Lazy Daze

Wow. I didn't even write about Super Bowl. I did a lot better on my SB betting than I did in the previous couple of weeks. I met my girlfriend in New Orleans and I had had some very fun times in that city so I think it goes without saying that they were my sentimental choice. Throw in the trials and tribulations the city has faced over the last 5 years and I think you had a lot of people's sentimental choice. I had them at +5.5 for 3 Units and it turned out I didn't even need the points. Special Teams, eh?

I don't usually bet the props for SB but I did bet a few this year with good results. I had the anthem going over 1min40sec. I didn't do any research on this although I probably could have. My thoughts were that whoever was doing it would want a good amount of face time. It came in at about 1min55sec. I also bet New Orleans to win the toss. The NFC had won 12 in a row. Ride the wave. So the game hadn't started and I was already up a couple of props. I lost one when Manning threw an interception, but I broke even (less the juice) when Brees kept a clean sheet. 2/4 players I picked to score a TD did, so I was ahead on that even though I only picked 50% right. Odds. I picked a random long shot bet when I chose a particular player to score a TD in a certain quarter. I forget who now, but it didn't happen. I think I got around 14:1. It was an ill advised suckers bet. I really should have bet on a defensive TD. Vegas probably lost a lot when Manning threw the Pick-6.

So that's another season in the books. As a Lion's fan I'm coming into the most important time of the year - The NFL Draft. We have fucked so many of these up. Last year's was good though. We found 4 starters and 6 contributors. Matt Millen never did that sort of thing. Another couple of drafts like that and we'll be on our way. At this point if the Lions leave the draft with anyone other than McCoy or Suh in the 1st round I'll be very surprised. That is of course unless they trade down for an extra 2nd rounder and grab a left tackle in the 1st. They need to protect Stafford. They are really still so bad that they can't draft for need yet. They just need to take the best player on the board and go from there.



So the Olympics are here. It's amazing how many cynics they bring out. Maybe people just don't have enough to write about. It's reporter bitching about this and whining about that. Mainly the Op Ed mother fuckers. Now don't get me wrong. I am a firm believer that everyone should be able to write and express anything they want, but give it a rest already. For 2 weeks just shut the fuck up. You don't like how corporate that games have become. Fine. You don't like how much public money has been spent that will eventually go on to benefit private enterprise. OK. You don't like how you can't even get into your precious local coffee shop for your daily bullshit yuppie coffee. Whatever.

There is SO much shit going on in the world today and all of the pundits have had years leading up to and will have the rest of your lives to go on berating the decisions made involving our (Canada's) hosting. I don't care how much anything cost. I don't care that the Opening Ceremony didn't go off without a hitch. Maybe if we were all robots I would care, but since we humans have a natural Human Element, shit will always happen and lo and behold the sun came up the next day. Everyone's here. Everyone's watching. Enjoy it. Take from it what it's giving you for free. Inspiration. Sportsmanship. Honour. Friendship. Fuck everything else. I love that this is the first really true High Definition Olympics. These sports that we (most of us) never watch on any sort of a regular basis look absolutely amazing in this clarity.

Yesterday Canada won its first Gold on home soil. Alexandre Bilodeau in Freestyle Moguls. Both Canadian and American broadcasts did a really nice job relaying this story. I know a lot of people were disappointed this result didn't come a day earlier in Speed Skating, but the story that comes along with this kid is really fantastic. He has a brother with Cerebral Palsy that has been his inspiration throughout his life along with a real down-to-earth attitude that is probably a result of this relationship and experiences with his brother. Canadians should be very proud that Alexandre will carry this honourable distinction with him and for us going forward.

The unfortunate death of Nodar Kumaritashvili, the men's Luger from Georgia provided a lot of ammunition for Olympic haters. No matter how much good comes from these Olympics this incident will never be forgotten. It will be an unfortunate tag that will be forever attached to these games, but it shouldn't DEFINE them. Freak accidents happen all the time and there was absolutely no malice or intent here.

The men's hockey starts tonight and I know the Olympics are much, much more than this event. Unfortunately this is going to over-shadow a lot of other events and athletes. It's the tie that binds us all together from coast-to-coast-to-coast and it is important. Very important and yes when we get close (if) the country will stop and it will watch. Everyone. Young and old. Male and female. Fans and casuals. It really shouldn't define us. Canadians have so much to offer. But ask anyone if Silver is OK in this event. It just isn't. Right or wrong. When our women play the Americans in the Gold Medal Game a loss will be much easier to handle. I could argue that a loss would be inconsequential. The US Women's team is fantastic and the match-up goes back and for all the time. But for the men it's different. And the weird part is that we have all of these expectations after only having won one gold medal since 1952 (Salt Lake 2002). Who do we think we are with these expectations? Well, we're Canada. And we play hockey. From the time we can walk. Inside. Outside. On the road. On ponds. Is it fair? No. But it is what it is. Maybe some of the other athletes can use their lack of media spotlight to their advantage. Regardless it's going to be fun to watch.