Hockey season
So I’m apparently part of my first regular-season hockey pool, despite being on a different continent from all the teams, players and other members of the pool.
My former coworkers at Metroland added me to their pool and picked a team for me since I was unavailable to chose my own. Somehow the Ottawa Senators were unfortunately excluded (and the Flames, my second-favourite team), but on the flip side, there are thankfully no Leafs. Hopefully my internet co-operates enough for me to catch a few games online; the NHL sked has already been dutifully bookmarked.
I managed to find a radio station broadcasting the Sens season opener online on Saturday; despite their loss, it was a patriotic moment for me to listen to the hockey game while sitting under a palm tree in Cali.
Here’s my team:
Forwards
Ilya Kovalchuck – Atlanta Thrasers
Brian Little – Atlanta Thrasers
Pavel Datsyuk – Detroit Red Wings
Jeff Carter – Philadelpia Flyers
Corey Perry – Anaheim Ducks
Bobby Ryan – Anaheim Ducks
Devon Setoguchi – San Jose Sharks
Jason Pominville – Buffalo Sabres
Defence
Sergei Gonchar – Pittsburgh Penguins
Zdeno Chara – Boston Bruins
Lubmir Visnovsky – Edmonton Oilers
Ryan Whitney – Anaheim Ducks
Goalies
Jonas Hillier – Anaheim Ducks
Semyon Varlamov – Washington Capitals
I’m currently tied for fifth place in the pool of eight people … but the season has only just begun.
City Chase
I wasn’t able to participate in City Chase this year, even though last year was a blast and definitely made me want to go back for more. However, I was able to get involved in the annual race by interviewing the winners – both team members live in Kanata.
Here’s my story on their big finish:
A team from Kanata took first place in last Saturday’s annual City Chase and will be representing Ottawa at the national competition this fall.
Mike Reade and Mike Bessuille, friends since attending classes at Earl of March High School together, competed in their 12th City Chase, an urban spinoff of The Amazing Race reality series.
On Saturday, they crossed the finish line in almost the exact same time as last year – but this time, no one was there ahead of them.
The duo, both 39-year-old Bridlewood residents, competed for their fourth year on July 18, taking on 450 other teams to compete for chase points across the city.
Photo courtesy of Mike Reade and Mike Bessuille, winners of the 2009 Ottaw City Chase.
From performing a short children’s play to answering trivia and navigating an obstacle course on a skateboard with one member blindfolded, the team raced around Ottawa to be the first to cross the finish line at Major’s Hill Park.
Within the first hour, the team – known as the Moops, a term from a Seinfeld episode – had about half of the necessary 10 chase points.
“We knew we were running a good race from the beginning,” said Bessuille, who works at Adobe.
“We’re pretty good at the challenges,” said Reade. “That’s one of the reason we do so well. We stay away from the ones that have a long line up.”
He said they missed needed buses twice, so they had to make route adjustments on the fly.
“We were on the buses for like 45 minutes, I thought the whole race was slipping away from us,” said Bessuille.
But they completed the 10 challenges in three hours and one minute; the second and third place teams both finished within three minutes after the Kanata duo.
Reade, who works for Nortel, said the race was more complex and difficult than last year, but having his wife and two friends ready at home to look up locations, plan routes and answer questions was a huge help.
“They’re just as much a part of the team as Mike and I are,” said Bessuille about the support system.
“The clues were harder this year as well, it wasn’t as obvious,” explained Reade. “We had to spend more time working through it.”
Last year, due to one wrong answer on a trivia challenge, the team had to complete an extra chase point than they expected and put them in third place.
“We really wanted it this year,” said Reade.
Read the rest here.
Ready, ready
On Saturday, my dragonboating team – Crew 22 – took to the water at Mooney’s Bay for some racing action. It was super fun, though we kind of bombed the first race. Our downfall was our start; we were distracted by the other boats and not prepared when the gun went off. We came in third in our heat with a time of 2:29 – not great. We spent a few hours hanging around, absorbing the festival atmosphere. I caught a ride on the media boat and snapped some great shots of the other competitors.
A team celebrates their finish by splashing the caller.
Cathy Fowler screams at her team to keep up the pace to the finish line.
Gotta love the facial expressions on these guys, straining the last few metres.
For our second race in the afternoon, our team was much more focused. Once we reached the starting line, we all shut up and put our paddles in the water. Our start was 100 times better than the first one; we came out strong and in first place, keeping the pace and position for the entire 500 metres. It felt phenomenal.
Back at the dock and pumped after our second race.
We ended up with a worse time (2:32), however, probably due to shifting winds. Despite the disappointing finish and our inability to make the finals, it was a great race and we all felt pretty good about ourselves.
Crew 22 in all its glory.
Game 7
Tonight Detroit and Pittsburgh will battle for Lord Stanley’s Cup. So far none of them have lost at home, so it’s not looking great for the Penguins. Nevertheless, I am rooting for Crosby and his crew … It’s not that I’m a big fan of Sid the Kid, I just really want to see the Pens take it home this year.
Whatever happens tonight, I’ll be finishing well behind first place in my hockey pool. I’m hoping to keep my spot in third (Go Malkin!) at least. I thought the pool would keep me locked into the playoffs, but I actually watched only a few games and just checked scores and scorers afterwards. Lame, I know, but life is busy. It didn’t help that the Canadian teams were shut out pretty quickly.
GO PENS!!
Fundraising for dragonboating
On June 20, I will be pushing onto the Ottawa River with my team as part 
of the dragonboating festival. I’ve never even tried the activity before, but since I grew up canoeing with my family all summer I’m hoping my paddling skills will be up to par.
But you can help. The festival is raising money for several local charities, and we need donations. Every little bit helps. And believe me when I say I seriously dislike it when people ask me for money, so I’m not exactly enjoying this. But it’s not for me, it’s for the kids! Feeling the guilt yet?
You can go here to make pledges online and find out all about the good causes we will be supporting, which include the Sens Foundation and OCRI’s school breakfast program. You can either donate directly to me (just search for my name) or to my team, Crew 22.
I’m stoked for race day and I’m sure I’ll have photos and an update on my experience afterwards. It will be good times.
Playoff pool: round four
It’s a rematch of the Penguins and Red Wings, with game one of the Stanley Cup finals kicking off tonight.
I’ve still got my three players from last round – Jordan Staal, Evgeni Malkin and Niklas Kronwall – and I’m still in third, though 63 points behind first place.
Though I have been following the playoffs because of my participation in the pool this year, I think I’m much less invested in the whole series than I was last year. That’s due to silly CBC Ottawa not showing half the games, the teams that I was rooting for getting knocked out early, and simply the busyness that my life has become. I lost $10 (your welcome, Tom) but it was a fun experience anyway.
My prediction for the 2009 champion: the Pittsburgh Penguins, in seven games. What’s yours?
Playoff pool: round three
It’s down to four teams in the NHL playoffs … and I’m down to three players in my pool. I’ve got Evgeni Malkin and Jordon Staal from the Penguins and Niklas Kronwall from Detriot. I hope those teams make it to the finals or I’m officially done. There’s no chance of winning it – my coworker has it pretty much locked up with 124 points and 10 players left. I’m hanging onto third place with 80 points, with the consolation that I won’t be on the bottom – one of our managing editors has got that spot all to himself. He’s stuck with 59 points and zero players left.
So, my predictions:
Detroit vs. Chicago – Chicago in seven games
Pittsburgh vs. Carolina – Pittsburgh in six games
And I think Pittsburgh is going to take home Stanley this year …
What do you think?
Playoff finals without Canada
I’m so bummed Vancouver is out of the playoffs. They were the last hope for Canada but the Stanley Cup will be handed out south of the border once again. Crazy game tonight … the Blackhawks and Canucks were trading goals back and forth – the final score was a whopping seven to five. With Vancouver’s loss, we may have seen the end of Mats Sundin … what do you think?
I was also disappointed to see Canada lose the gold medal game to Russia in the World Championships on Sunday.
On the plus side, I got five or six points in my hockey pool tonight. It’s a small consolation; I lost my Sedin twin.
Playoff pool: round two
After leading my office playoff pool for most of the first round, I’ve fallen to third place. I’ve got eight players left, which is the pool average. I was bummed to see Calgary go down, and it was disappointing to watch the Habs get swept. I guess I’ll be cheering for the remaining Canadian team now – go Canucks!
Here’s what I got left, heading into round two:
Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh – nine points
Michael Ryder, Boston – seven points
Daniel Sedin, Vancouver – five points
Dennis Wideman, Boston – four points
Niklas Kronwell, Detroit – four points
Brooks Laich, Washington – three points
Pavol Demitra, Vancouver – two points
Jordan Staal, Pittsburgh – one point
I’ve got a total of 46 points so far, 10 points back from the pool leader and nine points ahead of the last place position. The Caps vs. Penguins series is the only one where I’m guarunteed to lose a player … but boy, Ovechkin vs. Crosby will be fun to watch.
Playoff pool
After numerous proddings, I decided to join my office’s hockey playoff pool this year.
I had no idea what I was doing.
There are seven of us. I am the only female and by far the least knowledgeable about hockey or pools. As in, the guys can actually pronounce all the players’ names and pretty much have all the team’s rosters down pat.
Me, not so much.
They were pretty accommodating though. Only once did I get a reaction that implied I was making a terrible decision. For the rest … well, I stole a few picks my coworkers were hoping for, so I guess that’s a good sign.
And hey, the Senators are on the golf course instead of the ice and I needed an excuse to be part of the playoff madness.
So, here they are. Don’t laugh … at least, not so I can hear you.
Michael Ryder – Boston Bruins
Dennis Wideman – Boston Bruins
Brooks Laich – Washington Capitals
Evgeni Malkin – Pittsburgh Penguins
Jordan Staal – Pittsburgh Penguins
Scott Hartnell – Philadelphia Flyers
Joe Pavelski – San Jose Sharks
Rob Blake – San Jose Sharks
Niklas Kronwall – Detroit Red Wings
Daniel Sedin – Vancouver Canuks
Pavol Demitra – Vancouver Canuks
Jerome Iginla – Calgary Flames
There you have it. As you can see, I’m lacking in strategy. I’ll update my place in the pool with each round of the playoffs. I’d love to see Calgary or Montreal in the final and a Canadian team take home the Stanley Cup this year.
Let me know what you think of my picks and leave your own in the comments below.
Cheryl