The history of popular culture is littered with "what if,s and almost-weres.We all have had events where we felt later that ,had we acted differently great things would have happened......Cousin shane,for example, had an opportunity to open a TIM HORTONS on PEI........His response was .".NOONE COULD EVER MAKE A LIVING SELLING COFFEE AND DONUTS ON THE ISLAND" TOM SWIFT was a young canadian recording artist in MONTREAL in the late 50,s. He became the admissions director at SIR GEORGE WILLIAMS UNIV when i started my coaching career in 63.........As a young singer he was offered the oppertunity by LONDON RECORDS to translate and record the FRENCH SONG comme d, habitude.......He procrastinated and in 1967 PAUL ANKA bought the rights to the song. H e rewrote it for his friend FRANK SINATRA and it became MY WAY. one of the most successful songs of ALL TIME...Tom was a great help and supporter to my hockey program over the years and i,m sure he helped a lot of students at SIR GEORGE and CONCORDIA but we can,t help but wonder where he would have gone if he had recorded that song?????

Posted by: parsenault at 21:37 | link | comments

Crisis alert........The MUFFINS at TIM HORTON,S are NOGOOD......This is the recent finding of the not quite over the hill gang at COFFEE.......The resident EXPERT....cousin SHANE says they are dry and hard as a rock......What has changed.? Apparently the MUFFINS are now made in NOVA SCOTIA ...FROZEN and shipped to PEI..Even 3or4 layers of BUTTER doesn,t help......Shane filled out an evaluation form so look for changes coming up.Heard from MARK MAHON .He,s in japan coaching.MARK was a great player at CONCORDIA.....A strong leader and CAPTAIN .He graduated in 89 and went to GERMANY to play a few years of pro......This is his 2nd year in japan and he was selected to coach in the annual ALL STAR GAME.He,s hoping to return next season to a college coaching job in CANADA. Now i must go and try to figure out how to use the TRICK DOG TIA as a TAX DEDUCTION......If i wrote a children,s book about TIA and went on tour i could take her and deduct her food.????....I,m sure she would share her STEAK DINNER with me and it would be TAX DEDUCTABLE......Well let me get started!

H

Posted by: parsenault at 14:19 | link | comments

I see that our POTATO industry on PEI is having a terrible year .Doesn,t seem to be a good market for potatoes these days. PEI is shipping them to TORONTO to be baked and used as warmers for homeless people. NO JOKE......Part of the problem seems to be the ATKINS DIET. Thats the diet where you can eat all the good stuff ,like bacon ,eggs, cheese, steak etc and still lose weight.......Cousin Shane subscribes to this but adds poutine and Fries with the works as a filler....So POTATOES and all other carbohydrates are bad ......Well i,m not an expert but something doesn,t seem right.......I believe the ITALIAN DIET is one of the best in the world......I didn,t see too many FAT ITALIANS in my years in NORTHERN ITALY and believe me they knew how to eat....PASTA, PIZZA, POTATOES.......and thats for the first plate......Meat and veggies for the second plate.....along with RED WINE and INSALADA............The fact is FAST FOOD and LACK OF EXERCISE , POP,AND FRIES are the reasons why most people are overweight......FRUITS AND VEGGIES including POTATOES are important parts of a good healthy lifestyle......Thats why i have my SMOOTHY almost every morning ......I get an APPLE, BANANA, BLUEBERRYS,YOGURT,EGG,SOY MILK, AND JUICE and blend it into a taste treat that would satisfy the most decerning of palates. OH, and eat ORGANIC WHOLE FOODS whenever possible. I get mine at the CH,TOWN FARMERS MARKET where i go to meet and greet my fellow RUBBER BOOTERS.And how about those AMISH.? Despite a diet rich in fat and refined suger and calories they have extremly low rates of heart desease and cancer. They consume about 3600 calories a day.The differance" EXERCISE." Well i have to run i,m learning the words to I,M MY OWN GRANDPA for the reunion this summer

Posted by: parsenault at 15:25 | link | comments

Frozen island on PEI....far cry from last year in MILANO where it never got below 5 degrees.......Truck started so i was able to get to my coffee conferance.....Nothing was resolved ,as usual.......Got to the gym and it was packed.....A lot of NEW YEARS RESOLUTIONS.. i think. Didn,t get over to train my AUNT VAL.at the laugh and scratch old folks place....I,m her personal trainor.She,s 86 years young and i get her on the treadmill at least twice a week. Before i left for ITALY i had her up to 20 min and sometimes i would make her go uphill so i could get to coffee with the boys.....JUST JOKING......I,m training her for the over 80 games..this summer.....Did i mention that she has been blind since she was in her 30,s.She took care of my grandfather until he died at 97. Did all the cooking and cleaning in the big house where my grandparents brought up 11 children.....When i first came back to the ISLAND, i lived with her over the winter.One night i came back from my local pub around 1AM.....The lights in the house were all out. I walked into the kitchen and turned on the light.I got quite a shock when i saw AUNT VAL on her knees washing the kitchen floor.....Didn,t matter to her if the lights were out!!!!!!

Posted by: parsenault at 14:11 | link | comments

I just got off the phone with my best buddy FRED WHITACRE the greatest basketball coach in SIR GEORGE WILLIAMS history......He went on to a great career in baseball and now lives in COLORADO SPRINGS .Check the story on fred in memorable moments. One of my enduring memories of experiences with FRED was the day ,in WEST PALM BEACH when he took me SURFING. He had beome an expert surfer after taking over the WEST PALM BEACH EXPOS and my wife and family were on our annual spring visit from MONTREAL.We took off in freds volkwagen camper heading for the coast.........I was on little apprehensive ,never having SURFED before but fred assured me it was easy.....Well we paddled out pretty far.......and waited for the waves......I told fred i wasn,t a strong swimmer and i was a getting tired......After about 30 min i told fred i thought i,d return to shore......He said i couldn,t leave because there was a SHARK WARNING and everyone had to surf with a partner to look out for the big fish.! W ell you can guess what i did next.......I paddled as fast as i could towards shore.......A BIG WAVE caught me and it looked like i was on top of a 10 story building......I lost the board and covered my head, as i went under......When i surfaced i struggled to swim to the board and praying i headed towards the shore.......I don,t think i,ve ever prayed as hard in my life......W hen i recoved i heard FRED yelling for me to come back out.......I have never touched a surfboard again....

Posted by: parsenault at 12:03 | link | comments

Well ROGER went crazy on me today........very aggressive....I think he,s been drinking the well water in RUSTICO or maybe one of his ACADIAN buddies gave him some moonshine.....I wasn,t too worried cause ROGER is only about 4 CUBITS . thats the ancient egyptian measurement we now use on PEI....Its the length of a mans arm from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger.....COUSIN SHANE was in fine form also ......His philosophy is that its predetermined when we are to check out so all my gymnasium exercises are basically useless.....He gets a TIM  HORTONS MUFFIN and plasters on the butter every morning......I joined him for lunch today and he had a heaping plate of fries with the works.......Probably the worst food you could possibly eat on earth.....However his name is HENNESSEY and he,s IRISH  so far be it for me to interfere......

Posted by: parsenault at 20:44 | link | comments

Today i received my championship ring from the MILANO VIPERS...it looks great and i thank  MARIO  for helping me get it.........ROGER is on the warpath and i don,t know if TIM HORTONS will bar us if he continues his tirade.......Today i was thinking of my old friend RUSS BLACKWELL who was our trainor at loyola and concordia.....I have a few stories about RUSS.......This one is about discrimination....We had a few cases over the years........One time we put a sign up for a tennis tournament at monklands courts which only allowed white dress. The sign read WHITES ONLY.....so the black students were very upset......A real problem came in 1969....while i was away in oregon.......T he black students went to the dean of students complaining about one of there profs.......of course the dean did nothing and the students took over the computer lab.........The lab was destroyed and i don,t know if anything was resolved........now about RUSS.....he was checking ID,s at the rink during the morning FREE SKATE and he called over a chinese student and asked him for his ID.....The student didn,t have it so RUSS said" NO TICKY NO WASHY.".........Russ took a lot of heat for that one but he was such a great guy we knew he didn,t mean any harm....... 

 

Posted by: parsenault at 21:16 | link | comments

Well, i read today that TIE DOMI is being sued by a philly fan for an incident of march 2001.He fell into the penalty box and TIE gave him a shot.......Now he,ll drop the suit if TIE agrees to fight him mano a mano.CHRIS is goofy says his lawyer who admits that he hates hockey but was once attacked by a moose outside edmonton......What am i missing here.....The question is who is goofier???? CHRIS or the lawyer.....Reminds me of my own brief boxing career when i fought in the montreal golden gloves.......They called me the CANDLE KID,......one  blow and i was out.!!! My last fight i had my opponent scared to death....he thought he killed me!.........Another storm on PEI today.....now who do i know that lives in a warm climate???Cousin SHANE was on the soapbox this morning . H e used to be on the sherwood minor hockey.system.....He,s now highly critical of the PEI hockey association . I think it,s only when his blood suger gets low?

Posted by: parsenault at 14:35 | link | comments (1)

Roger did it again at coffee this morning.......Brought up the infamous  "nice tie" shunning.......I was stunned ! More then normal.....How could he keep bringing it up......now for the 678 time....Let it go ..Life goes on...Its storming again on the island.....and they are predicting a storm surge around 3pm.......I better not run the famous trick dog TIA along the shore road....could be swallowed up by a giant wave. Pretty soon ,if these surges keep eroding the shore line ,i,ll have a water view.....My two teams are in a slump.....The panthers lost two in there new facility this past wkend and the stingers have 3 losses and a tie since there success in the montreal tournament.....Just a thought on how important it is to stay in touch over the years with your buddies......In 69 i attended grad school in oregon where i met my good friend TK.......He and i played on our grad softball team and he also got me into playing rugby.....He was a great athlete and played rugby with UBC and CANADA,S national team.....He invited me to his house in vancouver where i had my first taste of sushi.........We both graduated from the masters program and shortly after were married. The day after my wedding in LAKE OSWEGO my wife and i drove to vancouver to attend TK and SHARON,S wedding party. We promised to stay in touch......We didn,t....but a few years ago i tried to contact him unsuccessfully........Last spring, after returning from ITALY ,i was watching the NHL playoffs and TK,S son PAUL KARIYA of THE ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS.......was discussing how the death of his father had motivated him....Yes TK had died and i would never have the chance to see him again.....He was a great person and you can tell that he and sharon have done a great job in parenting...So the moral of the story is.."..DON,T BE A STRANGER.." Better go now got some snow removal projects.........

Posted by: parsenault at 15:36 | link | comments

Well it,s really warm on PEI today........After -20 or 25 yesterday with the wind.Ican,t remember it being that cold. My truck stalled but i finally got it started with the help of gasline antifreeze and a boost. I was going to call CAA but i,m glad i didn,t need to. I guess the wait was about 5 hours..........Living out in the country near the beach and golf course is great in the summer but today with the wind and blowing snow i was luckey to get home from the farmers market ,where i go to see my fellow RUBBER BOOTERS. I wonder how many people remember those gum rubbers all the kids wore when we were growing up in charlottetown?Talked to my buddy FRED" MR BALLGAME" WHITACRE......former sir george basketball coach that went on to fame and fortune in the world of pro baseball......He now lives in colorado springs with the lovely PIX and says he is skiing like a 30 year old.....Story on FRED on the website......What a great career he has had and he,s still going ........Valentines day will be his 45TH ANNIVERSARY. Hope he and the PIX can come visit this summer.I see that according to the latest survey on the CIS website the atlantic hockey conferance is considered the most competitive.......With UNB hosting the nationals that augers well for the east......The UPEI PANTHERS are playing their first game in the new complex tonite......They are hot now and could make a run at the league title.....

 

Posted by: parsenault at 16:39 | link | comments

Blizzard conditions on the island today.......Still made it to TIMS for our daily ritual where i abuse my acadian buddy Roger. He still can,t get over my shunning him at a hockey game a few years ago.....more on that later.....My unofficial survey on changes to hockey include 1. larger nets 2. goalies not allowed to leave the crease.3. eliminate the red line and 4. bigger ice surface. Roger thinks you should be allowed to check the goalies again but what does he know?Just kidding. I,ve decided to start painting nudes but i can,t find any guys who,ll pose for me.......I,ll ask roger tomorrow.Just spoke to my friend CLARE DRAKE the greatest coach in the history of canadian university hockey......He,s in arizona lapping up the sunshine. Talked a little about hockey changes. He feels the NHL should be testing these things more at the minor league level.......Perhaps the universities could take a leadership role and try out a few ideas.........An Irish toast...THE HEALTH OF THE SALMON BE WITH YOU .......might want to revise that since the latest study on salmon......But ,i still think salmon, farmed or wild, is one of the best foods you can eat...next to fruit loops that is.......Anyway ,as REDD FOXX said ...." health nuts are going to feel stupid someday ,lying in a hospital dying of nothing".

Posted by: parsenault at 14:24 | link | comments (1)

A while back i was running the dog along the shore road in the national park......The warden stopped me and told me i had to have the dog on a leach..........This was the winter and with noone around i didn,t see the need but he insisted. So i went into town and got myself a long leach..........A few weeks later i was running the dog on the leach and another warden stopped me......I said i had the dog on a leach so whats the problem? He said i was going too slow that the minimum speed was 60 kl on the park road....not true....it,s the max speed.....he must have been a rookie.....I said the dog could only do 40 top speed.......and i asked him if he was a newfoundlander? He said yes...how did you know? I said. i can tell by your accent...and i live with a newfoundlander......I invited him up for a jiggs dinner and he perked up.......So i said , now next time you won,t stop me.......He said next time he won,t see me.....GOOD ENOUGH. I haven,t been stopped since........

Posted by: parsenault at 17:29 | link | comments

Watched a good game last night........the LEAFS lost a close one to  NEW JERSEY. They were talking about the size of the goaltenders equipment now. Certainly it,s a factor in the reduced scoring in the NHL.......Iwonder why they don,t just increase the size of the net........seems to be an easier solution then increasing the size of the ice surface....If anyone has seen european handball .....which i consider one of the easiest sports to play ....but the goalies are at the mercy of the shooters with the size of the nets.......also in soccer the advantage on a penalty shot is to the shooter...not so in the NHL where the goaltenders stop a high percentage of penalty shots......another cold day on PEI but took the dog for a run beside the truck......

Posted by: parsenault at 18:51 | link | comments

Well i see that two of my favorite teams are both having the best season in awhile. The stingers just came off a victory in the montreal cup.....and the UPEI panthers just won their third in a row at ST FX......now in 2nd spot in the tough atlantic conferance.......I think every college league in canada thinks they are the toughest.......Guess it depends on where you live......My old team in ITALY.....MILANO VIPERS just finished the league schedule on top.....only lost 1 game....guess they don,t miss me too much......Just heard from one of the greatest players in ITALIAN hockey...MARIO CHITARONI . The vipers are missing a few key players with injuries and flu but should be almost at full strength for the finals.......Its so cold in charlottetown today even the lawyers have their hands in their own pockets....My dog doesn,t want to go outside........

Posted by: parsenault at 13:57 | link | comments

BRIAN CHAPMAN, BERNIE WOLFE, JIM CORSI, STEPHAN HEON , GREAT GOALTENDERS IN CONCORDIA HOCKEY HISTORY.NOW ,A ROOKIE GOALTENDER FROM CHEMAINUS, BC LED THE STINGERS TO A GREAT VICTORY IN THE MONTREAL CHALLANGE CUP. WE ARE ALL BEHIND THE STINGERS TO CONTINUE TO IMPROVE ON THE WAY TO THE LEAGUE TITLE.........

Posted by: parsenault at 18:34 | link | comments

Well the US won the big game.......It,s the old story when your goaltender plays better then the other guy....You win....Also i think CANADA lost their focus early in the 3rd.......They had numerous chances to finish off the US but couldn,t finish....Coach could have called a time out but i wouldn,t blame him. G ive credit to the US college training which ,i think is superior to our junior programs......The CANADIANS had the more talented players and most will probably end up in the NHL.But the US coach and team were full value and deserved to be the favorites...Also the influence of BOB JOHNSON as a mentor to Mike Eves was a factor...Watch out HOCKEY CANADA.the US is coming on strong...On PEI we have a lot of kids that can,t afford to play hockey......too expensive.The americans have the money and the university system of  more practice and less games will develop better players. amen

Posted by: parsenault at 13:59 | link | comments

Just got back from the good old civic centre in charlottetown....quite possibly the worst modern rink in canada.....noone in ch,town will admit they had anything to do with the design.....The panthers from UPEI were playing the dalhousie tigers fresh from the univ cup in montreal;.Well the local club clobbered them .It was 8-1 when i left with a few min to go.Had to get home to read my new book, i got for xmas...".50 things to make with a broken hockey stick"Guess i was wrong that DAL  being at an advantage, having played in montreal while the locals only practiced....Not too big a crowd unfortunately to cheer on the panthers.

Posted by: parsenault at 20:02 | link | comments

       T he UPEI panthers are playing DALHOUSIE today so i think i,ll check them out..Dal lost in the stingers tourney in montreal but i imagine the fact that they played over the holidays will help them today....UPEI should have a christmas tournament one of these years....maybe an important step to winning the league title...

Posted by: parsenault at 14:17 | link | comments

Watched a great junior game yesterday.The US beat the fins but it was really close and those fins play tough hockey.Apparently they had a hard practice in the morning and surprised a lot of the sportswriters........I recall that Clement jodoin always felt better if we had a tough practice just prior to a game.....He,s coaching now in the NHL.Wonder if he feels the same...Bob philip is looking for a picture of the 67/68 georgians.....The only one missing on the website.Also i asked him to write about the 73/74 season when he led the georgians to the national final game...I t was an interesting team...to say the least.....Big game tomorrow between the US and CANADA.from helsinki.The US  goaltender looked really good but he,s up against an NHLer in the can net.....We,ll see.

Posted by: parsenault at 10:32 | link | comments