Spun

Happy Thanksgiving Canada!!!

Yes, I remember those days. Back then there was more violence within the bars by both patrons and staff. Buffalo's old bar Cassidy's comes to mind. Society has changed and the increased violence is only one of those changes. Rioting has become a way of social expression. In L.A. it is well known that the rioting was premeditated by many during the Lakers championship run. Some of that premeditation extended to social media. Some in society are also drinking more. Much more. This is especially true among college age individuals. The rioting has become a copycat "thing" for some. The area surrounding the Bell Centre in Montreal has an abundance of bars and glass storefronts within walking distance. Alcoholic over-consumption has a lot to do with problems within the stadiums and arenas sports across the continent. Why would it end when people go outside? Immaturity and overindulgence help lead to violence. Not a new trend. Sober people don't tend to riot much. Nor are the thirty-year-olds banding en masse to loot and pillage. In both the Vancouver and Montreal riots. witness accounts stated that many of those rioting and looting were both young (teens and early twenties - verified by cameras) and intoxicated. Oh and they were male of course.

Toronto is Canada's largest city with upwards of four million people. Toronto is pricey. Traffic can be very slow moving. Canada also has a London which happens to be in Ontario! If your London is your desired style of living then Toronto (also known as TO) may be your style! A quiet community life is available in much of Ontario. Here are a few web sites that may be helpful: http://www.torontocityguide.com/ http://ontariovisitorguide.com/ http://relocatecanada.com/ Good luck to you and your wife!

The fact that the drinking age in most of Canada is 19 years old (18 in Quebec) has a bit to do with the rioting. In L.A., hoodlums and thugs live for nights like NBA championships - it is kind of like their Woodstock.

I took some puck deflections to the head. Thankfully, I had a helmet. The brain bounces off the back of the back of the head with or without a helmet. Have you ever seen some of the early models of goalie masks? I went to the Hockey HOF in Toronto a few years ago and they had some early versions of the mask on display. It was amazing! I stared at some of these "masks" thinking they were designed to stop... what? They looked like they were made of crumpled up masking tape. Another thing to consider is obviously they didn't wear helmets when Rick Martin came into the NHL, but all those punches that connected were direct hits. No pulling back to protect the fists from hitting plastic. Martin got into his share of fights. In fact, he could throw some. So could Danny Gare! Martin's injury in 1977 involved his head hitting the ice. He went into convulsions. It was frightening. An interesting fact is that the very first Buffalo Sabre, goalie Joe Daley, didn't wear a mask. The rules have helped as years ago there was a lot more stick work to the head. The Wayne Maki stick to Ted Green's head in 1969 was one of the most noteworthy and severe incidents. Some of the scariest hockey injuries have occurred in Buffalo involving skates to the neck (Clint Malarchuk, Richard Zednik).

What would William Shatner say?

I lost one of my first friends this past year, he was 49. Years ago, I lost my father at 42 and my mother at 60. You can't say it often enough or loud enough. Just like you said Bmore, LIVE LIFE!!! Do what you dream of doing. Go where you want to go! Make everyday important! And RIP Steve Jobs. No more suffering. Thanks for adding such variety and possibility to our lives. Pancreatic cancer is one of the worst. I hate all the cancers. For all the advances that we have made in science and medicine, we still have so far to go. LIVE LIFE!!!

The Ducks are a more physical team but the Sabres are faster. The Kings should be more of a challenge in the winner's bracket. The Ducks outshot the Sabres 11-0 in the third period. What the hell was Kaleta doing on that breakaway? He is known for drawing penalties. So why let up? Draw a hook, trip or penalty shot. Or shoot the damn puck. The Ducks seemed to contain the puck in the Sabres zone for much of the game. But the Sabres protected the slot. Meanwhile, the Sabres were effective fron in close. The self goal by the Ducks and the clank off the Sabres goalpost made the final score look like it wasn't a close game when it was very close. Miller had some nice stops. Gerbe. Fun to watch. I'm glad he is playing for and not against the Sabres. Fear the Gerbe. I wish I got to go see the Sabres play in Europe but I couldn't swing it. I did notice a lot of empty seats in Helsinki. I wonder how the Swedish fans took to the fight in the Rangers-Kings game.

Every Tuesday and Thursday morning my clock radio would wake me at 5:30 am so I could get a workout in before my History class at San Diego State. I was listening to KNX, the L.A. news station when it first came across. I immediately went to the TV. Having been to NYC numerous times and across the street from the towers gazing up about a half mile, I knew how serious things were. After my first view of the TV, my initial impression was that they would never put that fire out. Then the other plane came in. Ironically, my class was The History of Foreign Policy. My instructor started class by saying that "days like today are why we study foreign policy". I was surprised that we even had class. In my notes I wrote "why are we having class today?". Minutes later class was dismissed and the campus closed. A few years afterward, I met up with one of my sisters in L.A. My sister had attended Fordham and NYU but was living in Philly on 9/11. During the L,A visit, one of my sister's NYC friends joined us for Thanksgiving dinner. This friend had worked in the South Tower but was late for work that morning. That is why she was still alive. She came up from the subway not knowing what had happened as it was all falling around her. I believe her employer was Fuji Bank which was way up around the 80th floor. She was from Japan. She lost a number of her co-workers. She was so rattled by that morning. I think she left the country. In sport many of us view NYC as rivals. In New York State, Albany is our capital. But NYC is our cultural capital. I wish some more of what is right about NYC would make it's way over to the struggling city of Buffalo. Together with NYC, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, PA., we are one. To those who were lost we are one. To those who have served and currently serve in our armed forces we are one with you also.

That was very moving. Two of those lost: Daniil Sobchenko and Yuri Urychev, both played for Russia at the WJC in Buffalo. I was at the WJC watching all 21 games at HSBC. It has been quite a roller coast for Russian hockey this year. The obvious high for Russia was the incredible five goal outburst against Canada in the Gold Medal game to reverse a 3-0 deficit and ultimately win 5-3. In all the sporting events that I have witnessed, few rivaled the drama in how Russia flipped the switch with their five goal comeback. I was seated at the end of the arena where the flags were raised as part of the medal ceremony. The Russian team was locked shoulder to shoulder and very vocally singing their anthem. Then in their joy they were denied entry to their flight home until they sobered up a bit. And now this. Hockey is having a bad summer. RIP. http://blogs.buffalonews.com/sabres/2011/09/two-russian-gold-medalists.html

What advice can you give me about Berlin?

SD U-T's Steve Breen's take on the Gumby Bandit: http://www.signonsandiego.com/photos/galleries/steve-breen-gallery/

Sold out at Buffalo Sabres ticket office other than AAA plan. Anybody know of other options on less pricey tix...

No, no, no, no. He can play for some prison team. The Bills have made enough mistakes. This guy is a cancer. No, no, no, no.

A very interesting documentary was on PBS days leading up to the anniversary (a couple of weeks ago). The Germans literally put up the first version of the wall/fence overnight. George Will can second guess all he wants as he is known to do but the situation back then was very confusing and desperate with few options. I may be visiting Berlin for the Sabres and Kings game. Here is a link to more info about the documentary: http://www.pbs.org/programs/the-wall/

It's *&%$@%# football. Why not two hand touch? Why not use nerf footballs? This move makes watching baseball pitchers bat more exciting. It's *&%$@%# football.

Just don't deal him off for another Gianelli. Or should I say, MacGianelli...

It would have been nice to get more but was that even possible? I don't know. But if what I am hearing true, that Evans wanted out then good night now Lee Evans. Bitter and disgruntled is not what the team needs. A roster of (very skilled) professionals that want to play fot the Buffalo Bills is what the team needs. Evans was not that productive the last two seasons. I expected more of Evans when T.O. was on the field. Fix that offensive line and then let's see what the rest of the offense can do (Fitz, Spiller, etc.).

Great takes in this video!

In San Diego, we have those "Alert" signs warning us about the 405 closure. Stay away, it isn't that hard. People are fascinated about some of the huge traffic jams in L.A. What I find equally fascinating is how many cars travel over the freeways without a traffic jam. Friday afternoons on the 405 are the worst. Leave early or leave late otherwise, have your sanity tested. Emergency vehicles are going to have a tough time.

Cinema is like beer in that if you keep buying the common denominator, that is mostly what you will be offered. Before micro-beers what did we have? A lot of mediocre beer. Then when more and better choices came on the market, the big breweries had a hole in their business model. I agree that there are most likely many, very creative ideas that won't end up in Hollywood projects. Go out of your way to see the indies and foreign films. Ignore the remakes, sequels, superhero fiascos and top-heavy special effects. I get the part about Jennifer Aniston. She has some powerful allure! But Hangover 2? By the way, I did see a couple of good documentaries last week: City of Life and Death http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/movies/city-of-life-and-death-from-lu-chuan-review.html My Perestroika http://movies.nytimes.com/2011/03/23/movies/my-perestroika-about-growing-up-in-russia-review.html

I also despise taxes as they do have a negative effect on spending and growth not to mention my my desire to spend. Taxes are not popular especially new ones. I will spend less via the internet. Taxing internet sales will hurt companies like Amazon but not necessarily help California. California has been making cuts for a while now but revenues have taken a serious tumble in the last recession in large part because of the real estate corruption. Yes, corruption. Some believe that cuts are the only solution. A combination of cuts and taxes looks like the more probable approach. The deficit was $25-billion. The idea that unions are responsible for California's mess is incomplete. Californian's have passed a maddening number of propositions over the years that by law can not be cut. As for the right being left out of power, they seem to work the lower end of the super-majority fairly well. The right like the left needs to stop blaming each other and consider why neither is very popular in a state that every day increases the "no party" and "decline to state" categories of those who even bother to vote. The idea that the state has been raiding city and county coffers throughout the state is correct. This travesty has been going on for a while now. When California hurts, it stings. But when California prospers, life is good. We are impatiently waiting for the good part.

Now is obviously not a good time to finance any bridges. Why build a new bridge? Ninety miles away stands Toronto with a population of roughly four million people. Optimizing commerce between Buffalo and TO could be smart for Buffalo. My last returning trips from Canada were rather long. And the lines for the trucks were worse. The line wasn't even moving. As for the design, the Menn design is a winner and seems to be a popular choice. I thought birds liked wires and cables - at least they do outside my home at 6:00 am. Seriously, back up, rethink things and get it right. I realize it is a simple way of looking at things but with Buffalo being in the same state as the largest city in the U.S., NYC and Toronto just ninety miles to the north there has to be some way to take advantage of the unique middle ground.

The Buckeyes are a tough call. Beyond the recently departed Pryor and the tattoo club, the Buckeyes usually have talent. They typically recruit well. Miami is unknown but the Big Ten / Eleven/ Twelve always is competitive once the Midwestern air turns chilly and wet. I wouldn't bet on any OSU games. The NCAA hearing will dictate a lot for the next few years in Columbus. College football always yields some surprises as underclassmen rise from the shadows. UB was a gimmee a few years ago when they were always losing. Sometimes the best teams to bet for (or against)are the lesser known teams. It may be the only football we get this year. And that would suit me just fine if the alternative is no NFL training camp to speak of and a reduced season that starts in October. Us fans will carry on!

Sure, I'd take her out! For dinner if needed. Pretty young lady! Thanks!