JohnF

He was an obvious winner when he was playing junior. The year in the minors seems to have been good for him. He seems more composed than some of the old hands, and not afraid to create some offence. That might not always be calming for a coach but it sure is fun as a fan. JF

I sure hope you get the lake filled, for your sake and mine. This is the summer my wife have planned to start a serious cottage hunt and Nip is one of the areas we want to look at. I'm even thinking I might also set up a branch real estate office for myself so I'll have something to keep me occupied besides fishing. If any of you know of any modest places for sale let me know. I don't necessarily have to be on a lake. I kinda like the idea of trailering the boat around a bit to explore different spots. And if you think you need a new real estate office in the area let me know. I promise to be on my best business behaviour. JF

I thought they were trying some ideas but perhaps the truth is that their reach has exceeded their grasp here. They've started an action that they can't undo with the resources at hand. IOW, greed has overpowered common sense and concern for our earth again, and in a huge way. We've laughed off warnings from the treehuggers and egghead scientists for years that we were letting the exploitation of the earth get way out of hand and one day the cost would be irreversible. Perhaps this is one of those doomsday events in action. Perhaps it's time for the common folks to take up the cause. We might have more credibility than the weirdoes. If nothing else one can only hope that this message is received by the people who may have some influence over these exploiters and we consumers will have the stuff to back them up by giving something up to save the world. I have no idea what that really means but I'll sure be listening more carefully to the next pro-greeny I might otherwise be inclined to laugh off. How many warnings is it gonna take? Or are we just gonna keep abusing the Earth until it finally quits on us? Perhaps that's what we really deserve anyway. Is there anyone out there who disagrees? Who votes for allowing big industry and gutless governments to continue to destroy the planet for profits? Who is unwilling to give up any creature comforts for the sake of the planet? JF

I couldn't let this opportunity go by without showing y'all my Mum & my little boy. This was taken on Mother's Day at our place. Gabby (my Mom) will be 93 soon. She's still rockin', maybe not quite as fast as she once did, but she's as sharp as she ever was. Matt (our little boy) is a lapsed golf pro, a part time musician - http://www.myspace.com/frontierindexband - and now my partner in our real estate business.

Hopefully it won't be another Carey Price story. JF

Subban played 29:11 and was on the ice to run out the clock in the third. That's pretty impressive for a guy called up to fill in for injuries during the playoffs. What a way to be introduced to the NHL. I wonder if he'll be a starter next year? JF

WOW!!!! JF

What got me thru it was reminding myself that I should do what my Dad and later my son would have wanted me to do, stand strong for the rest of the family so they could grieve however they needed to. As it turned out most of us seemed to have the same idea and together we got through it strong and proud. It's a kind of cumulative energy. You give strength to each other and that'll get you through. Even the non-relatives will appreciate that you made the day easier for them cuz a funeral is a crummy time for everyone but we just gotta do it. I know it sounds like a lot to ask of yourself but later you'll be proud of yourself and know you did what your Mom would have wanted you to do. Stand tall, and even smile through it. You'll have plenty of private time for tears later. All the best JF

He looked plenty awake enuf for me last game, dammit. Assuming he brings that same game again the Habs are probably doomed, especially with the short dee bench they're gonna have. JF

They might see the inebriated talking bear? JF

Joanie Mitchell said it very well - "You don't know what you've got till it's gone." I know she didn't say Moms specifically but it sure applies. I'm one of the lucky ones who still has a chance to treat Mom the way she deserves. She's 92 and getting a little shakey but she'll be here for dinner today along with all three of her kids and her only living grandson. It's getting to be a challenge knowing how to involve her in our lives but the one thing that seems to really work is just visiting her and giving her a little solo "you" time. I'm trying to do it more often now. I spent too many years taking her for granted, the classic son in your little poem. I only wish she wouldn't keep telling me how she finds it so hard to believe she has a son in his mid-60's. And speaking of singers who said it really well - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zH46SmVv8SU I know it's about fathers & sons but it could as easily have been about mothers & sons. After our son died I would get a lump in my throat whenever I heard this on the car radio. I still do 16 years later. JF

We tend to assume that Mothers Day is a happy happy day for everyone, but it isn't always. As brave a front as some Moms put up the child who's often first and foremost in their minds and memories on this day is the one who's no longer there. That doesn't mean there's any less love and appreciation for the rest of you, but give her some time to think of that special one who's gone now, who can't bring her flowers and a hug. I've learned over the years that she really doesn't want to be helped to forget, she'd rather just have a little private time to remember. She'll get around to you later. That's the amazing thing about mothers. They find time for everyone but themselves. Sorry if I sound like I'm lecturing but I know how easy it is to forget that our mothers and wives are wired differently than us guys emotionally. So for those to whom this applies, make it the best possible day for all of you. And that being said, Happy Mothers Day to all, but especially to those Moms who can't hug all their kids today. Give 'em an extra hug from me. Thanks. Sincerely JF

Yeah, I guess it's time to throw in the towel. My leafs aren't even going to make it reincarnated as Habs. With Gill probably gone now on top of Markov and Spacek, Guerin back, 71 hitting his stride and Fleury having discovered Halak's bottle of the magic goalie elixir I think the Habbies may well be toast. But that was a great effort for a team that was written off half a season back. I have a newfound respect for the Habs that may even last beyond the opening game next season. Go Canucks! And if they buy the ranch too I'm really screwed cuz my next choice was Detroit. No way I can bring meself to cheer for any team with Cooke on it so I guess I may be a Boston fan before bass season is upon us. If they go down then my love and loyalty switches to the Hawks. I'm not fickle, just highly adaptable. JF

I kinda think that what I'm liking best about the Habs winning now is that my Lowly Leafs beat 'em in the last game of the regular season. This kinda stuff restores my flagging faith. JF

The Habs are just efficient. Why waste a lot of energy on outshooting yer opponent when you know it only takes one goal to beat him? I'll admit that a few (LaPierre for example) might be keen to run up the score but he's constantly proving he's not the sharpest knife in the drawer although frequently still useful. On another note, is anyone else watching the Canada/Italy game on TSN? Stamkos is looking good, naturally. JF JF

I can't believe I'm now rooting for the Habs. I've never liked 'em but I can't help cheering for them now, like the Little Engine That Could. I think I can, I think I can etc. They've made hockey more fun to watch than it's been in a long time with their scrambley wins. I doubt I'll fall enuf under their spell to forsake my hapless Leafs next season but they're my boyz for now. Go Habs ( but not next season!) JF

I'm pretty certain stateside is still faster. I haven't driven it in years and can't remember how long it took us though. And we weren't going as far as that. All I remember was driving all night and getting to the race track in time to get the sleds out and set up in the morning. JF

The Pentagon and the defence contractors probably won't give permission. JF

You can bet Vancouver is going to get some goalie interference penalties now, against them. They've warned they're going to adopt the same style as Chicago around the net since the refs aren't interested in calling it. Watch the refs policy change now though. JF

I'm generally not much of a conspiracy theorist either, but too many people in the know (knowledgable media types particularly) are starting to comment on how desperate Bettman must be getting with all the troubles his crazy new markets are experiencing. This latest fiasco in Phoenix is a great example. Bettman has manipulated the NHL into a real jackpot there. Apparently his latest rescue deal is in jeopardy. Hopefully he won't pull the same kind of bailout stunt in Tampa, Atlanta etc. or the NHL is gonna find itself the sole owner of the whole league with a few original team exceptions and Gary will have some 'splainin' to do. When I say he's influencing the calls I'm exaggerating a tad, I hope. But I have no doubt there's a strong undercurrent of pressure to take care of Sid and the other newer market teams with big population draws (hence more revenue stream potential). The league fell into that routine years ago, taking care of the big draws. There's a popular opinion that Gary would have liked nothing better than to see something like a NY/Washington or NY/Philly final if that were possible. A Pitt/Wash pairing would be next. If it was ever something like Calgary/Edmonton he'd probably just slit his wrists. I know those are impossible final pairings but I'm just hypothesizing here. Gino and Sid are both having great moments but the consistency isn't there. That's one of the reasons I don't think Halak should get all the credit. The Habs are doing a great job of checking those guys most of the time and may not be getting enough credit for that. JF

That's the hope here as well. JF

Pre-Bettman days hockey was a two-way game. That meant, among other things, that both teams were penalized for the same things. Lately it seems you get a free pass if your name is Sid, or if your team is in one of the American markets Bettman is trying to exploit - I mean, turn into the new hockey hotbed because of the huge potential revenue stream. Perhaps you get different coverage down there but up here in the frozen north our commentators have been running replays of the more blatant examples of this. When they start talking about it you can figure it's gotten out of hand. Even the Mouth-That-Roared (Don Cherry) is taking exception to it and he's generally the last guy to object to rough stuff. Sidney got away with a lot of crap and drew a few cheap penalties for the same crap. Much of that was caught on camera. Everybody is pushing the envelope but it seems the favoured few get away with more and draw penalties easier than ever this year. I guess Bettman et al would choke if the featured players all get eliminated by also rans. Even NBC is threatening to drop coverage if there are no big teams involved in the final. That must concern Bettman given that his entire business plan is predicated on developing the cash-rich American market. As I've said, I'm generally not a Habs fan. In fact I tend to really dislike the Habs as a team, I don't really know why other than that I've always been a leaf fan, even when I had friends playing on other original six teams or local kids who came through our minor system. I yam what I yam, an ex-hockey playing Canuck kid who just hasn't got caught up in Bettman's grand plan to turn hockey into a major market cash cow. I think it's almost impossible for any informed hockey fan (other than those who have over-indulged in the Koolaid of their chosen team) to deny the kick to be had from watching the bottom-dwellers kick some high flying butt the way the Habs have been doing. Yeah, they've got a hot goalie right now, but they're also scoring more goals on fewer shots, blocking shots, line matching and killing penalties like a bugger. It's the classic rags to riches story, and it's about our beloved hockey. This could even outdo the win in '72 for Canadian and Canadien fans if the Habbies can keep turning the tables. Go Habs (at least until you meet the Canucks in the final, like that might actually happen) JF

I couldn't think of a better result, not the least because it would most certainly make Bettman choke in NYC. JF

Bah! Sailors! JF

I guess my most most memorable fishing incident was when I was about 12. My Dad had started taking me for a week each summer to a place on Devil's Lake near Dorset. I think the name of he lake has been changed since then. Anyway my cousin and uncle were with us that year and they weren't exactly nature boys, being from the GTA and all, ya know. So every morning we'd be up with the sun, fed and watered, and out on the lake in our little runabout. Our target was bass and perch but for some reason all we caught were nasty black catfish. My Dad had learned that the American folks up the lake were equally disappointed with the bass/perch they caught so they had long ago come to an understanding that we would trade one for one. We'd fish till mid-morning, then start motoring up the lake to meet said Americans coming down, make our fishy trades and head home for the afternoon siesta. The story I remember particularly was really about my citified cousin. He was kind of a stiff, even as a kid. About the only fun I'd ever had with him was to hold him down and tickle him until he peed his pants but my aunt made me stop doing that so he wasn't much fun any more. He didn't like exploring the lake and the woods, he was scared by the huge spiders we found in the driftwood along the shoreline, he had no interest in crawling under the cottage to see where the quills from the porcupine had embedded themselves when he was shot there, and so on. But one fine sunny morning as we motored along in our little boat he inadvertently provided a big bunch of entertainment. My Dad had taken to carrying the worms in a galvanized bucket in the boat. This was easy to pass around, it was stable and we could forage easily in the moss and muck for juicy looking crawlers. My cousin, just call him Stiff for short, was of course riding in the middle of the boat, the point farthest from any water and wild animals. I guess Dad (Dad always was the driver cuz it was our motor) crossed a wake because suddenly Stiff went ass over applecart backwards doing a perfect head-on into the worm bucket. For a second there was just his stubby little legs sticking up in the air flailing away while peculiar human noises emanated from the mossy bucket. It was a perfect moment, etched on my brain forever. When Stiff finally came up for air he had moss, dirt and great gooey worms all over his head and he was screeching for someone to get them off cuz he was afraid to touch them. My Dad and I were of course laughing our asses off while my uncle swatted away the wormy debris from Stiff's little head. Later my uncle was quite stern with me, out of my father's hearing of course, about how mean I was to Stiff but it didn't sink in very well. So that's my favourite pre-adultery fishing story. I know it's pretty lame to admit that was a high point but if I told you about catching the monster mud-puppies I'd have to admit that I was almost as queasy about those critters as Stiff was about the worm hat. And I'll never admit to being like that. Sorry, no pictures, and I can't begin to tell you how much I wish we had some. If we did I'd probably have had to sneak into Stiff's High School (he's the principal) in the GTA and post them for the students to enjoy. That would be almost as good as tickling him till he peed. JF