing start!! I won't blog about it a lot now because I'm going to post a blog tomorrow (hopefully) outlining my day. But so far Shiela brought me breakfast in bed and it was yummy!!!
And I can't wait for the big poker game tonight! (there are a couple seats left if you still want in!)

Big Day Approaching...Are You Ready?

It's only 2 more sleeps away. I thought I could just keep it low key and pretend that nothing was happening and it was just a normal day. Yah, right! That thought lasted about a milisecond. No way. I love birthdays and I can't wait to celebrate it!

This year I'm having a party on the Saturday after my birthday and we are going to do something that I love to do but am extremely bad at...curling! That's right, we are going curling and it will be a hoot! If you haven't been invited yet, don't worry...Shiela is doing the invitations and will be inviting people. She was actually going to do it this morning but got called in to work. So I figured I'd throw it up here on my blog to give some of you avid readers the heads up. So if you are my friend and we hang out on occassion, keep this Saturday night free as it's going to be a lot of fun!

Also, ON my birthday, that's Wednesday March 22,I'm going to have a poker night. It will be a tournament format that starts at 7:00pm and ends at 10:00pm (or really close to it). Texas Hold 'Em, $5.00 buy in but the fun is free! I hope to get quite a few people out so if you want to play some poker on Wednesday night leave me a comment on my blog and I'll save you a seat.

I've also decided what I want for my birthday, so if you haven't bought me a gift yet, feel free to choose from this list:

• 17" or 19" flat screen monitor for our computer
• Daniel Negreanu's new poker DVD (I think you can buy it at www.fullcontactpoker.com in the store section, but you might have to create a free account first
• a nice outdoor soccer ball
• Adidas casual shoes
• casual socks (not sport socks or dress socks...just casual socks)
• money to put towards my poker bankroll (feel free to transfer money online directly into my Paradise Poker or Poker Stars account if you want)
• nice athletic Adidas shirts at Athletes World (in Midtown Plaza they are in the back of the store on the bottom left hand side. I like both the white and the red ones)
• Tickets to any U2 concert
• A golf membership to a Saskatoon golf course
• new CD's (Christian bands would be great...not sure which ones...maybe a gift certificate would be good)
• Satellite radio (not sure why, but Warren has one and it sounded cool)
• Mike Caro's Book of Poker Tells
• Subscription to the magazine CardPlayer (it's a poker magazine)
• a Poker Tournament timer (probably need to buy this online)
• Gym membership to the Saskatoon Civic Centres (honest, I'll use it!)
• New VCR with remote control and the ability to program it (I broke our current VCR remote and so now we can't program shows and have to get up to fast forward the tapes. Ok, put away your violins but I'll keep the cheese)

Oh, the list could go on and on (actually, the truth is that it took me quite a while to think up all those things as I never really feel like I need anything)

That's it for now! I hope a lot of my friends can make it out to my party...Hurry! Hurry Hard!! (I'm going to be yelling that the entire time!)

I Met the Naked Man

I first received the email a few days ago. "I'm coming into the city on Wednesday. Let's meet somewhere." I read the email over again a few times. This man wanted to meet me. Alone. In the dark. No, wait, not in the dark as it will be in the afternoon. Phew. I emailed back,"Sure. Give me a call on my cell phone when you get into the city and we'll arrange a meeting." The plan was set.

I was out and about all day today cruising around and finding new places to put up posters to promote the best running event in the world called the Hbc Run for Canada. I was cruising down Arlington at around 1:30pm when my cell phone rang. I turned off the radio and picked up the phone, knowing who it was going to be. "Meet me at the corner of Louise and 8th at a place called Willy's." I didn't know which restaurant he was talking about and that gave me the willies, but I knew the location and headed on over there.

As I pulled up to Willy's I realized it was actually a place called Fajita Willy's. No problem, it was an open area, with lots of people, etc. As I stepped out of my car I glanced into the window and suddenly stared at the large "For Lease" sign in the window. The man was luring me to an abandoned restaurant. I quickly leaned back inside to find a weapon. Hmmm, what would work best. An old chocalate bar wrapper, an old coke bottle, or an old coke bottle. Ah, forget the weapon, how strong can a naked man be.

I was making my way up to the front of the door with the bag of "stuff" the man wanted. Suddenly a red truck screeched into the lot and came to a halt right in front of the door. I looked up just in time to see the man pointing at me with one finger and motioning for me to come into his truck. I was always told never to talk to strangers and DEFINATELY don't get into a strangers car (or truck), but what else could I do. The transaction had to take place and it looked like it was going to go down in the truck.

I got into the truck and the introductions happened quickly. I wanted to cut right to the chase, but the small talk started first. Oh, he was unaware that Fajita Willy's was closed when he asked me to meet him there. Phew. So this wasn't an elaborate plan to lure me to an abandoned restaurant. I finally made the transaction and handed him the bag I had. He took out some of the merchandise. "Not bad," he said. Then he reached into his bag and handed me the merchandise I was after. As I held it in my hands I could instantly tell his merchandise was not the same quality as mine, but I was expecting that. I mean, the brochures for our running event were made by a multi million dollar corporation and the brochures for his running event were made by a local community in a small town.

After the transaction was complete I talked a little more. "So you are from Eston," I began, "Were you one of the guys in the naked calendar?" Now for those of you who don't read the newspaper or listen to the radio or watch TV or take yearly vactions to the small town of Eston would probably not know that a bunch of older men decided they needed a fundraiser to raise money for a blood machine in their town. Every time someone needed certain blood tests done they had to drive an hour to Rosetown or Kindersley to get it done. So instead of that the town decided to make their own calendar of local naked men doing everyday things like riding a snowmobile, riding a riding lawn mower, etc. And yes, they were all naked.

"Actually, I was the one who planned the whole thing," the naked man informed me. I found out that this man initiated the whole calendar himself. He kept it very secretive the whole time and nobody knew they were even making the calendar until the day they released it to be sold. Even the men who were in the calendar did not know who the other men in the calendar were. So the entire town was extremely interested to find out which local men were in it. Word leaked out about the calendar and pretty soon it was all over the media, etc. and everyone knew about it. The naked man even said they were receiving money from people in the States who had heard about it. In the end they ended up raising about $29,000 for their cause which bought them their blood machine and a bunch of other things the town needed to.

It was pretty cool meeting the naked man behind all the other naked men of Eston. He is promoting an event in Eston called the Eston River Trek and is happening on May 13th. It looks like a great event and is actually very challenging...a lot more challenging than my 10K run. The Eston River Trek is actually a 40 mile walk along the river and surrounding landscape. You even have support vehicles, etc. to help you along the way. So click here to check it out...it looks like a lot of fun and if you live in Saskatoon and want a brochure let me know because I have some to give away for that event.

*P.S. At no time during my meeting with the naked man was he actually naked.

The Studio Experience

My big TV debut was about to happen and I didn't want to be late. I was suppose to be there at 11:45am for my interview and so I made sure I was early. I found a parking spot right in front of CTV and waited in the car until it was a little closer to 11:45am. So after about an hour and a half of waiting in the car I went inside (just kidding).

As I walked into the building I grabbed the door handle and pulled toward me. My arm shot back towards the door and I realized it was locked. I peered inside and saw a woman right there behind a desk staring at me. Our staring contest only lasted for about 2 minutes when I finally admitted defeat and looked away...luckily right to where the sign said that the door is always locked and needs to be opened up from the inside. I suddenly heard the buzzing and pulled the door open. This time it magically opened and inside I went.

I told the lady at the desk that I was there for the News at Noon interview and she told me to go down the hall and wait in the room until Jeff came and got me. Not being familiar with the building I started to venture down the hall looking for this "room" that I was suppose to "wait" in. I figured the first room I came to must be the one and so when I saw the first room I walked in. As I looked around I realized it was about as big as an airplane bathroom. "Man, hopefully there aren't a lot of other people here for interviews because I'm not sure how we're all going to fit in this room," I said to myself as I glanced around. I finally came to my senses and figured this can't be the room. As I squeezed on out the door I decided to walk a little further. Ah, sure enough, now this was more of a waiting room.

I walked in (there was no door) and sat down on the loveseat (do you still call them loveseats in a waiting room...seems a little too cozy for two strangers). About 1 minute later the room was getting pretty full as 3 people from a Native theatre company came in. I tried to make small talk but they pretty much all but ignored me. I was kinda surprised, but they just talked among themselves. "Oh well", I thought, "I've got better things to do," and I went back to staring at the wall. Finally another girl came in and her and I chatted until they came and got us for the interview.

As they brought us into the studio for the show I was surprised at how small it was. There was just one camera guy and the little stage where the interview would take place was right beside their anchor desk. It' funny how different things look on camera. Jeff wasn't there so it was Jennifer doing the interview and Trish was also there to do the news. We all just sat against the wall and watched it all until it was our turn. I've already blogged about the interview so I'll skip that part. It was very nerve racking up on the mini stage which is part of the reason I stumbled over my words in the beginning of the interview. I felt like I did a terrible job and as I drove home afterward I wished I had told no one about it. Howver, over the course of the next few days people who saw it emailed me and said it looked good, so I felt a little more relieved.

The scary part was that my boss in Toronto wanted to see it. Now you have to understand that she has never even seen me before. I only interviewed with her over the phone and it was another lady from Calgary that actually interviewed me in person. So now she was going to see me on TV for the first time in an interview I was not proud of...I could feel the words "You're fired!" about to be thrown into my face again. I delayed getting a copy of it made, but on the day of our local snowstorm I decided to venture out and get a copy made. After nearly spinning the tread right off my tires and rocking to get out of numerous spots where I was stuck I finally shipped them the video so they would get it Friday morning.

Friday morning came and my boss didn't say anything. Friday afternoon came and went and I still hadn't heard from them. "Hmmm," I thought, "they probably are trying to figure out how to fire someone over the phone after they watched my interview." I forgot about it over the weekend and when Monday morning came around I waited some more to hear the feedback. Monday passed and I still heard nothing. "Ok, this is crazy, " I thought, "surely they've watched it by now." Finally, Tuesday afternoon I got my first feedback...they LOVED it! She had even shown it to the President of TrojanOne and he liked it too and wanted to be sure they showed it to the Hbc executives. Pheww! I wasn't going to be fired.

So everything turned out great. I've even spoken to some of the top Hbc guys/girls and they told me they liked the interview a lot too! All that worrying for nothing. Well, I really wasn't worried. I just expect so much of myself and so it would take a lot for me to believe that I did a really good job (there's a little inside knowledge into the world of Sheldon for you!)

I'm Sorry, I'm Sorry

Ok, so it's been a long time since I've blogged. I'd like to tell you it was because I was working on a huge project that will make me millions or I was off on some exotic location, but the truth is I've just been busy. Busy with what you may ask. Well, I don't know.

I'm not sure what I've been busy with. Maybe it was being at the CIS Track and Field Championships this past weekend. Maybe it was helping out for many many hours doing evaluations for the Eastside Soccer Association. Maybe it was finding out I'm going to have to have surgery. Probably a bit of everything. Needless to say I've felt very busy...but it sure has been fun.

I'll be blogging a lot more now as I try and catch up with the last couple weeks of my life on here. So stay tuned!

Moving up the Ladder

I decided to say yes. It was a tough decision and I weighed the pros and cons, but in the end I said yes. I am now the Under 13 Boys Provincial Assistant Coach.

The head coach who I work with in a weekly soccer clinic asked me to be his assistant as he is the head coach. My biggest fear is getting burnt out. Last year the indoor season burnt me out. I was coaching the Under 14 boys Silver team, coaching Bethany College men's team, attending numerous soccer clinics put on by the Eastside Technical Director and also attending weekly mentorship sessions. Now don't get me wrong, I loved it all, but by the end I really needed a break from soccer and I ended up not coaching outdoor soccer that summer.

But I think this year will be different. The training sessions for the U13 Boys Provincial team are on the weekend and are all in Saskatoon. (Sidenote: this is actually the U13 Boys Provincial North team. There is also a South team. I don't know why they do that, probably to give more guys a chance. However the head coach told me that our North team is a lot stronger than the South team. So strong, that the guys we end up cutting from our team will probably go down south and be starters for the South team.) This means I don't have to spend time away from Shiela travelling which is nice. I will also be coaching the U11 Boys Gold team for the outdoor season. The plan is to practice with them from 4:30 - 5:45 Mon - Friday with one of those days being a game day. And both of these seasons end at the end in the first week of July. So although I will be very busy for the months of May and June, I will get July and August off to chill out and enjoy the summer...especially since my job ends at the end of July. Maybe I'll just take all of August off...hmmm, sounds like fun!

The fun part of the U13 Provincial team is we get to go to a couple big tournaments. The first one is May 19 - 22 in Surrey, British Columbia. We will be taking a team bus down there and it will be a lot of fun! So for all my West Coast readers feel free to stop on by and say hi...I'll be the assistant coach with the Saskatchewan team. The second tournament is the Rocky Mountain Cup July 5 - 9th somewhere in Alberta. Those tournaments will be a lot of fun. Another little perk is that I will get a bunch of free clothing including a windsuit, shorts, shirt, golf shirt, and fleece. But overall I am just really glad for the experience to be able to coach these kids at this level. I know I will be learning a lot from the head coach and also just how to coach at that level. It should be a lot of fun!

So, is anyone going to be in the Vancouver area on May long weekend?

My Interview Adventure - Embarrassed to Acceptance

This post will just be about the actual interview portion of my CTV News at Noon adventure. Later I'll post about the whole experience.

Being on TV is a little nerve wracking. My interview time came and I went up onto the stage and sat in the chair. Jeff was gone today so Jennifer Jellicoe was filling in for him. She put the mike on me and then we sat there and chatted briefly while we waited for the commercials to be over. She told me we had 3.5 minutes so we'd have lots of time to talk. Suddenly the camera guy gave us the finger countdown and our interview was happening...LIVE on TV!

As Jennifer started talking I glanced towards the camera and could see myself sitting there in the chair, but then I devoted my attention to the interview. I had spent a lot of time figuring out what to say and trying to remember all the different aspects of our run, but somehow that all seemed to disappear out of my head when the interview started. "Oh great," I thought, "it's just me and my memory now" and trust me, if you ask any of my friends including my wife they will tell you that my memory is not that good. Needless to say I forgot all the main points I wanted to get across.

Jennifer started off by mentioning that our run suited perfectly right now with the Olympics. That threw me off right away because I thought she would just start off asking me to talk about the event and I had a little speal ready, but suddenly I was talking about the Olympics, etc. You can tell I was nervous because I stuttered a bunch in the beginning and it took me a few seconds to get talking in an actual sentence. I felt as the interview went along that I was repeating a lot of the same things and was sounding really stupid. I hope it didn't sound that way.

There was one answer I wish I could take back. Jennifer asked me just before we went live if it was ok to ask why people should attend our run instead of the many others in Saskatoon. I told her to ask away and I figured I had an answer all ready...and I did. The answer is that our run is to help Canadian athletes, it's a national running event held in 10 different communties across Canada so the runners are part of a really large event, each participant receives a free technical running shirt and a finishers medal that has the Olympic rings on it. My big line was I was going to say, "It's probably as close to winning an Olympic medal that a lot of us will ever get! (cue laugh track now). However, instead of saying that I rambled on about how the other runs in Saskatoon have supported us in our run and how our run is great because there is something for the whole family since we have the 10K run, the 3K family walk and the 1K kids run. And if you don't want to run you can always volunteer. It probably didn't really sound that bad to the average person, but to someone who really knows the event (like my bosses in Toronto) it is obvious that I missed many key elements.

Suddenly Jennifer started talking and I could tell she was doing her wrap up speech. I was panicking on the inside because I realized that I hadn't mentioned a lot of stuff. So just as she is ending I blurt out that we also have prizes like $1000 for the top finisher and also prizes for each category (I forgot to say "age category".

As I drove back home afterward I felt like an idiot. I was wishing I hadn't told anyone else I was on TV because I had just made a fool of myself. However, after watching it again at home (yes, I taped it) I didn't feel I sounded too stupid.

So, did anyone out there see me? How do you think I did? (It's ok, you won't hurt my feelings!)

What a Great Band!

I'm a sucker for a new song. When I hear a good song on the radio (yes I listen to the radio a lot) I get pumped and want to hear it all the time. Yes, I love pop popular music.

So when I went over here I saw that he had posted about this band and also had a link to a few of their songs. After one listen I just loved the songs and knew I had to post it on my own website.

So go here to hear some great tunes by a band called Waking Ashland

For lyrics go here.

"Freeze Dirt Bag!" - Fact or Fiction

A couple weeks ago I was in Edmonton for a soccr tournament with my U12 boys soccer team. We were staying right near downtown in a great hotel right near the riverbank. We had a great view from our room as it overlooked the river and the rest of the city.

It was Saturday morning and we were about to make our way to our first soccer game over at the Edmonton soccer centre on the west side. My assistant coach and I were driving together and as we pulled out of the hotel I saw something I had never seen before. Actually, it was the screaming I heard first...a loud piercing scream for help that I had never heard before. And it was LOUD as I could hear it from inside my car. As I looked towards where the screaming was I saw a man running out of the store carrying a 24 pack of beer and running as fast as he could. My assistant coach, who happens to be from Toronto and probably sees this all the time, stated the obvious and said "that guy just robbed that store!".

As the man was running up the street we were driving parallel to him. I honestly didn't know what to do. I had a million thoughts going through my head...Did this guy have a gun? Is he dangerous? Are these Edmonton soccer teams really that good or can we win a game? It ended up that things would take care of themselves.

Being the brave hero that I am I decided there was nothing I could do and decided to just to drive to the soccer centre. Besides I could already hear the police sirens coming nearby and I figured they would catch this guy. Fate had a different plan. As I approached the first intersection (this all took place within a block of our hotel) I was going to turn left when I saw this robber barrelling across the road. Now of course he did have the right away as there was a walk light, but suddenly the hero in my decided to rear its ferocious head. The guy was running full tilt across the street and was constantly looking backwards to see if the cops were catching up. When I saw him glance back one more time the adrenaline in me kicked in. I was suddenly sweating and very hot and in a flash I was seeing all the injustice in the world...the tsunamis, the terrorists, the fact that Pepsi always makes fun of Coke and Coke never has done anything except be a better tasting soft drink. I pressed the gas pedal to the floor and shot out into the middle of the crosswalk just as the guy was running past. He didn't see a thing. He slammed into the side of my car and all I saw was him flying across the front of my hood. The case of beer went flying over the car and smashed onto the ground on the other side. The robber rolled over the front of my car and banged his head on the ground when he hit the other side. He didn't get knocked unconscious, but he just lay there groaning and holding his head.

Being the fearless and ferocious hero that I am I quickly locked all the doors in case he got up again. Luckily the police were there in an instant (I still don't know how they got there so fast except that there was a Tim Horton's across the street). Once he was in handcuffs I got out of my car and talked to the police. Needless to say I was almost late for our first soccer game since it took so long to give the police my statement. And so although this was the first time I had ever assisted in helping catch a robber, I think deep down I also hope it's the last (unless I can do it without endangering myself at all)!

Is the above story FACT or FICTION?
	FACT
	FICTION
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15 Minutes of Fame

Ok, it will actually be more like 4-5 minutes of fame, but none the less I will be on TV. To be specific, I will be on one of the greatest shows watched in Saskatoon by people who are home between 12:00 and 1:00pm during the week and only have ghetto vision (3 channels) and the best reception is on CTV. Have you guessed the show yet?

That's right! It's the News at Noon with Jeff Rogstadt! On Thursday February 23rd sometime between 12:00 and 1:00pm I will be making my grand appearance on TV for the first time. And what, you may ask, are you on TV for? Well, let me tell you...

I am in charge of promoting an event here in Saskatoon called the Hbc Run for Canada on July 1st. It's a running event consisting of a 10K run, a 3K family walk and a 1K kids run. And the best part is that all the money raised for this event is going to support our Canadian Olympic Athletes! It's going to be a lot of fun and I'm going to go on the News at Noon program to promote it.

So are you interested in running in the event? How about being a volunteer (you get a free shirt, hat and I think something else just for holding out a glass of water to some runners as they speed by you). If so, click here, or here, or even here and it will take you to the www.hbcrunforcanada.ca website (yes you can click that link too!) I hope you all decide to either run in the event or at least volunteer and help support Canada's Olympians!

Just one more question: Since it's a running event, when I go on TV should I dress up and wear a shirt and tie to show professionalism, or do I dress sporty to portray a more athletic look to the event? Please help me by telling me in the comments.

Poll Test

I'm getting ready to post a few more Fact or Fiction stories, but I want to make it easy for you the reader to choose, without having to actually make a comment. I'm thinking a simple poll will make it easier. So here is a practice poll, just to see if this will work. I've chosen something that is currently a big part of my life! (ok, I'm half joking) Please vote!

Here's the poll:

Who is your favourite O.C. character?
	Ryan
	Marissa
	Summer
	Seth
	Kirsten
	Sandy
	Julie Cooper-Nickel
	Jimmy Cooper
	I don't watch the OC
	No favourite
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I'm Caught Up...with the O.C.

When I first started watching the O.C. it was by accident. I was working on something on the couch and just happened to have the TV on while the O.C. was on. It was the episode where Jimmy finally decides to leave town and Ryan and Lindsay kiss just to make sure it's not weird (you have to watch the show to understand). I was all confused at first, but as the season went on things started coming together.

But like I mentioned earlier, Shiela and I have decided to play "catch up" with the OC. We started right at the beginning and finally, 9 discs and 34 episodes later (plus bonus features) I have caught up to where I first started watching the show. And I am going to enjoy the O.C. even more than I used to now that I understand all the history. First, there are a lot of characters I didn't even know existed: Anna, Oliver, Luke, Hailey, and Theresa to name a few. It's great to understand how everything developed from Summer not knowing Seth to being in love with him. How Seth was a loser until Ryan showed up. Understanding Seth's girl troubles. The list could go on!

But after watching a lot of episodes in a row, here are a few O.C. things I have noticed:

• Almost every episode opens in the Koehn house (usually the kitchen)
• People drink A LOT on the O.C. (I can see how Kirsten develops a drinking problem)
• They always sit in the exact same booth at the diner when they eat pancakes, etc.
• They constantly have parties, and they all look alike
• Their school dances and carnivals are WAY more decorated than anything I have ever seen at a high school
• How can they afford to order in basically every day?

The list could go on, but I'll stop. I'm looking forward to finishing off Season 2 in the upcoming weeks. Each episode is so good now that I know the history.

Anyone else out there ever notice anything interesting about the O.C. that you could add to the list I made? My favourite character is Seth. Who's yours?