What's with the waffles?

If you live in Toronto (or even if you don’t) you may have seen a headline or overheard a conversation about the Toronto Maple Leafs and waffles. What’s the connection? Well, lately people have begun tossing waffles onto the ice at Leafs games to protest their poor play (they are currently the worst team in their division and the third last team in the league). And last night during yet another loss, one fan was ejected from the game, banned from all future Leafs, Raptors, Marlies and TFC games, and charged by the police with mischief, all for throwing some eggos.

I think it all began a few weeks ago when one fed-up fan threw waffles on the ice after a 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. The man (who asked not to be identified) was later interviewed by a Toronto newspaper where he explained that he wanted the Leafs to “wake up and eat some breakfast.”

One Leaf player shot back “I don’t appreciate it…. Throw a filet, throw a T-bone. Spend some money.” It seems like he didn’t quite get the symbolism of the waffles. Besides, after dropping $400 plus on a couple of tickets, most people probably can’t afford to be wasting expensive cuts of meat and may feel like they have already spent enough on this team.


As for last night’s waffle-tosser – his tickets were a gift. But with the legal fees he’ll be paying, it looks like the Leafs have still found yet another way to bleed their fans dry.

The little wide receiver that could

After a couple of controversial Hump Day Hotties, we’ve gone with a more traditional pick today: NFL wide receiver Wesley Welker. Today’s hottie is not only, well, a hottie, but also a lesson in tenacity and perseverance.

Welker was a promising high-school athlete and was even named the Oklahoma Player of the Year as a senior. He thought the universities would come knocking on his door, but at just 5’9” he was on the small side. Turned out not many were willing to take a chance on him and give him a scholarship. In fact, Texas Tech was the only school to extend an offer, and then only after another player backed out.

Despite a great college career, Welker’s size came back to haunt him once again and he remained undrafted after graduation (he has a degree in Management). He ended up signing with the San Diego Chargers, but was cut from the team during the first week of his first season. He was then picked up by the Miami Dolphins, where he played for three seasons – sometimes enduring rumors that he would be released from the team.

In 2007 he was traded to the New England Patriots, and that’s when his career really took off. Since joining the Patriots Welker has been selected for the Pro Bowl – the NFL’s all-star game – every single year. The voting ended for this year’s Pro Bowl (taking place in Hawaii on January 30) on Monday and the selected players will be announced on live television on December 28th, so we’ll soon see if Welker has made it four in a row. Also, his team currently has 12 wins and just 2 loses with only 2 more games to play, so they are well-positioned heading into the playoffs.

So next time you’re feeling under appreciated at work or like you just can’t get a break, think of this cutie and his struggles to make it big. Or you can just think about him whenever, cause that’s fun too.

Sweet, sweet fantasy (with guest blogger K Web)

My brother has always been a much bigger football fan than me. I’m not sure what it is about it that he loves so much, but I suspect it has something to do with the all-day nature of the game and built-in lounging opportunities that it provides. Below, my big brother and first guide to the weird world of professional sports shares some thoughts on the phenomenon known as Fantasy Football, a virtual competition that has 18 million participants in the U.S. alone and that is probably responsible for as many wasted hours of life as reality TV or Facebook. But let’s let a fan explain its appeal, shall we?

Fantasy Football. Maybe you’ve heard of it? Maybe someone you know plays? But what is it?

Well, Fantasy Football is many things: a game, an obsession, a waste of time. Yes, it is all of the above, but, what you may not know is that it is actually very emotional.

What? Emotional? Well, yes!

You see, Fantasy Football is an online game hosted through various websites (ESPN, Yahoo!, CBS, etc.) where players (otherwise known as General Managers or GMs) sign up to form a league. Once a league is formed, a draft takes place before the season starts with GMs selecting players, just like in a real sports league. The teams then compete against each other throughout the year. Various statistical categories like touchdowns, passing yards, and rushing yards are added together to form a final score. The team with the most points at the end of every week (you guessed it) wins!

But unlike other pools where people pick players to form a team and there are no changes throughout the year, in Fantasy, a team is in constant flux. GMs can add players to their team, drop players, and even make trades.

And this is where it gets interesting because a GM, like a young mother, will nurture and build his (or her) team. One guy isn’t doing so great? Drop him! Another guy is hot… Pick him up! Like a guy on someone else’s team? Make a trade! In this way, GMs live through success and failure just like a real team, and just like a parent watching little Jimmy play soccer. If your team sucks, you’re an idiot for making the wrong moves, and people in your league will let you know about it. If your team wins, you’re a genius for making all the right decisions, and you bask in glory.

I’ve been playing Fantasy Football for 7 years now. There have been times when, all alone, I’ve jumped out of my seat and run around my apartment a-hootin’ and a-hollerin’ so loud that the neighbours probably heard. Touchdown dances, complete with inappropriate gyrations, have been performed. Other times, I’ve felt sick to my stomach, unable even to plow through my usual game-day bag of Jalapeño & Cheddar Doritos.

I’ve been happily married for two years and I can honestly say Fantasy Football has been one of the biggest issues in the relationship. I need to watch my team. I’m happy when my team wins, despondent when they lose. “Hold on honey, my running back is on the field” has been a constant refrain. “It’s so nice outside, do you want to go for a walk?” “Um…don’t you know it’s Sunday?” has been a conversation had many times - that is, at least, when I have enough energy to actually form sentences instead of simply grunting. Fantasy Football is draining that way.

Of course, the best thing about Fantasy Football is it makes the games more interesting. We all know the NFL can be boring at times. Who wants to see the 4th quarter of a blowout on Monday Night? But…if you have a player in the game, and need a touchdown to win your Fantasy matchup for the week, all of a sudden that 4th quarter garbage time can become VERY interesting.

Get that touchdown dance ready – tomorrow is Sunday.

Sometimes I can't help myself

This week’s Hump Day Hottie, Alexander Ovechkin, may prove to be an unpopular choice. He does kind of resemble a caveman with his, uh, strong features and near unibrow. But last week we featured Sidney Crosby, and the two are often compared, so here we are.

Ovechkin (or Ovie) was drafted first overall in 2004, but because of the NHL lockout that year he didn’t play his first game until October 5, 2005, the same day as Crosby (Crosby went first overall in the 2005 draft). So essentially these two superstars have gone head to head, first pick against first pick, for their entire professional careers. They are two of the most exciting players in the game today, but that is pretty much where the similarities end.

Where Crosby is the typical Canadian player – private, humble, guarded, Ovechkin is loud, egotistical, and flashy.

So why does he deserve a spot here? Because he has personality. Not only is he fun to watch on the ice, but his antics, his interviews, and his music video cameos make sure everyone is paying attention off the ice as well. And hockey is a sport that could use some personality. Unlike the stars of basketball and football, hockey players are often incredibly dull, speaking in clichés and acting like they have really awful lives.

Ovie on the other hand always seems to be having fun. He is, after all, young, rich, and talented, why shouldn’t he be having fun? And that sort of enthusiasm is, I think, attractive.

And beyond that, can we all just agree that he has nice arms? Okay? Okay.

Ovie has had a tough year on the ice. At the Vancouver Olympics his Russian squad finished a disappointing 6th (apparently the Canadian organizers kept the Russian’s quarters well stocked with distractingly nubile “hospitality” staff). A few months later his team the Washington Capitals got booted out of the playoffs by heavy underdogs the Montreal Canadians.

But don’t count this Muscovite out for long. This year his team is sitting in second place in the East and he is fifth overall in points. And he’ll get another chance at Olympic glory in 2014, this time on his own turf. So Ovie is definitely one to watch.

Oh, I also really like his missing tooth.

We should probably have worked this out before the wedding...

Last Saturday the Vancouver Canucks retired former player Markus Naslund’s jersey (meaning a banner with his name and number will hang from the rafters and no other Canuck player will ever wear his number). I watched the ceremony on TV and have to say, I was moved. My husband, however, could not let me enjoy the moment and instead launched into a diatribe about how Naslund did not deserve to have his number retired and how the Canucks as an organization have lost his respect (though I’m not sure they were looking for it).

The episode reminded me of a revelation I had about ardent sports fans a few months ago when my dear friend Chris was in town. Although Chris and I disagree about many many things, our love for the Canucks always gives us something to stand together on. My husband, however, is a Montreal Canadiens fan, and while I have largely learned to tune him out when he talks about his beloved bleu, blanc et rouge or makes fun of my team like he did the other night, Chris just can’t help himself and has to get into it with him. Listening to the two argue (endlessly) that night, I came to some conclusions about the nature of fandom for certain people.

When I was little my parents owned a book called How to Win an Argument. I remember one of the things it said straight up was not to argue with people about matters of faith, because they are always holding a trump card.

Arguing about hockey with my guy (who would probably claim a level of devotion to his team similar to a religious experience) falls into the same trap. No matter what path the argument takes, he can always fall back on the “history” of the team. No team will ever be as good as the Habs or as worthy of supporting because 1) they’ve been around the longest and 2) they have won the most Stanley Cups.

Now I am not going to say that those aren’t valid reasons to love a team. But since even when my team has been around for a hundred years the Habs will have been here for 140, and since the chances of another team being able to rack up the hardware like the Habs could in the pre-expansion era is slim, those arguments are impossible to respond to. Stating a fact that you can’t argue with like “We have the most history” and then resting your case on that is akin to saying “Because I have faith” in a debate on the existence of God. Watching Chris and my husband endlessly circle around in debate with no possibility of a shared middle ground reminded me why when my husband and I talk hockey, it’s mostly to diss the Leafs. At least that sorry franchise is something everyone can agree upon.

So if you have people like this in your life, be they spouses, coworkers or friends, do your best not to engage them. It’s exhausting and only leads to marital discord/an uncomfortable work environment/a streetfight.

Finally, our first Hump Day Hottie

The other day I was watching hockey and I happened to catch Sidney Crosby’s new commercial. I must say, I was caught a little by surprise. When did he get so…hot?

In case you don’t know, Sidney Crosby is one of the NHL’s biggest young stars. He came into the league in 2005 at the tender age of 18, and won a Stanley Cup with his team the Pittsburgh Pengions just four years later. Last winter, he scored the goal gave Canada the gold medal over the U.S. at the Olympics. And he is currently leading the NHL in both goals and points (you get one point for a goal and one for an assist).

Sid the Kid, as he is known, has never been on my hot list because he seemed like, well , a kid. Not only did he have trouble growing a beard come playoff time, but he was also living at Penguins owner (and former hockey great) Mario Lemieux’s house with Mario’s family. But now that he has bought his own house, grown into his face a bit, a taken to wearing tight-fitting gear in his commercials, I may have to revise my opinion of the lad.

So I’ll put this out to the public at large - Sidney Crosby: hotsy totsy or hotsy notsy?