What is Rider Pride

What is Rider Pride? Is it a group of fanatic football fans or is it more? For me it was as a young lad sitting in the end zone under the score board with my dad eating peanuts and watching Lancaster to Dawson with the long bomb.

Then came my career in broadcasting working the sidelines listening to the crunches and feeling the brush as the pile of players bowled into you while you tried to save your TV camera from being damaged. The neglected spouses sitting in the stands commenting on which players bums were hot. The roar of the fans and the now Mayor Fiacco shooting little yellow football into the stands. Then along came the rough times and the telethon to save the Riders.

Yes they were begging for the fans to buy season tickets. Money was tight the league and others teams were in trouble. Lancaster, Reed and Sheppard trying to save the team and I remember how the province responded. Now its sellouts and not just the Labor Day Classic. My sons have season tickets, we bleed green and white and the next generation is starting out right. My birthday present this year was the Rider Centennial ring and I wear it with pride knowing I cheer for something special.





The Rider Nation a group of fans, a sea of green. Whether its wearing your jersey, painting your body green or wearing a watermelon on your head we all get together to celebrate the game. From east to west fans flock to their stadiums to watch the team when they come to town. They cheer scream and party win or lose. It started in the small towns when the harvest finished and people met to talk football. It grew and just like the Olympics people want to be part of this and experience being part of the greatest fans in the world. As someone told me when their team loses they cheer for SK as how can you hate them. OK Calgary fans are different but that's the rivalry and its a good hate!


The Riders are in the Grey Cup a second year in a row and they want to redeem themselves from the blunder from last year. Ya the thirteenth man. How ironic after all the talk about last year and the fans and the effect that they would have on the game. It will go on forever that they screwed up and lost the game but show me a team that would not want this fan support.

After attending the Western Final and beating the Stamps again the great migration to Edmonton began. Everyone celebrates and watches the game in their own way. Receiving tweets and emails from Riderville Friday night and turning down ticket after ticket my poor bottom lip is sore from biting down on it. But I decided to stay at home and watch the game as I have done over the years with family. Mom coming over and doing her knitting asking every so often hows the game going. Elaine making the big pot of chilli. This year Craig, Ness and Boyd won't be here but I am sure they will watch it with Kevin and Ally(Yes go Fantuz). Troy I don't know where he will be but he always seems to come home for a surprise.

So, yes I hope the Riders win the Grey Cup, but if they don't I for one will be back next year to start all over cheering till I am hoarse. The world won't end, we will all go back to work just like the Stamp's fans have after the last few western finals!

Lacrosse Moms

At one point during a game, as the coach I called one of my 7 year old lacrosse players aside and asked, Do you understand what cooperation is?
What a team is? The little boy nodded in the affirmative.

Do you understand that what matters is not whether we win or lose, but how we play together as a team?
The little boy nodded yes.

So, I continued, I am sure you know, when a penalty is called, you should not argue, curse, attack the referee, or call him a pecker-head.
Do you understand all that?
Again the little boy nodded.

And when I call you off the field so that another boy gets a chance to play, its not good sportsmanship to call your coach a "Dumb Asshole"?
Again the little boy nodded.

Good, Now go over there and explain all that to your mother....

The Long Weekend's Ups & Downs

Like last year we decide to take an extended long weekend in Waterton National Park.
Elaine, myself and the three dawgs headed down Wednesday and set up the trailer. The day was nice not overly warm 20c. Rode the bikes, laid around and just relaxed.



Sunrise in the Rockies...



Thursday was the annual Peace Hills Golf Tourney so I was up early Thursday morning driving back to Olds, Alberta to do a well deserved round of golf, some drinking and steakage. Finished my shmozing and returned back to Waterton around 9:30pm. Damn it gets dark! No really, no lights, no stars or the moon, covered by the shadow of the mountains its DARK!



Friday was up early again to do a round of golf in Waterton with Elaine. One of the most enjoyable days of golf I have had. No I didn't shoot that great but the group in front was fast so was usually well ahead of us. No one behind for two to three holes. It was sit back, slice hook, look for you ball with no hurry.
Nice form!


You can see the Prince of Wales Hotel at the end of this fairway.



No bears on the golf course but they were around or evidence they were around.



Friday was up to Cameron Lake to sit beside the water, but a cloudy day just didn't allow it to warm up in the mountains. So was 17c up at the lake and 24c back at the townsite.




So after a few hours of playing "suns out" "suns gone" the game and wee shot of rain it was back down to the trailer and a game of Boccie Ball.


I'm green...

With a cold wind that night and a chance of rain we awoke to rain, low clouds and snow in the mountains. High of 4c hiking was out. The rain and sleet also put a damper on it . Should have brought the snowboard!




What to do on your anniversary on a wet, cold, day stuck in the trailer????
Ya right! Its been 23 years people!



We packed up headed to the Prince of Wales bar and watched the Riders muddle there way to victory over the hapless Bombers. Needed to fight off some pushy Americans who wanted to watch tennis! Tennis come on. The waiter told them they would have to discuss it with the Rider fans and I think I actually intimidated somebody....
Ok makes for a good story!

Back to the trailer to find three Popsicle puppies as the furnace cut out while we were enjoying the football game. Got the furnace working a few treats and I was loved again!



So was one of those trips where it was a pain in the ass, but it beat being at work!!!

I Wish you Enough

An email I received that I liked to share with you.


I wish you Enough !

Recently I overheard a Father and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure.

Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the Father said, 'I love you, and I wish you enough.'

The daughter replied, 'Dad, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Dad.'?

They kissed and the daughter left. The Father walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see he wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on his privacy, but he welcomed me in by asking, 'Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?'

'Yes, I have,' I replied. 'Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?'.

'I am old, and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral,' he said.

'When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough.' May I ask what that means?'

He began to smile. 'That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone.' He paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail, and he smiled even more. 'When we said, 'I wish you enough,' we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them.' Then turning toward me, he shared the following as if he were reciting it from memory.


I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how grey the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

He then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them; but then an entire life to forget them.


Take Time To Live..

To all my friends and loved ones,I wish you Enough!

Great Britian 2010 World Lacrosse Championships and Holidays

So holidays this year was going to Manchester England to watch my son Troy play for the Scottish 2010 National Team at the FIL World Lacrosse Championship.

It began leaving Calgary with the flight delayed 1 1/2 hours. We had paid the upgrade to premium so we went and had a few margaritas before boarding and to kill sometime. Once aboard we received the welcome champagne to begin the flight. We haven't even taken off and I'm feeling well pretty darn good! Then some red wine, more with dinner and after dinner drinks, Vodka's!!
Hmmm who was going to drive when we land in Glasgow.

Stopped drinking around 4 hrs in so I had 4 hrs to sleep and sober up before we land at 9am local time.
No problems in customs. The car was waiting and ready to go. So loaded up and off to Manchester England 3 hrs south. We received a Volkswagen diesel and was actually a great little car. As the trip progressed my left arm was feeling the effects of shifting. Guess I need to change hands once in a while. Checked into the B&B and had a nap before we set off for the opening ceremonies. After an hour in line to get our tickets and into the venue we needed to bust our ass to get to the stands to watch the teams beginning to March in.






Round Robin Games began the next day:


Lavitia 4 vs Scotland 20



New Zealand 8 vs Scotland 18



France 2 vs Scotland 19



They then advanced to the eights and took on Czechs beating them 17-14. Was a close game all the way till the last 5 or 10 mins.



Next they moved on to a final 4 qualifier Scotland 15 vs Ireland 9.


Scotland has now done better then they ever have before. They now would move on to play a one game elimination game against Australia with the winner moving into the medal round with the USA and Canada.

Panic what do we do now we aren't suppose to be here! We now needed to find a place to stay as we had only booked the B & B for five nights. With the victory we now need two more nights. The girls at the Heatherley B&B have a deal set with a local Premier Hotel. What a nice place, we get a king size room and premier breaky for the same price.
These ladies are way above awesome for client service so anyone going to Manchester let me know as I would let you know the address and contact numbers.




For special note an English Breakfast gives you the choice of eggs, bacon, sausage, beans, fried tomato and mushrooms or all of it :) Worked out well. The Pub had great tea(supper) and a great selection of beers, all in crawling distance of my bed.

Scotland 11 vs Australia 20
Was a mixed game Australia came out hard and built up a 9-2 lead when the game was postponed for lightning for 30 min. They came back finished the first half and after a quick break started the 3rd quarter. The break benefited Scotland as the started moving the ball the way they can and making good decisions on offence rather then playing like individuals. 11-9 at the end of the quarter and the Aussie fans were getting a little worried as we began to control the ball and take it to them. Unfortunately a few bad penalties and some breakdown on d allowed the Aussies to exploded with 4 or 5 straight goals so the dream ended. The boys had mixed emotions. Happy they did so well but still to get this far and one step away from getting to play the Canadians and Americans was huge. A few teary eyes but that went away when the team ran across the field to come see the fans and family's. After some sweaty hugs and cheers it was off to regroup as they still need to play their placement games.



They then played The Old Enemy(England) losing 23-9 and finishing in 7th out of 29 teams by beating the Dutch in what I have been told was one of the games of the tourney 11-10.



Awesome showing and the excitement will carry heading to the Europeans in 2012 as everyone wants to return to get the Old Enemy!!!

After the Aussie loss Elaine and I headed north for Scotland in the morning. Delayed on the highway because of a flipped Lorre for about an hour. Driving in Britain actually isn't that hard. Three lanes 70 mph. The trucks can only go 60 so passing is easy. Traffic circles are actually a great way of getting around no lights minimal stopping slow up, give way and floor it. Simple! It is a five hour trip to Kerriemuir from Manchester. On the way I see a sign for lunch, Burger King! I now have a mission I need Burger King. So we exit to the road side pull out. Get my burger and its horrible. Worst meal I've had. Tasted stale and like crap. Next exit was a Starbucks and another restaurant so much for urges.

So we arrive at Jill & Johns in Scotland and crack the duty free gin and poured some G&T's

More to come from Scotland!

On The Road

Wow! What a week so far. Troy took me golfing Saturday for fathers day. Thanks buddy it was fun and good to see you for a bit. I then turned
around and head for Medicine Hat to work on all the flooding.
The damage is incredible. Sink holes, washed out roads, sewer filled basements. Poor residents had no warning and were scrambling out at 9am to vehicles to get away from the rising waters. Each has a story to tell and they are really the same but different. Grab the kids dog and wife and start running or dragging them through waste deep water that arrived in minutes. Highways are washed out rural roads are mess. I am so glad I have a big four wheel drive. Actually having a blast mud bogging around. Between my truck and jeans I am not sure which is more dirty. Tons of work to do, lucky I am only around for a week as it's going to take months just to clean up. Made a man cry because we were covering his loss and putting up the family in a hotel as his kids had been through hell. On the other side made a woman cry as she is not covered.... Shitty part of the job but can't help everyone. Hmmm funny Scrubs is on and the theme song is I'm no super man.....
Back at it again tomorrow Wednesday, how busy are you when you tell people all day that you will see them Thursday meaning tomorrow! Opppps what's my name again??? Need some sleep!

6 Months Results

Six months ago I sat back in January after eating a huge meal and my size 38 pants were emm well lets say very uncomfortable. At that point I decided no way am I going to be wearing any size forty's.

Diet! I hate the word like everyone else. Life style change? Hmmm everywhere you read this is what they say you need to do, the GO word. Unfortunately I have seen so many friends lose the pounds and look incredible but then later gain it back becoming even worse off then when they started. So yes change but not necessarily in lifestyle.

So what could I do to change things up but still do and eat similar to what I do now. I am usually active but not consistently driven. Easily distracted. Procrastinator. So what is working for me:

1) I went to a Naturopath Doctor. I was skeptical of the witch doctors and their methods and was right up front and told him if he is selling me crap that I think is just for the sake of selling me crap we'd be done faster than Elaine can burn dinner....

Results! He cleared up my heartburn that I've had for three plus years. Every morning at three a.m. I was a wake eating Tums. Didn't matter when I ate or what I ate, the dogs and I got up at three. Factor was I was not producing enough acid to get everything digested so it was laying in my stomach, thus backing up. Two weeks and it was fixed. Next item he said things like my adrenal glands were out of sorts so boosted my energy system as well as other drives.....:)
Its been over three months since I have had to see him and the doctor told me things were fine to come back in July for a quick check then.

2) Pop! I am like an alcoholic having a drink when I actually get hold of a real Pepsi. You would think it was a drug. One can is over two hundred calories times two, three maybe four a day ouch no wonder! So I have joined in the fight whether real pop is better than these zero calorie pops. Sure water is best but when you actually need one a zero seems to be working. I still love Pepsi so keep your fingers away if I am coddling a can. Alcohol! haven't changed this up except the mix and I don't care what Sucha says I like my poofter drinks. Cran and Seven is refreshing and tasty. Wine with most meals. You need to keep one crutch right!

3) Back to the Doc. I was told what foods my body doesn't like. Not allergic but repels or does not digest well. Potatoes, Butter, Bananas, Rye, Broccoli. Again I want to make changes but not have to throw it all away or make it not a do able. So I need to cut down on the tatties with a little gravy. Banana's actual is where I noticed it the most as if I ate them heartburn right now. Who knew! I can cut them out but still eat them once in while.

This weekend was On sides Lobster Feast. OK I pigged out! Three lobster ya three plus the butter. OMG! Did not sleep well felt the arteries hardening and boy did my stomach talk. The pups were sure wonder what was going wrong inside me. Something was definitely trying to get out.

I adjusted my diet by making myself eat small meals leaving food on my plate(quit laughing). Yes leaving food on my plate. Started breakfast, I drink one of those small pro biotic drinks when I get up and then Yogurt and granola around nine or tenish. I have progressed to Bran buds ya me eating Bran...
When I do miss this meal I am starving. Small meals all day long is what all the articles and pros say, so ya eat all day long...Sure why not! It takes doing something two weeks to become a habit. I now can barely finish a foot long Subway sub anymore as I get too full.

4) Exercise! Started by jumping on the tread mill. Hooked up the heart monitor and away I went to get me into my fat burning range. I have always trained for hockey or lax where its go hard for the shift and get off to recover. So I turned on the Ipod and away I went for hour and a half. Actually it gives you tons of time to think of things that you need to work thru. It started as a walk at first but I now actually run. I have been able to cut the time down as I have been reffing lacrosse so much I actually need the rest or day off. Abs, Elaine has a video that is an easy 20 min workout 10 standing and 10 on the floor.(Turbo Jam) OK its not easy but I know I have done at least a crunch when its over. I have two of six abs showing which is exciting so I am not yet there for the Speedo?????

OK so your back from the bathroom after getting rid of that little throw up in your mouth.

Weights! I just do a small amount as if I go hard I bulk up easily and I like having my arms at my sides and not dragging my knuckles. So I do small sets to tone rather than bulk.



So how did I do.
Give me a Homer Simpson...

Started off at 235lbs and I am down to 215lbs. That's 20lbs for you short busers. Hit my goal just two days before my deadline. May be some fluid loss but that 215 number looked great on the scale.
I have gone from a size 38 to 34 jean. I don't remember being a 34. Maybe high school!
I needed new pants so went into the store and it wasn't very busy so the 5 girls decide here is a project. We looked at different styles and what nots and I said size 36. Tried the first pair on and they said nope need to drop another size 34. My cheeks were so sore from the smile I had on. I think my face stretched!

Inches wise I have lost so far:
Neck - 1/4
Arms - 3/4 on each but has started to increase again do to muscle growth.
Chest - 1 1/2
Diaphragm - 2 1/2
Stomach - 2 1/4
Waist - 2 3/4
Butt - 2 1/2
Thighs - 1/2 of each again has some increase but definite muscle detail
Calves - 1/4 off each

Total - 15 3/4

Now what?
I still have more of my stomach to deal with. I think I will continue on with what I have been doing as its working. I may join Pete with his circuit training after lacrosse and summer is finished. Girls call it Boot Camp??? Next goal hmm maybe a little less weight but same time length. Dare I go for the 190's That I can say I have never been in since high school for sure.

Anyone want to go for lunch or a frozen hot chocolate? I DESERVE IT!!!