Lots on my mind

Let me start by suggesting you pay a visit to Amy's blog and read her most recent post. She hits it right on the head (no pun intended) when it comes to being a parent. I have yet to experience a real traumatic moment since Aidan came home from the hospital (perhaps that counts as enough trauma until his 12th birthday), but Christine has had a few with him. As painful and difficult as those moments can be, I would gladly experience them again and again if it means I get to watch my son grow up. The idea of going back to being childless is occasionally novel (i.e. when I'm into the 7th consecutive hour of Treehouse TV), but I assure you that the novelty lasts seconds, until he looks at me and gives me one of his smiles.

Next, good on the Leafs, winning 3-1 yesterday to even the series. Best-of-3 now and I like our chances. Looking forward to tomorrow's game, although I'll probably miss the first period. We need some family time and are going out after Church tomorrow for the afternoon.

Tough loss for the Wings today (sorry, Mike). Scary moment for Stevie Y, too (one of the few Wings I actually like). A puck (or anything else) in the eye is a scary thing and seeing Yzerman go down like that kinda reminded me of the Berard incident a few years ago when Hossa clipped him. Hope he'll be OK.

BIG to-do here in Hamilton around one of the Bulldog players getting a little stupid with his stick. In their playoff game last night, this guy (Alexander Perezhogin) got tangled up with an opposing player, Garrett Stafford, and the two wound up in a pile on the ice in front of the Cleveland Barons' goal. Stafford swung his stick at Perezhogin and grazed his back and helmet. Perezhogin then swung his stick and knocked Stafford square in the face, busting him open, giving him a concussion and sending him into convulsions. Perezhogin's suspended indefinitely (good), Hamilton cops are investigating (better) and Stafford's going to recover (best).

Here's where it gets REALLY stupid.

The Barons' coach is interviewed after the game and the sound bite they get from this guy is that Perezhogin (considered the 2nd best prospect in the AHL) should be banned from playing IN NORTH AMERICA. He, of course, conveniently forgets that his own guy swung first. Had Stafford landed his shot, we'd be looking at this from a totally different perspective today. I personally think both of them should be suspended for the balance of the playoffs and, since Perezhogin's shot was the more damaging of the two, suspend him for the first 5 games of next season, regardless of the level he's at (AHL or NHL). We'll see what happens. More as it unfolds. Here's a link to the full story.

Good news in the family yesterday. From The Spec:

MATSELL (nee Benallick) - Lynne, Pete and big brother Thomas are excited to announce the arrival of Dawson Peter, 8 lbs., on April 20, 2004. A sixth grandchild for Marg and Duff Benallick and fourth grandchild for Brian Matsell. A new cousin for Lauren, David, Mackenzie, Emily, Cassie and Spencer. Thank you to Drs. Pyper and Loopstra, Nurse Laurie, MUMC L&D and especially Daddy.

Those not in the know, Lynne's my cousin.

Finally, a new game today. I'll provide the cast, you tell me the movie.

Example: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Peter Cushing
Answer: Star Wars Episode 4 (A New Hope) - Cushing, who played Grand Moff Tarkin, is the tip.

Ready? Here goes:

Burt Reynolds, Dom DeLuise, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., Jackie Chan, Roger Moore
Richard Dreyfuss, Olympia Dukakis, William H. Macy, Glenne Headley, Jay Thomas
Dustin Hoffman, Meryl Streep, Jane Alexander, Justin Henry
Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote
Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey
Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Bonnie Bedelia, Reginald VelJohnson
Tom Cruise, Val Kilmer, Tom Skerritt, Michael Ironside, Kelly McGillis
Elijah Wood, Morgan Freeman, Tea Leoni
Nicolas Cage, Danny Aiello, Cher, Olympia Dukakis
Tom Hanks, Gary Sinise, Bill Paxton, Kathleen Quinlan

Good luck. Answers on Monday.

GO LEAFS GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!