JohnF

Nice catch, Rick. JF

I just found out that the little restaurant next door to my office (Joe's Diner) is offering free lunch to the vets. Just to let you know what that could mean, we're right next door to the Legion branch where those who marched to the local Cenotaph convened and where the parade ended after the service. This is a restaurant that is always full at lunch time so they really are doing something generous. Good for them. JF

Sure I can, at least after refilling the empty bottle. I hate to miss any of the action. My wife gets a little grossed out but she has a tv in the bedroom she can watch if she's gonna be delicate. JF

I like Cherry's segment. It's a perfect time to pee and get a fresh beer without missing anything on tv. JF

I think Cherry is there to amuse the folks who used to be hooked on WWF or whatever it was called, the kind who delighted in seeing bombastic narcissists strut around in their steroid induced glory and over the top finery. Don just doesn't use the roids, apparently. Milbury is there for the edge. I find him kind of off-putting much of the time but he's a foil to the others who just know hockey and talk straight up about it. We're conditioned to expect controversy and aggression in our entertainment or we assume it can't be good. A good hockey game can happen in lots of ways. One team's style of play will ultimately set the tone for the game unless the teams have identical game plans. Imagine two teams determined to simply trap. I like to see the different ways the teams use their various players' strengths. Granted, high scoring games are exciting, but some of the best hockey is close checking. It's always interesting to see how each team tries to transition and open up ice. Some are very quick and bomb the long fast breakout pass while others stop the play, set up, then probe for holes in the other team's defence. Toronto tends to use more of the latter. They turn and turn again in their own end before finally getting to the other blue line. But it seemed to work against Detroit last night. The other thing Toronto doesn't use is the big man to get low in the slot. Maybe that's what Detroit was missing last night. As for "good hockey", no one wants to watch a close checking game which is probably the most demanding skill-wise. We all want to see goals. Ironically we also want to see every player be 100% perfect. The two can't co-exist. It's the variety of possible outcomes that makes hockey fun to watch. It's pretty tough to anticipate all the possible variables each night - bouncy pucks, players down with the flu, the possibility of key player injuries, bad boards, the subjectivity of line calls and penalties, even the line matchups that happen, or don't. JF

It's still too early for that. After all, if you only look at the last two games as a season the Leafs are batting 1.000 but the way they're playing sure has a nice feel to it, and Kessel hasn't exactly sucked so far. They may not set the world on fire but they're giving some dayum good entertainment of late. JF

Oh ye of little faith. The Leafs aren't broken, they're just on a long break. JF

I guess for the moment the Leafs are the better man, huh? Don't feel bad. There's lots of other folks who fell into the trap of thinking that winning is all that counts. We just have to believe what we keep telling our kids about sports - What's important is just having fun. JF

Hockey pundits will probably be right in saying that the Leafs can't maintain this lead over the Wings for 3 periods, but ya gotta admit - Dude! They kicked Azz in that one period, or at least so says the scoreboard. That's what I mean about Leaf hockey being fun. They may finish last at the end of the year but dayum - the Leafs have their moments. JF

So has Buck had his warm weather buzz cut yet? I wanna see pics of that. I just can't believe you give him a mohawk every winter. JF

It comes down to three things - 1. The law, of course 2. Common sense, not an option for some 3. Consideration, unfortunately meaningless to some I used to say that this was the kind of thing you saw only in big cities. Sadly I can't say that any more. Our world is being overrun by idjits and egomaniacs (the ones who believe it's more important for them to be accommodated no matter what the inconvenience to anyone else). Imagine what things will be like when the progeny of the idjits grow up and impart their view of the world as daddy taught it. It ain't gonna get better. Call me old fashioned. I still wait for a break in traffic. JF

I had to use Firefox to get to it. JF

I'm not suggesting it's a lost art yet, but there are fewer and fewer woodburners being installed. Some places have even banned them for pollution reasons etc. I suspect there aren't a lot of folks specializing in this kind of work any more. They're all doing gas installs or at best metal fireboxes. JF

As crazy as it sounds, check the spelling of your name and any other salient details. If he got anything wrong it should be tossed. Mebbe he was giving you a headsup to read the paperwork. JF

The ticket to my livingroom is free, the chair's better, and the beer's cheaper. JF

C'mon. That's when real men stop wearing teeshirts and bring out the long sleeves, unless they're working of course. And our women get out the bras for the pucker factor. JF

D'ya suppose it's just a coincidence that Hamilton is now talking about a new sports facilty to replace Ivor Wynne? I couldn't tell if it included a hockey arena at the requisiite level to accommodate an NHL team. Hard to believe they'd do it just for a Canadian football team. My apologies to Solo and the other 2 TiCat fans. JF

Ok, another thought. Is a fair weather fan really a good fan, or just an opportunist trying to jump on any winning bandwagon? And I agree that playoffs are always more exciting. Let's face it. Sports is just a sublimation of our warring nature. But we never respected the Benedict Arnolds of war who switched teams when the going got tough. I'm not sure for me if it's the winning or just the higher quality of competition. I always end up feeling sorry for the team that lost. If they get smoked I feel their embarrassment, and if they take it down to the wire I feel their disappointment in losing after getting sooooo close. I even felt that way when I was playing and coaching. Got a Peewee team pic taken right after we were eliminated from a tourney. I was actually the only one smiling. The guys still kid me about it 50 years later. I could never bring myself to rub it in when we won - well, there were a few teams, but that's another story. JF

I realize the whole point of competition is winning, but isn't there something to be said for the entertainment value hockey offers? I was quite entertained by the Leafs in much of the pre-season stuff, then less than entertained for the first half dozen regular season games, so much so that I didn't even watch the end of a couple of them. But lately I feel like I'm getting pretty good value from the Leafs (particularly considering that I pay nothing to watch them on tv). Sure, they aren't winning, but they're making it a game most of the time, and for those who are only gratified by wins you gotta admit that they've deserved a couple more of late, that they've not exactly had horseshoes up their butts. They owned Buffalo for a good part of the game last night, and if you didn't know the score you'd have guessed they were smoking the Sabres. I'm enjoying watching them again. I hope for the players' sakes and for those fans who can't appreciate anything but two pointers that they do get some more wins, and it would be fun to watch them get into the playoffs, even if it isn't too deep. JMTCW JF

There is no Too Fast, just some toys that are way better than others. JF

They weren't called Snow Crushers fer nuthin'. JF

The Skidoo loooks like some kinda Transformer. Back in the day the Chapparal was the coolest looking unit, for a while anyway. My personal fave for looking tough was probably the Kalamazoo sleds or the Thunderjets even if they were death machines. JF

I like crossing at Pt.Huron then taking 94 all the way out to the airport before turning south on 275. Saves driving on the bumpy section of I75 although perhaps they've finally paved it. I know it's a longer drive but it sure is nicer than I-75 thru Detroit. You finally hit 75 down at Monroe (kinda near the Cabela's store at Dundee too. JF

The sand bailout ramps scared ya, huh? You're probably right. I just did the I-75 run too many times and started looking for new scenery. Of course I'm not hauling a boat trailer. JF

Are you going from home? Why not cross at Ft.Erie? Then head west to Penn and go south on 79. Detroit seems like a long way off course. JF