Not Ready to Say Good-Bye...

For most people, it's like he's already gone.

With the Senators down in their first-round playoff series against the Penguins 0-3, and with the great possibility that they'll be swept tonight in Game 4 on home ice, many people have already forgotten him.

But I haven't. In fact, today, while most Sens fans are praying for a miracle, or already counting our team out and thinking ahead to the post-season changes that are bound to occur, all I can think about is him.

Tonight could very well be Wade Redden's last game in a Senators uniform.

It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it, but it's true. Earlier in the season, I had hopes that he'd return to the player he was 2 or 3 years ago, carry the team on his back, and lead them to a Stanley Cup this Spring. A few weeks into the regular season, he announced to the local media that he'd even consider taking a pay cut to stay with this team once the season was over. On that day, my hopes soared to new levels.

However, since then, he's had a rather dismal season, and has been the biggest whipping boy on this team, perhaps only bested in that department by the wayward Ray Emery. He's even had to use his no-trade clause twice to thwart GM Bryan Murray's attempts to ship him out of here before the end of his contract.

It's been hard to be a Wade fan this season, but I've hung in there. I'll never cheer for another player the way I have cheered for him.

This morning, all the papers are already saying their good-byes. As the guys on TGOR said this, it's like reading his obituary. Chronicling the ups and downs, the good times and bad, the great things he has done for the community (like "Wade's World", the luxury suite he has purchased every season he's been here where kids from CHEO get to go to watch games), the sad times like the year his mother battled cancer and passed away during the Sens first-round match-up against Tampa Bay.

By stark contrast, I can't help remembering the newspaper I picked up eleven years ago, on the eve of the modern Senators' first appearance in the playoffs, which had row upon row of pictures of each member of the team at that time. I remember scanning the photos, and one of them literally jumping out at me.

"Holy smokes, that guy is hot," I said, pointing out this one picture to my mom.

I watched that playoff round, and became absolutely obsessed with the Ottawa Senators, and that rookie who's photo I had seen in the paper: Wade Redden.

I haven't stopped following his career since, and today, little memories of Wade keep coming back to me: Watching him in that first playoff series vs. Buffalo; meeting him at the 65 Roses Sports Gala (when I got to shake his hand and get my picture taken with him, but could barely speak a work); feeling crushed when he was the last man back on the goal that Jeff Friesen scored in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals when New Jersey beat us; watching him singing "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" on TV during one of the Sens' Christmas visits to CHEO; tearing up when he scored and received first star honours in the game after his mother's funeral; feeling complete and utter joy when I found out the Sens had chosen to keep him over Zdeno Chara two years ago; meeting his brother Bart at a game earlier this season...

I could go on and on.

But I hope I'm jumping the gun. I'm hoping the Sens fight hard tonight and win, so that Wade will live to don the Red, Black & Gold at least one more night.

'Cause I'm just not ready to say good-bye...Not yet.

One Mission

You guys know me. You know how wound up I get over my Sens.

So you probably all know how I'm feeling today - absolutely on edge, butterflies in my stomach, biting my nails, just ready for it all to begin!

That's right, folks: It's playoff time again. Which means for as long as the Senators are in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, I'm at risk of having a heart attack.

Yep, it's that serious.

Starting tonight, we will be facing a familiar foe in Round 1 - the young & talented Pittsburgh Penguins. Last year, we handled them easily out of the gate, taking the series 4-1. Throughout this season, we've had a decent record against them, beating them 3 out of 4 contests. One would think we should be the favourites based on those facts, right?

Wrong.

They are the #2 seed. We ended up barely clinging on to #7.

(Ya shoulda seen that last week, going into Thursday night's game against the Leafs - I was an absolute nervous wreck - as bad as I am at playoff time, if not worse. The possibility of not even making the playoffs was so huge, it was suffocating me! Thankfully, we ended up winning that game against T.O. 8-2, and I was able to breathe a giant sigh of relief).

Last year, the Pens were a young, inexperienced squad, many of whom were playing in their first playoffs. The Sens, as a whole, were playoff vets with tons of past failures to ignite them, not only past Pittsburgh, but also New Jersey and Buffalo. Only the Ducks of Anaheim were able to push us back from the final goal of winning Lord Stanley's Cup.

Doesn't really look like we'll come nearly that close this year. The Pens are strong - they've learned from last year, and this year, they are that much more mature. They played hard down the stretch, while the Sens seemed to fall apart at the seams. Our goaltending situation never seemed to get straightened out, even after Bryan Murray gave Marty Gerber the ball and let him run with it. Our defence has been horrible. Even goal-scoring, our forté, hasn't been happening all that much recently.

Oh. I almost forgot. In that game against the Leafs, we lost both our captain, Daniel Alfredsson, and our gritty, full-of-heart assistant, Mike Fisher. Tonight, they'll join Chris Kelly on the sidelines, and depending on how long this series goes, we may never see them back in the line-up again this year.

OK. So there. I've got all my pessimistic negitivity out. Nobody thinks the Sens can win this series - absolutely no one. But I do!! If I had my choice of all the teams I could play in the first round, I probably would've picked Pittsburgh. I truly believe we can beat them!

We might be without Alfie, Fisher and Kelly, but we've still got Spezza and Heatley and Vermette - big offensive talent there. We brought in three former Cup winners in Cory Stillman, Mike Commodore, and Martin Lapointe - this is where their expertise is supposed to come in handy. And last year, the lauded shut-down defensive pairing of the Eastern Conference was made up of Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov. Guess what? They both still wear Sens uniforms.

This team is entirely capable of winning, if they can get it together the way we saw them play in the first two months of the season. This is a chance for a fresh start; a clean slate. If they can pull together and get some momentum going, I believe they can do anything.

One Mission.

GO SENS GO!!

Frustration Setting in BIG TIME

I know my faithful readers are out there waiting for a Blog, but I only have one thing to say:

AAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGG
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Hmm. That's funny. I don't feel better at all.

The Sens are sucking at the worst time possible, and now we might not even make the playoffs. I'm feeling very doom-and-gloomy today. I know we still have two games left, and all we need are a win & a tie, and we're golden (well...if you can call scrambling to make the playoffs now "golden"...) - but I'm having a hard time getting my hopes up high. We haven't even scored a stinkin' goal in the past 2 games. The last time that happened, John Paddock got fired. Somewhere, he's probably got a smirk on his face.

Our final two opponents are Toronto on Thursday night and Boston on Friday night. At one time, I probably would've said that they'd be easy wins, but not with this Sens team that has been showing up lately. We've lost to both TO and Beantown recently, and I wouldn't count either of them as guarantees.

I'm still waiting for the Sens to come out looking hungry, desperate, and determined. Last night, they played well, but not good enough. Gerber sucks, and nobody trusts Emery. Everything is just going wrong, wrong, wrong...

Let me try it again:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
GGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Nope. Didn't work that time either.

Battle of the Hottest Y&R Men

I've been a fan of the Young & the Restless off and on for about 15 years now. As a kid, I tuned in mainly to see Joshua Morrow, who plays Nick Newman. I had a little school-girl crush on him, and followed his dramatic relationship with his on-screen wife, Sharon, faithfully, through all their ups and downs.

But as I got older, a new guy came on the scene - Thad Luckinbill, in the role of JT Hellstrom, a hot bad-boy with a good heart who played guitar. As Nick & Sharon's marriage was falling apart, JT was heating things up with Colleen Carleton. I lived for the episodes to watch JT & Colleen sneaking around behind her father's back, when he'd write her love songs and play them for her. They were an electric couple that caught the hearts of the Y&R faithful.

But then, Colleen left Genoa City, and JT started to change. He was no longer the brooding bad boy. He dropped his music career and got a job working for Paul Williams as a private investigator, and he was beginning to mature and grow as a man. I was so excited when I heard the character of Colleen was returning to Genoa City a few years later, but there was an initial disappointment when it was learned that it would be a different actress playing the role. At first, I didn't really care, I just couldn't wait for the JT & Colleen romance to pick up where it left off. And at first, they did throw them back together. But things weren't working out - JT had no chemistry with the new Colleen, and before long, she was cheating on JT with her college professor. I didn't like those weeks of watching JT pine after her as he watched their relationship dissolve before his own eyes. The pathetic, sappy, lost-puppy thing didn't suit him well.

So of course, JT couldn't be alone for long - they introduced a new flame for him in actress Amelia Heinle, who played Victoria Newman. There had been sparks between them while Colleen was away, and it seemed the best fit for both of them. And so began the dramatic transformation of JT's character. Long gone were those days of the spiky blonde hair, leather jackets and guitars. In the past year or so, JT has begun working for Newman Enterprises as Victor's own PI, he wears a suit daily and his hair has all been slicked back, he & Victoria had a baby together, and then they got married. JT kind of lost his lustre with me - the whole working, family-man thing kind of diminished his sex appeal even more for some reason.

(However, I did find out recently that Amelia Heinle is actually Thad's wife off-screen, and they really did have a baby together, which is very sweet and wonderful for them. It made me appreciate their television relationship more.)

But in the wake of losing JT as my Y&R hot young stud, I've been struggling to find a new man to replace him. At first, I thought it was going to be Cane (played by Daniel Goddard), Jill Abbott's long-lost son who returned last season. Cane's got the whole tall-dark-n-handsome thing going on, and his Australian accent is delicious. But they've sent Cane down the road as a corporate suit as well, which isn't my cup of tea when it comes to the Y&R evidently.

There's also Kevin Fisher (Greg Rikaart), who plays Michael Baldwin's younger brother. He's easy on the eyes as well, but he's got this crazy girlfriend Janna who could go off her rocker at any time, and he's always in cahoots with his loony-tunes mother, Gloria. Kind of a turn-off.

So for the past two weeks, I've had my eye on Daniel Romalotti (Michael Graziadei), Phyllis' son. I'm not sure why, but up until recently, he didn't impress me much. In fact, I found him kind of annoying. He had the teenage marriage to Lily Winters, and then he had the storyline where he became obsessed with porn, which eventually ended his & Lily's relationship. Then, last month, he had this terrible blonde, fluffy hair-do that made him look like a baby chick or something.

But in the past few weeks, he's back to short, dark hair and his smoky, sexy gaze has attracted me. They've sort of got him working towards becoming a photographer, which is pretty hot, and he's started this racy relationship with his best friend, the tantalizingly dangerous Amber Moore. It was in one of his love scenes with Amber that I realized the boy has a pretty nice body to boot.

So that's it: I'm officially declaring Daniel my new Y&R crush! And for the first time in a long time, I can actually say I'm looking forward to watching the show again to see what's going to happen with Daniel. Who knows, maybe he'll take his shirt off tonight.

And it also doesn't hurt that Nick, JT, Cane, and Kevin are all still hanging out in Genoa City too. At least I know if Daniel doesn't work out for me, I have lots of hot stuff to fall back on. ;)

Finally...Something to Talk About!

I'll admit, these last couple of weeks, I was a bit uninspired when it came to the Blog.

My favourite subject, the Ottawa Senators, were floundering yet again. I couldn't bring myself to report on their misfortunes any longer. With each loss came a more intense fear and panic that maybe this would be my first year as a Sens fan on the outside looking in when it came playoff time.

The thought was almost unbearable.

And for a little while last night, I was starting to think it was me. Really, truly all me. I was ready to anoint myself the Senators Jinx.

I know I do that a couple of times every year, when they start to slump. It always seems that their failures coincide with my presence. For instance, Monday night's game against the Habs. I sat down to watch and Wade Redden got hurt. Then the Habs jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Not long after, Montreal's lead grew to 7-1. Completely pissed off, I stomped down to the basement in a huff to watch a Family Guy re-run. (Surely, Peter & Stewie would cheer me up). Within moments, I heard my mom whooping upstairs. Then again. And again. Finally, I flicked back to the game, but the comeback was too-little, too-late. And somehow, I ended up blaming myself, because I tuned in just in time for a Sens 5-on-3 powerplay, which they squandered. Had they scored, perhaps that would have set the stage for the greatest comeback in franchise history.

That brings us to last night's game. I missed the first period and most of the second, but when I settled in to watch with 7 minutes left in the second frame, it was 1-0 Ottawa thanks to a Christoph Schubert goal. Woo-Hoo!

Oh - but wait...The Curse of Jillian hit just seconds after my arrival on the couch. Five minutes into the third period, the score was 3-1 Buffalo. Ouch!!

I was about ready to do my stomp off to the basement again when Dean McAmmond scored off a short-handed rush with Antoine Vermette. Then our blessed captain tied it up at 3. Images of the 7-5 horror show from the night before began to fade, and I started to think that maybe, just maybe, this comeback would actually work.

Anton Volchenkov broke the dead-lock with his first goal of the year, and then Alfie added another to give them some breathing room in the final minutes of the game. Antoine Vermette hit the empty net at the buzzer to seal the victory - 6-3 Sens!!

It was a much-needed win as the season is winding up and the standings are as tight as can be. It seems next-to-impossible to catch Montreal now, as they're up 5 points on us, but with a 7-point lead over the 9th-place Washington Capitals, missing the playoffs is also unlikely.

That being said, it's hardly time to start breathing easy. With only a handful of games left in the regular season, the Sens need to start pulling things together and play strong for the next week or so. Things have been far from smooth since Christmas time, and despite last night's big comeback, there hasn't been a whole lot to cheer about when it comes to this team lately.

I'm hoping Steve Warne from the Team 1200's TGOR morning show is right - he thinks the Sens have enough talent that come playoff time, they'll be able to flip the switch and return to the Beasts of the East that they were last year at this point. They'll start tearing it up, and hopefully return to the Stanley Cup Finals again for the second straight year.

I've never given up before on my boys, so I'm not going to start now. If anyone can do it, I truly believe they can.

I've got my fingers crossed!!

Snow Daze

Well, it's the topic everyone else is talking about, so why not me too?

Snow. And lots of it.

This past weekend, we got a massive dumping of the white stuff, to go along with the already-considerable quantity we've accumulated over the past 4 months. They're claiming on Saturday alone, we received upwards of 50 centimetres, and that doesn't include the snow that fell on Friday night (somewhere along the lines of 15 centimetres).

Now, I work on a sod farm, where the word "snow" is literally an offenisve 4-letter word.

Oddly enough, I really love snow. I have ever since I was a little kid. This winter has been a dream to me. So many mornings I've woken up to a fresh blanket of fluffy white snow, and it literally makes me giddy.

The thing is, I'm not sure why. I haven't participated in any outdoor winter activities in a long, long time. I don't downhill ski, and I haven't had my cross-country skis out since I was maybe 14 years old. I used to love sliding and snomobiling, but now our sleds are stored in the attic year-round, our snowmobile bit the dust years ago and was never replaced...Hell, I don't even own a pair of snow pants. I can't remember the last time I built a snowman, and I out-grew my skates when I was in Grade 7 and never got a new pair.

I work in an industry where this much snow is not just something to sigh & bitch about. A prolonged winter will affect business; the more snow we have, the longer it will stick around, and as long as it's here, the grass can't start growing.

And yet, for some reason, I just can't muster up any hate for the snow!!

They're saying we need 33 more centimetres to break the record, and I'm hoping we get it. I mean, seriously - we've come this far, don't we want something to show for it, people?! A place in the record books; a memorable winter to one day look back on, like my parents do with "The Storm of '71". It will be the winter we'll one day reminisce about, and tell the tale to our grandchildren: I remember the winter of '08 - that was the year we broke the record for the biggest snowfall in one winter. I walked to work everyday, going uphill both ways, in my bare feet, with snow up to my chin.

This winter could be our generation's claim to fame. We only have 33 more centimetres to go.

And I say...Bring it on!!

Tackling the Touchy Subject

Priscilla sent me a message on my Facebook Wall the other day, and she asked when I wrote another Blog if I would be talking about the Sens, or were they a still a touchy subject with me?

Answer: Yes, they're still a touchy subject with me. But I'm gonna talk about them anyway.

A week ago, this team was in complete disarray. They had posted back-to-back shut-out losses to the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, which was the rock-bottom point in a long stretch of games in which they had struggled. Instead of looking like that well-oiled Stanley-Cup-contending team of the early part of the season, they were looking more like the early Expansion Sens who only won 10 games all season. Then, following last Tuesday's trade deadline and the measly acquisition of Martin Lapointe from the Chicago Blackhawks (they dangle Hossa, but deliver Lapointe? Puh-leeeze...), Head Coach John Paddock was given the axe and Bryan Murray returned behind the bench, hopefully ready to lead his team back to where he got them last year...and beyond.

Stanley Cup or bust, baby.

Well. It kinda looks like it's going to be bust.

Since Murray assumed his former role as Head Coach, the Sens have been a dismal 1-3. They lost that first game under Murray, to Philly, 3-1. They beat Pittsburgh Saturday in a wild one, 5-4. Then, in Monday night's re-match against the team that beat them for the Cup last June, they lost 3-1 to Anaheim. And then, last night they blew two leads to eventually lose in San Jose, 3-2 in OT.

At least they got a point, right? *sigh*

What has happened to my Sens?? I'm distraught, frustrated, anxious, nervous. We've slipped in the standings, no longer the far-and-away leader of the East, now we're nestled in the middle of the pack in 5th place, only a few points from the top, but also only a few from the bottom. If this slide continues...who knows? Is it possible we don't even make the playoffs?

When Bryan Murray returned behind the bench, I was breathing easier. I thought, "Here we go...We're back!"

Not so much.

While I do think the Sens have played better in the past week, they're still struggling, and now, with Captain Alfie out after being cross-checked in the ribs in the Anaheim game, who knows how long the misery will continue?

They've got to string some wins together and start looking more like that team that steam-rolled through the playoffs last season until meeting their match in the Stanley Cup Finals. Otherwise, that "amazing start" back in October/November will mean absolutely nothing. I've been through a lot of painful times as a Sens fan, but I'm not sure anything will be as painful as watching this season go from "glowing" to "ghastly".

I'm gritting my teeth. Hoping for a win tonight in L.A. Trying to be optimistic and praying for the turn-around.

I don't want this to be a touchy subject anymore.

Sens Win Overshadowed by Stupid Habs

...OK, I'm not really that bitter.

I'm happy with my shoot-out win last night over the slumping Flyers from Philly. The Sens desperately needed the two points, especially now that both Jersey & Montreal have caught up, and the Penguins are breathing down our necks, too.

Long gone is that nice, cushy lead over the rest of the Eastern Conference. With about twenty games left to play in the season, getting on a roll and accumulating some W's is now crucial. Part of me doesn't really care if we finish first or eighth. Last year, we were in 5th place in the conference, and we ended up in the final battle for Lord Stanley's Cup. Sometimes it doesn't matter what your playoff seed is, or whether or not you get home ice advantage. It's how you're playing going into the stretch and how you play in the playoffs that matters most.

That being said, it still felt pretty good to end our 3-game losing streak in a shoot-out last night. I don't like losing very much, and I'm a little sick of the Sens talking about being "tired" and having the "February blahs". I missed the first period due to karate, so by the time I tuned in, it was already 1-0 for Ottawa on a Chris Kelly short-handed break-away goal. Then Antoine Vermette scored in the second period after Wade Redden did all the work for him. I was also impressed with the play of my new Sens, Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore. They're both starting too look like they're fitting in better.

However, I watched my two-goal lead slip away, much to my chagrin. That was OK, though, because we got to see 5 minutes of super-exciting OT. It was awesome end-to-end action with great chances and even better goaltending. (I'm not even getting into the Ray Emery/Martin Gerber "Win & You're In" controversy, quite frankly it bores me. I was happy with Ray's play last night, I hope it continues. End of story.)

So in the shoot-out, both Vermette and Jason Spezza scored, while only Kimmo Timonen captilized for the Flyers, resulting in a thrilling victory for my boys! Woo Hoo!

But...wait a minute...It would appear there was an even more thrilling victory going on in the NHL last night. Those damned Habs just won't go away. They came back from a 5-0 deficit against the New York Rangers to win their game 6-5 in a shoot-out. For all that talk of not caring where I place in the standings, it really does tick me off that I have to share first with them. When I heard they were losing big-time, I thought we were re-establishing our sole lead over the Conference. But they just won't go away.

So today the sports world is all a-buzz with the big Habs comeback last night. All I can say is: Bah Humbug!!

On a final note, thoughts & prayers are with the family, friends & teammates of Mickey Renaud today. Renaud was the 19-year-old captain of the OHL's Windsor Spitfires. He collapsed and died very suddenly & unexpectedly at his parents' home in Tecumseh, Ontario on Monday. A loss like that must be devestating to his team and everyone who knew him. From what I'm hearing, he was a great guy, and he will be sorely missed.

Saying Good-bye to My "Friends"...Again

A few years back, those of us who lived for Thursday nights because of a whacky gang of buddies who graced our TV screens and made us laugh faithfully...Well, we were devestated, because their 10-year run as one of television's most popular shows ever was coming to an end.

At the time, I couldn't imagine how life could go on without Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Monica & Chandler. (Joey was the only one who was moving on to his own show, which flopped, and eventually I lost him too). I had followed their crazy lives from Day 1, and I couldn't imagine everything just ending all of a sudden. Would Ross & Rachel get married (again)? How would Monica & Chandler deal with raising their adopted twins? Would Phoebe & her new husband Mike have kids of their own? We did get to see Joey venture off to Hollywood, but unfortunately, without his gang back in NYC, Joey just wasn't the same & he got cancelled.

Then, I discovered TV series' on DVD. It was like the greatest gift ever. I could buy all 10 seasons of "Friends", and then I'd never be without them!!

The process started out kind of slow. First, I asked for a season for my birthday, three years ago. My loving family got me Season 10. I didn't particularly want to begin at the end, so I held off until I found Season 1 myself & purchased it. From there on, I watched each season as I got it, either as gifts for Christmas or my birthday, or when I bought them myself. It's taken a long time, but I've thorougly enjoyed soaking up every moment of my "Friends". There were a lot of funny moments I'd forgotten about, and a few episodes that I think I actually missed over the years. I also have paid more attention to how each character evolved, and how even the humour changed & became better from the first season to the last. My mom has noted that if one of the best things for people is to laugh heartily, then I get my daily dose of that from "Friends", because she often hears me burst out giggling downstairs while watching it.

So it's taken me about 3 years to make it through the 10 seasons, but now, here I am, winding down the final disc of Season 10. They're starting to wrap up storylines and I know the end is coming (if for no other reason than I can read the episode summaries on the inside of the DVD case).

It's kind of weird. I've actually stopped watching. I often would watch 2 or 3 episodes in one night, but lately, I've been avoiding it. It's like I don't want it to end again. The last time, I looked forward to that final episode, and highly anticipated watching how they were going to close things down for the gang.

Now, I know what's going to happen. I know it's going to be horrible to watch them all leave those keys on the counter as they exit Monica's apartment one last time. I know I'm going to cry - no, check that - sob as they all say good-bye.

I guess I should be comforted by knowing that once that sadness wears off, I can pop in Disc 1 from Season 1 and start it all over again. But honestly, I'm not sure if watching it end will ever get easy. All it does is remind me how much I miss Thursday nights, when Survivor wasn't the only cool show on the tube.

Back then, I had "Friends". And they were good.

What's There to Love About This Stupid Day?

In case the title didn't get my feelings across: I hate Valentine's Day. Hate it.

However, I tried to wake up feeling positive and cheery today. I don't want to be a bitter old spinster.

But seriously, what is there to love about this day?

First of all, at crafts last night, we had to make these decorative heart towels, and I decided for once not to just glue gun the whole damn thing. I actually paid attention while Sara's mom taught me how to do a blanket stitch, and tried desperately to complete at least one of the stupid towels. I didn't even come close. So that put me in a crank to begin with.

Then, the Sens lost, this time to New Jersey in OT. Nothing to smile about there.

Then, I went downstairs to watch my taped epidsode of Big Brother. All that drooling I did over Jacob yesterday? Cancel that. The boy turned out to be a total assbag. He got all yappy, told one-half of the Power Couple, Jen, that the other half, Parker, was a snake, and that everyone was saying so. Turns out, Jacob was the only one saying so, and when Parker called a late-night house meeting to find out who was talking behind his back, the truth became clear that the only person who had a problem with Parker was Jacob.

Sharon tried to cover for his ass by saying Ryan was also unhappy with Parker, but she picked the wrong dude to toss under the bus. With Parker suspicious of her real-life BF, Jen decided to spill the beans and tell her partner about her secret relationship with Ryan. Ryan wasn't exactly pleased that they were already revealed, but then he had no choice then but to tell his partner, Allison. Big mistake. Miss Allison is now jealous, 'cause she actually really liked Ryan, and by the end of the night, she was already talking about blowing Ryan's cover.

So Jen & Parker evicted Jacob & Sharon, then Alex & Amanda won HoH. Whoopi doo. The show is already pissing me off.

Now. Today's the dreaded V-day, I've already been put in a sucky mood thanks to last night's events, and I'm sick of everyone around this office being all sugary-sweet and lovey-dovey.

My romantic plans for tonight? I'm going to stop at the store after work and buy a bag of Skittles. Then I'm going to have supper with my mom & dad, as usual. Then I'm going to my basement to watch some really super-un-romantic movie, like maybe "Transformers". And then I'll watch Survivor.

Happy frickin' Valentine's Day.

BB9 Ready to Roll

I was hoping to Blog today about a wonderful Sens win over the Buffalo Sabres last night, but we lost. 5-1. Not a whole lot more to say on that.

So lucky for all of you, the special winter season of Big Brother began last night! WOO-HOO!! As you all know, I love Big Brother, so I was super-pumped for the 9th season to start. This winter installment is called "Til Death Do You Part", and Big Brother is playing cupid. The idea is that they have 16 single people in the house, and they all completed personality tests before entering the house. They found the housemates most compatible based on these tests and paired them up. Each couple will share a bed, share strategies, share rewards, share power, and even share evictions.

I have to admit, at first I wasn't too keen on Big Brother playing God. Forcing complete strangers to unite and fight together, and also hopefully fall in love...Well, it seemed like they were pushing some boundaries a little too far.

However, then they introduced a few twists, and then I was hooked.

First, there's the exes. Two people within the house who used to date: Jacob & Sharon. Not only are they former flames, they were in a 12-year relationship, and broke up because Jacob was unfaithful to her once. When Jacob walked in the house and he & Sharon saw each other, it was obvious they were both completely shaken up. Several times, Jacob told the camera that Sharon was the love of his life and that he'd always regret his mistake. Sharon, on the other hand, fumed that they let her lying, cheating ex in the house and begged them not to pair them up.

Also in the house are Ryan & Jen, a couple who actually are in a relationship, but decided to keep that a secret from the rest of their housemates. Upon realizing that everyone else is single and that Big Brother would be pairing them up, both Ryan and Jen expressed that they desperately hoped they'd be put together, because playing the game apart would be hell. Particularly watching one another coupled up with someone else deemed to be their "soulmate".

So of course, Big Brother teamed up Jacob & Sharon, but split up Ryan & Jen. Things just wouldn't have been interesting if they hadn't!

I have to admit, I'm already rooting for Jacob & Sharon. For one thing, the boy is cu-uuuute!! And juding by their reactions upon seeing one another, there's still a lot of feelings and unfinished business between them. I'm hoping that sparks will start flying between them and they'll fall in love again, and that they can cap off their fairytale reunion by winning the game. Now, if they don't get along at all...That could be disappointing, but I guess it would also make for some good TV! Sharon was kind of dumb and told a few of the girls that Jacob was her ex, and when he found out she'd blabbed, he was none to pleased, as he feels (and I agree) that this puts a target on their backs right off the bat. However, I don't know how else Sharon could have explained to the girls why else she got all shaky and teary when Jacob walked through the door.

I also felt bad for Ryan & Jen getting split up; that's gotta be hard. Jen seems to be handling it best, completely ignoring Ryan and pretending that she can't get his name right. Ryan, on the other hand, isn't doing so well. For one thing, he's a terrible actor. He keeps gazing at her with this longing look, and he's also extremely jealous of her being paired up with paparazzo Parker. If he keeps it up, it won't be long before people realize that he knows her. Especially his teammate Allison, who claims to be a reformed gambling addict who is great at reading people. I wonder how long it will take her to read Ryan.

The other stand-out couple on premiere night was Adam & Sheila. He's a big beefy blonde with giant smoker's teeth, and she's a petite 46-year-old single mom who also happens to be a former model. She hates him, and he hates her. Absolutely no love between them, and neither can figure out how Big Brother pegged them as soulmates. I'm already betting they're the first voted out, if for no other reason than their negative vibes.

For me, there's a few good looking lads in the house to keep me happy - Jacob, of course, being one of them, but also Alex the DJ, and Matt, the dark-haired blue-eyed hottie. I also kind of liked James, the off-beat dude with a weird red 'do who has no money & has been bicycling around the country. He was paired up with Chelsia, who is a little off-beat herself and big into piercings. I had to laugh when Chelsia moaned about being paired up with James, saying, "I told big brother I liked bikes...But I meant the ones with motors, not pedals..."

Anyways, in the first Power Couple competition, the boys had to hang suspended in the air while they clung to the girls for dear life. Interesting way to get to know someone... Hard to maintian your personal space in that kind of situation, though, as Sheila & Adam quickly found out when he complained of her bad breath. Allison also had a little trouble with Ryan dripping sweat all over her - he was sweating profusely - but by the end of the competition, so were all the guys. Anyways, Jen & Parker ended up hanging there the longest, so they won the first Power Couple, and will be evicting another couple tonight. The only truly safe couple is Ryan & Allison, because there's no way Jen will allow her real-life boyfriend to leave the house under her watch.

Can't wait to see what happens tonight!!

Sens & Other NHL News

Well, there's still quite a bit I'd like to say in regards to the comments on my "I Hate the Media" Blog, but in the interest of keeping the peace here in Jill's World, I'm going to let it go and move on.

First of all, I have to address the latest Wade Redden issue. On Friday, those pesky reporters whom I have such great distaste for these days, broke the news that the veteran Senators defenceman had once again refused to waive his no-trade clause in a deal that GM Bryan Murray was reportedly cooking up with San Jose. Of course, Sens fans in Ottawa were in an uproar - the Redden haters calling him selfish and stupid ("Can't you see they don't want you, dude? Beat it!!"); the Redden fans saying he made a smart move ("Why would he want to leave a Cup contender for San Jose? He's just living up to his contract!!")

I tended to agree with the Redden camp that not only felt he had made a smart decision, but also that the organization was not exactly treating him very fairly by trying to shove him out of town against his will. Wade Redden has played his entire career as an Ottawa Senator, and he has done a lot of good over those years, both on the ice and off. He has been a big part of the community, and the fact that he was over-paid on his last contract isn't exactly his fault. He may be on his way out after this season, but for now, he just wants to win a Stanley Cup with the only NHL club he has ever known, and I wish that management would show him enough respect to allow him to fulfill his contract and hopefully do just that.

Now, after hearing the news initially, and listening to anti-Wade fans ranting on the Team 1200, I was literally boiling with anger. I was thinking that Bryan Murray had better not want to meet up with me anytime soon, because he should fear the wrath of the Redden fan who really, really wanted to give him a piece of her mind. After the fact, Mr. Murray went public stating that his conversation with Wade was more about his current play within the team, and that if he wasn't happy, there was interest in him from other teams if he was willing to discuss it, which he was not. No particular trades or teams were mentioned, and he was disappointed the story had been blown so far out of proportion, and that it wasn't fair to Redden to have to deal with this media firestorm. Fair enough. I'll back off Bryan for awhile. I hope now that Wade can just peacefully play out the rest of the season, win the Cup, be such an important part of said win that the team decides to re-sign him after all, and then all my dreams would come true!

So with "Reddengate" finally put to rest, the Sens moved on to their Hockey Day In Canada date with the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night. All I can say is: Welcome back, Alfie!! With out Big 3 reunited, they accumulated 15 points between them in a 6-1 romp over the Habs. Olé, olé, olé indeed!! Now that was a fun game to watch. But even more important to me than the fact that Alfie, Heatley & Spezza were on fire was that Ray Emery looked solid in nets. He looked like the Emery of last year. God, I hope he's back for real.

Now yesterday, the big news out of the Sens camp was the 4-player trade that saw Joe Corvo & Patrick Eaves heading to Carolina in exchange for Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore. Pretty much everyone is calling it a good trade for the Sens, so I guess I'm happy with it, although I'm always a little sad to see my players go. In this case, especially Patty Eaves, who is young, spunky, and has tremendous promise, despite the fact that he has spent much of this season on the injured list. I wasn't quite as attached to Corvo, and I sort of enjoyed the nickname "Uh Oh Joe" that the Ottawa Sun put on him for his risky defensive play, but I will always remember him scoring the goal in double-OT last season in the playoffs vs. Buffalo that gave us a 2-0 series lead in the Eastern Conference finals. Both guys will be missed to a certain degree, but Stillman is the Top-6 forward Murray was looking for to fill the void in secondary scoring, and Commodore is the rugged defensive defenceman that the Sens were also desperate for. He'll suit up tonight alongside Redden, and I'm hoping that the two will click and all will be right in my world again. GO SENS GO!!

The other NHL news that grabbed my attention, and that of many others, was the near-deadly accident in Sunday night's game between Florida and Buffalo. Panthers' forward Richard Zednick was hit by teammate Olli Jokkinen's skate blade, resulting in a sliced artery in his neck. Footage from the incident was so graphic that TSN chose not to show it all, but the overhead shot of the ice surface covered in blood was enough to give everyone a pretty good idea how terrifying it was. Zednik, likely in shock, actually held his own wound and skated to the bench, which they are now saying likely saved his life. Had he dropped to the ice and waited for medical attention, he might not have been helped as quickly. The game was stopped for 15 minutes while they waited for the ice to be cleaned, and officials debated on whether or not to call the game. When word came that Zednik was stabilized and on his way to the hospital, they decided to finish out the final 8 minutes of the game. However, the cameras caught players on the bench looking very shaky and upset, so one has to think that they weren't really thinking about hockey for those 8 minutes. It truly is an incident like that that makes me realize there are way more important things in the world than hockey.

Thankfully, Zednik's emergency surgery was successful, and he is now recovering at the Buffalo hospital he was rushed to. Thoughts and prayers remain with him that everything continues to go well for him.

Crossing the Line

I've got a little problem with the media lately. I understand it is their job to report, to bring news to the public, to take pictures and videos of important people doing important things.

But sometimes the media cross a line. Sometimes they are cruel, sometimes they're too pushy, sometimes they won't let go, even when they are unwanted.

I realize there's a big difference between the paparazzi and, say, the local newscasters on CJOH. But this week I found a legitimate comparison to the Hollywood shutter-bugs and our own local media.

You've probably all heard the story of Wade Redden and teammate Brian McGrattan jawing at the cameramen who awaited outside a close-door team meeting at Scotiabank Place on Monday. After emerging from the 40-minute meeting, the players, obviously upset over the recent turn of events that have people calling them "Team Turmoil" and edgy from probably being lectured for almost an hour, they walked into a melée of cameramen and reporters, all looking to sensationalize the downward-spiral the Sens have been in for a while now. (And I blame the media for that, as well. Little spats at practice and such would largely go un-noticed with other teams, but because they're the first-place team from the Nation's Capital, everything gets blown out of proportion).

Anyways, apparently Redden crudely told the reporters to shove their cameras, and McGrattan followed suit with similiar suggestions. It was a pretty hot story for a few days, and the local media were all riled up about it, even though Redden did say later he meant his comments to be a joke. (I doubt it, but I'm glad he tried to smooth it over).

The local scribes and sports radio hosts were a little miffed at their reaction to their cameras, claiming that they are well compensated for living the life of famed athletes in the city and that they should be acting more like the professionals that they are. Also brought up was the fact that none of the players seem to mind the media attention when things are going well, so they should take the good with the bad, suck it up, and play nice with the photogs.

Now, lets transport ourselves to another world entirely: The world of Britney Spears. Yes, that's right, I said Britney Spears, believe it or not. Now I'm hardly sayting Wade Redden is anything like the fallen pop princess, but there is a comparison to be drawn. Poor Brit, she went from one of the hottest stars in the music industry to a great big joke in the past year, but now, it's gone beyond that. What's happening with her is no longer a laughing matter. The girl is seriously ill and quite obviously needs help, and I do think that the paparazzi are largely to blame. Everywhere she goes, they are there. Camped out at the gates of her estate, following her when she goes to Starbucks, and even ready to pounce when she's leaving the hospital.

Therein lie the similarities. Cameramen are cameramen, whether they are working for a reputable news source, or the tabloids. And these celebrities they are trying to catch doing something wrong are actually human beings, who have limits and boundaries, no matter how much money they make. Imagine if you've had a bad week at work, and everytime you leave the office you're hit with a barrage of questions and flashbulbs popping in your face. Wouldn't it make you want to snap?

At the end of the day, I guess Wade Redden shouldn't have barked at the cameramen. It wasn't exactly a shining moment in his career. But to be fair, they aren't always oozing with compliments for him in their columns and stories, especially over the past two seasons. In fact, he's been their favourite whipping boy.

So the way I'm feeling about the "paparazzi" lately...Well, just maybe they deserved the tongue-lashing he gave them.

Ledger Still On My Mind

It's been over a week since I first heard the news of Heath Ledger's tragic and untimely death, and he's still on my mind.

I've quit watching Entertainment Tonight to get updates on the investigation into his death, I've pretty much ignored the "was it an overdose or not?" frenzy, and I've even stopped leafing through my copy of last week's People magazine, in which, of course, his death was front-page news.

But still, I think about Heath Ledger, many times throughout the day. I'll suddenly remember a scene from "10 Things I Hate About You" (one of my favourite movies in high school that I watched over and over again), or from "A Knight's Tale" (one of my favourite movies in college that I watched over and over again), and it kind of takes my breath away in this weird, surreal way.

How can he be gone?

I know that Heath Ledger is not the first young actor to die before his time, but I guess he's the first one that has really affected me. I wasn't exactly Heath's #1 die-hard fan or anything like that, but if I heard he was in an upcoming flick, I'd get excited about it, and make a mental note to go see it. He was definitely one of my favourite actors, and it's still unsettling to me to know that he's no longer out there, making movies and living his life.

Last week, in the wake of his death, I went out and bought two movies that Heath starred in that I did not already have in my large DVD collection: "Four Feathers" and "Brokeback Mountain". I wanted to own as much of Heath as I possibly could, so that I can make him come alive on my TV screen anytime I want.

Strangely enough, I haven't been able to bring myself to watch either of them yet. I watched several movies over the weekend and the past few evenings - "Hairspray" and "X-Men" (thanks to my new James Marsden fetish), and "300" (hello, Gerard Butler). Each time I went to pop a disc in the DVD player, I toyed with idea of watching one of Ledger's movies, but I just couldn't do it.

I'm really not sure why. It's like it's still too raw and unbelievable to me, and while I've seen many pictures and shots of him on TV, I'm still not ready to sit down and watch any of the movies he actually starred in, even though I've already seen most of them. Very odd, considering he's in my thoughts so often these days.

I guess the truth is I'm not ready to let him go yet. I'm not ready to move on. Rather than watching his movies and remembering the great actor he was, I'd prefer to imagine he's still out there, walking the streets in Brooklyn in his grungy clothes, Matilda on his shoulders, a little smirk on his face.



Yeah. That's definitely the Heath I want to remember...

Ray Emery: From Hero to Villain

OK, so apparently there's an interest here on the Blog about the catastrophe that is Ottawa Senators goaltender Ray Emery. Personally, I've been trying to ignore it as much as possible, but I guess it's time to sit down and delve into Emery's fall from grace.

Doesn't seem so long ago that he was the king of the castle around here. After stealing the #1 goalie position from Martin Gerber last season, he led the Sens to the Stanley Cup Finals with some stellar goaltending, he was popular for his flashy wardrobe choices, he was teaming up with local rapper Belly on the "Go Sens Go" song - let's face it, Ray was the go-to guy in Ottawa. Our very own crazy celebrity in a town that is too often labelled boring and dull.

Last spring, with the playoff hype in full swing, I went out to buy a Senators t-shirt - the red ones that were really popular, with the big logo on the front and a player's name and number on the back. When I went to get mine, the Sports Experts location was almost sold-out. Of course, they had no Wade Redden ones, so I had to choose between Heatley, Spezza, and Emery.

I chose Emery. Not because I didn't like Spezza or Heatley, but because I thought Ray was the coolest guy in a Sens uniform. And I wanted his name on my tee.

Emery's fast rise to fame last season sort of covered up the past indiscretions that had previously had him in the doghouse of the Sens management. There was the legendary Cockroach Story - when Captain Alfie bet him $500 that he wouldn't eat a cockroach, so he ate it and collected his cash. The blonde hair that quickly disappeared, the rumour being that John Muckler, the Sens GM at the time, disapproved of it. The Mike Tyson-themed goalie mask that also quickly disappeared after a public outcry. Hell, he even got in a fender-bender while rushing to catch a flight for Game 5 in New Jersey in the Eastern Conference semi-finals last season, stopped to sign autographs for the fans that gathered on the shoulder of the road, and subsequently missed his flight - it certainly didn't go over well with the team at the time, but he took a commercial flight, won that game, ending the series, so all was forgiven.

In the off-season, he signed a big 3-year contract, had surgery to repair his injured wrist that bothered him all last season, and prepared to return as the Sens #1 goalie.

But things haven't quite gone as planned. First, there was the Road Rage Story that hit papers during camp, which involved Emery having an altercation with a gentleman who claimed Emery cut him off on the Queensway, and the men then exchanged heated words. He also missed most of the camp, because his wrist took longer to heal than expected, and while he was still recovering, the Sens jumped out to an amazing 16-3 start to the season, thanks in large part to the exceptional play of "back-up" Martin Gerber. He was late for practice one day in late December, and while the team tried to cover it up by saying Emery wasn't feeling well, he fessed up that he'd slept in and was told to "beat it" by Coach John Paddock. There was also the practice where he threw a hissy fit and threw his stick into the stands and knocked over a bunch of water bottles. And then came the fight in practice with tough guy Brian McGrattan.

His work ethic has been called into question by the coaching staff and Daniel Alfredsson.

And I won't even get into all the rumours of his partying and wild lifestyle off the ice.

Now, the latest offence: he was late for practice on Monday after spending the All-Star break in Las Vegas, claiming his flight was late and he thought practice was being held somewhere else. Paddock didn't allow him on the ice, and he has since been fined one day's pay.

Emery is calling it an honest mistake. Whether it was or not doesn't really matter. The fact is, he's been on thin ice for a while, so he really should be taking extra care to be on time and work hard. How is that it's always his flights that are late? Why is he always the one who didn't know where practice was? How can 20 other guys manage to figure it out, and he can't?

The sideshow he has become is getting a bit old. It's not funny to hear about his disruptions anymore. He's not smooth and cool anymore. He's turning into a joke, and nobody's laughing. He's on a team that has been lauded as a Cup Contender from the first puck-drop of the season, yet somehow, his crazy antics are grabbing more headlines than anything else. It's grown tiresome; it's not cool.

I'd like Ray Emery to go back to the guy he was last year, when he was all about flash, style & winning. When he was the guy who's name I wanted on the back of my shirt.

However, I fear for Emery that it's already too late.

On All-Star Weekend, a Hockey Game Broke Out...

Surprisingly enough, I can report to you all this morning that I actually enjoyed the NHL All-Star game! Well, for the most part. I mean, as much as I possibly could, considering my two Senators reps, Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, had a relatively quiet weekend.


Alfie was named to the starting line-up for the East, but he failed miserably during the Accuracy Shooting portion of the Skills Competition, and then was held off the scoresheet in the showcase game (but he did look pretty good out there, nonetheless). Spezza's role in the Skills Comp was pretty limited - he got to do the stickhandling portion of one event that also involved saucer-passing, one-timers, and the goalies trying to score - (Sound complicated? It was...) - and he was also one the guys dishing the puck to his Eastern teammates in the Accuracy Shooting, which Tomas Kaberle eventually won, and Spezza celebrated as if he'd just won the Cup. (OK, not quite, but his enthusiasm was a bit too much for his Leaf nemesis.) In the actual game, Spezz looked pretty nifty out there with Alexander Ovechkin, as he collected a couple of assists, setting up Alex the Gr8's 2 goals.

The East eventually swept the entire weekend, winning both the Skills Competition and the All-Star Game, so that was pretty nice, especially with Sens coach John Paddock behind the bench.

Other highlights for me:

-Alex Ovechkin's attempts in the Shoot-Out competition, when he bounced the puck up in the air, spun around, and tried to bat it into the net. He didn't score, but it was pretty cool to watch. Plus, I think he may have been the only competitor who realized the point of the drill was to entertain. And that, he did.

- Jason Arnott. Anytime the camera was on him. I was reminded of how handsome he is.

- The way the guys sitting on the ice reacted after Jarome Iginla fired a shot in the Hardest Shot competition and missed the net. They all ducked as though it was going to come riccocheting back at them, then they all burst out laughing.


- The moment I realized Taylor Kitsch, the Canadian actor who stars as Tim Riggins on the show "Friday Night Lights", was one of the celeb judges during the Shoot-Out competition. He was so hot. And then, I got to giggle everytime it came time to give a score, and he seemed to wait and see what the other judges were holding up before making his decision. Too cute!


- Rick Nash's hat trick in the showcase game, all scored on breakaways, and the first came only 12 seconds into the match, an All-Star game record. The other 2 were highlight-worthy, and it seemed Nash, who was left out of the Shoot-Out competition the night before, decided to put on his own little clinic.


- Ilya Kovalchuk's showmanship during the game was remarkable. The dude came to entertain, especially in the second period when he was clearly trying to score desperately for his hometown crowd. After one point-blank shot on Evgeni Nabokov that was stopped, he fell backwards in disbelief, sprawled out on the ice staring heaven-ward, then hopped up and put his arms around the West's goaltender. Moments later, he was sent in again on Nabokov, and after being stopped again in the dying seconds of the period, he slammed his stick on the ice and made a real show of being ticked off. Then, in his post-game interview, he was cracking jokes left, right & centre. His cell rang at one point, and he stopped to answer it, explaining, "It is my sister. It's her first time at Phillips Arena. She may be lost."


- The goaltending in the game was awesome, even though the final score was 8-7, and there were many flashy saves that were almost more impressive than any goal scored, particularly Tim Thomas' save, when the puck was trickling along the line, and he reached back between his legs with his stick and swept it away. Evgeni Nabokov, spectacular in the saves mentioned above against Kovalchuk, ended up being the only goalie to not allow a goal, allowing the West to mount a comeback during the second period after they had gone down early 5-1 to the East.


- They've been saying on the post-All-Star-weekend analyses how cool it was that an actual hockey game broke out, and that it did. Especially in the third period, when the West had stormed back, and the teams began exchanging end-to-end chances, and you could tell that both teams were actually trying hard to win. There was a little pride on the line after all, and it ended up being the most competitive All-Star game I think I've ever witnessed.


Kudos to the players for showing up and entertaining the masses. For once, the weekend wasn't a complete joke, and while there's still some tweaking to do, I think the All-Star game is definitely headed in the right direction!

All-Star Weekend on the Horizon

Well, the Sens have been stinking it up lately, so forgive me if I'm already looking past tonight's game vs. Tampa Bay to the All-Star weekend.

Yes, that's right. I'm jumping from Stink Fest to Snooze Fest.

(Actually, I spent most of the week getting all primed for the Super Bowl, only to find out that it's not until next weekend. Which is something I can't figure out. In the NHL playoffs, if a team has a week-long layoff, people worry about the team losing it's mojo. In the NFL, a two-week hiatus is required to hype the game and give injured players time to rest. But that's really not important to this Blog, so moving right along...)

So everyone knows how lame the NHL All-Star game usually is. The elite of the NHL (or the guys who aren't injured, or decide not to just take a vacation) playing head-to-head in the East vs. the West, with absolutely no defence, guys laughing all over the ice, goalies getting bombarded, and the final score usually resulting along the lines of 14-13. For me, however, the more intriguing part of the weekend has been the Skills Competition, but even that has grown stale in recent years.

Thankfully, the NHL has decided to re-vamp the Skills Comp this year. There's going to be a shoot-out competition similar to the NBA's Slam Dunk contest, to see who can score the prettiest goals doing the sweetest moves, and there will be judges to give them scores. There are also other tweaks being made to the regular old drills to hopefully make things a little more splashy and exciting.

Now, as usual, one of the biggest problems with the All-Star game is that some of the league's biggest stars opt out to rest and relax, or they come up with some convenient "injury". This year, the leading vote-getter in the fan ballot, Sidney Crosby, will be absent. I'd be ready to crap all over Sid for being a sissy, but apparently he really is hurt, and is expected to miss 6 to 8 weeks. So I guess I have to lay off him a bit. I was a little pissed when I found out that Roberto Luongo had asked permission to skip the All-Star festivities after being voted in as the West's starting goaltender to spend the weekend relaxing with his wife, who is expecting a child in the Spring. Since then, I've heard the Mrs. Luongo has had complications with her pregnancy, so no one can blame Roberto for wanting to spend time with her instead of taking part in the All-Star Farce.

Last week, it looked like the Sens were also going to be seriously decreasing their number of All-Stars when both Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson went down to injury. Fortunately for me, it looks like Alfie will be ready to go, along with Jason Spezza, and only Heatley will be missing out with his separated shoulder, that should keep him out of the line-up for another month at least. Truthfully, without any Sens at the All-Star game, I probably wouldn't even pay attention to it, but I'm sort of interested to see how my boys fare out, and I hope they do us proud!

Let the All-Star festivities begin! Oh, wait...Dammit...There's still that pesky game tonight.

GO SENS GO!!

In Shock Over Heath's Death

Yesterday's Blog was all about celebrating the many, many attractive men of Hollywood.

Today, it's all about just one of them, as the world mourns the death of 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger.

I still can't believe he's gone. When Stacy called last night with the breaking news, I was literally shocked. So much so that when I gasped and exclaimed several times, "No! You're kidding! No way!", then jumped for the TV remote, I think my mom thought we were in the middle of another terrorist attack or something.

My reaction might have been different if it had been a celebrity with a knack for getting into trouble, a reputation of drug or alcohol abuse, a sad past spent trudging in & out of rehab centres. But I never heard such things about Heath Ledger. Not once.


Instead, Ledger was known for being a fiercely private man who was careful about the roles he chose, often leaning towards the edgy & dark, rather than high-profile pretty-boy parts, which his good looks certainly would have allowed him to play. He hated the paparazzi, and lived a bohemian lifestyle in New York, avoiding the glitz and glamour of Tinseltown. His first crack at the big screen was in the teen flick "10 Things I Hate About You", in which he played the brooding high school bad-boy Patrick Verona. After that, he also starred in "A Knight's Tale" (one of my favourites), "Four Feathers", and "The Patriot". However, the film that launched him into super-stardom & earned him a spot as one of Hollywood's most revered & respected was 2005's critically-acclaimed "Brokeback Mountain", for which he received Oscar buzz in his role as the secretly gay cowboy, Ennis Del Mar.

It was on the set of "Brokeback Mountain" that Heath met Michelle Williams, his on-screen wife, whom he became engaged to in real life & together they had a daughter, Matilda, now 2. However, he & Williams separated in September of 2007. Heath had also just finished playing the role of the Joker in the new Batman movie, "The Dark Knight", which is still in production and should be released this summer.

I was completely blindsided by the news of his death. He was found face-down in bed in a SoHo apartment, and speculation is that it was an accidental overdose on prescription sleeping pills. It seems like such a sad and unexpected end to the life of one of Hollywood's brightest & talented stars. He had already accomplished so much at such a young age, and it seems a real shame that his life is over. Too soon. So tragic.

Tinseltown is still reeling over the news, and quite frankly, so am I. Oddly enough, I had Heath Ledger pencilled into my Top 5 yesterday, then replaced him at the last minute with Ryan Gosling. I'm finding that a little creepy right now.

Heath Ledger has been one of my favourites, ever since I saw him for the first time in "10 Things I Hate About You". I couldn't get enough of his smirky little smile & the way his eyes seemed to twinkle with mischief. And, of course, the sexy Australian accent. He was the main reason I bought "A Knight's Tale"; he was the only reason I went to see "Brokeback Mountain". Today, as I think back on him and all that he had accomplished as an actor, I can't help wallowing in the disappointed and devestated feeling that he could have done so much more if he'd been given more time.

Ledger's light was snuffed out far too soon. And now, all I have left, are a few DVDs and magazine clippings, and the knowledge that, while he was already considered great, he never got the chance to blossom into the true star that he was.

Welcome to My Top 5, James Marsden!!

You guys all know about my celebrity crushes. You've heard me gush and go ga-ga over many a male star. I'm a sucker for the pretty boys, for the bad boys, for the hot-as-hell boys. I'll never forget Sara's concern for my real-life relationships (or lack thereof), after we saw "Superman" and I fell in love with Brandon Routh. Sara wondered how any "normal" boys would ever match up now that I'd be comparing them to Superman.

One day last week, I decided to sit down and compile a list of my Top 5. The 5 stars I would want to be with, marry, spend the rest of my life with. If I had my choice, of course. Tricky little activity for me, considering all of the hot superstars I've drooled over over the years. Truth is, when examining my collection of movies, both VHS and DVD's, there's pretty much a hot guy that I was obsessed with in every one of them. The little-know movie "Circle of Friends"? Pretty boring, but I bought it during my Chris O'Donnell crush. "Inventing the Abbotts"? Not a bad one, but I only purchased it because of Joaquin Phoenix. The teen thriller flick "Fear"? Fairly lame when I watch it now, but I had to buy it during my Mark Wahlberg phase.

The examples go on and on, from accumulating movies starring Matthew McConaughey and Tom Cruise to scrounging around to find out what films have included Channing Tatum or Josh Hartnett in them.

I started out my Top 5 by eliminating Wade Redden. Yes, that's right. I eliminated him. But only because he's my Supreme #1...He would top any list of hot men that I decided to compile, so in order to free up that spot, I chose to make this list only for movie & TV stars. Then I sat there and wrote down every name of every guy that I've ever thought was attractive in any slight sense of the word. Survivor star Colby Donaldson, MuchMusic alum & host of "The Hour" George Strompalompoalous (no idea...), John Stamos in his "Full House"/Uncle Jesse glory days, even Scott Baio, because as Chachi from "Happy Days", he was my first love.

Before I knew it, I had a full sheet of loose leaf jammed with names of stars, some big names, some rather obscure, some old dogs, some still very young and green - and I couldn't even come close to narrowing it down to 5. Or 10. Or 20. I just loved them all too much.

But then, on Friday night, I went to see the premiere of the new romantic comedy, "27 Dresses". Instantly, one name that was on my list went from sorta hot to Top 5 quality...

Welcome aboard, James Marsden!!

In "27 Dresses", he plays Kevin Doyle, a wedding columnist, who bumps into Jane (played by Katherine Heigl of "Grey's Anatomy" and "Knocked Up" fame), one of those "always a bridesmaid, never a bride"-type girls. She's in love with her boss, George, but he ends up engaged to her sister, Tess. Meanwhile, Kevin's chasing her around, just trying to make her fall for him.

Let me tell you this - it wouldn't have taken me as long to succumb to his charms as it did Jane. Forget for one minute that the boy is completely drool-worthy, with his sexy dark hair (just a teeny bit shaggy), and his ice-blue eyes, and his tanned and perfect face, and his full, kissable lips. Just forget all that.

He's funny. He's charming. He's clever. He's amazing.

Now, I know what you're all saying - that's just his character, right? Sure, Kevin might have written his name & phone number on every Saturday of Jane's day planner before returning it to her, or sent her flowers, or danced on a bar with her to "Benny & the Jets". But James Marsden probably wouldn't have. He's an actor who played a cute guy that sucked me right in to thinking he was the perfect guy.

Well, turns out, James might be even better than his character in "27 Dresses". Because in the February issues of Glamour magazine, there's a photo that his wife, Lisa, took of him playing in their backyard with their children, Jack, age 7, and Mary, age 2. In the photo, he's sitting on the ground with a huge smile on his face, while Mary's standing in front of him with a huge make-up brush, about to doll up her dad, while Jack's behind him, putting grass in his hair.

And that, my friends, is when I fell in love with James Marsden. The hottest thing about him? He's a great dad. And isn't that what most of us girls are all looking for at the end of the day? A hot guy who's sweet and wonderful and loves kids. That's what catapaulted him into my Top 5.

And Sara might be right. Now that James Marsden is my "Mr. Perfect", the ordinary boys around here don't really stand a chance...

Oh, and for the record, I've tried to draft a quick list, just for the Blog. It may change at the drop of a hat, or the second I think of someone else, but here, in no particular order, are my Top5:

1. James Marsden (for all the reasons mentioned above)
2. Matthew McConaughey (not really liking his new long hair, but otherwise, he's sexy as hell)
3. Josh Hartnett (smoldering & mysterious...and hot)
4. Justin Chambers (my fave doc on Grey's, in real life he's married with 5 kids... *sigh*)
5. Ryan Gosling (I just watched "The Notebook" yesterday, and his Noah-ness is fresh in my mind)

My New Sport

Nothing will ever replace hockey as my favourite sport. As a Canadian, there's nothing that gets my heart pumping harder or causes butterflies of excitement as much as a highly anticipated match between two teams, usually involving my dear Senators. I love sound of skate blades slicing through ice, the roars of the crowds, the sheer thrill of seeing that red light flash on when my team scores. It's a rush like no other.

But for a while now, I've been taking a mild interest in football, both NFL and CFL. As a kid, I used to watch football now and then, usually the Grey Cup or Super Bowl, and try to make sense of it. However, nothing ever seemed to click. A bunch of guys would line up, shout at each other about colours and numbers ("Blue 52! Blue 52!"), then they'd all charge at each other, pile up in a big heap, and then do it all over again. Every now and then someone would throw the ball, another player would catch it, and score a touchdown. That part I understood. Everything else...I was clueless.

My dad used to laugh at my attempts to figure the sport out, but he never really ever offered any useful information. The only thing I can remember him telling me that was even close to football-related was, "You'd kick on first down if you were playing football." And I didn't even know what that meant.

Despite all of this, some of my favourite movies have been about football. "Remember the Titans", "Invincible", "We Are Marshall", "Radio" - I loved them all. Perhaps my favourite, though, was "Friday Night Lights", and the TV series it has spawned. I'll give FNL the credit for prodding me to learn more about the game. After watching the last episode of Season 1 on DVD last weekend, I decided, "That's it - this game looks like too much fun for me to continue ignoring. This weekend, I'm going to learn about football!"

Turns out, I picked a good time. The Super Bowl is approaching, so the NFL is in the midst of playoffs and things are very interesting right now. Before even watching a game, I knew that the New England Patriots hadn't lost a game all season, so I sort of just decided to cheer for them. How could I go wrong with them, right? No underdogs for me, I'm going with the best of the best, at least for now. Oh, and their quarterback, Tom Brady, is smokin' hot. Always a bonus.

So, I sat down Saturday afternoon to watch some football, and I asked Luke to please explain to me the basics. In about 5 minutes, Luke taught me more about football than I've learned in my whole life. When the afternoon game started, I finally understood (at least, a little) what was going on!

I didn't get to watch the New England game, but they did, in fact, win, so my team is still in it, and I'm looking forward to this weekend's games. I'm very excited about my new sport, and to learn more about it, and to watch Tom Brady - yummy! The best part of all, though, is now understanding what my dad means when he tells me I'd kick on first down if I were playing football, and I now know enough to say, "No, Dad, I wouldn't, only an idiot would do that!"