Giants 21, Patriots 17

By the time the Superbowl rolls around, I've usually watched enough football and seen and heard enough analysis of football that I often can't generate much more than a passing interest in the game itself. Also, my team last played a meaningful game more than 2 months ago.

Yesterday afternoon, I heard about 15 minutes of an interview Jim Gray did with Patriots owner Robert Kraft. He is beloved by his players, apparently, and, after hearing the interview, I think I understand a bit about why. He lost his wife last summer and he and the team dedicated the 2011 season to her memory. Until yesterday, I was just hoping for a close game (which we got) but when the game started, I was cheering for the Patriots.

Maybe Lee Evans and Wes Welker will commiserate this off-season about what it might have meant to just hold on to the ball at a critical time in a critical game. Evans could not hold on to a pass in the endzone near the end of the AFC Champioship Game but if he had, the Ravens would have played the Giants last night in the Superbowl. If the usually sure-handed Welker had closed his hands on a pass late in the Superbowl, the Patriots would probably have been able to run out the clock and win the game.

For various reasons, I cancelled my Rogers cable, efective this past Friday. I bought an HD TV antenna for which I had great expectations since I live on the 11th floor of my building with a clear south exposure. I do get as many as 20 channels at certain times of the day and in certain kinds of weather. The problem with digital signals is that if the signal strength does not meet a certain minimum level, it cuts out. You either get the signal in stunning 1080 HD or you get nothing. Gone are the days of adjusting the rabbit ears to get a "watchable" picture with minimum fuzziness. I had planned on watching the game on WGRZ, the Buffalo NBC affiliate, which would have allowed me to watch the US commercials during the game. The signal was good on Sunday afternoon, but when darkness and kick-off approached, it dissappeared. So, I watched the game on CFTO with the Canadian commercials like everyone else.  I may invest in a more expensive antenna.

Amazingly enough, the City of Toronto and its outside workers in local 416 came to an agreement yesterday and there will be no work stoppage. This is obviously good news for our outdoor Thursday night hockey games. There is no question that the union felt that it had little room to resist some of the conditions which the City threatended to unilaterally impose, beginning this morning. Public sentiment and the memory of the strike of the summer of 2009 weighed heavily on the union as it feared a backlash if there had been a work stoppage. The contract negotiated over the weekend will form the basis for the next round of negotiations with local 79, which represents the City's 22,000 inside workers. Rob Ford looked like he was trying to take credit for the agreement yesterday. He needs all the positive press he can get as Karen Stintz seems to be circling her wagons for a showdown with him on the transit file.

The next event on the NFL calendar is the scramble to sign free agents which begins next month. Then the college draft comes in April. Training camps start in late July. I will probably receive my 2012 season ticket invoice this week. Ralph needs the money as early as possible, I guess.

Patriots 49, Bills 21

When the Bills went ahead 21-0 against the Patriots last Sunday, I foresaw the symetry. Think back to week 3 when the Patriots went up 21-0 in Orchard Park only to lose the game on a Rian Lindell field goal as the final seconds ticked away, sending delirious Bills fans home on that warm summer like afternoon. I haven't seen such symetry since the 2003 season when the Bills beat New England 31-0 in the season opener, only to finish 5-11, losing the final game of the season at Foxboro by a score of - you guessed it - 31-0. The Patriots went on to win their second Superbowl a few weeks later. The Bills fired Gregg Williams who had completed his third season as head coach.

I was grateful for the early season success of the Bills this year as there was something to be excited about - if only for a short time. After the game on Sunday, Chan Gailey said that the team needs to learn how to finish. I wasn't sure of he was referring to the Partiots game and the 21-0 lead or to the season in general or to both. Yes, I agree. They need to learn how to finish.

I've been suffering from a cold virus over the past few days and this has allowed me to wait until the Iowa Caucuses were completed before creating this post. It's been fascinating to watch as each and every candidate in the race (except John Huntsman, I guess, whose endorsement by the Boston Globe yesterday may propel him forward) caught up to Mitt Romney and then faded under the scrutiny which success brings.

Rick Santorum peaked at exactly the right time - for Iowa anyway - and finished in a virtual tie with Romney. As the candidates turn their attention now to New Hampshire, the knives are out for Santorum. There's certainly a lot to aim at and a couple of things have caught my attention. Santorum is, in my view, an extreme social conservative. He is a catholic and is the father of 6 children. In 1996, his wife, suffering from pregnancy complications and a high fever, gave birth at 20 weeks to a boy who lived for only 2 hours. Santorum and his wife then slept with the dead baby between them and then brought him home to show the other children their "brother". The children then spent the day taking turns holding him. I know very little about catholic tradition but I'm certain that this falls outside it. It's weird and it's creepy.

Santorum's views on homosexuality are, not surprisingly, quite intolerant. They are not playing very well in New Hampshire either. Yesterday, he was speaking to a college group and he was asked why he is opposed to marriage within a same sex partnership between consenting adults. His response was: "What about a marriage with 3 men? Is that ok?" He was booed rather loudly as he wrapped up his remarks. In previous statements, he has compared homosexuality to beastiality. As a senator, he also pushed for an amendment to the Bush "No Child Left Behind" initiative which would require the teaching of the concept of "intelligent design" as an alternative to the Theory of Evolution. It became known as "the Santorum Amendment" but, thankfully, was not part of the final bill. New Hampshire is, apparently, the least religious state in the union which will limit his upside there but the next primary is South Carolina where, apparently, (according to CNN's John King) 45% of the population describes themselves as evangelical christians. Rick Santorum has neither the money nor the organization to have a realistic chance at winning the Republican nomination but when Mitt Romney chooses a running mate, Santorum will be in the conversation as he can help deliver the religious right and social conservative elements of the Republican party - where Romney's appeal is tepid at best.

I heard another of those partisan quips I love on CNN which seem always to come from party "strategists". In commenting on the race for the Republican nomination and the rotation of co-front runners with Mitt Romney, a Democratic strategist described the machinations of the Republican party by suggesting that "it's almost as if the right hand doesn't know what the extreme right hand is doing".

The NFL playoffs are finally here and the Bills will sit them out for the 12th consecutive year. With the Detroit Lions making the post-season this time around, the Bills now own the longest current run of non-playoff seasons.

In this weekend's games, I like Cincinnati, New Orleans, Atlanta and Pittsburgh. 2 home teams on Saturday and 2 road teams on Sunday.

Bills 40, Broncos 14

Last week, the Onion Sports Network had an article called "Jesus Says Tebow Will Never Make it as a Starting NFL Quarterback". Jesus, who apparently has considerable football knowledge, was quoted extensively throughout the article on Tebow's slow throwing motion and poor technque on certain kinds of passes. He concluded by saying, in reference to Tebow's chances of being a long term starting NFL quarterback, that "it's never going to fuckin happen".

The Onion publishes a weekly Canadian version which is available in hard copy at the Coffee Time down the street from me. The most recent issue was entirely focused on sports and, in addition to the Tebow piece, featured articles entitled "Tiger Woods Wonders if he Should Tell People He's Still Getting Laid" and, beside a photo of Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith wearing his headset on the sidelines, "Bears Coach Says Voices in Headset Keep Calling him an Idiot".  I love the Onion. The most fun job I can imagine would be as a staff writer for them.

Bengals wide receiver Jerome Simpson made a spectacular play on Saturday by leaping up and over an oncoming defender, turning exactly 360 degrees in the air - literally head over heals - and landing with both feet just inside the goal line for a touchdown. As Chris Berman said, he "stuck the landing better than Mary Lou Retton". Then he showed a split screen of Simpson's touchdown and Mary Lou Retton doing a vault with both of them sticking the landing at the same time. Simpson was drafted in 2008 out of little known Coastal Carolina and has only 66 catches in his NFL career. That could explain why he might want to diversify his sources of income. This past September, Kentucky police must have been thinking the same thing as they intercepted a package addressed to his house which contained two and a half pounds of marijuana. They then found another six pounds in the house but, according to three different reports I read, no charges were laid. I would think that after Simpson's gymnastic touchdown which has probably earned him a place on the all-time NFL highlight reel, the investigation should now be closed.

The Bills Christmas Eve victory over Denver was their first on American soil since October 9th. CJ Spiller had his best game as a pro, gaining over 100 yards for the first time and generating speculation on WGR that his success only helps the Bills in their negotiations with Fred Jackson. Let's hope that they recognize that Jackson has earned a new contract and that they think in terms of the goal being to have them both next year. And they need to sign Stevie Johnson too. And draft an edge rushing linebacker.

On Thursday December 22nd, my cousin Pete and I paddled around our lake in Muskoka. There was ice in the small bays and along the north facing shoreline but the lake was 75% open. Not a trace of snow either. We would have been skiing and chopping open our ice hole by this time in almost any other year. The fall of 2011 has lasted a full month longer than normal and I'm ready for winter.

Dolphins 30, Bills 23

I spent another Sunday afternoon working on firewood and listening to John Murphy and Mark Kelso tell me about another Bills loss - their seventh straight. The Washington game at Rogers Centre seems like it was about three football seasons ago. Thankfully, there are only two games left in what has become another train wreck of a season. Eventhough Tim Tebow's luck ran out yesterday against the Patriots, amazingly, my Christmas Eve Denver Broncos tickets sold yesterday after I reduced the price a little on NFL TicketExchange. The NFL prides itself on being a league with parity. I can think of a great example. Remember week one of this season? The Bills travelled to Kansas City and demolished the favoured Chiefs. Yesterday, the Chiefs handed Green Bay their first loss of the season.

Driving to Muskoka on Saturday morning, I was listening to The House. Reporters Greg Weston and Joan Bryden were asked to make a list of who has been naughty and who has been nice in federal politics this past year. Weston's naughty choice was Defence Minister Peter Mackay whose use of military helicopters and private jets has been widely reported and, last week, we learned that he stayed in a $1,400 per night hotel at a security conference in Munich last year. The Conservatives spent considerable time in opposition digging up examples of such government largesse. His nice list included two non-elected federal officials who are widely respected and represent, he says, what many Canadians look for in their political leadership: Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney and Parliamentary Budget Officer Kevin Page.

Joan Bryden's naughty choice was the Conservative Party. She chose the party because of its attutude toward certain court rulings. She gave two examples and a third occured to me as well. During the 2006 federal election campaign, the Conservatives used what became known as the "in and out" move where national campaign funds were distributed to certain ridings and then funnelled back to the national campaign, allowing them to spend more on the national campaign than the rules permitted. The party plead guilty recently and was ordered to pay a $52,000 fine but the Conservatives claimed victory anyway, reiterating their position that the strategy is actually legal. They plead guilty, I presume, because they were not confident that they could convince a judge of its legality.

The second example Bryden gave was the court ruling about the dismantling of the Canadian Wheat Board. The court ruled that the government was required to have formally consulted with farmers before proceeding to change the Wheat Board's mandate. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz responded by saying that the important thing is that Canadian farmers will now have the ability to sell their wheat wherever they want. He went on to say that in the event that an injunction is obtained in the future, they will ignore it. Ignore it. Should the rest of us take the same approach and simply ignore court rulings we don't like?

Just before the May, 2011 election, the Speaker of the House found the government to be in contempt of Parliament for not disclosing the cost of its crime legislation, corporate tax cuts and the purchase of fighter jets. In the leaders debate, the Prime Minister referred to this as a "technicality" and the result of partisan "bickering". In keeping with the Conservatives philosophy, there clearly should be a mandatory minimum sentence for being found to be in contempt of Parliament. And for growing six pot plants. It only makes sense.

Chargers 37, Bills 10

A large White Ash tree came down at the top of our driveway a few weeks ago and my cousin and I bucked it up and carted the chunks down to the woodshed two weeks ago. I have spent the past two Sunday afternoons splitting and stacking the wood while listening to John Murphy and Mark Kelso on the Bills radio network. The Tennessee game was blacked out but yesterday's game in San Diego was just not available on our Shaw Direct service so I chopped and listened as the Bills turned in another sad effort and lost their sixth straight game. I got the fire in the sauna going just before 6pm and gave up on the Bills when the score was 30-10. Just before 7pm, I went into the sauna. Just before that, as I was putting on my water sandals, the Denver/Chicago game was on. It was 10-0 Bears with three minutes left. I watched for a minute as Tebow led the Broncos to a touchdown with a bit more than 2 minutes left. With no timeouts, Denver then tried an onside kick which almost succeeded but didn't. Game over. I went out to the sauna. I obviously gave up too early as Denver pulled out another miraculous win with a 59 yard field goal to tie and and a 51 yarder to win in overtime. The potential value of my Christmas Eve tickets may be rising. I have listed them on NFL TicketExchange so we'll see.

My 13 year old twin nieces are lobbying their parents full time for cell phones. They have the use of one from time to time but they seem to think that this Christmas will finally bring them each their very own phones. I was chatting with them about this on Saturday morning and one of them asked me how old I was when I got my first cell phone. "39" I said. Due to the fact that I continually test their ability to identify things which are not true by saying things which are not true, they thought that this statement was another of these tests. "I got my first cell phone in April, 2002 when I was 39", I reiterated. "Why didn't you get one when you were our age?", one of them asked. "Cell phones didn't exist when I was your age" I replied. It took another few emphatic statements before they realized that this was not another of my false statement tests. Made me feel old. As with many children, they will have to wait until Christmas morning to see if they get their phones.

After the MLSE deal was announced and the press conferences and interviews were winding down, someone on CBC pointed out that both Nadir Mohammed and George Cope focused more on the potential for fans to watch live HD video of the Leafs and Raptors on their smart phones than on their commitment to bring a Stanley Cup or an NBA Championship to Toronto. The content play, from the perspective of Bell and Rogers, is why they did this deal. As a fan, if I had the choice of watching these teams play live on my Blackberry or watching either of them play for a championship, it's an easy choice. In fairness, the fact that the Teachers Pension Plan, with their embedded fiduciary duty to maximize returns, has found a buyer for their position is probably good for fans.These telecom companies have similar responsibilities to their shareholders but, if they can bring success on the ice and the court and the soccer pitch to Toronto, they probably can justify additional spending in the name of building their brands. The Leafs spend pretty much to the salary cap anyway so maybe it's the basketball team which could benefit the most from these new owners. I really try not to say things like this but I just don't get the appeal of watching anything on a three inch screen - especially live sports. I like watching sports on my big plasma screen. My Blackberry screen is fine for reading emails but I can not imagine a time when I would watch a live Leaf game on it. It sounds like Bell and Rogers are going to make sure that I have plenty of opportunity to do so whether I want to or not.

Despite the MLSE deal, the Durban climate agreement, the ongoing tragedy in Atiwapiskat, the European debt debacle and the continuing shameful right wing ways of our federal government, the most remarkable story from this past week, for me, was the emergence of the details of the behaviour of two RIM executives on an Air Canada flight from Toronto to Bejing. They were drunk when they boarded the plane and continued drinking until they became so unruly that the Captain ordered that they be restrained and then landed the plane in Vancouver. The part that I just can not believe is that, after being restrained with tape and electrical cords, they chewed through those restraints. Chewed. Like animals. Amazing. Now, if the footage existed, that is something that I would watch on a three inch screen - preferably a Blackberry.

Titans 23, Bills 17

A week ago, the Bills had some 12,000 unsold tickets to yesterday's game against Tennessee, about 18,000 tickets for the December 18th game against the Miami Dolphins and a staggering 24,000 tickets for the Christmas Eve game against Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos. It's been a tale of two seasons in many ways: the Bills first three home games - against Oakland, New England and Philadelphia - each featured spectacular summer-like weather, sold out boisterous crowds, explosive offensive performances by the home team, and wins. These last three games seem destined to feature typical December Buffalo weather, thousands of empty seats, mostly second stringers on the field for the home team, and irrelevant outcomes (except for the visiting team) as they play out the string and await yet another high draft pick.

Think back to 2004 - the last winning season for the Bills. They started 0-4 then won 8 of 9 and had a shot to make the playoffs before losing to the Steelers on the last day of the season. This season began in such a promising way but, with the team suffering devastating injuries and not having won since the Toronto game in October, all hope is now lost. I'm not sure which of these scenarios I prefer.

On my bike ride in the rain today, I stopped in at the Otter Creek rink. The ice is in but the rain was taking its toll although the rink was still "open". Tomorrow may be a great day for skating as it's going to cool off tonight. I had a chat with the staff at the rink about the upcoming labour showdown. I've known them for years as I organize our outdoor hockey there every Thursday night. The guy who is responsible for the ice does a fantastic job and takes great pride in maintaining the best possible ice surface. I compliment him on it regularly and it seems to make his day every time.

The collective agreements for CUPE locals 416 and 79 - representing outside and inside workers respectively - expire on December 31st. If the City chooses to lock out employees, there is a 17 day notice period which can not begin before January 2nd, the first "business" day of the new year. So, the lock out could begin as early as January 19th. Apparently, the City intends to keep the rinks open with management operating the zambonis etc. Not surprisingly, the staff seem skeptical about their ability to do this. Otter Creek is surely one of the most heavily used rinks in the city and is located within the very affluent Lawrence Park neighbourhood. My prediction is that if they are going to try to keep a few rinks operating during a lock out, this will be one of them. The City appears to be dead set on winning some key concessions from the union and both sides are preparing for a lock out which could last months.

One concession which mayor Rob Ford wants badly is the elimination of the so-called "jobs for life" clause. At least, that's how it's referred to by those who want it removed from any future agreement. It simply says that City employees with 10 or more years of service will be guaranteed a job with the City if their current job is outsourced to the private sector. City garbage collectors west of Yonge Street (with 10 or more years of service), for example, will be offered another job with the City when private garbage collection begins later next year. On its face, this seems like a typical union contract benefit which can turn public opinion against the union, especially when it is repeatedly brought up as the kind of thing which we just can't afford any more.

This reminds me of the issue related to the benefit which allows city employees to "bank" unused sick days. This was widely publicized by management during the strike in the summer of 2009. At the time, the way it was reported, it did seem a little excessive to me (as we heard stories of workers who had accumulated many months worth of sick days) but I then discovered that, as part of the overall collective agreement, the banking of sick days was negotiated by the union in exchange for giving up short term disability benefits within the workers benefit plan. Well, in that context, it seems much more reasonable, doesn't it? Short term disability is a pretty common feature of benefit plans in the public and private sectors. I know that it was part of the plan I had with my private sector employer. To draw attention to one element of an entire collective bargaining agreement, in isolation, can be misleading. The benefit of job protection for those with 10 or more years of service with the City is the current "whipping boy" for the anti-union side in this dispute.

I always try to understand the entire picture in any labour dispute before taking sides (except for professional sports labour disputes where I always support the players with the fastest possible knee-jerk reaction).  The City of Toronto has a severe structural deficit problem. I don't think anyone really disputes that. It will, sooner or later, have to be addressed in part with new revenues - yes, taxes - as well as cost cutting. The lock out of 2012 will probably be a long one. Let's make sure we understand both sides and let's hope that they can resolve it. I want my outdoor hockey season.

Jets 28, Bills 24

Over the last four days, I've watched more football than is probably healthy. Some of it has been quite entertaining and I'd say that the 4th quarter and overtime of the Vanier Cup on Friday night was the most compelling of any I saw. McMaster won their first championship ever in a thrilling double overtime win over the Laval Rouge et Or. I was impressed and a little surprised that both offenses were proficient, sophisticated and exciting to watch with passing plays which looked like pro football. I just love the overtime format used in both US College and Canadian University football. The NFL should (and I expect eventually will) adapt it.

Thursday's three NFL games produced one good one as Dallas beat Miami with a late field goal and then Michigan finally beat Ohio State on Saturday before 114,132 at the Big House to preserve a chance at getting some sort of "at-large" bid in one of the BCS bowl games. I also caught bits of Auburn/Alabama and Oregon/Oregon State before settling in for the second half of Stanford/Notre Dame. Then on Sunday, I watched the Bills almost beat the Jets. I think that Stevie Johnson just likes to make headlines - good or bad. He had a great game against Darelle Revis but was called for a ridiculous celebration, dropped an easy catch at a critical time near the end of the game and last night, every national NFL wrap-up show had a feature on him. Overall, it was an entertaining game but at 5-6, hope for the playoffs now seems lost. Carrying on with the wall to wall football, I caught a bit of Patriots/Eagles and Raiders/ Bears before tuning into the Grey Cup while keeping an eye on the Steelers game in Kansas City. I feel like I've been in the film room too long so I'm looking forward to getting back on to the field. I'm just going to take it two games at a time.

Speaking of watching TV, something Bruce Anderson said on last week's "A Tissue" panel on the National got me thinking about something Michael Moore said on CNN a few weeks ago. Anderson said that Canadians have become slightly more conservative (small "c") in the last 20 years and, when this is combined with an aging population who votes in larger percentages the older they get, the longer term prospects for the Conservatives (large "c") look pretty good. Moore was talking about the Occupy Movement and he was advocating for and egging on the 99%. The last thing he said was that he remains eternally optimistic because the 1%, eventhough they have much more than 1% of the wealth, no matter what happens, they still only have 1% of the votes.

Looking at recent voting patterns in Canada, about 75% of Canadians over the age of 65 vote in federal elections. That number plunges to 35% for the 18-30 demographic. This difference makes all of the difference in the world and there is no question that right of centre parties benefit more than others do from low voter turnouts. Their traditional base is older and they vote. Michael Moore believes that they key to electoral success lies in mobilzing more of the 99% to understand the value and importance of voting in elections. Those who win elections win the right to determine public policy and each one of us has the power to shape that public policy by voting. Moore also believes that the recent Occupy Movements have energized the very demographic whose votes are so badly needed but often not cast at all. He desperately hopes that this recent energization will carry over to the ballot box.

He was wearing a Michigan State hat so I will wish his Spartans good luck in Saturday's innagural Big Ten Championship game against Wisconsin.