Thank you, OWU!

It's official.

I've accepted a tenure-track faculty position at Ohio Wesleyan University starting in the fall of 2007. I'll be teaching in the PE department, and focusing on brining back the Health Education certification to the program.

I couldn't be more excited - what a blessing!

Now it's all down to finishing the research at OSU.........

Quel Anniversaire, Bien Sûr!

So dig this.

Yesterday was my birthday, my 35th birthday no less.

And this past weekend and run-up to the birthday was great. My best friend was in town, we had a GREAT gathering on Saturday night for dinner and hockey (thanks to my brilliant wife), and we got to watch the Old Firm AND Six Nations rugby on Sunday.

Then, yesterday came the news that I am getting the position at Wesleyan, and I happily accepted! Now I know where we'll be in the fall, and it feels good. And all on my birthday!

And to top it off, my wife found very very tasty vegan cupcakes from here, and she made a chicken curry for dinner. I truly do not deserve all of the blessings that came my way yesterday.

I got some pretty cool OWU gear and a rugby ball, too.

Here's to you - I hope you can have a great day like this, as well.

Griffins and Bishops and Time....Oh My!

So the interview with Wesleyan is now complete, as well. It was good. VERY good. Unexpectedly good.

I REALLY feel great about it, and a decision from them is coming as soon as next week, or possibly the week after. But what of Canisius, you ask?

What of them, indeed.

I haven't heard a word, despite my pleas for the expeditious release of information.

*chirp* *chirp* *chirp*

Silence.

The run-up to a decision sure is exciting, folks. But it'll be a real downer if neither come through, or if I am forced to make a decision before I have all necessary information. That being said, I thank God every day that I have been given this opportunity. Many of my colleagues have not been so lucky.

Have a great weekend. Finkini is approaching 35 years old next week and he's feelin' fine.

Ciao, ragazzi!

Buffalo........ *sigh*

After returning from our trip to Canisius College in Buffalo, I am feeling a bit down. Why, you ask?

It was one of the best places I've been, and I'm not there now.

What makes such a place so great? People, food, surrounding natural beauty, people, great living standards, people, good department, people. Here are many of the places that we visited during our stay.

Friday:
Our Hotel - the Lord Amherst

Saturday:
Niagara Falls
Inniskillin Winery
City of Niagara On The Lake
Anchor Bar (original home of Buffalo Wings)

Sunday:
Original Pancake House
Butterwood Desserts
Cole's Restaurant

Monday:
Canisius College (GO GRIFFS!)
Eagle House Restaurant

I loved it here.

I'll keep everyone posted on how the job process goes.

Day at the Falls

Yes indeed....God is good. This was taken today at Niagara Falls. We had an absolutely wonderful day, and I just thought I'd end it by posting this picture.

Buffalo here we come!!!

Habs won, and it was brilliant. Sorry there hasn't been much action on this blog since the game last Sunday...I have been getting ready for interviews and classes.

Now we're in Buffalo, getting ready for an interview on Monday with Canisius College. I am looking forward to finding more about what this program is like, and if it's a good fit. I hope to provide more updates as the weekend and interview progress.

Habs Day in Columbus

Today is the day! The Habs are in Columbus, and my wife was SO kind to buy us tickets to see them play.

They've been crap lately, true crap....but I don't care. I'm ready. PLUS - the recently called-up Jaroslav Halák will be in nets, which makes the focus on the game even greater back in Montréal.

We have to start the winning streak sometime, right? Tonight sounds good to me :)

Updates later.......

Frustrating Saturday

I turned Waldorf down. And it's hard to swallow. Here's hoping some other offers come along.

Amongst other things, last night's important results were more than a little frustrating.

First, we attended the LSSU vs. Miami game in Oxford. What a beautiful arena! And what complete jerks for fans. Been to Yost lately, folks? They were doing your out-dated, unsportsmanlike bullcrap 10 years ago. It sucked then, and it still sucks now. I hope you lose in your first playoff round. Oh wait, you will.....because you always do. And I'll laugh. Jerks. Bad first 45 minutes of the game by the Lakers, and an outstanding last 15. And, oh what a brilliant goal by Troy Schwab to pull the Lakers within 1. Final score Miami 3 LSSU 2.

Up in Montréal the Habs lost their 3rd straight, and 2nd straight to the ottawa senators by a 5-3 score. Ray Emery, goaltender for the senators, tried to take the head off of Maxim Lapierre with a slash during the game, and then challenged Lapierre to a fight. Silly goaltender, don't you know that fighting is for real hockey players? The sens shall henceforth be added to the list of teams to lose the honor of having their name capitalized, and may be referred to as "that team from the small settlement upriver." And Ray Emery???? I hate.

Kentucky kept it close in a game against florida (no capital letter - see?), but any loss to this collection of trailer-park living, gator-jerky eating bunch of mouth breathing rednecks is bad.

Hopefully this coming week will be less frustrating, and not just in the sports world.

Random Thoughts on a Friday in February

Just some random oddities floating around in my head this morning:

- Why, when you want something, is it always such a waiting game?

- I'm back to believing that not pursuing a business degree was certainly the right choice.

- Waking up feeling unbearably anxious is not one of my favorite things.

- The Habs need to pick it up. Now.

- I'm not working as hard as most people do on their research.

- How have I gotten this lucky thus far?

A happy weekend to you - we'll be taking in a Laker Hockey game against Miami at the new arena in Oxford on Saturday, which should be fun. C'mon boys!

Decisions, decisions.....

Well, Waldorf offered. It's a great place, with fantastic people.

But I can't make the decision this quickly. Too many irons in the fire....pots on the stove....skates on the ice....whatever.

Some consistency from Buffalo would be nice, too.

Buffalo.....

Delaware (OH).....

Iowa......

Idaho.....

North Carolina....

Feeling..............................very..............................dizzy...................................

I think I'm going to sit down now. More to come later.

What a Day!

This is a picture of a Bald Eagle that we saw sitting just outside the dining room of The Lodge, where we stayed in Forest City, IA. Julie spotted it, and took this picture. VERY cool.

What a day yesterday! Colts win! Habs win in overtime, and it came down to a mistake by perpetual whine-bag Sidney Crosby! Even Celtic got into the act by beating Livingston (zzzzzzz) in the 4th round of the Scottish Cup.

In other news, I've made it 'till payday (with a lot of help from Julie), and I gotta say - it's nice to be able to contribute.

This should be an interesting week, given the decision that should be coming from Waldorf, and my waiting for the other positions to update me.

And today, well, today is very big indeed. This marks 2 years ago that I met Julie. THAT was a great day.

This is a "Shout-out" to my wife Julie!

Now, we had a great time in Forest City, despite high temperatures below zero. The folks at Waldorf College were great, and we got to really appreciate small-town life in the area. We also visited several great sites around "The Cities" (Minneapolis/St. Paul).

These included:
- The Cathedral of St. Paul
- Lowertown St. Paul
- Midtown Global Market in Minneapolis
- The American Swedish Institute in Minneapolis
- Mall of America
- IKEA Twin Cities

Who knows if we'll end up there, but we did enjoy our time.

Off to Iosota!

Just checking in briefly....we're off to Iosota today (where Iowa and Minnesota meet). Clever, eh? I made that up myself. Bet you'd have never guessed.

It's interview time at Waldorf College - so I'll be teaching a bit, chatting up the faculty, and generally having a good look about. And of course missing the Habs game tonight in Pittsburgh. Horrors!

Nervous? Yes.
Excited? Very.
Know what to expect? Not at all.

Wish us luck!

Bad News, the Gumper, #29, and a Busy, Busy Week

Posts may be few and far between this week as things are heating up on the interviewing front, but over the weekend the Habs blew a prime chance for a strong start the stretch run by losing 4-1 to the dreaded Leafs.

Monday night sees Kenny Dryden's #29 sweater retirement ceremony at the Bell Centre before the game against the Senators. It's ok Kenny, we forgive you for becoming president of the Maple Leafs. Dryden says he's very excited to connect with past greats who have worn the CH.

Sadly, hall-of-famer, native Montrealer, and former Habs goalie Gump Worsley passed away on Friday. He was a true character, and one of the last goalies to *not* wear a mask while playing! He'll truly be missed.

Back to the Ice, Boys!

I suppose that coach Carbonneau must have thought the all-star break was sufficient rest, because the Canadiens players were greated with a tough 2-hour practice on Thursday as a "welcome home" present. Things get going again on Saturday in Toronto against the struggling Leafs, and the boys return home on Monday for a revenge match against the Sens. If you recall, the Senators beat the Habs 8-3 in Ottawa on Hockey Day In Canada. The Habs will be retiring Ken Dryden's #29 sweater that night, so let's hope for a great performance. Kenny certainly deserves nothing less.

As if that isn't enough, the Habs play 15 times in 28 days in February, which is going to be a challenge in itself. Here's hoping the break was a restful and recharging one.

A Day of General Relief

Last night's game against the Thrashers was perfect medicine. Cristobal Huet (pictured) faced 45 shots and made 44 saves in the 4-1 win against the Thrashers. Considering the Habs recent form, this was VERY nice indeed. Even the much maligned Sergei Samsonov got into the act by scoring. Finkini favorite Guillaume Latendresse was very useful as well notching two points.

Huet continues to be a breath of fresh air after the years of listening to Jose Theodore blame everyone but himself after a bad performance, and take plenty of credit for the good.

In other news, the word is that the NHL's new uniforms that will be unveiled at the All-Star game will not be as drastic a change as first thought. Horizontal stripes will still be ok, the jerseys will NOT be tucked into the pants, and there won't be any "Cooperall" style long pants.

Sidney Crosby models the new uniforms which are not all that different, and to this I say "Thank Goodness." So many of the classic uniforms in all of sport are NHL uniforms (Canadiens, Blackhawks, Red Wings, Leafs, Bruins) that it would have been truly disgraceful for a major overhaul to occur.

After a rough last weekend against Jeff Jackson and Notre Dame, the Lakers head to Munn Ice Arena in East Lansing to take on MSU tonight and tomorrow night. Good luck, boys!

Ciel Tombé!

It seems that, indeed, the sky is falling in Montréal. Four wins in the last 13 games, and no goals scored in the last 132 minutes and 30 seconds. This includes sound drubbings in the last 3 games by Ottawa (8-3), Detroit (2-0), and Vancouver (4-0). Things are definitely looking bad for the Habs, and this in a city that eats, sleeps, and drinks Canadiens hockey. I don't envy Guy Carbonneau at all right now.

So, what can he do to turn things around? He's tried skating them extra hard, resting them, benching them, even calling them out in the media. Nothing is working.

Perhaps the upcoming All-Star break is coming at just the right time for the team. The schedule has been admittedly brutal lately, with back-to-back games, afternoon games, and games against the hottest teams in the league (part in thanks to these games with the Habs). Problem is, there are still games away to Atlanta and home against the East-leading Sabres before the break.

C'mon Guy, get the boys moving. Don't ask me how, but I know you can do it.

Eric Desjardins, and Spend it Like Beckham

It's that time again. What time, you ask? Well, I'll tell you (after a bit of inner dialogue, apparently).

It's time to honor another of the NHL's recently retired class acts. Now, I'm not going to say that Eric Desjardins was at the same level as Steve Yzerman. He wasn't. Yzerman was a leader both on and off the ice, and a rare, rare talent. But Eric Desjardins was cut from the same cloth. A self-depreciating, spotlight-shunning, go-about-your-business-because-that's-what-we-do type of cloth.

When I started following the Habs back in the 80s, they were the team of an aging Lafleur, Gainey, Naslund, Robinson, and Carbonneau. They then progressed to a team of Richer, Chelios, and Patrick Roy. As Richer and Chelios went elsewhere, Canadiens fans were left wondering about the direction of the team. Then along came a young defenseman named Eric Desjardins. He wasn't a world beater, but for some reason he was my favorite Canadien of this era.

Then came 1993, and the magical, heart-attack inducing run to the Stanley Cup. I was living in
Traverse City, MI at the time and was glued to a 1960's era short-wave radio listening to the French-language radio broadcast of the games. Ron Hextall and the Nordiques had the nerve to beat the Habs in the first two games of that year's playoffs, after which the Canadiens reeled off four straight wins (two of which were in overtime). This was followed by 4 straight wins against Buffalo in the division finals (three of which were in overtime).

The Canadiens next faced the surprising New York Islanders in the conference finals, and won 4 out of 5 (two of which were in overtime -- and one in double overtime) propelling Les Glorieux into the finals for the 29th time. I was psycho. Seriously. I had rituals. Dirty socks. A countdown calendar. I even grew a playoff beard (well, a goatee - but I didn't shave it off until, like, 2001). Barking mad. What do you expect? Seven of the 12 wins had come in overtime!

So the Habs met Wayne Gretzky's LA Kings in the finals that year, who had just come off an absolutely riveting 7-game series victory over the *barf* Toronto Maple Leafs. Yes, EVERYONE was hoping for a Canadiens/Leafs final, but The Great One had something to say about that. LA won the first game at the fabled Montreal Forum, but during the next game, a 3-2 win by the Habs, Eric Desjardins scored three times. Each one was more beautiful than the last, with the final goal coming in (yes, you guessed it) overtime. Of course we didn't know it at the time, but this was to be Desjardins' ONLY career hat-trick. What a time for it to happen.

Well, the Habs went on to win the Cup that year four games to one, and of course three of the wins came in overtime. That made 10 out of 16 wins in overtime. Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck by the time it was over. I also remember where I was when I found out that he was traded. I was coming out of chemistry class at Lake Superior State University, and was gleefully informed by some Leafs fans. Yay! Despite the trade, the following pictures show just how I remember Eric Desjardins (sorry Flyer fans).

After scoring the hat trick against LA:










With Lord Stanley's Cup:<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iefwIGeB9LNLS2400GrDK_yaj7bHYjKzqYgM9PJaeYDsFzPnyx5ICjJDZVPmJlm5YGnTDU3FI24FFp6gXKqItpcSDfuOe3BYVyKb3PtBVUXOoqakbG8ADQz6czF-ksN_dp0aPQ/s1600-h/Eric+Ceremony.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2iefwIGeB9LNLS2400GrDK_yaj7bHYjKzqYgM9PJaeYDsFzPnyx5ICjJDZVPmJlm5YGnTDU3FI24FFp6gXKqItpcSDfuOe3BYVyKb3PtBVUXOoqakbG8ADQz6czF-ksN_dp0aPQ/s200/Eric+Ceremony.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018974282537497586" border="0" /></a>It's that time again. What time, you ask? Well, I'll tell you (after a bit of inner dialogue, apparently). It's time to honor another of the NHL's recently retired class acts. Now, I'm not going to say that Eric Desjardins was at the same level as Steve Yzerman. He wasn't. Yzerman was a leader both on and off the ice, and a rare, rare talent. But Eric Desjardins was cut from the same cloth. A self-depreciating, spotlight-shunning, go-about-your-business-because-that's-what-we-do type of cloth. When I started following the Habs back in the 80s, they were the team of an aging Lafleur, Gainey, Naslund, Robinson, and Carbonneau. They then progressed to a team of Richer, Chelios, and Patrick Roy. As Richer and Chelios went elsewhere, Canadiens fans were left wondering about the direction of the team. Then along came a young defenseman named Eric Desjardins. He wasn't a world beater, but for some reason he was my favorite Canadien of this era. Then came 1993, and the magical, heart-attack inducing run to the Stanley Cup. I was living in Traverse City, MI at the time and was glued to a 1960's era short-wave radio listening to the French-language radio broadcast of the games. Ron Hextall and the Nordiques had the nerve to beat the Habs in the first two games of that year's playoffs, after which the Canadiens reeled off four straight wins (two of which were in overtime). This was followed by 4 straight wins against Buffalo in the division finals (three of which were in overtime). The Canadiens next faced the surprising New York Islanders in the conference finals, and won 4 out of 5 (two of which were in overtime -- and one in double overtime) propelling Les Glorieux into the finals for the 29th time. I was psycho. Seriously. I had rituals. Dirty socks. A countdown calendar. I even grew a playoff beard (well, a goatee - but I didn't shave it off until, like, 1999). Barking mad. What do you expect? Seven of the 12 wins had come in overtime! So the Habs met Wayne Gretzky's LA Kings in the finals that year, who had just come off an absolutely riveting 7-game series victory over the *barf* Toronto Maple Leafs. Yes, EVERYONE was hoping for a Canadiens/Leafs final, but The Great One had something to say about that. LA won the first game at the fabled Montreal Forum, but during the next game, a 3-2 win by the Habs, Eric Desjardins <a href="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5266332996658484924&q=eric+and+desjardins&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;hl=en">scored three times</a>. Each one was more beautiful than the last, with the final goal coming in (yes, you guessed it) overtime. Of course we didn't know it at the time, but this was to be Desjardins' ONLY career hat-trick. What a time for it to happen. Well, the Habs went on to win the Cup that year four games to one, and of course three of the wins came in overtime. That made 10 out of 16 wins in overtime. Needless to say, I was a nervous wreck by the time it was over. The following two pictures are just how I remember Eric Desjardins (sorry Flyer fans). After scoring the hat trick against LA: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinL5MAS4iiHB7xL6KcpD1YmLzMYFHSxAsMZ1EAN1xWxDwn-abNEKGx90kYaYcl_4-RGpqajSxbPgqOVc2RTQiCeQAWTYfn2YIbEOh5ZInC61McIkOsYacfxTrLxRVRkbtzmHh0oA/s1600-h/Eric+finals.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinL5MAS4iiHB7xL6KcpD1YmLzMYFHSxAsMZ1EAN1xWxDwn-abNEKGx90kYaYcl_4-RGpqajSxbPgqOVc2RTQiCeQAWTYfn2YIbEOh5ZInC61McIkOsYacfxTrLxRVRkbtzmHh0oA/s200/Eric+finals.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018985496697107474" border="0" /></a> With Lord Stanley's Cup: <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hVqUZ6lJXKkEBJSvXaaggpqbYHQx3K5QZjNWlMaQeJDTxaZWlWN6QZVRVDjPtw8lCQu42GmzRCzlyxLBFeaqe7_hY1jxUSDtgFDp5ROZ7jDgO9InPvwEj7aYENywRS3gbZFm_g/s1600-h/eric+with+cup.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9hVqUZ6lJXKkEBJSvXaaggpqbYHQx3K5QZjNWlMaQeJDTxaZWlWN6QZVRVDjPtw8lCQu42GmzRCzlyxLBFeaqe7_hY1jxUSDtgFDp5ROZ7jDgO9InPvwEj7aYENywRS3gbZFm_g/s200/eric+with+cup.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018985866064294946" border="0" /></a> The Flyers honored Eric Desjardins tonight with a fitting ceremony, and in a very short speech, Eric thanked both the Canadiens and Flyers organizations equally, despite playing only 6+ seasons in Montreal and 11+ seasons in Philadelphia. Merci, Eric! <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCIp_FpD47zSIa9t3p-bmk1FXkJBrxfMabE-Y0WWZncH_ZN9tz61Qt5avSLx8KT7p99wcT6Cdw5bXej5x1LifrFzhyBs22I4SsTWb1hlkjGE3LhiAnZy7WoW6xRhPcZLiHXis4Q/s1600-h/nbecks12a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 193px; height: 185px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihCIp_FpD47zSIa9t3p-bmk1FXkJBrxfMabE-Y0WWZncH_ZN9tz61Qt5avSLx8KT7p99wcT6Cdw5bXej5x1LifrFzhyBs22I4SsTWb1hlkjGE3LhiAnZy7WoW6xRhPcZLiHXis4Q/s200/nbecks12a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5018988485994345522" border="0" /></a>On the other end of the personality spectrum, David Beckham (aka Golden Balls) and his many hairstyles are coming to the US to play soccer next season for the LA Galaxy. "How nice!" you say? "Good English lad, coming to help out the sport here in America, yeah?" Not so fast. Golden Balls is going to make nearly <a href="http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=58742007">$1 million dollars</a> to play here. Per week. If he works a standard 40 hour week, that's $25,000 per hour, or about $416 per minute. Bollocks, if you ask me. I'm sure this will spike ticket sales, but not for all five years of the contract. There's no way that Major League Soccer has this kind of money to throw around, and if this brings about the downfall of the league, I'm going straight for Posh's bobbling head. Fact.









As the best damned defenseman on NHL 1994 for Sega Genesis (he's on the bottom right):









The Flyers honored Eric Desjardins tonight with a fitting ceremony, and in a very short speech, Eric thanked both the Canadiens and Flyers organizations equally, despite playing only 6+ seasons in Montreal and 11+ seasons in Philadelphia. Merci, Eric!

On the other end of the personality spectrum, David Beckham (aka Golden Balls) and his many hairstyles are coming to the US to play soccer next season for the LA Galaxy. "How nice!" you say? "Good English lad, coming to help out the sport here in America, yeah?" Not so fast. Golden Balls is going to make nearly $1 million dollars to play here. Per week. If he works a standard 40 hour week, that's $25,000 per hour, or about $416 per minute. Bollocks, if you ask me.

I'm sure this will spike ticket sales, but not for all five years of the contract. There's no way that Major League Soccer has this kind of money to throw around, and if this brings about the downfall of the league, I'm going straight for Posh's bobbling head. Fact.

Update (1.12.06): Apparently MLS is only paying about $400k of Beckham's annual income. And Posh still looks like a bobblehead.

Mon Dieu! Quelle Nuit!

Quelle nuit dans la LNH (What a night in the NHL)! The Habs bounce back from their bout with the flu with an inspiring 4-2 comeback victory over the Atlanta Thrashers, and inspriational leader and captain Saku Koivu gets his 500th career point. Looks like maybe, just maybe, the boys are feeling better.

The Red Wings / Avalanche tilt was an exciting one as well, and was decided by the dreaded shoot-out. Normally, this would merit NO mention in this blog, but the game winner by Henrik Zetterberg was not to be missed. What a move! It was reminiscent of Foppa's move in the 1994 Olympics vs. Canada.

Oh, and if you didn't already admire Troy Smith, take a look at this piece from USA Today.

ELMO and the Toronto Maple Leafs

Check out this great video. Well, maybe not so great if you're a Leafs fan.

Go Habs Go!