Name: Paul Arsenault
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Congrats to Joel Cormier ,coach of the POWNAL RED DEVILS....Not only took the underdog DEVILS to the ISLAND TITLE but beat the best in ATLANTIC CANADA...to win the regional MIDGET AA TITLE. Can,t find a carpenter to work on PEI......I,m not the best handyman in the world.....But ,i once built a deck on my house in montreal.....I had to force myself by buying all the wood and piling it in the backyard.....After about two weeks i was taking a lot of heat from the little women and my neighbours......So i got it built in about a week.....I invited all the neighbours over for a BAR BQ to show them the new deck.....We were having a great time until the deck collapsed.......No one was hurt and everyone got a good laugh....The next day they came over and helped me fix it....Last time i looked it was still there.....Cousin Shane,s BIG BUDDY BRIAN MULRONEY had a BIRTHDAY BASH IN PALM BEACH SAT NITE......Shane couldn,t make it....He had to cook the CHOWDER for the HOSPITALITY ROOM at his SPRING THAW minor hockey tourney...Brian had to replace him with HER ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCESS FIRYAL OF JORDAN.....Also attending were the DUKE AND DUCHESS OF MARLBOROUGH COUNTY.I think thats were CHURCHILL first smoked a cigar.???....When BRIAN MULRONEY first ran for office he said " I,ve never stolen anything in my life" All i ask is a chance!!!Great weather today .....it was 15 on the my deck at stanhope......too bad that i,ve still got 4ft of snow covering it.....ciao
Big wkend for HOCKEY. The UNB VARSITY REDS upset my predictions and defeated the ALBERTA GOLDEN BEARS in the national semi finals.....I did mention that this could happen!!! UNB lost to ST FX in the final in double OT. I wasn,t impressed with the TV COVERAGE. No background info on the players or history of the championships......One good feature on former CIAU COACHES in the NHL......As i,ve mentioned before this is the only time many people in canada are exposed to UNIVERSITY HOCKEY and it would be nice to know where the players are from etc etc.....Why they didn,t even mention that STFX had never won the NATIONAL TITLE before.....until the end of the game.....Surely the CIS can do better .....I spent the weekend watching PEE WEE hockey.picking the ALL STARS....It was a well run tourney featuring teams from NEW BRUNSWICK ,NOVA SCOTIA, NEWFOUNDLAND AND PEI......Some great little players but it makes me wonder about the checking rules at that level.....Some of the players are 160 lbs and others are 85lbs..Certainly doesn,t help improve the skill development.....I saw a lot of long shots instead of trying to stickhandle into the zone.....One game between the two PEI teams was like FOOTBALL ON ICE.....The hospitality room was GREAT and it made the long hours in the rink very enjoyable......Unfortunately i only had one bowl of CHOWDER.....Cousin Shane was running his own tournament and he says that HIS HOSPITALITY ROOM was even BETTER.!!!!!Maybe we,ll see next year. Nephew Bryce is 1/2 way to KALOWNA and we are waiting for his arrival to arrange our GOLF trip.????? Heard that the recent resignation of the UPEI ATHLETIC DIRECTOR had more to do with policy at the school then returning to his family in ontario.....Roger didn,t support any of the MINOR HOCKEY activities on the weekend .....And it wasn,t because he was still under HOUSE ARREST......That ended last wkend......No, He went to a formal affair,attired in white tie and tails.....He was the center of attraction.....He forgot to wear pants......
Big wkend for university hockey at UNB. The NATIONALS and my predictions follow......1st game St.FX over DAL 2nd game Alberta over Ottawa......FRI, YORK over DAL and UNB over Ottawa SAT, Xover York AND Alberta over UNB.....FINAL ALBERTA over X .Only one caveat...UNB could ,because of the home ice.advantage, upset the predictions.????....Believe it or not......Roger is electrically charged!!!!! Everything he touches he gets a shock.......But ,not to worry . We have the solutions.....Static electricity is often caused by low humidity in an AIR CONDITIONED OFFICE.....or HOME.....increasing the humidity could solve the problem.......Change the soles of your shoes....or wrap your shoes with ALUMINUM FOIL......That would be the funniest and my personal favorite......Cousin Shane suggested wrapping a chain around the ankle and dragging it around.....another good one.!!!! Talking about him ...He continually disrupted our important meeting this morning with his cell phone calls......I appealed to Pres Jim but he is still in deep prayer meditation and only said " we don,t have any of our rules of order on paper."".....a TRUE LIBERAL. He could be the only person in CANADA that believes POOR ALFONSO .!!!!..... I, hope Roger gets his HEAVY BAG soon, and starts his training for our fight night.......I know when a fight starts ,he always does his best....100 yds in 10 sec.....Nephew BRYCE is heading for KALOWNA .....He took my advice, and everyone else, and is starting a new job as a teaching golf pro .at a course there....Sounds like a good spot for UNCLE PAUL to checkout in april.....
I don,t know if it would solve the BOOTLEGGER situation but it sure would help a lot of people if the small corner store could sell beer and wine like in some other provinces. I,m not impressed with the new legislation on WHISTLE BLOWERS . Who are they trying to kid..?....If you have to report to your immediate superior before you can go to the COMMISSIONER it,s not going to happen. also they refused WAR WIDOWS benefits but approved ,VERY QUIETLY, their own medical benefits upon retirement.......And they,re trying to get reelected?Great to hear from former stingers JOHN SLISKOVIC, BILL PATTERSON, ALAIN BOUDREAU AND DEREK WATT.....all members of our NATIONAL FINALIST TEAM in 83. Our local radio morning show is having a contest......YOU KNOW YOU,RE AN ISLANDER WHEN.............I,ve got 2. you know etc when you can,t find a decent wine for a reasonable price without going across the bridge. 2. You know etc when you fall asleep watching our local 6pm news on CBC....We had a lively meeting thismorning Cousin Shane has his blood boiling working with the PEI HOCKEY ASSOCIATION He should have been an UNDERTAKER ,LIKE HIS FATHER. He has no use for anyone living.! Roger is going to buy a heavy bag and train to fight me !!!!! ha ha ... He might need more than that since he looks like he just gave the PALLBEARERS the slip.Pres Jim is in a praying mood????? Why ,we can,t figure that out yet. He called a special meeting for NOON to try and settle some of our major problems but Roger was there so we couldn,t talk about him.Roger is going to put an add in the local paper......He,s looking for a half-wit to pal around with so he can have someone to look up to..?...Great day today ,nice and sunny but still too cold for golf.....unless your DAVE CONNOLY, Mr GOLF fanatic of PEI.....and a GREAT BARTENDER in his spare time.
Congratulations to Joel Cormier who led his POWNEL MIDGETS to the Island championships. Joel ,no doubt, used his experience from NOTRE DAME in SASKATCHAWAN to teach the boys how to win....It was probably the first time most of them have ever won a title. Ev Toombs son JOSH was a big part of the success and EV,S presence on the bench certainly helped ........Bad day for UPEI fans. WAYNE HUSSEY has resigned as ATHLETIC DIRECTOR after only 7 months.....The former LOYOLA WARRIOR BASKETBALL STAR was making some essential improvements and may have run into some opposition.....We,ll see!!!! The Bootlegger forum ,last night came out solidly in favour of this ISLAND TRADITION. Like a GENTLEMAN,S CLUB one old skipper was heard to say.Roger was back in action this morning rejuvenated from his attendance at a Rustico Funeral..Mr PEANUT managed to bring up the TIE again for the 675th time....I,m going to start calling him MAGICIAN.....HE CAN TURN ANYTHING INTO AN ARGUMENT..! I wouldn,t say he,s in bad shape but you take one look and wonder whether there were any other survivors?.Got quite a few requests for the video of our NATIONAL FINAL game against SASKATCHAWAN in 83.......Something to show the kids......Dad ,you actually played hockey!!!!!!
Read about the GREAT ESCAPE where in 1944 allied prisoners tunnelled out of their german prison camp. I t was the basis for a HOLLYWOOD MOVIE starring STEVE McQUEEN. Only thing was in the movie the actors were all americans and actually the canadians played a larger role in the escape. Got me thinking of our attempted escape from CZECHOSLOVAKIA in 1976.We had played 9 games in 3 weeks over christmas and the team was anxious to go home. We arrived in PRAGUE to fly out the following morning......My ass,t coach and i had special tickets to fly out that evening and spend a free night in COPENHAGAN. All the players came to the airport to ship the equipment with us on the SAS flight. They weren,t too happy to see us leaving and they had to stay . They left and i went through the military checkpoint. I looked back and they had stopped BOB PHILIP my ass,t coach. I left my bag and went back to help BOB. Turned out i had the STAMP for the whole team and if we had left the team would have had a difficult time getting out the next day. We had changed all our czech money and we couldn,t get a taxidriver to take us.We phoned the canadian embassy and ,as usual , no help there.We jumped on a bus loaded with people with no idea where it was going. We ended up in the middle of PRAGUE and finally found the METRO to take us to the hotel. When we arrived the team gave us a standing ovation .....The players got quite a kick out of us not getting that free night HA HA... Cousin Shane is trying to improve his eating habits and here are some of my suggestions for some SUPERFOODS. Brocolli,Cranberries, oily fish,Lemons,Onions,Oats,Tomatoes,Green tea and Chamomile. At the present time he doesn,t eat any of the aforementioned. Roger couldn,t make the meeting today......A Rustico friend passed away..so we can,t abuse him today. A few things you,ll never hear from your wife .1, We,re running low on duck tape 2,That beerbelly makes you look very distinguished.3,My parents are coming over why don,t you go drink with your buddies. and finally 4,I,m sorry you were RIGHT!!!!
Actress BO DEREK is campaigning against the use of horses for food.....Reminds me of our trip to CZECHOSLOVAKIA in 76/77 . We were the 1st UNIVERSITY HOCKEY TEAM to ever play in that country and we played 9 games over a 3 week CHRISTMAS TOUR. Anyway when we arrived in PRAGUE our hosts treated us to a WELCOME STEAK DINNER.. We were all a bit tired from the long flight and didn,t really take notice of the MEAT. However after every game we were treated to a dinner with our host team and officials......It didn,t take long for the boys to figure out the meat was always HORSE. Well these guys could eat a HORSE so it didn,t seem to bother them. Russ Blackwell our VETERAN TRAINER was on the trip and always sat beside me at the HEAD TABLE. H e was a FUSSY eater and didn,t realize the MEAT was horse even though guys like BOB LAGARDE were making jokes about it all the time......For example Bob would gallop out of the dining hall......and told everyone that he sent a postcard to his mother saying he hoped he didn,t break his leg because they would have to SHOOT HIM.. So i thought Russ had caught on and one dinner i asked him how his steak tasted? He said good and i said i think that horse came in last at BLUE BONNETS, mtl racetrack, last week. Well it hit him then and i thought he was going to throw up but he just pushed his plate towards DWIGHT MICK and turned white !!!!.I don,t think Russ ate much of anything from then on......but DWIGHT was always there to take second helpings...Pres Jim wasn,t present this morning to bring order to our meeting......He had a work related meeting ......Roger was upset again with my latest attempt at humor at his expense .....but he,s getting a lot of fan mail and that should boost his spirit....I n the words of PAUL DICKSON "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It wastes your time and annoys the pig" or a RUSSIAN saying " The cow might be BROWN but the MILK comes out WHITE" Reflections for the weekend!!!!
A great day for the IRISH yesterday on PEI. And since i,m 1/2 IRISH i decided to celebrate at my favorite drinking establishment with a pint of GUINNESS BEER.....It went down nicely and i had to enjoy several more before they asked me to leave ....Not really!!!!I was joined by my nephew BRYCE a golf pro here on this fair isle.He informs me that he has an offer from a course in KALOWNA BC. I suggested that he not delay and get himself out to the aforementioned ,as quickly as possible. Not only a good chance for advancement but near both my daughters in WASHINGTON STATE. Why ,i can see it now ,golf with Bryce followed by a nice visit with the girls.ALBERTA is the #1 seed for the NATIONALS at UNB on the 25th to 28th of march. This is there 8th year in a row ......One wonders what the other schools are doing in the TOUGHEST CONFERANCE in CANADA????? My good friend and doctor, BOB LUND headed for FLORIDA yesterday to enjoy SPRING TRAINING with his BELOVED RED SOX. Before he left he invited me for SUNDAY BRUNCH and a review of my recent checkup......It seems my CHOLESTEROL is a mite high !. I was treated to a delicious BACON AND EGG meal and a perscription for CRESTOR. Lately i,ve been eating a lot of SALMON even though recent studies have indicated high levels of MERCURY in the FISH......I feel great and for some reason i,m able to see much better in the dark????? Roger refused to celebrate ST PATRICK,S DAY........He,s pure ACADIAN ............A few years ago Roger took his young son FISHING in RUSTICO.......His son asked him How does this boat float? Roger says don,t know son..........The boy then asked him How do the fish breath?......Roger says don,t know son..........The boy then asked him Why is the sky blue? He says don,t know son.......Son says Do you mind me asking all these questions??? Roger says" hell no." if you don,t ask you,ll never learn anything!!!!!
The Alberta Golden Bears are now 39-0-2 in CANADIAN UNIV HOCKEY. They are close to breaking CONCORDIA,S RECORD for most wins in a season 43 in the 75-76 season. They are probably the 1st team since the NATIONALS began in 63 that will travel to the FINALS UNDEFEATED. Others in the FINALS at UNB are THE HOST, ST FX, DAL, YORK and OTTAWA. Alberta is a heavy favorite but upsets frequently occur and the 3 maritime schools will have a lot of fan support. I just hope the TV broadcasters do some homework and can introduce univ hockey properly .Not always the case in past seasons. Mike McNamera ,a former SIR GEORGE defenseman who went on to play and coach PRO in europe......In 1970/71 he was MR EVERYTHING for the GEORGIANS......leading in goals 19, assists 26,pts 45, penalties 68,MVP, BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER,ATHLETE OF THE YEAR and LEAGUE ALL STAR. I don,t think any other player ever dominated the awards like mike did that season.......Other players that went on to coach pro in europe were...JIM WEBSTER, TOBY O,BRIEN, RANDY EDMONDS, MARK MAHON,and ROB BOYLE. Very quiet at coffee this morning. Roger was on his best behavior......Pres jim must have had a good heart to heart with him.But he did mention that he was less then pleased with my description of him as WOODY ALLEN without hair. I thought it was quite flattering because when Roger was born ,the doctor slapped his mother.She had to borrow a baby to take to church.His father heard you could raise a child for $100 in INDIA.So he sent him there. Well tomorrow is ST PATTY,S DAY. I have to get my green outfit out of the trunk.
Well it was quite the weekend no, not WINE ,WOMEN and SONG......More like BEER, HOCKEY, ME and THE DOG......But the excitement started this morning at the COFFEE CLUB.Roger blew his STACK!!! I deleted some of his comments from THE GUESTBOOK. It wasn,t a pretty sight and PRES JIM had to lay down the law to calm NUMBNUTS down.Even some of the other patrons joined in the discussion... Randy Edmonds a former stinger star now coaching in SWEDEN asked for a copy of the 1983 national final game we played against SASKATCHAWAN.....It drives me nuts every time i start to watch it . We score the 1st goal on a beautiful play. A SASK defenseman knocks our guy into the net and we get the goal called back and a penalty for nothing. Cousin Shane went to TIGNISH yesterday for a hockey tourney...I guess i was wrong when i described him as a BULLDOG and" not the best looking dog in the pound." In TIGNISH they thought he was from HOLLYWOOD......He does look a little like GENE HACKMAN. All the women were asking him for his autograph and a few invited him to join them for FRIES AND THE WORKS.....But his diet and wife LINDA wouldn,t let him accept. Anyway i must go up there for a visit soon.!Roger ,on the other hand, looks like WOODY ALLEN without hair...At the DVA they call him THE MIRACLE WORKER.......It,s a miracle when he works!!!!!!
Well we had a relatively nice day on the bubble of PEI today.....Tia and i went for a nice run this morning. Naturally she runs and i drive the truck....After all ,i can,t run as fast as she can..Cousin Shane still wants me to paint something into the painting he won at the HOME SHOW........Will he be happy????...stay tuned.........Congrats to the Stinger players that made the OUA ALL STAR TEAM....GOALTENDER PHIL OZGA, ANDREW DAVIS AND LUC MESSIER also ALL ROOKIE FREDRIC FAUCHER......It augers well for the future of Stinger hockey and also speaks highly of COACH KEVIN FIGSBY and STAFF.I see OTTAWA ended the reign of TROIS RIVIERE......Ottawa always had the potential to have a great program but up until this year were UNDERACHIEVERS........Maybe it has something to do with the SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM.???? Went to the FARMERS MARKET thismorning to see all my RUBBERBOOTER friends.....I,m the only one there with a TIM HORTON,S COFFEE . I thought i was back in QUEBEC as the ACADIANS were celebrating a birthday next to me. Went to Froggies for slightly used clothing.........bought a complete outfit for 2.99...........just kidding. Couldn,t find anything i liked today. Bomber and i went to a midget AAA game this afternoon. Who,s Bomber you ask/? He,s my Stanhope neighbor ,a former Island Hockey Star, that had one too many pucks to the head.....My friend JOEL Cormier was coaching but lost in overtime.....He,s done a great job this year and i,m sure his team will rebound in the next game.....Didn,t see the coffee crew on fri......but Roger sent me some very nasty messages ........He,ll pay dearly for his uncontrolable rage......Now i must go .Tia is very upset, i blocked her from going upstairs and DON CHERRY is due to explain how we all missed the boat on the BERTUZZI incident.
Received an e-mail from Randy Edmonds with info for the WHERE ARE THEY NOW section of the website. Randy has had a successful career coaching in SWEDEN......He,s now coaching in the ELITE DIVISION.He was recruited ,along with MARK KOSTURIK from NORTH BAY. Mark is in the HALL OF FAME and Randy was a very important member of the last two teams from CONCORDIA to reach the NATIONAL FINAL GAME in 83 and 84........Randy will ,i hope ,get together with Mark Mahon the coach of the JAPANESE NATIONAL TEAM in THE CZECH REPUBLIC at the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS... Did you hear about the lady author from new york who dated 120 men and found out that 99% are just like their DOGS......So it got me thinking what kind of dogs would suit our COFFEE CREW.....The not quite over the hill gang.......Pres jim would probably be like a GOLDEN RETRIEVER.....smooth operator,playful,spontaneous and enthusiastic.....Cousin Shane would be a BULLDOG ....not the best looking ,but good sense of humor ,a bit goofy and snores a lot. Roger would be a DACHSHUND.......Snappy,when feeling insecure and not above yapping if upset.Myself.....Well i have TIA ....She,s smart,cute, sensitive,loyal,. very friendly,and hates to be left alone.....What more can i tell you.??????
Well President Jim has come up with a dandy suggestion this morning . No not banning Cousin Shane , after all we do need his morning hillarious statements to make us realize how lucky we are to be normal.No Pres Jim says we should apply to be a chapter of MENSA........Don,t laugh because they say that it,s a thin line between a GENIUS and an IDIOT.....He,s going to get the test and we,ll see....The atkins diet is not only hurting the potato business on PEI....Now the orange groves in FLORIDA are in trouble......Seems oranges have too high a concentation of carbohydrates......Just mark my words the diet may help people lose weight but a continuation will no doubt prove to be a negative factor in long term health.......Gout could be one result of a high protein diet.....And the TONGUE TROOPERS have moved from QUEBEC to NOVA SCOTIA. The NS HEALTH ASSOC. has asked the media to ban certain words for 6 months...They include fruitcake, nutcase,lunatic,and madman......I certainly hope it doesn,t spread to PEI because these are all staples of our daily conversations at TIMS.......Why before you know it they,ll be telling me i can,t call ROGER "ARMPIT OR DOGBREATH."....and my pet name for Cousin Shane......"..BOTTLE ARSE.."..
Received an e-mail from Don Wood. He played on the 1st team i coached at SIR GEORGE . That season was a CINDERELLA STORY but didn,t look too good starting out......The AD called me in to show me pictures of the damage the team was responsible for the previous season in MAINE..... The school had to pay for all the damage and they were told never to return .....My 1st meeting i told them to stay out of the local tavern THE STANLEY. After being told it was the only place to get a decent meal at a good price, by JAY SHINK, i agreed that they could have lunch there......Well , to make a long story short, most of the seniors didn,t listen and i had to suspend about 6 of our best players. The team lost the 1st 5 games of the season and ,i think we were in last place at christmas......But after the break led by DAVE DIES AND BRIAN CHAPMAN we started to jell....We barely made the last playoff spot and we had to win our last 6 games to do that......Playing the latter part of the season with every game a must win gave us the mental toughness we needed and we upset the two top teams to win the league title and go to the NATIONAL FINALS.....We upset UNIV OF MONTREAL in the SEMI FINAL but fell short against a loaded UNIV OF ALBERTA in the final. But we were dubbed the CINDERELLA STORY of CANADIAN COLLEGE HOCKEY by IAN MacDONALD of the MONTREAL STAR. Dave Dies was voted the MVP of the tourney and ,over the years,only 2 players from sir george , loyola , and concordia have been awarded that honor... Cousin Shane won a painting at the home show. It,s a large landscape of a lake with mountains in the background, and he wants me to paint something else into it.......Do i look like TOMMY THOMPSONor VINCENT VAN GOGH???? Let me see what can i put into the painting..?....Maybe i could put ROGER in a boat or better under the boat..Maybe some DISNEY CHARACTERS ......Any suggestions ? Don,t hesitate to let me know........
Watched the Panthers men,s basketball club yesterday. They lost to UNB the top team in the conferance but secured a playoff position by beating UNB the night before. Had a chance to talk with WAYNE HUSSEY a former star of LOYOLA,S BASKETBALL TEAM.. He,s the AD at UPEI and in his 1st year has already put a more professional face to the program......Watch for UPEI to be a force in many VARSITY sports next season.Also went to the HOME SHOW . It,s amazing in PEI ,a supposed poor province, that everyone and his brother are building or renovating......You can,t find a carpenter or a good handyman available.. Oh, Roger almost gave his good wife a heart attack over the weekend .....He is trying to develop lung capacity and he read that HOUDINI once stayed underwater for 1 hour and 30 min so he filled up the bathtub and took a big gasp of air and went under......His wife came in and thought he had drowned....Well when he surfaced i guess he was in the doghouse for the rest of the weekend. .He could only stay under for 30 sec......but i told him he had to learn to go into a cataleptic trance like Cousin Shane is in most of the time....This could be easily accomplished by watching the 30 min local CBC show CANADA NOW at 6 in the evenings.. Another option would be to buy an ALTITUDE TENT.....This simulates high altitude while you are sleeping in it and apparently works well for athletes who can,t train in the mountains. I told Roger to stay out of the tub and i,ll get some info on the tent....Why maybe the VETERANS could purchase one for the use of .staff. or those vets training for the PEI old folks games.
Another great day on pei.......surely spring is on the way??? But watch out for ST PATRICK,S DAY. We usually get a big storm around then......Cousin Shane is trying to form a protest group at Tim Hortons......Seems he can,t get a ROLL UP THE RIM cup in the morning because he drinks MILK not COFFEE.....He,s really upset and has filled out numerous evaluation forms to no avail. You roll up the rim ,usually after you drink your coffee ,Except roger tries to do it when it,s full.....You know what happens and i don,t need to describe his reaction.......French nature and all.....You can win a SUV or a donut ,if you,re lucky. Pres jim and i have a little game and i bid on his cup everyday. Yesterday i paid 10 cents......today 12....I didn,t win anything yet but won,t i be laughing if i win the TRUCK from a cup i bought from JIM.. Tonight ,i,m going to a planning meeting for another Queen square school reunion......Thats the private boys school in ch,town i attended to grade 8....You had to fight everyday during recess.or they kicked you out. I hope some of my friends will be there like HOT DOG, SMELT, EARS, PICKLES ,SHADY and BALDY....But i think some of them are still in jail for that recent break and enter in CORNWALL.......
Congrats to MARK MAHON. The former STINGER CAPTAIN who coached one of the teams in the recent japanese ALL STAR GAME, was named NATIONAL TEAM COACH. A great honor for Mark and another success story for the Stinger Alumni....Went into my convenience store today and the young guy behind the counter says he,s having Panic attacks.......I hope he can find someone to help him because this can be a real handicap,especially in one so young.....I don,t know if you can call it a panic attack but i can recall several times when i was close.....When i was 16 my buddy ARNIE convinced me to join him on the boxing team at the ROSEMOUNT BOYS CLUB. He said that he was the only one at our weight class at the club and he needed a sparring partner....to train for the GOLDEN GLOVES. Well i figured i could beat him so i agreed to help him out. We trained for about a month and suddenly he quit.....Since he was the club,s representative on the golden glove team they told me i had to fill in for him. Well it was pretty nerve wracking......My 1st fight i saw the my opponent in the locker room and he looked twice my size and mean.... I was breathing heavy and sweating like a pig and the fight hadn,t started. Well the 3 rounds of 3min each were the longest 3 min of my life..... but i hung in and won ....I fought another 3 fights and won them all ....I used to tire my opponents out by running around the ring...In the 3rd round i would get in some good shots and got picked by the judges.....I used to make some jokes about my boxing career..like..".They called me the CANDLE KID.".....One blow and i was out!!!!Or, The last guy i fought , i scared him to death......." He thought he,d killed me" . Anyway i got into the semi finals against this ITALIAN guy who was a lot older and had won all his fights by KNOCKOUTS,........Needless to say I was petrified.......I tried my winning strategy but he was very quick and kept hitting me on the arms.....I was just trying to survive. I n the 3rd round i could hardly lift my arms up to protect my head and the ref stopped the match with less then a min to go......I lost but i was the only guy to last that long against him . He won the final with a KNOCKOUT in the 1st round......After that i did a few amateur matches in the summer and trained, to get out of ship duties, as an OFFICER CADET in the navy reserve.Roger is a little perturbed. He,s worried that they will do some drug tests when he competes in the ACADIAN GAMES this summer......Now he,s thinking of going to see DR BOB LUND at the PLASMA CENTRE to see if he can arrange for some BLOOD DOPING this summer....Blood doping increases the blood cells and enables more oxygen to get to the muscles....I told him they would take his blood but don,t count on getting it back. His best chance would be ALTITUDE TRAINING so he should go to the top of our pei mountain at BROOKVALE and train.....or at least move his bedroom upstairs......
The STINGERS lost the 2nd game to TROIS RIVIERE so another of my teams is history for this season. I remember one year when he had a disappointing season in the late 80,s i decided to boost morale by offering the players a chance to go to FLORIDA on their spring break.......I arranged with our local motel family ,who also owned a place in DEERFIELD BEACH to give us some rooms at a very low rate.....The booster club agreed to cover the cost of the rooms for 1 week...The players had to get there on their own and pay for their own food...A couple of them made arrangements to drive someones MERCEDES down for pickup by the owner.....They got to DAYTONA and stopped for a swim.....Locked the car with their clothes and went for a swim......Lost the keys in the ocean . Had to beg in their bathing suits for money to get a locksmith to open the car....Finally found a former car thief who had pity and got the car open. The daily routine was drinking beer " old milwaukee" the cheapest beer they could find around the pool..... Around about 5 o,clock they would pile into cars and drive to a bar that had a BUFFET . They would buy 1 beer and fill up on the food.....After a few days the young barmaids were anxiously waiting for them to show....Everyone had a good time and i think it did help our morale because we had a much better season the following season.I t,s a great day on PEI today. Sunny and warm +3. The sun is getting warmer and spring is in the air.....Of course this time last year i was in MILAN and it was about +20 some days. Full house at the meeting today. Cousin shane is fed up with his HEALTH FOOD DIET.H e says it,s making him sick.???.....I,m not sure it,s a health food diet so i asked what he was eating. He only admitted to cutting out PEPSI and drinking MILK ....He,s back to 3 butters on his muffin . Pres Jim had to sanction him because he accused me of being less then honest ......definately a no no.on our rules of procedure.and he is continually breaking the 7 sec delay we applied some time ago. Roger ,on the other hand was very good. He,s off the moonshine for lent . He,s looking into some performing enhancing drugs " steroids" because his new objective is to be the the top cyclist this summer in the RUSTICO to TIGNISH RACE FOR THE ACADIAN 400TH ANNIVERSITY GAMES. Well off i go to my sunny deck for my tanning session..
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