We're off to the Grey Cup

It was the perfect setting for the western final. Two teams that don't like each other, a rematch of last year's blow out and the two best teams in the league playing in a meaningful game. I live and die on the fortunes of the Riders so was I going to miss this one?

Not on your life.

I flew into Vancouver this morning and got to B.C. Place just in time as the doors opened. I was dressed in my rider gear from head to toe (including my brand new "retro-logo" hat). I had a great seat; on the 50 yard line behind the Lions' bench. The sight lines in B.C. Place are outstanding, so I had a superb view on every play.

I had a personal win streak of three going into this game. Over the last 7 seven years I have seen three Rider games at B.C. Place, and they were all Rider victories. But well aware of what happened in the past western finals, I hoped the Riders would at least made a good game of it, and hopefully pull it off. I was on edge of my seat the whole time, and with every play I had a range of emotions going though me...Stop him! Sack him! Go! Why can't Joseph hit that open receiver?!

At the end of the day the Riders prevailed in a really good game. Their defense was outstanding as they had only a few let-downs, but that can be expected against the top team in the league. The offense, though not spectacular, did enough to get the job done. After last week's game against Calgary, I know they were concerned about their inability to get the ball in the end zone. They were a little better today, and with the sure fire place kicking of Luci Congi they converted every scoring opportunity.

Although it was very loud in B.C. Place, I listened to the broadcast from The Team 1040. At the start of the 4th Quarter, the sideline reporter stated that the Lions had a confidence problem. With two key injuries on their offensive line, they were demoralized; more so with every sack.

The Rider defense was so strong the Lions couldn't get anything going with either Jarius Jackson or Dave Dickenson. Dickenson was sacked 6 times in the second half alone. Gotta wonder if his career is over. Kerry Joseph did a great job in moving the offense when he needed to. Was it his best game? No. But don't criticize a win is a good rule of thumb. He did what he had to do to get the Riders to the big game.

Next up is Winnipeg in the Grey Cup. Yes...the Riders are going to the Grey Cup! I'll be there with my buddy Sparky who is coming up from Philadelphia. I had the chance to go to the game in 1989, and didn't, and there is no way I am going to miss this one. If I can come out to Vancouver for the western final, I may as well go to Toronto for the big one.

My ears are still ringing, and my heart is still pounding, but being there makes it oh so special.

Riders 2007 Season

Tonight the Riders travel to Montreal for their 2007 season opener against the Alouettes. This will be the first game for new coach and past Rider great Kent Austin. Kent comes with high expectations and my excitement and anticipation for the start of the season has never been higher.

The team needs to get off to a good start. They did go 2-0 in the pre-season, but that was the pre-season and the real test starts tonight. The last thing that they need to happen is to get blown out in the first game, lose their confidence and set the tone for rest of the season.

I think Austin will be a good coach, and I think he and GM Eric Tillman have done a great job in getting the team renewed and rebuilt. There are some impact players that are waiting to break out and offensively, this should be a high scoring team. Whether or not the defense will be good or not remains to be seen.

I hope that this is the year they finally host a home playoff game, but in reality, I want more. I want a Grey Cup too. Is that too much to ask?

All I can say is Go Riders!

College World Series

I am in Omaha, Nebraska attending a number of meetings and our host has arranged for us to attend the College World Series that is on at the same time. As a baseball fan, this is quite an event to see and I have been very excited to be here and to be part of the atmosphere.

Everything is done first class; what one would expect with a NCAA tournament. I saw two games today...North Carolina Tar Heels beat the Rice Owls 6-1 in the afternoon and defending champion Oregon State Beavers beat UC-Irvine Anteaters 7-1 in the evening match. The atmosphere in and around the ballpark (Rosenblatt Stadium) is phenomenal, and it is one big party surrounded by a major sporting event.

Part of the best part of the day was that I was with a number of close friends and colleagues and that made it enjoyable. The baseball was great...at the senior college level the fundamentals of the players was very evident. These guys can play.

I predict that you will hear more about Dustin Ackley down the road. A freshman at North Carolina, this kid was above his peers and he dominated with a homer that clinched the game for NC.

It was amazing to see 29,000+ people in the stands for the games. They came with the college rah-rah attitude that made it a fun place to be. This continues for 10 full days until the winner is determined this weekend. My guess is that Oregon State Beavers will repeat as champions...they were the most impressive team that I saw.

I jumped on the bandwagon of the UC - Irvine Anteaters. First of all their name is great; they are back after shutting down their baseball program for over 10 years, they beat Arizona State last night, and that victory was their second walk-off victory after being behind by a large number of runs late in the game. They were the cardiac kids. I bought a hat to show my support, but they are out now as they were over matched by Oregon State.

This is a once in a lifetime experience that I will never forget. For a big baseball fan to be here is a pretty good experience! I also had great seats; row two behind the dugout on the first base side, and I was close to the action with a great view.

It doesn't get any better than that.

Golf Season

We are in the beginning of June and I have had the good luck to play a number of rounds of golf so far. The bad news is that I am not getting any better, but you know as they say, a bad round of golf is better than a good day at work. I concur.

I have 15 rounds in so far; not bad considering the travel that I have had. I few of these rounds were with tournaments; as our company put on four fund raising tournaments for our members this year. Traveling to them was half the fun.

Certainly the highlight was playing the TPC at Deere Run in Moline Illinois. As it turned out, I was able to play 36 holes the day I was there. This is the site of the John Deere Classic, the PGA stop that takes place in July right before the British Open. It was one great and tough course. I scored well; a 91 and a 87, and I'll take that on such a challenging track.

Another highlight so far this year was the Ledgeview Course in Abbotsford, B.C. We had our tournament there and from what I heard in advance this course did not disappoint. It is on the side of a mountain, in the rainforest, and it was one tough course. I didn't do very well, but who cares, the experience was worth it.

I have not been able to play out of my home course Lakeside Greens for a few weeks because of the travel. That will change this week as I hope to get out a couple of times. The course is in great shape, the recent renovations have gone well and I kinda miss the atmosphere around there. My regular playing partner T43 is also ready to hit the links at Lakeside and no doubt he'll be calling to get me out there.

I have a couple of meetings coming up in Omaha later this month and I have noticed that a couple of rounds of golf are part of the meeting. I will be looking forward to that. Also, I will also be looking forward to using my new Scotty Cameron putter. She looks pretty and feels nice...everything you want in a woman...I mean a putter....

2007 Masters

I had a trip to Atlanta last week, so I missed this year's Masters by one week. Nevertheless I have been glued to the TV since Thursday's opening round; trying to catch all of the action and reliving the wonderful experience we had last year.

I keep looking at all the spots that we spent time at; especially Amen Corner, where we sat for over 3 hours watching the groups come through. It looks like the course is playing a lot tougher this year, and the weather is certainly a lot colder.

I can't say who I am cheering for. Maybe I am cheering for the course. A lot of media were saying that "the course" was the winner, as very few golfers were breaking par. Tougher conditions, cooler weather and strong winds make a tough course even tougher.

I have been asked numerous times this week about the Masters, because it was known that we went last year. That has just brought back some pretty good memories and a desire to go back at least one more time.

Washington DC - My first time

I have never been to Washington D.C. before, so it was with great anticipation that I headed there for a series of meetings over 5 days last week. I did get to see the Smithsonian (went to the Air & Space Museum and the Natural History Museum) and to the White House, which was okay considering the limited amount of free time I had. There certainly is a lot to see, and most of it confined to the downtown area known as the National Mall.

The purpose of the meetings was to be part of the "Washington Fly-in." Because of the limited value for our Canadian delegation, it was the first time we attended of the four years that this event had taken place. It was also part of a Board Meeting that we had to attend, but as it turned out, it was good that we went to the fly-in part.

We were able to visit with the Canadian Embassy in D.C., and that turned out to be a good meeting as we were given an update on all of the agriculture issues they were following. Initially I was skeptical that we would gain anything of value, but it turned out to be a good meeting. We were given some insight that I didn't expect, and information of considerable value on the status of BSE discussions and the U.S. Farm Bill.

We also had the opportunity to hear from Collin Petersen, who is the Chair of the House Agriculture Committee and from the Secretary of the USDA himself, Mike Johanns. They both provided valuable updates into the status of country-of-origin labeling and the comment period on Canadian cattle over 30 months of age. We will use the information provided to us as part of a magazine article that will be in our next edition of our national magazine.

Then to top it off, on the flight back from D.C., I sit next to the Minister of Industry for Saskatchewan, Hon. Eric Cline. That turned out to be time well spent as we talked the entire time about issues (as well as some home renovations he was taking!) and kinda the state of affairs in the province. There were many common acquaintances (he was a law student of my uncle's) so it was an enjoyable trip home after a busy week.

Holidays in Saskatchewan

We spent the holidays visiting family in Saskatchewan. It was nice to be back home and almost all of our family members were around. The weather was nice, which made it much more palatable.

I got out to the cabin, went to the Mineral Spa in Watrous, into Saskatoon and besides that did some long over-due relaxing. We also had a birthday party to attend, and that was kinda neat as well. I also got to check up on Saskatchewan politics. I caught the year-in-review speeches & interviews by Lorne Calvert and Brad Wall. Both were pretty good.

I also saw a poll that showed the Saskatchewan Party having a commanding lead over the NDP. Amazing that Calvert is trailing so badly (48% SP - 31% NDP) with the economy doing so well. I guess the NDP just don't have any traction outside their die hard support anymore and the public wants a change. The rumour I heard was that an election could come as early as this spring. I would be surprised if that happens with the NDP support so low.

On return to the office it has been as busy as ever. This is the most hectic time year and being away over the holidays allowed for some work to pile up. We have a big meeting at the end of the month to prepare for, plus I have to give a presentation on the Canadian governmental & political system to my U.S. colleagues tomorrow.

I have been looking forward to that presentation for some time. The lack of knowledge on how Canada's government works by my U.S. friends is understandable. They have little exposure to anything else but their own system, and for the most part there is no reason for them to become familiar with Canada's government. I just hope they look at our system with a mindset to appreciate its uniqueness, as opposed to wondering why it is different than theirs.