Shawn's Stuff

Mullin in a nutshell

2007-04-16T23:43:31Z

(SSM) says:
met a nice girl this weekend
(SSM) says:
got her number at the bar
(SSM) says:
so I have two phones... the old one mowgli practically wrecked but has all my numbers
(SSM) says:
and one new one I have yet to move my sin card to
(SSM) says:
I'm using the old one
(SSM) says:
call her up
(SSM) says:
talk to her am about to ask her to dinner or something... like all I've said is hello this is shawn how are you
(SSM) says:
and sit in this old chair Laura gave me
(SSM) says:
the chair falls backwards
(SSM) says:
I reach my hand out
(SSM) says:
and snap the phone in half
(SSM) says:
along with it goes the phone call and the number
(SSM) says:
the last thing she heard? "maybe we could... woooooooaaaah... SNAP"

Quick Update

2007-03-09T05:14:10Z

I've been really quite busy. Not a lot of time to sit down and type.

So some important quick facts:

-the job is going well and I really like how I'm able to have so much say in how sports is covered on our station. They've given me control AND credit when things go well. Lots I have to improve, especially on the mornings, but it's going well.
-I'm moved in to my new place and it's quite nice.
-Mowgli is finally here and behaving very well.

Things are looking up

I miss you all a ton.

BC Bound

2007-02-28T04:05:16Z

I'm not good at this blogging thing.

Every time I decide I'm really going to start using this forum to update friends and just kind of get my thoughts out there... it lasts about a day.

I'd apologize, but really it's me who is dissapointed. I'd like to have kept track of my thoughts through what has been a really large change in my life.

For those who don't know: I live in British Columbia now.

Why is that significant? The furthest west of Ottawa I'd ever been in my life was Detroit. Not just to live but to visit. When I flew to Calgary and then to Castlegar last Sunday, it was the first time I'd ever been in either Alberta or BC.

I'm here in a small city called Castlegar because of a wonderful opportunity. Anyone who has known me for a long time knows I've dreamed about being a sports broadcaster for a long time. When I was a kid I'd play in the back yard doing play by play for made up games of hockey or baseball. I'd do play by play for video games. I'd watch TV and do play by play. I've wanted this for as long as I can remember caring about sports.

It's actually something I never thought would happen.

I'm not going to get overly dramatic and pretend that suddenly I'm the new play by play voice of the Edmonton Oilers. However, I was offered a job here in Castlegar as the Sports Director for a station called Mountain FM. What that means is I'm responsible for our sports coverage and making sure we're on top of all local sports. It also means I'm going to be the play by play voice of the Jr. A Trail Smoke Eaters at the start of next season (Jr A hockey or "Tier Two" is the level right below Major Jr. hockey like the OHL, WHL, QMJHL, etc). In addition, I'm the morning news guy and co-host. It's a huge responsibility as the morning show is the most important part of the broadcasting day.

It's a lot more than I thought I would by doing just a little more than a year into my on air career, and about 2 years into my professional radio career. To get this kind of job you have to sacrifice some things. For me part of the sacrifice is picking up my life and moving it across the country. It means moving to a _slightly_ smaller city than Owen Sound that isn't as close to a major city like Toronto and is 3 time zones away from my family and friends. Sometimes when I was mulling over the move I thought I was nuts for going so far out of my comfort zone.

But since I've been here I realized that this really isn't that different from Owen Sound. After moving there I hardly got to see my friends anyway. I only got home to Ottawa twice. I barely ever had time to go to Toronto and see friends. I've been here before and I can definately handle it.

So the first step was saying goodbye to my life in Owen Sound. I spent just over a year in the city doing a great number of things that were good for my carer. I got to do newscasts. I reported from council meetings, crimes, sporting events and elections. I even got to host and contribute to talk shows. In my time there I also got the chance to get experience in televised sports by calling Lacrosse games, hosting Jr B games and even doing colour commentary for the OHL. I couldn't have asked for much more from my first job. My boss and co-workers were easy to work with and helped me come a long way. I also learned a lot about what life is like in smaller communities. It's a different lifestyle with different values and priorities. If I'm going to "branch out" in broadcasting I think it's really important that I learn about what it's like in all sorts of diferent markets and parts of the country.

Basically I'm saying I don't regret my time there even a bit. I think it was a really good first move for me and one that I'm much better for having made. Not just professionally but personally as well. I had to live truly on my own for the first time and I survived. I made some good friends I hope to stay in touch with, and I went through some major personal changes in that time. It's hard to imagine many more changes in the last year and a half.

My boss Manny couldn't have been much more understanding when I told him about my move. He knew it was the kind of opportunity I couldn't get in Owen Sound and from what I could tell he was happy for me. It was also nice that the GM and AGM of the station almost immediately approached me to see if they could get me to stay. Sometimes I wonder if maybe these kinds of signs of appreciation shouldn't be shown a bit earlier, but they're appreciate anyway.

I think in a small market like Owen Sound they realize that a lot of younger talents are going to come in and spend time there as kind of a training ground. I figure since we wern't in key spots like morning shows or management roles they just aren't willing to make the financial or you know contractual comitment to young people in those spots. I didn't really push for it either, because I don't think it would've been what I wanted.

I didn't have a real big blow out when leaving Owen Sound. I got together with a few people and had some drinks, then I met up with my friends Becky and Ashleigh to hit the dirty old Harb one more time. Dad and my Uncle were up visiting to move my stuff at the time, and Dad found me on the bathroom floor passed out in the early morning. Clearly I drank more than I planned.

I finally started to build a social life in Owen Sound outside of work in my last few months. I realized that friends just don't come to you... there has to be effort involved and you have to give people a reason. It's too bad I didn't make those pushes earlier, but I'm glad to got to know some new people in the end. Whether it was work friends or new friends outside of work it's nice to have known all of them and I hope I can stay in touch.

With that I packed up all my stuff... including 10 bags of trash and 4 bags of clothes that I gave away. It was kind of surreal to go through that whole process of getting your life together in a couple of days. I packed my parent's Mazda as full as it could possibly be. Even had to leave behind some furniture and one summer tire. With that I said goodbye, and had one trecherous drive that lasted way longer than it should have before I got home to Ottawa.

And with that ends Part 1 of my update. I promise (well I'll TRY) there will be more to come, but this is all ready way too wordy as it is.

Just so you know, all is well in BC. It's gorgeous here with a view of a mountain out every single door or window in the city. My job is going well, and I'm really enthusiastic about what's to come. I think this is the start of something that could be very special for me professionally.

I'm also spending my last day in a motel before moving into my new basement suite. Hopefully my new Telus internet will work and I'll be online tomorrow.

If you want to get in touch with me my e-mails as always are shawnsamsmullin@hotmail.com and smullin@gmail.com

Hope everyone is well. Part 2 coming as soon as I can muster the will to sit and type more.

Learn all about my trip home , the flight to BC (without my dog for the first couple weeks) and my first weeks on the west coast.

Oh, and professional sports sucks... Ryan Smyth the Islander? *shudder*

New Year's Quiz

2007-01-04T09:18:23Z

1. What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
Broadcast a lacrosse game, be part of an OHL telecast in my hometown, got a dog of my own, went through the end of a long term relationship, visited the United Kingdom, and saw an Edmonton Oilers playoff game live and in person.

2. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I don't remember.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
I'm so bad at remembering the when and where, but I'll say my old friend Tara and my new friend Jenn.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
Both my fish Nami and Lenny :( In all seriousness, I don't think so but I'm bad with timelines.

5. What countries did you visit?
The United States, England and Scottland

6. What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
I'd like to see more of my friends and family in Ottawa

7. What dates from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The funny thing about dates is that I never ever know them. I suppose the day of both our federal, municipal and Liberal elections, the day of my break up, my trip to Toronto to see friends from home for the first time in 8 months, the day I left for Europe and almost every single Edmonton Oiler playoff game.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Continued employment?

9. What was your biggest failure In 2006?
I think that's pretty obvious.

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing serious, worst was a soar throat that lasted 2 weeks.

11. What was the best thing someone bought you?
I think it will be my own digital camera, but that was only recently and I havn't got it yet.

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?
Oh my parents continue to set a golden standard.

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
The people who voted Conservative? :) I'd rather not dwell on this...

14. Where did most of your money go?
Bills and food

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
The Edmonton Oilers playoff run

16. What song will always remind you of 2006?
"Pump It" by the Black Eyed Peas. Not because I loved it, but because it was the them song for the Oilers playoff run. Seeing a pattern?

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a) happier or sadder? uh probably a bit sadder but temporary
b) thinner or fatter? I'm probably similar, could still use to shave a bit off the belly
c) richer or poorer? poorer, I'd just inherited $1000 from my Grandmother at this time last year.

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?
A lot more to stay in shape and a lot more effort to build a social network here.

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?
Sitting on my ass.

20. How do you plan to spend the holidays?
I spent them in Wasaga Beach with my family.

21. Did you fall in love in 2006?
Yes, with a beautiful puppy named Mowgli.

22. How many one night stands?
I'm a stud, 500!

23. What was your favorite TV program?
Arrested Development, but it ended so Veronica Mars.

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
I don't believe in hate.

25. What was the best book you read?
...book? Read a lot, but not novels.

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?
That I actually like some very old school country music... and that I still despise almost all new country.

27. What did you want and get?
To see my family for the holidays, to continue developping my career at a good rate...

28. What did you want and not get?
An Oilers Stanley Cup win

29. What was your favorite film of this year?
I havn't watched nearly enough movies this year so I'm not sure I can even say.

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
I worked on my actual birthday, but my family celebrated the day before in Wasaga Beach and I turned 26.

31. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
An outstanding achievement award in the field of excellence.

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
I use the old "does it smell?" technique. If it does, I may not wear it.

33. What kept you sane?
Friends and family

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Scarlett Johansson (Maddock you thief)

35. What political issue stirred you the most?
In 2006? Hmm, probably the stupidity of the Quebec "nation" recognition.

36. Who do you miss?
Everyone back home.

37. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006?
The best laid plans... I've got to be less accomodating in many ways... living on your own is a lot more responsibility than I expected.

Defense of Champions

2007-01-02T08:52:15Z

I have been saying in a few places that the Edmonton Oilers have a boatload of acceptable bottom pairing defensemen.

In fact, I'd suggest Tjarnqvist, Hejda, Bergeron, Smid and Greene would all make terrific 5/6 defensemen on a team with a good or even average top 4.

I also suspect Gilbert, Roy, Syvret and maybe even Chorney could fill similar 5/6 roles effectively.

That's impressive bottom pairing depth. Striking even. However, it all means absolutely nothing when you only have two guys who are legitimate top 4 defenders.

Steve Staios and especially Jason Smith have the weight of the entire city of Edmonton on their shoulders. They have the weight of Chris Pronger's departure on their shoulders. They have the weight of a team coming off an appearance in the finals on their shoulders. They have the weight of 12 forwards who aren't playing confidently because of their awful defense on their shoulders. They have the weight of a goalie who'd been bailing them out but is getting tired on their shoulders.

It's all too damn much for Jason Smith and Steve Staios.

These guys are top 4 defensemen on any team, and in another situation no one is going to be unhappy with them. In this situation Kevin Lowe and Craig MacTavish are just plain asking too much of the poor guys.

Some of us (myself included) felt a strong group of forwards would be able to overcome our current situation at last until the deadline. At that point adding one pretty good veteran should be enoughl. A little examination of NHL history proves us wrong as much as the current results do.

The Carolina Hurricanes of 2005-06 had a defense that we enjoyed comparing our group to in pre-season projections. However, I would suggest Kaberle, Hedican, Ward, Commodore and Wesley all qualify as potential top 4 defensemen. Wallin still would rank as fairly inexperienced and more at the 5/6 level. Tverdovsky was also at the 5/6 level but barely played in the playoffs. The "no #1 defensive depth" system can work if you have 5 guys who could all be relied upon as at least second pairing guys. That means the workload is split appropriately among reliable guys. Ask yourself who among the defensemen on the Edmonton this year would supplant someone from Carolina's group last year. I would suggest only Jason Smith and Steve Staios. The comparison unfortunately does not hold up. Remember also that the Hurricanes had a relatively weak group on defense for a Cup champion.
The Edmonton Oilers of 2005-06 had a defense dominated by one of the three truly elite defenders in the game today. Chris Pronger played half the game every night including a spot as our primary shut down man and offensive quarterback. There were also 4 defensemen who would legitimately qualify on almost any team's top 4. Bergeron, Greene and Tanstrom were acceptable as 5/6 guys in this case because we only needed them to play limited minutes with such a solid group ahead of them.
The 2003-04 Tampa Bay Lightning didn't have anyone who would even compare to a Chris Pronger. They also wern't carried by their defense, but the group was certainly a capeable one. Both Dan Boyle and Pavel Kubina at the time would find their place on the top pairing of almost any team in hockey. Sydor is on perhaps a bit of a downturn, but still playing at a top 4 level. Brad Lukowich had all ready been through a few playoff wars with Dallas and Tampa and was by no means a shaky rookie. Sarich is into his 4th year of hockey and is reliable enough. They also rotate in a couple of other guys into that 6th spot throughout the playoffs. Kubina and Boyle carry a lot of the load, but importantly are not being backed up by a bunch of kids. At the very least Boyle, Kubina and Sydor are top 4 on most teams. Once again I'd suggest only Smith and Staios from this year's Oilers would supplant anyone on this unit. However, our 5/6 guys would look fine playing that role on this team because they wouldn't be relied upon for as much.
The 2003-04 Calgary Flames had Regher, Lydman, Leopold, Warrener and Ferrence with Montador stepping in for Gauthier come playoff time for a reason I don't recall. Once again at least four guys who'd qualify as top 4 defenderse with Regher playing well enough to be at least a #2 on any team in hockey. Our group isn't in this league.
The 2002-03 New Jersey Devils start with a similar situation to the 06 Oilers as they have one of those elite defenders in Niedermayer. Employ someone that good and you could have 4 bottom pairing defensemen like we do. Of course they didn't, the Devils also happened to have a future Hall of Famer and 2-time cup champion in Scott Stevens. They had a very capeable #2 on any other team in puck moving Brian Rafalski. If those are your top 3, Rory Fitzpatrick could be 4th. Rafalski is only in his third NHL season here, but he's all ready outscoring Niedermayer so he's well established. Colin White is also in his thid full season, but he'd all ready been a full time part of two runs to the Stanley Cup finals and a championship. There's your top 4, and for an encore you have Tverdovsky, Albelein and Daneyko sharing the bottom pairing duties during the cup run. It's almost unfair. I suspect Jason Smith could have cracked the top 4, but it's entirely possible he and Staios would be the 5th and 6th guys on this depth chart. Think about that.
The Anaheim Mighty Ducks of 2002-03 had a similar group to the recent Hurricane team. Sandis Ozolinsh, Niclas Havelid, Keith Carney, Ruslan Salei, Vitali Vishnevsky (in his third pro season) and rookie Kurt Sauer. I'd say this group is even weaker than Carolina's group due to the inclusion of a rookie and the questionable top 4 status of a couple of those guys. They're the group who gives Oiler fans the most hope out of all recent finalists. This group suggests that if we add one legitimate top 4 guy who could run out PP (ala Murray getting Ozolinsh in 03) and Roloson played out of this world hockey for the entire playoff run, we could possibly contend. However, Giguere played so well during this cup run that no team could even hope their goalie would match that. Regardless, this unit is at least a reachable comparison if Lowe makes only one move. At that point we could only be playing a single rookie at a time (or two at most) and would have at least 3 guys who are reliable top 4 defenders.

The year before Detroit beat Carolina. Do I need to mention Lidstrom and Chelios? Carolina had a very similar group to the recent Cup winning unit except they had Ozolinsh and Sean Hill (who was playing very good hockey at the time) instead of Commodore and Kaberle.

In 2000-01 Ray Bourque and Rob Blake led Colorado to a Cup win over Scott Niedermayer and Scott Stevens. Of course, Scott and Scott had just won a cup of their own the year before.

Point made?

As it stands, this small sample of the last several Stanley Cup finalists makes it clear that Kevin Lowe must trade for at least two reliable, veteran defensemen who would qualify for almost any team's top 4. If he doesn't, we shouldn't even bother showing up for the playoffs. One or no moves means we're not even trying to win it all. With a 37 year old goalie and 2 key unrestricted free agents (Smyth and Sykora) that would be a shockingly foolish course of action.

Get it done, Kevin.

(P.S. I also think we need at least another two-way forward. We've got basically a whole fourth line of rookies, and that's not going to cut it. It would be cool if we could bring in someone like Radek Dvorak or Dallas Drake from the Blues. How about Jackman, Brewer or Backman with Drake or Dvorak? I'm sure we have the horses to make that happen. Larry, lets talk!)

2006

2007-01-02T07:17:29Z

I've been trying to avoid the typical traps of the new year.

It all started because it looked like I would have absolutely nothing to do for the big night itself.

I had been seeing a girl and my plans were going to be with her, and that fell through. That's dating for you. It's interesting, I suspected dating here would be quite slow and frustrating. Dating is always somewhat frustrating I'm sure, but there are interesting women in my age range. I've found that I do quite enjoy the initial getting to know you stage. It took me a while to warm to it, and it'll take me even longer to really open myself to someone new, but I'm at least interested again.

Anyhow, after those plans fell through I kind of reminded myself how I've always felt New Year's Eve was an overhyped dissapointment. Every year people want it to be something more than it is. There are grand expectations of a huge party or life changing event that it never lives up to. I figured if I just try to live it like any other silly day it'll all be fine.

But then at the last minute I went skating for a bit at a New Year's event at our local rink, then I got invited out to a dance thing in a little place called Keady. I looked pretty good last night actually, and you don't often hear me saying that. So going through all those motions made me think about the year end.

At this time last year I was ringing in the New Year with Mom, Dad and Amy after my first three weeks in Owen Sound. I'd never lived anywhere but Ottawa my entire life. I was only a few days removed from missing my first family Christmas, and a couple weeks removed from missing my Grandmother's funeral. Needless to say it was a shock to the system and I was kind of numb to it all.

(I'll note here that this year's holidays was a tremendous treat. I'm planning to blog all about it when Mom and Dad send me the pictures. They came up and got a cottage in a nearby town so the whole family could be together. I was thrilled to spend a solid week with my family again - I miss the hell out of them.)

A year later I ring in 2007 with my friends Crystal and Ali (and several of their friends who I've only met briefly) from our sister station in Port Elgin. I've barely known them a month and a half, and I was otherwise in a room full of strangers. I've lived on my own for more than a year. I have a 6 month old puppy. I've seen my old friends from Ottawa that I love so much at most 2 or 3 times in that entire year. Oh, and I'm single after spending nearly 4 years with Amy.

I'm also making my first jump into the world of sports broadcasting that I've dreamed about ever since I was a kid doing play by play for my own baseball games in the backyard and hockey games in the street. I had no intention of winding up in front of a TV camera, but it's been an unexpected and fun surprise. I even got a chance to be in the broadcast booth for an OHL game televised live in my hometown while my friends watched. I have a regular gig that I feel I'm improving at every week. It's been a struggle at times as I have no training to do what I do there, but I hope my passion is carrying me.

Now as for the primary reason I moved here - I'm over a year into my on air radio career. The year mark is a very important one in radio. It instantly gives me substancially more credibility than I would have had even at 6-9 months. It means I stuck it out this long without quitting or being fired. I'm a professional now. I think it opens up more doors if I ever chose to leave, but it also gives me more credibility around the office I work in.

I say this a lot, but I'm much richer for the experience I've had here in Owen Sound. I don't get paid well, but I get paid in resume building. Our radio station is more devoted to local news coverage than most in this level of market, and it's given me a lot of opportunities. Instead of simply reading and writing the news I've also been able to report on municipal politics, federal elections, crimes (including a hostage situation), sports and some events that I'd never have learned a thing about if I wern't here. Think fish derbies and farm equipment fairs.

I've been able to participate as a host, "expert" pannelist and interviewer for both news and sports talk programs. That's something I've always seen as a goal and never thought I'd be able to participate in yet. A few times when we're short for a guest I get called in and can do things like spend 12 minutes talking about the Liberal leadership race or the kind of season the local hockey team is having. I love that stuff. I've even had a few interview segments that have received special praise by some people at work whose opinions mean a lot to me. I also may even get the chance to take a very active role on our sports talk show in the next few months. It's a great opportunity that I'm certainly excited about.

At this stage of my career I have to keep an eye on how much more I can learn and when is the appropriate time to move on. I believe there' s a lot more I can learn here. I also know it's not going to be my last stop. Maybe I'll feel like there's a lot more to learn elsewhere within 6 months, a year, 2 years... it's hard to say. I think it's important to keep my eyes and ears open for other opportunities and make sure I make an appropriate next move. That being said, I also think it's important I take advantage of the situation and varied opportunities I could have here to build my career and help improve the stations.

So looking back at the first year of my "real" career I'm quite happy with how far I've come. I have a ridiculous amount to work on, and I have to make sure I don't get complacent. I know there are things I need big improvement in. Still, I would call my time in Owen Sound thus far a success.

Socially may be another story. I kind of took that all for granted when I knew I had a girlfriend and friends elsewhere. It's time to make a real concerted effort to making and securing strong connections here if I'm going to be happy while I work on my career.

I would say making the proper next move in my career and improving my social situations are my biggest goals for 2007. We'll see how I do.

Oh, and for god's Shawn get in better shape. My endurance is pitiful.

Happy New Year!

If it's broke, fix it!

2006-12-31T06:04:03Z

(The Oilers D could use a kick in the ass like this Finish fellow is about to give Daniel Tjarnqvist)

Watching the last few games it's clear the breakout woes are only getting worse. Teams are keying in on this weakness and really exploiting it to get on top of the Oilers early. Once that happens everyone plays tighter and the forwards don't create the kind of chances needed to take things back. The forwards are worrying too much about the defensive zone due to the inability of our defense, and they're not creating the way we need them to. There's no flow to the Oiler game right now. It's getting desperate. There has to be a move.

Watching them against the Canucks it seems apparently Tjarnqvist is absolutely not suited to anything but a 5-6 role. Neither is Bergeron. Greene is too young to be anything more than that and so is Smid. Hejda has played a very solid and simple game when he's been in the lineup, but he's nothing much more than a 4-5-6 guy himself. He at least isn't mistake prone. That means the Oilers have only 2 top 4 defenders. Neither of those defenders is a #1 and they aren't elite #2s either. I like all our players, but if you're going to run with a depth unit of 6 guys in the back end they have to all be at least possible top 4 guys. It's OK to have a bunch of 5-6s when you have Pronger, but not when you're trying to split the load. That means we either need to land a #1 or 2 top 4 guys if this system is even going to have a hope in hell of working come playoff time.

Who are the options? The biggest problem with making a trade at this point in the season is that there's almost nobody out of the playoff race. The only teams I'm confident in saying won't make it are Philidelphia, Los Angeles, Phoenix and St. Louis. However, even the Blues and Yotes have been playing better hockey lately. Teams are not going to be selling their better players when they're trying to sell a playoff run. There may not be enough teams out of it come deadline time, and if that's the case we're really going to have to overpay in a trade. Thank goodness for lots of young talent. I think it's imperitive that Lowe tries to jump on this early like he did last year. The price only gets bigger the closer you get to the last day.

Possible Defensive Targets

Philidelphia (Worst record in hockey with no playoff hopes)

-Denis Gauthier: Gauthier is out hurt right now but may be a target for a lot of teams once he gets a few games in. He's a -6 so far this year, but he's been a plus player most of his career. Clearly a physical and maybe even a bit slow defenseman, but a guy who knows how to handle the game in his own zone and isn't prone to mistakes. Makes a bit too much money so it's a risk. However, if he works out he'd be locked up.
-Alexei Zhitnik: A quick defenseman with good offensive instincts and a very good shot. What worries me is his decision making. We don't need more risky passes in our zone and he's prone to the occasional mistake. Also just got moved so will he be again?

Florida (Falling behind the pace in their division but still in the race and may wait at least closer to the deadline unless it's a talent for talent deal)

-Ruslan Salei: Physical and nasty. 18 assists in the season so far and that'd rank pretty highly when compared to the guys we have so far. A couple of scouting reports say he also is prone to some numb nuts decisions in his own zone. Clearly all defensemen are at times, but god when we're looking around the key to any guy we get should be confidence and intelligent puck movement. Salei could be dealt if Florida falls off a bit more, but may not be the right guy.
-Mike Van Ryn: I don't think he's going to be available without giving up some significant pieces. Scouting reports and some casual observation tell me that Van Ryn is exactly the type of guy we need. TSN for one says he moves the puck well. Van Ryn is a maturing player with poise and a very reasonable contract that lasts beyond this year. Knowing Jacques Martin I can only assume he loves him. Van Ryn is also only -3 on a mediocre Panthers squad. I'd give up some very impressive talent to land him. This is not a guy you get in a rental deal, it'd have to likely be an overpay to get Florida to budge. Still, he'd make us instantly better.
-Jay Bouwmeester: We wish. Don't even pretend this is possible. Man the guy is +7 on Florida, I sure wish we got him and Horton. How much better would this team be right now if that was the trade instead of the one we did get? Just have to remind myself how much I like Smid's future.

Los Angeles (Poor record and not enough veteran talent to expect anything out of this season)

-Lubomir Visnovsky: Loves to skate the puck up the ice. Great passes and PP quarterback. The only real downfall of Visnovsky's game is his size so he'd be an ideal pairing for Smith or Matt Greene. Absolutely should be our primary target if he's available. Has a great contract with another year on it so he'll cost more than a rental. We can't expect a Spacek or Tarnstrom deal for a man of this caliber - if we get him or Van Ryn we'll pay through the nose to do it. Given the play of our defense they are both exactly the type of players we should pay that much to get.
-Mattias Norstrom: For a veteran stay at home defenseman he's had an off year. Given the contract Norstrom signed and his status as team captain I don't think this is a move either side makes.
-Brent Sopel: He's played very well so far this season. Sopel has a terrific shot and a strong offensive game, but he's not the guy to come in and fix our breakout issues.
-Rob Blake: Makes too much money for his declining game.
-Oleg Tverdovsky: His career is close to over and he'd be a downgrade on Bergeron at this point.

New Jersey (Some cap space issues with one particular player)

-Richard Matvichuk: Can't get back into the lineup when he's healthy because of the financial situation. He's a stable player who doesn't make many mistakes. Not particularely fast, but he's dependable and a good second option. Couldn't be our top pick up but as a second guy he'd work out.

New York Rangers (Free falling with a long losing streak, in the race but could fall out by the deadline)

-Michal Rozsival: He's +6 on a struggling Rangers team. Strong in his own zone but also has 15 assists on the year. Good passer, good decision maker and just an overall good defenseman. I'm not sure if they'd move him but I think he would easily slot himself into our top 4. Not a major impact player like Visnovsky or Van Ryn, but a big improvement and help with the break out for sure

Phoenix (Playing better lately and that may prevent them from making a move unfortunately, but they're still going to be sellers in time)

-Nick Boynton: Hasn't done much offenisvely, but he's reliable in the defensive zone. A strong player with still untapped potential and a decent contract. He's -7 on a bad team. Not really a stand out stat one way or the other. Again I think he'd be a strong pickup but more a top 4 upgrade than a major move.
-Derek Morris: Prone to giving the puck away and has never lived up to his offensive potential. Lots of people have tried to sell Morris as something more than he's proved to be in the NHL. I'd be unhappy if this is who we picked up.
-Ed Jovanovski: Too much money for too long a term. However, I did want to note he's played a lot better than he's been given credit for in some places. Plus he's only a -1. Also I'll use this spot to mention how we are not going to pry away one of their good young guys.

St. Louis (Playing much better hockey with Murray behind the bench but this is still not a playoff team)

-Christian Backman: As far as I know he's not a UFA so I don't know why he'd be moved. If he is... someone correct me. I've seen him play a few times and like how simple and effective his game is in the defensive zone. TSN also notes he's very good at moving the puck out of his zone. Simple stuff but what we desperately need. Still has some untapped potential and no huge contract to worry about. He's got a terrific +5 on the Blues and that's intriguing.
-Eric Brewer: We know his game and we know he'd be an upgrade on what we have. How much of one is hard to say given the nature of his time in St. Louis thus far. He's not going to be an impact player on the PP but he does have a good breakout game and is at least mostly reliable.
-Barrett Jackman: Another plus player on a bad team. In his case it's +3. Jackman is not going to contribute offensively, but he plays a simple and physical game. The main concerns about him are not reliability in his own zone, it's his injury history. I would love to grab Jackman, he'd be a huge upgrade defensively over almost anyone on our team. Not a big puck mover, but very sound.

Tampa Bay (Not enough depth on this team and their goaltending didn't improve enough so it looks like they may fall out of the race, but will it be by the deadline?)

-Dan Boyle: Putting up terrific numbers offensively and still barely a minus on a team that hasn't been playing well. Boyle does everything well and only really lacks size. He's a huge part of this Tampa team and one would imagnie he's only going to be up for grabs if they really are giving up on the season. Boyle is the best of all available defensemen in terms of the overall game he could bring to the team. He also has a Stanley Cup ring and his salary isn't out of whack. Tampa would be interested in some cheaper depth pieces too. Wouldn't MAB's contract be attractive with a cheap prospect like Gilbert who could step in this year. I imagine for any trade to occur they'd have to go on a really bad run.
-Filip Kuba: A very good season for Kuba thus far. He's a +4 with a lot of assists and a good overall game. Not a top pair talent but again an upgrade if Tampa starts selling.

There will be more options, especially in talent for talent deals or if any other teams go on big slides. As it stands though this is the core of guys that I can see us having a chance at. This is how I'd rank them when considering contract and talent.

1) Lubimir Visnovsky
2) Mike Van Ryn
3) Dan Boyle
4) Christian Backman
5) Barrett Jackman
6) Michal Rozsival
7) Nick Boynton
8) Filip Kuba
9) Eric Brewer
10) Ruslan Salei

(Edit: I'm very tempted to do a bunch of fantasy trades but I always hate how those come out. I'll note that only the first three guys on this list would be worth moving a 1rst round pick as part of a deal.)

One Shall Stand, One Shall Fall

2006-12-17T18:43:46Z

http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/default.cfm?page=News/Item&newsid=A38C3BE4-D56F-E112-4FC20FDA1C5EDB5F

I don't know if you knew about this Scott/Danny/Mather whomever else, but a 20th Anniversary Special Edition! Talk about a lovely Christmas present for our favourite Calgary boys.

But in all likelyhood Scott just put it on his credit card all ready.

For Wolfenden...

2006-12-08T19:03:37Z

Sorry to hear about this buddy: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6161691.stm

;)

Same Sex Stays

2006-12-07T23:06:20Z

Just a quick update for thos who didn't hear: The Conservative motion to re-open debate on same sex marriage is dead. 175 MPs voted agains it, including 12 Conservatives. High profile Tory MPs Peter McKay, John Baird and Michael Chong were among those who voted against their government's outdated line of thinking and I applaud them for it.

Another note, there were Liberals who voted for the issue including one from the riding next store to me here. I disagree with them, but I'm glad new Liberal leader Stephane Dion gave them the chance to vote the way they felt was right.

Now, can we finally drop the issue and let same sex couples live in peace?

Was that a goat?

2006-12-04T21:04:32Z

I want to talk about the great new leader of the Liberal Party - but before we get to that, this came in to our e-mail today:

PRESS RELEASE - 05 DECEMBER 2006

MAN INJURED AFTER BEING ATTACKED BY GOAT

An 80-year-old Durham man was treated for minor injuries and releasedfrom hospital after being attacked by a goat. Investigation revealedthat the victim was bending over to pick up his blue box on ChesterStreet, Durham when a goat attacked him from behind and knocked him intothe side of his residence. The goat was discovered to be owned by aneighbour.

Thank You Gerard

2006-12-02T19:06:50Z

Gerard Kennedy has dropped off the ballot. He delivered a bold speech telling Liberals an important message last night. We lost the last election for a reason. It wasn't just a time out, it wasn't just a quick break, it was a very important message to Liberals that arrogance and waste and scandal is just not acceptable. Kennedy spoke up and said we need to convince those people we've changed. We need to reach out to the West of Canada and show them that the Liberals are not just an Ontario East party. It's a strong and important message.

Kennedy was 100 delegates from being in a real position to win. The ex-officio delegates - MPs, Ministers, Cabinet ministers - lined up behind Dion instead of Gerard. Ken Dryden and Scott Brison went to Rae. Kennedy needed one of those men at least to make the leap.

He didn't get it.

I think Gerard did a hell of a job to make it as far as he did having had no national profile before this campaign. Now people know who his name. They know his face. Hopefully he now has a very important role in the party as they move forward.

Stephane Dion is a man of integrity and brilliance. He is a man who worked in important roles for both Chretien and Martin. I hope he will be a uniter, and I hope with Kennedy's support Dion wins this thing.

But thank you to Gerard Kennedy and his passionate campaign for winning me back to the Liberal Party. I have been very cynical because of the Chretien/Martin wars (as a big Chretien man) and had moved away from the Liberals. I'm excited again to be a supporter of this party.

Gerard in 2016!

Gerard Stands Up

2006-11-27T23:17:16Z

Today Gerard Kennedy made the following statement:

"I cannot support the Harper-Duceppe motion currently before the House.

The Prime Minister's responsibility is to protect the constitution and the unity of the country. This motion does neither.

It is wrong for Canada.

The motion creates an unmistakable expectation by giving official legitimacy to the "idea" of nation, without defining it. This is an irresponsible step, as there has never been greater need for honest dialogue between Quebecers and the rest of Canadians.

Rather than improving national unity, the motion will exacerbate divisions and generate misunderstanding in Quebec and across Canada.

It is for this reason that throughout this campaign I have consistently opposed the "officialization" of the notion of Quebec as a nation.

Canada is a united country that must be constantly defined by our common values and a shared purpose. The introduction of this resolution contradicts this need and instead sows division over uncertain symbols.

I respect the sense of identity shared by many Quebecers, reflecting a common culture, language, history and accomplishment and I will continue to promote that identity, rather than playing divisive political games with it.

Further, this motion does nothing to recognize, and potentially takes away from, aboriginals, Acadians and other official minority groups with a distinct culture and heritage within Canada.

I deplore that anyone would use this as a wedge issue for political gain. As Liberals, we have to understand that there is no easy way to rebuild the party in Quebec but we must stay resolute in our vision for the entire country.

I want Quebecers to know that as Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada I will forge a common understanding of the best way for Quebecers and all Canadians to work together on our real challenges: globalization benefiting all families not just a few; an aging population and the growing divide between rural and urban regions.

Out of respect for the interim leader Bill Graham, I am not requesting that any caucus member supporting my candidacy change their vote to reflect my position.

Canadians will know that I do not feel bound by this vote or this process."

Also today, Ken Dryden stood up on the House of Commons with a very passionate statement opposing the motion. Terrific writting from a bright man.

Kennedy Opposing "Nation" Motion

2006-11-27T07:37:48Z

First of all, sign the petition. Who knows how valuable one of these online pettions really is. However, Warren Kinsella is behind it and a media name as big as Andrew Coyne has signed it. It's something to do to show where you stand.

Speaking of standing up for something...

Remember a couple of days ago when I said I didn't expect Kennedy would take a stand on this issue? Clearly I underestimated the guy I'm backing. We don't know the details yet, but Kennedy is opposing the "the Quebecois are a nation within a united Canada" motion. As it stands, he's the only leadership figure on the national scene I'm aware of who has stood up and said as much. A couple of Conservative and Liberal MPs have said they won't be voting for it, but no other leadership figures. Hell, even the Bloq are behind this thing now! Funny enough, because they say it plays right into their hands.

The whole thing is quite a mess now, but I'm glad someone is willing to stand up and say this is the wrong thing to do. We'll surely hear more details today at some point when Kennedy holds his press conference. I would hope he at least shares some of my views on how this isn't any business of the government anyway. How it opens up a large pandora's box. How it's an insult to other cultural groups in the country. How it has all ready hurt the cause of a united Canada by riling up all this debate and opening old wounds.

No matter what inspired Kennedy to do this, it's also a pretty massive way to get himself in the public eye a week before the convention. A cynic could certainly suggest that the stance is being taken because Kennedy's been near invisible in the media despite having elected the third most delegates. Is this a desperate move to get spotlight and keep his slim hopes alive?

I don't think so, but I'm biased. I also havn't heard him explain his reasoning yet so lets all keep an open mind on that subject.

Whatever his reasons for taking this stand I'm really glad he has. I'm also really glad to have supported him pretty much from the start. Kennedy was basically pushed into the race by his supporters. He took a controversial stand on Afghanistan without playing to the cut and run crowd or the hardened military crowd. He has focused on renewal and is running a positive campaign when the other three top contenders go negative on each other. Now he's being the first leadership candidate to step forward and stand against this dangerous motion. Agree or disagree with his policies, his politics and leadership are admirable.

Probably not all that much of an accident that he received an endorsement from Justin Trudeau a few days before making this announcement. Kennedy is the only candidate now standing up for Trudeau federalism. It sets him appart and it's going to give some delegates another big reason to take a look at Gerard. Even if he loses and even if this nation thing gets through without much difficulty - at least someone is putting up a fight.

I have a feeling this is going to be quite a fun week for a political junkie.

From Where I Sit - November 27th

2006-11-27T04:00:43Z

As heard on 560 CFOS and seen at www.radioowensound.com

What is it they keep saying we're fighting the war in Afghanistan for?

What is that word George Bush keeps using in selling the war on terror?

Freedom.

We want to protect freedom, spread freedom, everybody must have freedom!

As long as you don't scare us, right?

There's a movement afoot to ban Muslim women from wearing a full face veil and burqua to cover themselves. Not all do - but some believe their god wants them to remain covered in public.

So far the Dutch, French, Italians, Belgians and Germans have asked - very nicely I'm sure - for Muslim women to uncover.

The Owen Sound Sun Times even had an opinion column from Shirly Holmes that hinted of support for banning the full face veil.

Holmes argues it harms the equality of women - but it's not up to the government to force our cultural values on another.

Are we forgetting what freedom means? It doesn't mean - the right to look and dress and talk and act exactly like the rest of us. It means the right to look, and dress and talk however you want.

There are arguments that covering a face like that can make a woman look sinister and incite further stereotypes or hatred. I'd say that's not the Muslim women's fault, it's the biggot's fault.

Or perhaps the women can even use the veil to hide their identity and rob a jewelry story like in a recent case in Toronto.

Well then, who will champion the cause for banning ski masks, goggles, scarves, turtle necks, sunglasses and frankly any kind of mask? It's just too dangerous.

We would never even consider banning those things, that would be ridiculous. And so is the idea that we can tell or even ask Muslim women to change their clothes. Frankly, it reeks of not only fear mongering but also racism.

From where I sit it's time to remember what freedom really means, I'm Shawn Mullin.

Special Delivery

2006-11-25T09:17:58Z

Justin Trudeau has given Gerard Kennedy's run for the Liberal leadership some much needed attention with this endorsement. How much Liberals actually value the endorsement is certainly a question no one can answer. I don't think the real value, in the short term at least, is necessarily that it alone will sway voters. However, Justin is a big name and the timing of this means Gerard can maybe get back some spotlight with very little time to go before the vote.

Justin Trudeau initially had me a bit skeptical. He gave a passionate eulogy for his father and the whole country was ready to crown him Prime Minister. I admire a man who can speak well publically, but I must say being passionate about your own father's death is not very unique. However, since that time he's stuck to his words about grassroots politics and gone all across Canada talking to people a lot of others don't talk to. I'm talking about young people and those interested in the future of the country and the Liberal party - but those who have very little power to decide its path. That's what he's been doing, and as a result it makes sense for him to line up beside the man who is championing that renewal.

As for the nation issue, I'm not sure this endorsement has anything to do with that. Kennedy hasn't taken a specific stand on the issue, but it is very hard to imagine he will go against the grain. Too bad. It's interesting to watch the whole thing play out at least, even if it does fill me with dread. (Incidently, saying you think the people of Quebec could constitute a cultural nation does not mean you are automatically going to agree with bringing this motion forward. I never said I didn't think they were myself - I just think it's none of the government's business and politicans are dealing with it for political points ONLY)

Kennedy has taken the tactic of shunning the negative and thus controversial war of words between Ignatieff, Rae and Dion. There are goods and bads politically in doing so. The biggest negative is that mudslinging gets press. Despite being third in delegate support, Kennedy appears to be a very distant fourth in the public eye. Nobody's talking about him outside of Liberal bloggers and the occasional profile piece.

The plus of course is that he isn't engaging in the divisive attacks. Clearly as a Kennedy supporter I'm biased, but how healed does this fractured party look when the leadership candidates are ripping each other appart. This has turned from what was supposed to be a debate about policy to one about character and leaderhip ability. Those are both important to a successful leader, but in the end all Liberals will suffer from the blows the frontrunners have dealt each other if one of them ends up standing above the pack. We also suffer from politicians changing their stances on the fly to win advantage - something unfortunately "perfected" by Paul Martin.

Can we take Bob Rae or Stephane Dion seriously when they shake Michael Ignatieff's hand and say "I back this man 100%!" if the big Iggy takes the top prize? Same thing if Rae wins. The two of them have been the source of and targets of most of the attacks. Dion launches a lot of attacks, but seems to avoid a lot launched back at him. Perhaps because as he gains momentum the top 2 don't want to give him anymore attention.

Regardless, do any of you see a similar problem if Kennedy were to win the leadership? All of his opponents could easily endorse his leadership without reeking of falseness. They havn't been attacking him, he hasn't been attacking them. He's been bringing forward policy initiatives and talking about going back to the grassroots of the party instead of dwelling on the old ways of getting things done.

Meanwhile, the top three candidates are going about doing things the old way.

I'd still chose any of them over the other political options we have in this country. At least as of this moment. However, Stephen Harper is a very skilled politician. He is not to be underestimated and this decision is crucial.

Of course there's a reason President Bush wins election after election after election - and its not because he plays nice. There's a reason Warren Kinsella writes a book about kicking ass in politics and talks about the success of going negative. It's a risky strategy. One I think surely best suited to someone who doesn't have as much support as the top 2 guys and who could sneak up on people as a sort consensus candidate.

Lets also not forget that a leadership race is different than an election between rival parties.

The real question is after the bottom 4 (Joe, Ken, Scott and Martha) drop off, who is going to have the least amount of votes in the next round? Seems like the stars are lining up for Dion and Kennedy to join forces when that happens - and it's just a matter of who it's behind.

When that happens it's up to Bob Rae to either shake his old friend and new rival's hand and crown him king - line up behind the others - or just let his delegates fall where they may. Given how ardently anti-Ignatieff Rae has been, it's hard to imagine that's where they'd go even with an endorsement.

So watch for it... when it's down to the big 4... 3rd or 4th may be the difference between leader or also ran. Justin Trudeau is one card Kennedy's team is playing now so that the bottom 4's delegates don't forget his name.

One good way to do that? Stand next to someone with the most recognizable name in Canadian Politics. But that's not going to be enough, and this week will be a real test of Kennedy's political savy. Should be fun.

At least you can beat up your younger brother...

2006-11-25T09:10:53Z

A 5-1 win over a weak cousin team is exactly the kind of thing last year's Edmonton Oilers would have blown. Especially at home.

This team is teaching me that a reliable goaltender is worth more than any other player on your team. You simply can't get by with someone erratic and inconsistent. Right now I'd say the Oilers are having success beacause of the following ordered reasons.

Roloson's consistent and often spectacular play
Ryan Smyth and Petr Sykora's consistent clutch goal scoring (meaning we finally have more than just one player who takes advantage of breaks)
Everyone else is at least buying in and working hard to do the little things.

Oh, and Horcoff had 2 points, he's turning a corner. If some of the other goal scorers get hot we'll be beating good teams 5-1.

But tonight the Edmonton Oilers beat a lousy hockey team 5-1, and they need to prove a lot more to me before I'm confident they'll be ready in April.

Govern the state, leave the "nations" alone.

2006-11-23T09:45:37Z

So Stephen Harper has introduced a motion recognizing Quebec as a nation "within a united Canada."

In case you were wondering where this all started, look no further than the Liberal leadership race. Michael Ignatieff somehow decided what this leadership race needed was a big heaping of the old "how to appease Quebec" debate. Lets do that instead of winning them over with - I don't know - good policy and fair government. His stance? Eventual recognition of Quebec as a nation within the constitution of Canada. What did that mean? Not much. Now, I've had good impressions and not so good impressions of Mr. Ignatieff throughout his tenure in Canadian politics. One unfortunate thing about him is that he's not very good at staying on message. As a result, it's kind of hard to figure out the specific actions he would really take when tracking his new statements on the subject from day to day. However, my initial impression is that the constitutional change would actually mean nothing. It's a mere symbolic recognition to show Quebec uh... I suppose... that we understand them and love them in their special uniqueness? Of course that alone would not be enough to get Quebec to sign the constitution as it exists today. That means with any nation policy there absolutely would have to be other changes. But Ignatieff said there would be no concessions made as a result of the policy. Put two and two together and the whole idea is impossible and thus pointless.

Quickly leadership candidates came out publically against the idea of re-opening constitutional talks. They were messy last time. How messy? When they fell appart it started the ball rolling towards us nearly losing Quebec. But hey, they havn't signed, so that symbolic gesture is surely worth opening up the pandora's box again isn't it? Sure the country is rolling along relatively fine, and that lack of signature hasn't actually stopped us from using the constitution in governing, but we NEED them to sign for some reason. Ego?

In response to these criticisms, Ignatieff stated that he didn't mean we should re-open the constitution anytime soon... just sometime. When is that sometime? Whenever the conditions are apparently in place. What are those conditions? Doesn't seem to be remotely clear.

Despite that, there appear to be statements from all four frontrunners in the leadership at one time stating their belief that Quebec is in one form or another a nation within Canada. Bob Rae has also said in the past we should re-visit the constitution, but has said recently we shouldn't - at least for now. Stephane Dion had been the strongest against the idea, but he's all ready close to backing Harper's motion. Funny how these Liberals seem more willing to unite behind the Conservative PM than each other.

Doesn't all of this just sound like they were spinning their wheels? The leadership race was going fine before all this talk. What has any of this accomplished? Are we discussing real issues facing Quebecers in their everyday lives? Are we asking what kind of policies could the party build that would win over Quebecers? Instead we've focused on the rhetoric about an issue that as far as I can tell means absolutely nothing - and only serves to further magnify the divide between Quebec and the rest of Canada.

There are polls out that say the majority of Canadians don't agree with recognizing Quebec as a nation. Look what opening this issue has done. Here, instead of talking about real issues and real policy that change our every day lives - we're talking about a symbolic gesture. In so doing we have opened up the public divide and old wounds. If Quebecers wern't thinking as much about how the rest of Canada felt about them these days - they sure had to think about it again when people started arguing about how to define them again. They sure had to think about it again when polls started appearing saying that once again the rest of Canada is rejecting them in some way. Even if that's not how they meant it, surely those polls stirred up some anger and some resentment on both sides of the old debate.

All for what? Are we going through this battle to dramatically change the way we deliver public services? To fix our social safety net? To modernize our economy? Nah, instead we're doing it in a game of political upsmanship with no practical or measurable goal in the end.

The door now opened - the Bloq jumped through it. They present a motion to the House of Commons saying Quebec is a nation. As a response, the Prime Minister presents his own motion saying Quebec is a nation... within a united Canada. Harper tried very hard to avoid the issue. He tried to never say a word on the subject. But faced with a Bloq motion on the subject he balked. He didn't want them or the Liberals to define anything, so at the very least Harper would get the jump on them. Good for him, he's done just that. However, this only serves to further a ridiculous issue that accomplishes nothing for anyone. What does his motion even mean? As the Bloq has all ready said, if they're a nation in Canada who the hell is to say they're NOT a nation outside of Canada? That makes no sense. It's an absurd wording that must have seemed very clever, but frankly changes nothing.

Oh, and am I the only one who remembers the house all ready passed a motion recognizing Quebec as a distinct society? Are we going to have to pass meaningless motions like this every 15 years so new politicians can puff up their chests and say they too love la Belle Province?

Lets stop here and look at the concept for a second - at least as it's being proposed. What exactly does this definition of nation mean? When they state it comes with no powers or distinct representation, it seems to simply be a way in which someone from or living in Quebec could identify themselves. So the government of Canada is essentially saying "go ahead, it's OK to identify yourselves as a part of the Quebec nation - because as long as there's a united Canada, we agree with you that it does indeed exist."

And so what? We need permission now to identify ourselves as part of something? If I idenfied myself as a member of the Quebec nation before this motion, I won't give a shit if the federal government agrees with me or not. This definition of nation seems to be simply something one decides they are or aren't a part of. What place does the government have in that discussion for anyone?

If you are publically recognizing the nation of Quebec, are you now saying other nations don't have the same value? Are you saying other nations within Canada don't exist or aren't legitimate without government recognition? Are you saying that anyone in or from Quebec is a part of this nation whether they like it or not?

I'd love to answer any of those questions for you, but there are no answers. It's not a part of the motion. Nor should it be part of any motion.

If these nations of people are basically the ones we self-identify as being a part of, then the government has absolutely no right to even talk about which are or aren't official. Call it what you want - recognized, legitimate, official, etc - it's a statement of value for one over all others that only serves to stir an emotional pot rather than accomplish anything substancial.

What happens next? We officially recognize The First Nations. But what, what about those who would say there is no one First Nation - there are over 600 tribes who don't necessarily identify themselves with the others. However, perhaps there are some who like to be associated with the whole. So who decides which view is the legitimate one? Does the government now have to have a say in how we view ourselves and our heritage?

Why would they bother if it actually means nothing to how this supposed nation is governed? Isn't that their job - governing? Govern the state, leave the nations alone.

This "nationhood" is none of the government's business. It only is on the radar today because of politics and a game that all four federal parties are playing with the fabric and emotional tensions in our country. But they all bought it - the Liberals, the NDP, the Conservativse - all of our national representatives took the leap. Shame on ALL of them from every province and any nation they want to belong to for creating this silly mess just to score political points on each other.

What is it about Quebec that makes generally sane politicians so absolutely stupid? I promise you, we are only in a worse place in Quebec because of this when we were when no one was actually talking about seperation anymore. Thanks for bringing it back up guys!

Lets just all vote Green, at least they havn't screwed up yet.

Election Fun

2006-11-15T10:09:26Z

I've been through two elections in my time as a reporter. It's been less than a year, so that's a pretty good start. The only dissapointing thing is that means it's less likely I'll have another year with two elections.

You can find results somewhere on www.radioowensound.com, but I doubt anyone reading this is actually from there area.

That is, unless the federal government falls within the year and we have a provincial election next fall. YES!

They're fun to cover. It's a big rush. You're mingling with supporters, candidates, staff and other reporters with everyone wanting that first look at the numbers and that first shot at the politicians when the results come in. It's a rush to be there on the phone setting the scene while big decisions are up in the air. Not as fun with mail-in ballots because we got all the results at once. But I enjoy the heck out of it. Got dressed up in some of my new clothes I got for being on TV too. Niiiice!

Municipal Elections are sure different than their counterparts. The campaigns are not nearly as smooth. For the most part, these politicians are local residents who want to make a different in their communities. Most of them have to keep another fulltime job in order to make a living while in office. It's not a career, it's an extra responsibility they take on for whatever reason. I know there are likely some of them who crave power or respect - but I think in small town local politics it's less about ambition and more about the real belief you are making a contribution.

Unless you're independently wealthy all ready it makes no sense to put so much time and effort for so little return. That is, unless you really think you're helping. That's admirable. That's a little different than federal MPs who make more money than I'm ever going to make. Some of them take a pay cut, but they would never have trouble making a living on that money.

If they did I'd tell them to screw off anyway.

So while we can criticize what local politicians do in small communities - I think we have to keep in mind how much they sacrifice just to try and help make the town/city/whatever a better place.

With that said, I found it striking how many of them didn't have simple election strategy. It seems enough of them felt all they had to do was put their name out there and knock on some doors. We are a fickle people and it takes something special to get our attention. If you even know your electorate a little there are good and simple methods for standing out from the crowd. Hell, even a really simple slogan for their signs. Makes me wonder what I could do in a political strategist role, even as just an advisor. Not that I have a lot of experience, but I feel like I have really good instincts for those things. Especially in pushing those who try too hard to just keep things simple and don't force any kind of fake personality. A simple and easy message - god they should drill that into politicians' heads. Like how Harper's 5 priorities destroyed Martin's 168.

Municipal elections are also a lot more personal to the people who really care. Instead of it being about health care from Newfoundland to BC, it's about what building is going to be built next to you? What's the road like on your way to work? Where is your garbage going? How much is your property worth? When you mess with things in people's own home they can sure get worked up. Less people care, but the ones who do care passionately.

There's one Mayor who was re-elected and is so upset with a bunch of things that happened that he refused to speak to our reporter there. There's a long story involving one of our high ranking employees that I can't tell publically - but it's not at all fair for our newsroom to be treated with such disrespect. It's one thing if you have a beef with one of our staff, but I think we've been fair in covering the election. I know I've had a part in some of it, and I felt I gave him equal time and fair coverage. Frankly, despite his anger with us it doesn't mean I wanted him to lose. I personally - now that it's over - think he is probably the right candidate. But he really needs to grow up and not hold grudges in such a childish way. We're just trying to do our jobs. He was willing to talk to us during the campaign, and now that it's over he doesn't want to talk to anyone but the newspaper reporter who likes him. Stephen Harper moved into local politics out there.

It's amazing how a battle to be the Mayor of a small municipality of 10,000 turned as personal as it did between the two candidates. Supporters of the challenger brought some stuff out from the Mayor's past that was questionable (ie not necessarily verified) and frankly pretty irrelevant to whether he had done a good job. Dissapointing to see that kind of thing when I really want to think the best of those who are doing these jobs.

Some good news from our municipal elections? Lots of females found their way onto councils where they were under-represented. A couple councils who had no women added a couple each. We have more female mayors in the area than we had before the election. It's always a good step. We're so far from women equalling 50% of elected officials that it's nice to see things move at least a little in that direction.

In Ottawa news a rich businessman with no political experience whipped the Mayor and a longtime city councillor. I don't buy his plan for zero tax increases through his mandate - but it is an interseting political story. A guy who few people knew walked in and stormed through the favoured competition. He won by more than 10% over much bigger political names. Nothing is impossible - especially when you have some cash. He also had a very simple message. No tax increase (Zero means Zero) and clean things up. Very typical conservative messages, but messages that work very well in a city that was promised savings from amalgamation and havn't seen any. The other candidates ran too broadly - too slick - and the guy who wasn't a politician was able to win over the middle class.

Now lets just hope he scraps the stupid train and concentrates on some kind of tunnel or bridge for the transitway downtown. That's the real problem - the rest of the east/west route works just fine.

In personal news, I'm doing well. Mowgli is becomming a better roomate. He's starting to offer up the cuddles now that he's calming down a bit. Though if I ever try and cut his nails watch out.

In Edmonton Oiler news - why the hell aren't they scoring? Chemistry certainly has something to do with it in relation to the new guys. I also think hockey is a very mental game, and when you get into a slump you just hold your sticks too tightly. Same thing is happening in Ottawa - but at least Oiler fans can say we've won more than we've lost. Sens fans? Another week or two like this and Pat Quinn might be coaching there ;)

This Quiz IS Weird

2006-11-08T04:24:17Z

A 1 or 2 Point Mistake Means What?

2006-11-04T06:00:22Z

Well, thank you Mick McGeough.

I'm not one to blame games on referees. Lets be frank, no matter who you are or what you do you will make mistakes. It's the job of a player to fight through the occasional mistakes a referee will make and still win. It's a job of a player to be good enough for the entire game that one or two mistakes won't be enough to cost anyone a game.

But lets face it, Dallas and Edmonton are pretty tight. I don't mean good friends. They're pretty close. Both teams have good depth but few stars. Strong goaltending and lots of youth. Lots of speed and they do the little things well. They have strong depth at defense and we have strong depth at forward. It's a great match up.

So when Morrow scores on interference and the Oilers have a goal waived off with 7 seconds to play, well that's enough.

If they get 1 out of 2 calls right it's a tie game and each team gets at least one point. If they get 2 out of 2 calls right - well who knows what happens. Could change the momentum of the whole damn game.

If a player makes two huge mistakes that cost his team the game a coach (considering the player's history and skill) will sit his butt on the bench. If a player makes a mistake that results in someone's injury or something of that nature the league will sit his butt on the bench.

So what I'm asking for today is accountability. I know the Oilers won't get their point back. However, I think it's time for leagues to step up and hold referees accountable for mistakes this big. You screw up this bad it should cost you.

I don't know what the punishment should be, all I know is there should be one. And an apology to the team it hurt. Unfortunately, that's not likely going to happen.

One quick game thought though. Ray Ferraro said something very interesting about how the Oilers had no cohesion in their breakout. The defense isn't moving the puck out well, and the forwards are too scrambled and far appart to build any momentum. The rush goes no where, so we just end up flipping it ahead. It happened time after time today. Dallas was able to control the play because of a complete lack of chemistry and quick puck movement in the defensive and neutral zones.

Which leads me to think with more practice and more time to work together - some of this timing is going to improve. It has to. That's the only thing I can come up with to explain the problem our boys have putting the puck in the net at the consistency we fans expected.

Oh well, I don't like watching losses like this where the team seems to have no zip. It was like this against Nashville, and has been in quite a few games this year. Things still aren't coming together. 7-6 is not going to be good enough in March, at least it's not what I expect. They're going to come around, and 1 goal losses to good teams aren't enough to cause me to lose faith in them competing for the division title.

From Where I Sit article for Monday, October 30th 2006 by Shawn Mullin:

2006-11-03T00:16:11Z

As seen on www.radioowensound.com

It's Hallowe'en tomorrow - and when you want to talk about something scary try attending one of the all candidates meetings around Grey, Bruce and Simcoe.

So far they haven't been much of a treat - and I've been wishing it was just a trick.

But I don't really want to talk about the politicians. They're easy targets and everyone else is on top of them anyway.

I want to talk about the people who aren't ever held accountable. When the candidates say something stupid they hear about it or it ends up in the media. When we make a mistake believe me we'll hear about it.

But how about the average voter who steps up to that microphone - who is going to hold that person up to account?

Well I'm going to do my best right now, because what I've seen in a few meetings throughout our region has been absolutely shameful.

These meetings are ideally a discussion of policy and vision for municipalities - but good luck with that.

So far what I've seen is a parade of voters who have made up their minds and use what is supposed to be time for questions and debate to further their own agendas - or even worse, personally attack candidates.

I understand being passionate but there's a time and a place for everything. We get enough character assasination in politics without the electorate joining the pile on.

How often do we hear complaints about the tone of political campaigns - or about them not focusing enough on issues that matter to us?

Well think about that next time you're about to step up to the microphone. Are you helping further the discussion - or are you making things even worse?

From Where I Sit it's up to you to set the example - or you're getting exactly the kind of leadership you asked for.

I'm Shawn Mullin.

How to Move On?

2006-11-02T19:38:28Z

I've discovered quickly over the last month or so that there are no easy answers for surviving the break up of a 4 year relationship. Give it time - Give it time - Give it time. That's all you can tell yourself and that's all others can tell you. I suppose it's natural, that's the same way people handle death and in a way this is a very similar occurance. Someone who is as close or closer than family no longer being in your life that way... except in this case it's by choice, so that makes it quite different. Plus at least you know they're still living. OK I guess I was getting a little morbid there. But it sucks basically - I think you get my point.

Regardless, there's a great instinct to want to fill that void somehow.

How many people do you know who instantly fall into soem kind of rebound fling? Maybe not one fling, maybe a string of physical encounters or maybe someone to emotionally fill that void left in your life. I know I sit here sometimes and think about all the time I spent on the phone with Amy while living here. Talking about just my every day life... and lets face it, I know a lot of my friends care about me, but few of you are going to talk to me every day to that kind of depth. There's just no way in hell it'd be that interesting. The things you talk to a girlfriend about, especially one who also is your best friend, I mean it's everything. What did I have for dinner, you know, that kind of detail. It's weird to have no one to share those little intimate details with. Of course ultimately you can pretend that it's those conversations you miss - but it's the person you miss. So I could search out someone to try and fill that void. Whether they be a friend I have, several friends, some new girl - try to throw them into that role. But I know that's not going to work.

I remember when I first started dating Michelle - she was my first girlfriend back at the end of high school. She had just come off a 2-3 year relationship at the time. Like within a couple of weeks at most. While I had no idea at the time, she basically put me in his place. Suddenly she was telling me the most intimate details of her life... she was coming to me for support in dealing with her family... she even told me she loved me after a mere few weeks. But it fell appart, and how many times have you guys heard of similar things just leading to someone if not both people being hurt?

I don't know how long it's going to be before I could truthfully welcome someone new into my life. Probably a lot longer than I even realize. You can't replace someone who was your partner for nearly 4 years - but if I started dating someone today, I bet I'd at least subconciously be trying to do that. Yet it's not me I have to worry about in that situation - it's them. Nobody should be used like that, and there's almost no hope for the person in that position.

And it wouldn't be good for me either. I'm not really going to heal if I just try to fill the void losing Amy has left in my life. I'm not going to heal if I try to replace her. I don't know when I'm really going to be ready to move on - but I DO know that I will never be if I don't give myself the time and space I need. Frankly, I owe it to whomever it is that I date next. I owe it to them so that when I start something new, I start it on the right foot. Slowly, getting to know them bit by bit, instead of rushing into something serious that the situation doesn't warrant.

But it's easy to say that and sometimes harder to do. I bet I'd feel so much better if I could just try and replace the sadness and the lonliness with something or someone new - but that NEVER works.

Sorry for rambling - I had to. I think I'm going to do it more often. I've been keeping way too much too myself during this whole experience. Trying to grieve and accept the end while ignoring my feelings or just simply not expressing them. It's easy enough for me to get up every day, go to work, go home, sometimes go out, sometimes not, and just pretend like I'm 100% cool. Hey, I'm better today than I was at the start and I'll slowly keep getting better... but you know I'm starting to think it's really important and really valuable to have a place to vent. So I don't really care anymore about how it makes me look or what anyone thinks. Now if I feel like venting - I'm going to. If that's depressing or boring, click to the next entry! :)

On a positive note - I have a lot of friends who have been there for me and have left the door open for me. I appreciate that. But you know - while I may use LJ to vent - I think what I need more than anything from friends these days is a nice distraction from my own thoughts. They're my enemy ;)

Work is going well btw. I'm FINALLY off weekend mornings. I now work 10:30 to 6:30 on Sat and Sun, meaning the rest of my week doesn't fuck up my weekends and vice-versa. Plus I get a chance to do some stuff with the spots talk show we have. I also got some great compliments from my General Manager recently, and one from a fellow newscaster. So professionally things are going very well.

I had a nice visit down to Toronto to see my friend Sarah and new friend Andrea and their boyfriends/friends. It was nice to get out to a bar - see some live music - just hang out. I don't get to do that enough these days. Also had a couple nice hang outs with Jamie, Owen and Heather up here. I realized I've somewhat neglected developping my social life in Owen Sound. While this is a quite difficult thing to do in general, it's even harder when you aren't giving it the attention it requires! So now I will. They're good people, Jenn and her husband Sam are good people - there are some good people here. Some other co-workers of mine too, including my boss, lots of friendly good people. But even in almost a year here you realize it takes a long time to figure out who you really click with. I miss that sure feeling I have with my friends back in Ottawa who I can be so comfortable with and just know those friendships work. Still, I've got to keep working at it and putting in time and effort.

In conclusion - I'm not going to replace Amy. Even if/when I end up with someone new, it's not going to replace her anyway. That never works, I know it doesn't, so I'm not even going to try. Hopefully continuing to come to that realization will help me get to the point where I can ultimately accept what has happened and continue building my life here.

Shawn on TV in Ottawa

2006-10-21T18:41:12Z

Attention, if you get Rogers Cable 22, I'll be on TV doing the Barrie vs. Ottawa game at 7:30 tonight.

My understanding from the website is Ottawa will show the Barrie feed so that's kind of exciting.

This was all last minute, I'm doing colour commentary for the game. So wish me luck and watch/tape if you can.

Bye!

"New and Stronger Powers"

2006-10-19T23:06:09Z

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2006/10/19/clean-act.html

Did anyone else think of me as Fitzsimmons discussing the power of inbreeding when Environment Minister Rona Ambrose said their new clean air plan would give the government "new and stronger powers" today?

MUHAHAHAHA we will do nothing until 2010! We will cut greenhouse gas in half by 2050! Stephen Harper will be fucking dead. DEAD. Good lord, talk about escaping accountability! Who is going to hold Harper to the fire on this one in 2050? Either he croaked or is in diapers. When I'm 75 can I show up at Harper's old folks home and yell at the 90something year old former Prime Minister when Greenhouse gas isn't cut in half?

Incidently, I know I promised Oiler reports for every game, but I've been sick as a dog for 3 days and was only half awake and coherant for the two games against Vancouver.

I'll summarize for you though: those games sucked ass. Both teams were sluggish and the hockey was very boring. Just glad we got 2 points out of it at least.