the jace anderson weblog:
Outdoor advertising, Marketing, serial entrepreneur, collector of things, world traveller, interweb junky... Feel free to form an opinion... or not.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Ankle Sprain
i've been away from the computer for a couple days... i rolled my ankle during basketball the other nite. Particularly disappointing was the fact that i rolled said ankle near the beginning of the evening... so i watched others have a really good time for a bit. Not as fun as it sounds.
Anyways, i've been elevating the foot and not going down the stairs to get to my computer, until now.
i just watched Western Kentucky beat Drake with zero on the clock at the end of overtime; Drake was up by one, then they lost by two. That was a clutch 3 pointer.
God bless streaming video inventor guy... thank you.
Great game... did you see those 3's that Belmont was shooting?
I was one of the 90% rooting for the Belmont Bruins to be this years Cinderella team. It would have been nice to see Duke knocked out the first nite.
Ahh... Madness.
"WASHINGTON (AP) — There it was, plain as could be on the overhead scoreboard, orange numbering on a black background: As the closing seconds ticked away Thursday night, Belmont was beating Duke.
Read that again, slowly: No. 15-seeded Belmont was beating No. 2 Duke. Belmont, the Atlantic Sun Conference school with zero NCAA tournament wins to its credit, was leading Duke, the Atlantic Coast Conference school with three national championships on its resume." - Associated Press
March Madness… games began half an hour ago… and I still have work to do. At least in Canada we get tomorrow off, no one needs to pretend to be sick. I wonder if productivity here in Canada is hit half as hard as it is in the States. I picture office buildings standing silent, or cubicle farms with the game streamed live through the interweb.
I wonder if Al Gore had any idea how invasive the interweb could be, you know, back before he invented global warming, he invented the interweb.
This youtube clip is a couple weeks old. Africa Cup of Nations. Zambia needed a win against reigning champion Egypt in order to advance. A tie wouldn't be enough.
It is worth noting that, if you were in Zambia, these youtube clips might have been your only opportunity to watch portions of the match. Unless the Zambian government hadn't bailed out the Zambian Broadcasting Network like they did in 2006. This year they were unable to raise the funds necessary to license the event for local television, and i haven't found yet if they were bailed out or not (Zambian President says NO! get your priorities straightened out - my paraphrase). Can you imagine that happening in Canada for hockey? our national sport. No, i didn't think so.
I've had the pleasure of visiting Zambia on several occasions. In fact, a tour of Zambia is being prepared for this April. H.C is preparing the tour with AIA. B.K. is preparing to join the trip... i will be supportive from home, but alas, i won't be joining this trip.
"I'm very upset," he said. "You just don't really want to get me upset. When I'm upset, I'm known to do certain things - like win championships." - Shaq
In our promotional material (which you can see here!) we mentioned we would announce our special guest. Here it is! We are watching the game on the big screen at the Link tomorrow. we will be joined by special guest CFL non-import Derek Armstrong of the Calgary Stampeders who will say a few words during halftime about his life and faith. Special thanks to our friends at AIA for helping us line up Derek. Coop, you are great!
Feel free to join us at the game. For those who will be watching the game at the Link, the correct answer to these questions will get you tons of chances to win tons of great door prizes;
First team to Score?
First QB to throw an interception?
First team to get a sack?
Team with lead at halftime?
Team with lead at game end?
Does this game go to overtime?
XLII MVP____________________
/So, have you been able to get excited about this game without wondering about the whole spygate saga/scandal? This potentially dates back to New Orleans??? not good, not good at all.
There is no football game this Sunday. Last Sundays football game didn't quite go according to plan. Irregardless, next Sunday (February 3rd 2008) is Super Bowl 42. If you haven't made plans to see the game live in Phoenix, this might be your next best option!
Pats versus Giants - History in the making?
We will be watching the game on the big screen at the Link. We've got a CFL player or two to interview during half time... We will hear from a longtime chaplain for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, winners of the 2007 Grey Cup.
Watching the game is free... the pizza will cost 5 bucks, if you want some.
Feel free to print out the above ticket, but you won't need it... we won't be turning folks away. :)
/To RH for layout help with the above poster & ticket... much thanks! See you at the game.
Brady was beatable... the Pats were beatable...
The Chargers lost. Not the way i wanted that game to end. The Chargers must (i repeat *must*) score touchdowns... gah.
It would have been one of the biggest NFL upsets in history, if the banged up Chargers could have stopped the Pats march towards the perfect season. woulda, coulda, shoulda. Playing LT for more than a series or two would have been nice.
It's all over the sports news today. ESPN is covering it. Jim Rome talked about it this morning on the Jungle.
The dolphins went 1-15 this year... terrible is too nice a descriptor. But they have assured themselves a Superbowl ring next year, the year after at the latest. Seriously, what team hires Tony Soprano for head coach and doesn't demand to win right away. What NFL team crosses that family?
NBA Finals 1998. i remember where i watched every game. I remember who i was with, and if i think hard i might remember what i ate... what i drank was easy; coffee.
The 1998 finals were the Bulls sixth title, which meant it was Jordan & Pippen & co's second three-peat. i was not rooting for the bulls on this one. i wanted Stockton and Malone to get their ring (both have since retired without a championship, Malone even came close with the Lakers - but probably regrets not suiting up with the Heat.)
The sixth game ended with Jordan shooting over (thru?) Bryon Russell. Bulls were down by one, then they were up by one; game over, series over. For almost ten years i've been jousting with basketball fans (and good friends) about Jordans "push off" of Russell to create separation on that last fateful shot. Surely it was an offensive foul. i have the game on DVD and, to torture myself i watch it... like yesterday afternoon era and i watched it, again.
You can see the grainy shot at 2:54 of the below youtube video. if you care...
/and if you watch the whole video, 4:44 was beautiful too, no?
Guess what? it might not have been that much of a push off, in fact... after all this time it now occurs to me that motive may have been involved in the announcers calling of that shot. See, as the live broadcast records, it was Isiah Thomas who commented, in the heat of the moment that Jordan got away with a push off, he then goes on to talk about Super stars getting that treatment. Golly, Thomas never EVER had any bad things to say about Jordan did he? (for the record, yeah, i think those two had some moments of opposition.)
So, while i'm not a Jordan fan per se, and i still believe the "five point swing" in that game should have gotten the Jazz to a seventh game, i might actually be at rest when considering the push-off, or lack there of. Fans can be rabid, and blind. i suppose i may have edged that territory... i should have taken note of the Thomas angle back then... but it took a few years. All that being said, i still intend to harass Jordan/Bulls fans with the push-off comment. It's just good clean fun!
Speaking of Pippen, while watching the game (where Pippens' back is uber sore) Renee asks if Pippen was really all that good? "Of course" i said, Jordan didn't win any rings without Pip (just like Kobe hasn't won any without Shaq). In fact, at 42 Pippen is still playing pro ball... accross the pond: Pippen Scores in Finnish League
I didn't see this game, as like i posted before, it's family time; The Chargers rout the Bronco's. It's always nice to see the Bolts beat up on the Bronco's... it happens a lot lately. That is a heck of a rivalry.
LT moved into first place in rushing yards, with one game to go. Here come the playoffs!
"It doesn't matter how you start but how you finish." - LT
"With their third division crown in four years secured, the Chargers (9-5) need simply to win out to secure the AFC's No. 3 playoff seed.
The next challenge, of course, is finding a way to win in January. The Chargers have dropped four straight postseason games dating to their embarrassing Super Bowl loss to San Francisco on Jan. 29, 1995. Since then, it's been one-and-done three times, including last year's pratfall against New England after they went an NFL-best 14-2 under Marty Schottenheimer." - ESPN
"...and those who remember a healthy Bo will remember the equivalent of his Nintendo Tecmo Super Bowl replicant, the most potent video-game running back in history, utterly unstoppable to the point of being ridiculous."
This article is an enjoyable character read. Whether you were (are) a fan or not.
I know some people who went to Toronto today. Not the players, but the fans. Rider fans all of them. I fear for the watermelon market here in Canada!
i'll eat some crow at work tomorrow. i publicly stated Blue & Gold would win todays game. The Gunslinger (Dinwiddie) started his first ever CFL game in the Coup de Grey. That could have gone either way; he's either a monster quarterback, or human and fallable. Not to put the whole game on Din's back, but he was the latter with brief flashes of the former. I was holding out hope that they might win, and with 2 minutes left in the game, they were poised to do just that. It was not that year for Stegall. One more year Milt, one more year for your Hall of Fame career... get that ring. The Bomber defense was amazing, and with Glenn back as QB, or another year of experience for Dinwiddie, the Bombers can compete for the 96th, in Montreal next November.
I talked about story lines a lot, and especially why, as a Lions fan i was rooting for the Bombers. How about Kerry Joseph's story. Not just his testimony as an active member of AIA, but his playing flag football down in the states a couple of years ago. Well done KJ, your running game is what broke the bomber defense down time and time again.
Today is a prime example of why the games are played. Only one team wins, triumphs over the other, or in the case of the East & West finals of the CFL; One team from each game advances to the Grey Cup next week in T-dot.
I was going to go... K.D. was arranging tickets. I canceled the trip a few weeks back. My schedule got big, fast... and i didn't want to spend an extended weekend away.
I called Lions versus Bombers in the Cup. I Called that before the final week of the regular season. I called it because, pro sports are all about story lines, and the story lines for those two teams were stories i could support. Stories i could get excited about, and jump around in front of a tv about (or jump around a stadium, if i were in person at the game.)
Today started with the Bombers handily dispatching the Argo's. Handily. Stegall & The Minister of Defense move on to the big game. Stegall for the very first time. That is a winning story-line. I had the good fortune to be introduced to both these gentlemen during the festivities of Grey Cup 2005. The fact that Glenn broke his arm today hurts. It hurts him of course, but it also hurts the Bombers. It didn't hurt this game, but it will affect their chances of a Grey Cup victory. Mind you, Dinwiddie (sp?) did fine as the back-up QB (I wonder if he was teased as a young man?)
The Lions started todays game against The Roughies almost as ineptly as the Stamps a week before. It did not look good. It did not turn out good either. Lots of locals are excited now, planning on wearing bright green into Toronto next weekend. On second thought, i'm really gonna miss that game, i think.
Drop in Basketball has been going, and going strong in spite of my lack of attention. Tonight was my first night out this fall... and it was a good run. I sure have a lot of rust to shake off.
/As an aside, Waldmar is accused of enhancement drugs as prescribed by the East German sports authority. It seems that 2nd place in 1976 is attempting to be awarded the gold medal.
That was the score of todays game between the Stampeders and the Riders. The game was in Calgary. Kick off was 2 o'clock. We were almost late, finding a place to park when you are only 4 of over 35,000 spectators is not easy, no matter what anyone ever says.
D.H got some great pics and digital video footage of the superfan sitting in front of us. Further proof that day-passes and alcohol should never mix. What a nutter. :)
The stadium ended up looking like a cut open watermelon. All the edges were Riders fans, the middle sections were predominantly Stamps fans, decked out in red.(maybe you had to be there, but it really did resemble a giant watermelon... for real.)
I like marketing. A lot. I could probably say that i *loved* marketing but, like the guy by the elevator in the recent Aero commerical "Love is such a strong word".
Subtle marketing for the soul is nice, but every once and a while i'll allow an in-your-face marketing campaign to grab my attention. How about that Baconator? The Official burger of the CFL. Heh. I love Wendy's. A lot. (Some folks aren't big fans of the new sandwich)
Lift The Lip (homage paid to Tim's Roll Up the Rim) today after lunch and won a free frosty. Them's are 1 in 9 odds. I'm hooked. So i grab both Pin #'s that i need to submit to the Wendys website and here i sit. I love the internets... i sure hope my odds carry on in my favor, i would love to kick for a million. Remember the last contest? The guy actually nailed the kick... he's raised the bar. I'm not sure if i'd nail the kick outside the 10 yard line, but in this contest, 10 yards is still worth ten grrr.
My odds would be infinitely better if i were able to use the PS2. (i kicked a 67 yard field goal once, Madden 2004 i think)
As i mentioned earlier, Chris Musonda was in town. Chris is the Zambian National Director of Athletes in Action, and has been our host in Zambia numerous times.
He spent a few brief moments with us at church this morning, and then he was off (Winterpeg is his next destination).
The above pic was our group picture at the Copper Belt University campus in Kitwe, northern Zambia. Chris is the 2nd from the left. Can you spot the CFL athletes? (Hint; There were 3 current, and one retired athlete on that particular tour)
This morning was a flood of memories... not the least of which were all of the road trips from outlying town to outlying town. Thank God for additional family all around the world.
As mentioned before, Chris was in Canada as Official Chaplain for the Zambian National Team playing in the FIFA World Cup for Under 20 Men. Zambia advanced initially, and then lost to Nigeria in their first elimination round (Nigeria has since lost to Chile). Next time.
/ Picture width decreased from 600 to 400 pixels wide. In Firefox the site looked fine before, but with Explorer, it skewed the positioning... so switch to Firefox. :)
Anyone else notice that after the first week of CFL action this season, the West is undefeated (The Esks are the only team not to register a win over their eastern rival)... and the east didn't win ONE game... the only point in the east belongs to Winnipeg, who edged a tie with Edmonton. Parity? i think not.
How about FIFA U20 action... this is the 2nd most important World Cup event in the world... behind only the actual World Cup (See you in South Africa in 2010 for that one!) Canada bumped into the Chileans for game one, but now are flying to Edmonton to play the remainder of their opening round games.
I've been watching TSN's online broadcast of a CFL game tonight. Edmonton vs. Winnipeg. If it wasn't for my desire to see Milt get his 137th career TD i would have scrapped the internet feed. Choppy... disappointing. (Watching the WHL hockey game was much better, mind you it was NOT free).
Of course, Milt gets the touchdown... with seconds to spare, & to tie the game. Drama.
And now for OT... i will read that on the ticker. Until the broadband gets a little better.
/Winnipeg represents the East in this years Grey Cup (in Toronto... i'm hoping to go)
That is my prediction/selection... here are the rest of the Wendys TSN crew giving theirs!
CCL had the opportunity to sponsor our local baseball team, the Medicine Hat Mavericks. We jumped at it. Got our sign up in left field "www.donotrent.ca" and everything.
The big perk tho, is a handful of game tickets. I've gone to one game a year for a few years now: to show support - it's time to take the family!
When i got home Renee had gotten era ready to go... all i had to do was put the tickets in his hands, and off we go!
Tonight was the Mav's second home game of the 2007 season. Sounds like a good time to take era out to the ball park. Eat some dogs... drink some pop. Sleep time comes fast for little ones (either that or dads attention span was short), the three of us left during the 3rd inning.
The Mini-Mavericks club was being advertised pretty heavy, along with the t-shirt and autographs the kids receive was a Mini-Mavericks baseball skills camp for kids later this month. That is a little too soon for era. Maybe next year?
I was at a Tigers game the other nite and a friend commented that Henry Bekkering was drafted by the Stamps of the CFL: "as talented an athlete as probably has ever played in this league.". Said friend recalled reading about Bekkering's freakish leaping ability on my blog a few years back.
So i dug around, and found that post, from November 2004. Bekk is originally from Taber, just down the road from Medicine Hat (which i call home) and a couple more hours to Calgary (where the Stamps play).
Ugh.
It's been about a week since i blogged last. And since then, the Raptors and Mavs have fallen into near insurmountable holes in this years NBA playoffs first round. Gah. At least the Suns are doin' awesome. How about Nash being one shy of the NBA playoff record for assists in a game. The way this is all going, see you next week.
I've been driving a bit. Drove to Hilda Alberta... then over to Tompkins Saskatchewan... Lots to talk about.
Round one of the NBA playoffs are underway.
Today was a good day for me. Mitchell (Toronto Raptors) was awarded Coach of the Year honors. The Raptors won game two, making up for their sluggish start in game one (which they lost...)
Oh, and as of right now, the Suns are up over kobe and his lakers by 30 after 3 quarters. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that tonight the Suns will be up 2 games to none over the hapless lakers... any time Kobe loses a playoff game is all right by me. And with Nash winning. It's all good.
Tonight was drop in basketball. Just about every Monday night is drop in basketball.
/The CotC is not showing up again in the blog roll i have on the lower right hand side of my page. It is out there, i'm sure... i just haven't made the time to go looking for it. In fact, it has been a few weeks, and i am really starting to miss it. :)
While i have never played any sport professionally, i have traveled some. So, in some way, i can really relate to the latest blog post by Blog Shirley: (at least his travel rants, heh)
"This particular entry may or may not make any sense, for two reasons:
1. I am sick and so am processing information at Apple IIe speeds.
2. I've already begun to speak in a mutated form of broken Spanish and pidgin English, resulting in sentences like, "Me go store now."
The second will become clear in due time.
What follows is an approximation at the time line of a portion of the last week." - Paul Shirley - ESPN.com
I can't find the CotC... maybe later. i do have some great pics of era to post tho. i just need a few more minutes to rip them off the digi-cam. i'll be right back. Go read something, and then come back in about 20 minutes. I know, go read Brent & Tawms blog. Good stuff.
Canada's NBA presence, the Toronto Raptors continue their rise.
After being graded A+ a little while back the Raptors secure something that has eluded them:
"TORONTO -- Chris Bosh has the Toronto Raptors in the playoffs for the first time in five years." - ESPN
Not just "in" the playoffs, they are fending off challengers for the 3rd Spot in the East. For real.
After my last visit to Africa (Athletes in Action trip, 2006), i returned with a hunger for Cricket. We spent the day with Kenyan National Cricket Team members. Spent the day on the Pitch, learning to bowl (i did a lot of running in the outfield, which, for cricket (unlike baseball) is 360 degrees from the batters wicket.
Went to work today, and began receiving email notice of the Canada Kenya World Cup Cricket match going on. Game was shorter than it probably should have been, Canada doesn't sound as competitive as it wanted to be. Kenya laid the beats.
i chatted over coffee with a friend last year that maybe, just maybe, Cricket should be a semi pro sport here in Alberta. Might be worth stirring the pot a little more on that one.
Click the following links to satisfy your burning desire to know more about the game of Cricket:
I have one collection adorning a wall in the storage room in my basement. It's as much space as i can negotiate (i'd have them all over the living room if given the opportunity. yeah, i can be that tacky).
The collection is McFarlane NBA basketball figures. MIB (Mint In Box)... i've bought my share of them on eBay, but most were bought as they are released. 12 series so far. (Series 12 will be released this month, i can hardly wait)
Tonight, i wandered through the discount aisle at a major retailer in town. 2 figures from the NBA Series 11 were on the shelf. Discounted? Already (they were initially released December 2006).
I snapped them both up, and see tonight that they have something in common on ESPN's website. Due to injury, their seasons may be over. (Joe Johnson - Hawks & Wally Sherzazzerad - Celtics) I hope this isn't a toy curse (like the EA Sports video game cover curse we've seen for years... hello, vince carter?)
I've been on that band wagon for years... prior to his purchase of the Mavs in fact. Not that it matters, i love the mans business acumen, savvy and willingness to be open. His blogging ways sure help too.
"You can stop e-mailing me. I like your team. I was wrong. OK? I was wrong! LEAVE ME ALONE, YOU BRYAN ADAMS-LOVING FREAKS!!!!"
Quote by Bill Simmons of ESPN's Page Two column while talking about rabid Canadian fans of the Toronto Raptors. Priceless.
/made me laugh. Out loud. (i hope i didn't wake anyone)
"Schottenheimer was fired Monday, less than a month after San Diego's NFL-best 14-2 season was wrecked in a playoff loss to New England. Team president Dean Spanos cited the exodus of both coordinators and other assistants in firing Schottenheimer, who had a year left on his contract. Schottenheimer was 47-33 in five seasons with the Chargers, including 35 wins and two AFC West titles in the last three seasons."
Era wanted to join us in Pambrun for basketball. He tried as hard as a six month old kid can, to suit up a basketball team. It was too bad he couldn't get a full team of 5. the team he was suiting up might have had a real good time. Rosie the dog (not shown in pictures), Zebra & lion. (where was his rabbit?)
Millar College in Pambrun Saskatchewan invited our Monday nite drop in basketball group at Hillcrest Church to register a team and compete in their college basketball tourney this weekend. We went. Six of us to be exact.
We ate Friday nite (after our first win) at Boston Pizza in Swift. That was disappointing (the pizza, not the game). Pizza that expensive should have been better. Maybe it's just me.
The games went well, we played our first two games and ranked first overall (tourney had 5 teams entered)... then the draw was formed (final 4 style). We won our semi... and waited six hours for the final.
We drove to Vanguard to find a meal while we waited. This might have been the best decision we made all weekend. The TROVE DELI (located in one of Vanguards old churches) was phenomenal. For real. Food was better than great & all home cooked (while we ate they were hand churning ice cream in the lobby), thick home made bread, warm buns to go with the beef barley soup. So good i'm going back (back to the TROVE DELI, i don't know if they'll invite us back to the tourney next year or not, and frankly, i'm not sure i want to wait another year before i eat at the TROVE again. Mmmmmmmmmmmm.)
The other team won the final... we left it all on the floor. we were sore (some of us were old) and we were played out. Next time, we get more than six bodies to commit.
No team picture to post, no roster to announce. You guys know who you were, and you were a group i'd road trip again with in a second. Each and every one of you. Even you B.K.
