Ponderables
Why would anyone go to a doctor’s or dentist’s office without taking along something to read?
When is Major League Baseball going to do something about the snail-like pace of games?
Why do movie theatres play their sound at ear-splitting, headache-inducing, hearing impairing levels?
Things I Firmly Believe
Goaltenders should be judged more by the shots they let in than by the shots they stop; their job is to stop shots, not let them in.
Because he was, at the same time, the best offensive and defensive player in the game, did everything at top speed, and could play the game any way you wanted to, Bobby Orr is the best player I ever saw. (To put this in its proper context, I saw my first NHL hockey game in 1951.)
Maybe Time Does Change Everything
Anne and I will celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary next summer. While recently discussing celebratory plans with our family, I mused about how many people had been at our wedding reception. Anne thought about one hundred; I thought about fifty. Recently, I managed to uncover a meticulous list that Anne drew up at the time. There were seventy-three people there, wherein lies the thought about time changing things. At least twenty-six are deceased. Given our ages, and because there are thirty-one people on the list with whom we’ve had no contact whatsoever for decades. there are almost certainly others who have passed away that we don’t know about.
A close examination of those particular thirty-one names also suggests that, because of changes in their and our circumstances, most of them would not have been invited if our wedding had taken place ten years later. By the same token, I had no trouble coming up with a list of at least forty people we didn’t know in 1969 who would have been invited had our wedding been in 1979.
It was, to say the least, an interesting exercise
Corrections Canada Finally Gets One Right
After two mind-boggling decisions (transferring child murderer and torturer Terri-Lynne McClintock and serial killer nurse Elizabeth Wettlaufer from behind bars to comfortable institutions), the bleeding hearts at Corrections Canada finally got one right when they denied rapist-murderer Paul Bernado’s bid for parole
Every time I see or hear Bernado’s name I can’t help but remember that Karla Homolka, his accomplice in at least three murders and rapes (including that of her own teenage sister), is walking free after serving about ten years of her ridiculously inadequate twelve-year sentence for her participation in the crimes. It’s worth noting that Bernardo hadn’t murdered any of his rape victims until he teamed up with Homolka. The Homolka plea-bargain deal was at the time quite appropriately dubbed “the deal with the devil.”
Many people have commented this week that Bernardo is an example of why we should still have the death penalty. I don’t agree. The reason I’m not in favour of the death penalty is that death would end the suffering of the perpetrators of heinous crimes. I prefer seeing them rot in prison.
I also don’t agree with those who say that long sentences don’t act as a deterrent; they deter the perpetrator, and that alone makes them worthwhile.
Toronto Hockey Pundits Need To Do Some Researc
I’m fed up with all the Toronto hockey sportscasters who are spewing that Auston Matthews will likely become the “first Maple Leaf ever to be the best player in the league.” They need to do some research on Charlie Conacher, which I’ve been doing this week.
I was able to glean that from 1930 to 1936 Charlie led the league in scoring twice, in goals five times, and was a five-time all-star. He was consistently described as “big, strong, and fearless” and having “the hardest shot anyone has ever seen.” I wasn’t able to find evidence of a better player in the league during that six-year period.
I also remember that as a kid back in the 40s listening to the “Hot Stove League” feature during the Saturday night hockey broadcasts on the radio, in any discussion about the best players of that era, Charlie was always front and center.