Southern Comfort

OK, I'm droppin' the gloves...

Probably not a popular thought here, but I don't buy the "hockey can't work in the Southern US" line that is so commonly heard from Canadians.  Tell me why hockey can't work in Nashville, Atlanta or Phoenix but works just fine in San Jose, Dallas and Anaheim?  Winning, duh?!  Obviously that's not the sole reason, but riddle me this... baseball was brought to Toronto in 1977 and within 8 years they won their division and obviously the World Series in '92 & '93.  Since then the Jays haven't made the playoffs (or even been close) and their attendance has dropped dramatically, but there was a fan base established because of those winning years.  Yet, if someone were to suggest now that baseball doesn't work in T.O. and the team should be moved to Las Vegas or Oklahoma or Utah - "where they really love baseball" - there would be a riot on Yonge St.  Not long ago the Chicago Blackhawks were a disaster with one of the worst attendance and winning records in the league and were losing as much money as a Charles Barkley diet plan.  A change of ownership and management led to strong drafting, better organizational structure, a winning team and, eventually, a financially successful franchise.  This is largely a management problem, not a location problem.  I'm not saying that these places are guaranteed to work or that I don't want more teams in Canada, rather that the blame should fall on the proper villain.

Wow, that was pretty serious for a Bonesminded blog eh?  This should get things back on track.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBMsPNI6EZE

The worst part about baseball is some teams already know they are done for this season... how the hell do they stay focused?  Expand the playoffs already.

Conan is by far the funniest late night guy and it's awesome that the Comedy Network airs his shows at earlier times.

What happened to cool sports nicknames like "Air" Jordan,  Bobby "The Golden Jet" Hull, Darryl "Chocolate Thunder " Dawkins, Clyde "The Glide" Drexler, Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, "Magic" Johnson, Fred "Cyclone" Taylor, "Pistol" Pete Maravich, Andre "The Hawk" Dawson, Rich "Goose" Gossage, William "The Refrigerator" Perry... all kinds right?

What do we get now? A-Rod, K-Rod, Melo, D-Wade, Glen "Big Baby" Davis, "Ovie", Rod "He Hate Me" Smart, T.O.?  Weak!

Does anyone care that Jim Rome is burning?

Top 5 favourite drummers:
5 - Dave Grohl - Nirvana
4 - Manfred Merwald - Colour Haze
3 - Matt Cameron - Soundgarden
2 - Danny Carey - Tool
1 - John Bonham - Led Zeppelin

Why does my Tim Horton's lid always open at the seam of the cup?  Drives me crazy.

Tosh.O is a pretty funny show but I can't help but feel like I really pissed away a half an hour after watching it.

When did blue jeans and a t-shirt become acceptable gear at a (real) golf course?  Are we golfing or going to a Bruce Springsteen concert?

Cheers!

Flynn Rider

Not a potatoe between them

Well, I haven't been heckled for my blog yet - probably 'cause no one read it!  Actually, I did get a couple compliments... and world blog domination begins!

Coolest music story I discovered recently: In 1969 the Rolling Stones attempted to make a film called "The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus" with a bunch of celebrities and music stars.  The movie never happened but there was a soundtrack, which included a band called The Dirty Mac.  The Dirty Mac was John Lennon, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards and Mitch Mitchell (Hendrix drummer) and they did a kick-ass cover of the Beatles "Yer Blues".

Saw a hilarious Irish comedian named Tommy Tiernan recently at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Toronto.  Check out this clip of him doing Just For Laughs a while back... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3UL_uCNWCo&feature=related.  Not nearly as R rated as the show we saw, but still funny.

So, one of Chris Bosh's complaints about T.O. was that he wasn't getting any endorsement deals.  Since he went to Miami he has been in 1 ad... a milk ad.  Livin large now eh, Chris?

Speaking of basketball players... a pretty gutsy display by Celtics' Rajon Rondo who (grossly) dislocated his elbow, came back in the game and played the next game without taking any shots or pain killers.  A tough basketball player - who knew?

It's sad that the May 2-4 weekend doesn't even register to me as a party weekend anymore.  Just happy to sleep in until 7:30 one extra day!

Pretty impressed with the Wings push to get to within one goal of the West finals.  Tough way to go out with Franzen, Cleary and Bertuzzi all being hurt (plus Datsyuk playing with a bad wrist).  No excuse though - Sharks were good and deserved to go on.  Although, Heatley is a ghost of his former self and Thornton is a giant whiner.

Best part about the Wings having a good run like they did is that hopefully that convinces Lidstrom to play another year.

Two concerts that I'm looking forward to:  The Black Keys and Soundgarden both at the JLC in London this July.  Although, after seeing Sabbath do a reunion tour (drummer Bill Ward looked like Jabba the Hutt) I'm a little worried about the Soundgarden show.

How good is Jose Bautista?  He has to be the MVP right now.  He's one of those players you will watch a game just to see him.  Speaking of which, I'd like to try to get to a few games this year.

Guilty pleasure on TV right now is the song in the new Heineken commercial.  It's called The Golden Age by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour.  Don't ask how I know that.

When the hell is Listowel going to get a real bar?  One with a patio would be nice too!


Guy Boucher was offered the head coaching job in Columbus last summer and said no, hoping that Tampa Bay would call.  Smart move.

Nice Gill Morgan!

Bonesminded

Blog Rookie

Blogs eh?  Ok, why not?

So my blogging mentor, hosehead04.blogspot.com once asked:  "Am I interesting enough to write a blog?".  My first thought was "No", but I get a kick out of reading them every time and they look like they are fun to write.  People who post every ridiculous thing they are doing on Facebook makes no sense to me, but a blog only gets read if someone chooses to read it.

So, here goes...

Funniest sports moment in a while:  Jordan Eberle trying to shake hands with some sponsor lady at the IIHF tournament and getting shot down!  Even Eberle knows it's funny!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcFn-jXPl_o

I"ll always be a Wings fan and I still love Zetterberg and Datsyuk, but it's tough to watch my next two favourite teams, The Hawks and Lightning, and not wish that Detroit had some good young Canadians on the team.  Guess I will just have to settle for year after year of playoffs and Cup contenders!

Just finished my Unearthed 10 mix (new found rock music) and like after each one, I think this is the best one yet.  Here are a few of my favourites from it...
-Silbury Sands by Wolf People
-Chimney by Yellow Moon Band
-Sneak Out by Rose Hill Drive

Also just finished another mix called "Classic Rock Light".  Fun, easy-going 60's & 70's summer tunes inspired by Rocco.  I've got two more mixes in the works.... "Under Cover" (cover songs) and "Turtle's Pace" (super mellow and acoustic tunes).  Any suggestions?

This is one of the the best times of year... NHL and NBA playoffs, golf and baseball back on and (usually) the sun is shining!

Last year the Caps ran into Jaro Halak and this year it's Dwayne Roloson.  No sympathy though... JS Giguere in 2007 comes to mind.

Is there some way that the Heat and Celtics can eliminate each other?  That would be great.

Seems like 2011 is a year for big changes with many of my friends.  All good moves in my eyes and hopefully they all work out.

I really like Jim Hughson as a play-by-play guy but he is clearly pro-Canucks.  Still better then listening to Bob Cole, who actually said "Everything is happening" during a round 1 game.  Let it go old man.  Let it go.

If nothing else comes from these blogs, I hope that I get some funny responses and even better would be some music recommendations.

Cheers!
BonesMinded