GO WARRIORS GO!

Earlier this year I was introduced to junior hockey in Moose Jaw. Last night, I was introduced to a side of Moose Jaw I didn't know existed. Though I realized hockey is a big deal to folks in the Jaw, I had no idea it was this big.

I took Kaitlyn for a walk today, only to see much of the team's paraphenalia at every turn and "Go Warriors Go!" plastered in just about every storefront window. While walking through the mall, signs hung above the walkway from one side of the hall all the way to the other, proudly displaying allegiance to the only team that matters right now. These signs were hanging in about half-a-dozen locations and in almost every store. It was like crossing a border or experiencing a rite of passage; once you were in, there was no getting back out. Talk about a town gone mad on the coattails of its beloved hockey team.

Last night, the Warriors lived up to their name, displaying an extreme killer instinct by putting the final nail in the coffin of the Medicine Hat Tigers season. As the underdogs in this series - and I'm not sure 'underdogs' is a strong enough word - the boys in black disposed of their rivals in a quick and fairly painless 5 games. On now to the WHL final against the Vancouver Giants.

I would be remiss if I didn't ask: could the Warriors be Giant-killers?

This series is looking a little like a David and Goliath meeting, a matchup of epic proportions. David, a warrior in his own right and just a kid from small-town Bethlehem going up against ... hmmm ... a giant. For 40 days, this massive chunk of humanity bullied his way through life until a kid nobody heard of took him down for the only and final time.

One of the teams in the WHL final are a group of over-achieving kids from small-town Saskatchewan going up against ... hmmm ... the Giants. For the month of April, this team from Vancouver has lost only once, and while going 9-1 during this stretch, has accumulated 4 shutouts, three of them coming in their final three playoff games. They are Giants, indeed.

But as Goliath teaches us, even Giants fall down once in a while.

I'm not sure why I've made a (lame?) connection between a well-known Biblical event and the upcoming WHL final. It just kind of happened that way.

As it turns out, David used five smooth stones and a slingshot to put the finishing touches on his opponent. He later chopped off Goliath's head and carried it around as a trophy.

As I continue trying to make sense of this blog ... OK, I can't make sense of it. I'm predicting the Warriors in five over Vancouver. I'm also predicting that no one's head will be chopped off in this series and paraded around the streets of Moose Jaw. I hear the trophies are much nicer nowadays.

Perhaps this blog is evidence of a fairly new Warriors fan getting caught up in the hype. And therein lies the beauty of sports: you don't have to be around for 20 years to enjoy the success of your hometown heroes. I'm sure there were a bunch of old guys - and a few younger guys - who watched a no-name warrior from small town Bethlehem do something no one had done before. But they enjoyed the success nonetheless.

For the next couple of weeks, I'll walk through the booming economic development known as "Town 'N' Country Mall," and drive through our city, left to gaze in wonder at a town gone mad on the coattails of its beloved hockey team. And inside I'll chant, "Go Warriors Go."

Playoff Predictions and the Canning of A Quinn

Though I'll be spending the spring sitting in a basement full of paraphanelia that no longer has any relevance (because the Leafs didn't make the playoffs), I've decided to try my hand at prophecy and make a few playoff predictions. Here goes:

Eastern Conference (First Round)
(8) Tampa Bay vs (1) Ottawa --- (1) Ottawa (4-0)
(7) Montreal vs (2) Carolina --- (2) Carolina (4-1)
(6) NY Rangers vs (3) New Jersey --- (6) NY Rangers (4-3)
(5) Philadelphia vs (4) Buffalo --- (5) Buffalo (4-3)

Western Conference (First Round)
(8) Edmonton vs (1) Detroit --- (1) Detroit (4-0)
(7) Colorado vs (2) Dallas --- (2) Dallas (4-2)
(6) Anaheim vs (3) Calgary --- (3) Calgary (4-1)
(5) San Jose vs (4) Nashville --- (5) San Jose (4-1)

Eastern Conference (Second Round)
(6) NY Rangers vs (1) Ottawa --- (1) Ottawa (4-2)
(5) Buffalo vs (2) Carolina --- (5) Buffalo (4-3)

Western Conference (Second Round)
(5) San Jose vs (1) Detroit --- (1) Detroit (4-3)
(3) Calgary vs (2) Dallas --- (3) Calgary (4-3)

Eastern Conference (Third Round)
(5) Buffalo vs (1) Ottawa --- (1) Ottawa (4-1)

Western Conference (Third Round)
(3) Calgary vs (1) Detroit --- (3) Calgary (4-3)

Stanley Cup Final
(3) Calgary vs (1) Ottawa --- (3) Calgary (4-2)

Yes, that's right, Calgary will gain their just rewards and carry the Cup down the Red Mile in the Stampede City. Their strength and physical play will be too much for an Ottawa team that will finally make it to the dance, but much like the class geek, they will be left sitting in a corner watching everyone else take part while they adjust their collective pocket-protector and hum the tune to "If My Nose Was Runnin' Money, Honey, I'd Blow It All on You!"

In other news, Pat Quinn was quickly canned by the Leafs after a disappointing season. The action is not really a surprise; more surprising is that the action was taken this quickly after the season ended. For a while, I thought the Mighty Quinn may have bought himself at least a shot at next season with the stellar finish he and the boys turned in at the end of this year. But Toronto's GM, JFJ (John Ferguson, Jr) showed he has some testicular fortitude and made a move that may have been long overdue. With the hiring of the right guy - likely Paul Maurice, if early rumours hold any water - the Bud's young guns may get the chance they have rightfully earned. Now we wait, with baited breath, to see if TSN has the same kind of backbone to give Glenn Healy his walking papers and put viewers out of their misery.

I'll be back through the playoffs to check up on the predictions. In the meantime, GO WARRIORS!

It's Like Going for a Bike Ride

Toronto 5
Ottawa 1 (Final)

This score could suggest only one thing: it must be playoff time.

That a team could go an entire season and be utterly shilacked by their bitter rival is one thing. That they could put together an almost miraculous run to make the playoffs is another thing. That they could pummel Ottawa in the months of April and May is certainly nothing new.

Regardless of tonight's results, however, the Leafs have been officially eliminated from the playoffs. Not because they lost, but because someone else won.

When you think about it, though, this conclusion is an easy one to draw: had our boys in the blue and white not spent all of January and parts of February sucking dirty toilet water, we'd be firmly entrenched in the middle of the playoff pack.

But here we are, on the outside looking in. Just like Michael Jackson at an all-boys school.

The playoff atmosphere was magical again tonight. It was a commanding 5-1 victory led, in large part, by the youngsters on the Leafs roster and backstopped by a goalie that literally came out of nowhere to steal the number-one job for the last 10 games of the season. The only consolation, other than the win, was to see Darcy Tucker man-handle Daniel "Turtle" Alfredsson toward the end of the game.

It's a hard pill to swallow when your playoff fate is determined by two other teams, one who is also fighting for their playoff life, and another who is fighting for top spot in the division. Their game was decided with 10.7 seconds left in overtime, just enough to give Tampa the one extra point they need to push Toronto over the edge. Leafs fans everywhere would like to thank Carolina goaltender Martin Gerber for doing a major-league belly flop on the ice about three full seconds before Marty St Louis scored on his breakaway.

Is this the kind of hockey we can expect from Carolina in the playoffs? Lackluster? Pretty much passion-free? Finding it difficult to beat a team who will likely need their last game of the season just to make the playoffs? Unfortunately for Carolina, there's still a good chance they could meet Tampa in the playoffs. Not a match-up I'd be looking forward to. But then, what can you expect when you're up against a team that is coached by the evil twin brother of the Fonz from Happy Days?

As I write this, I'm listening to a Toronto radio station's post-game report. When I lived in Ontario I tuned in regularly after the games to hear Leafs fans from all over the province call in and rail when they lost, but sing their praises when they won. The wheels on the bandwagon were certainly feeling the pressure. So when I tuned in tonight - part of my grieving process that I've gone through for the past 30 seasons at this time of the year - I expected nothing less than the usual. But somehow, the Leafs seem to have earned their way out of hockey purgatory. Many fans are showing a bizarre kind of sympathy rarely seen in Toronto. For now. That's not to say the gloves won't come off later.

So, let the off-season speculation begin. Bryan McCabe is already talking like he's left Toronto. I'm sure Mats Sundin trade-talk will heat up once the playoffs are over. And then there's the goaltending situation. Are we laying our hopes on a 1/2-million dollar a year goalie even if he has had a spectacular run at the end of the season? And what of Jason Allison and Eric Lindros, the two big names who were supposed to bring a renewed hope to Leaf-land but will end the regular season injured?

And what about Pat Quinn and John Ferguson? Early talk out of Toronto would suggest both of them will be back next year. But if one of them will go, it will likely be Quinn. Should Ferguson go, too? Maybe, but the likelihood of canning him this early in his tenure seem pretty low. If you ask me, it's the boomerang's above these guys - the dolts who own and "run" Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment ... the same one's who are the masterful architects of the Raptors - who should be shown the door.

As for guys like Nik Antropov and Wade Belak, they can be handed matching pairs of cement shoes and sent on their way. Oh, wait a minute, Belak already has his cement shoes. He calls them "skates."

My wife tells me that now that the Leafs season is over, we can go for more family bike rides. I love her, but that hurts. There's nothing quite like a bicycle seat that's far too small for your hind-quarters, and torques you in the wrong place every time you hit a bump, to remind you of some of the cruelty of life. But you keep pedalling anyway knowing that the cruelty can't last much longer.

We're Leafs fans and proud of it. We should be used to this kind of ending to our season, some would say. Nonetheless, come quickly, Lord Stanley, come quickly. We can't pedal much longer.

Quote

"At the very core of Christian identity lies an all-encompassing change of loyalty, from a given culture with its gods to the God of all cultures ... Consider, ... the foundation of Christian community, the cross. Christ unites different 'bodies' into one body, not simply in virtue of the singleness of his person ('one leader - one people') or of his vision ('one principle or law - one community'), but above all through his suffering."
- Exclusion and Embrace (Miroslav Volf)

Pictures of Kaitlyn

Quote of the Day

"Truth without emotion produces dead orthodoxy and a church full (or half-full) of artificial admirers (like people who write generic anniversary cards for a living). On the other hand, emotion without truth produces empty frenzy and cultivates shallow people who refuse the discipline of rigorous thought. But true worship comes from people who are deeply emotional and who love deep and sound doctrine. Strong affections for God rooted in truth are the bone and marrow of biblical worship."

- John Piper (Desiring God, p76)

Going to the Movies

Recently, a couple friends of mine posted an article on their blog by a guy named Douglas Wilson. He is a pastor in the US whose work has been published by Focus on the Family. In order to understand what I'm talking about, you'll need to read the actual article, which is a short but provocative read. You can do that by clicking on the links to Shane's or Nick's blog on the right side of this page. So go there now and read the article ... but come back here when you're done! If you don't come back, just remember ... I know where you live ...

OK, welcome back. The point of Wilson's article is that if we're watching immoral behaviour on the big screen, we may as well be watching it in person. Or, to take it the extreme, we may as well be doing it ourselves. He forces us to ask, what's the difference between the two? His point is well taken, and is a much needed call to holiness, both for teenagers and for adults. He even uses loaded words like "hypocrisy" to get his point across. But reading this article left me wondering if such a "full-frontal" (no pun intended) attack on this particular subject is doing more to breed this hypocritical reputation Christians have earned over the years rather than demystifying it.

As I said earlier, I agree with the point Wilson is emphasizing. We must be much more careful with what we watch and thereby endorse, voluntarily or not. But are we compartmentalizing sin in the process? Have we elevated sexual sin above any other sin?

I know I might take some heat for this, but how are we to differentiate a movie that blantantly endorses sexually immoral behaviour from, say, the Simpsons? Or 24? I know a lot of Christians who wouldn't watch sexually immoral behaviour in a movie, but will grab a bowl of popcorn and watch the latest action movie regardless of the violence or otherwise immoral behaviour.

I also have a lot of (mature) Christian friends who enjoy the Simpsons. Personally, I could care less if Bart or Homer had cement blocks tied to their ankles and were thrown overboard ... even though there is the occasional funny moment.

I have even more (mature) Christian friends who enjoy 24. Personally, I can't get enough of the show. And while neither one of these programs shows explicit sexual behaviour, it does show other immorality. And quite a bit of it, too. Is it OK to watch the Simpsons and 24, but not a movie with a few "skin scenes," as Wilson calls it? Now I find myself asking the same question again: what's the difference?

Or what about the reality shows that have bombarded the boob tube (again, no pun intended on Wilson's article)? Shows where lying, cheating, and stealing - and sometimes sex - is not only tolerated, it's expected.

I wonder if Wilson's point, though accurate and convicting, could be expanded. While we need to stay away from movies that have these sexually explicit scenes, might there be some value in some of these other movies or TV shows?

I'll be the first to admit, I raised my guard more than a little when I read Wilson's article the first time. While I have a low tolerance for reality shows (that's more of a personal opinion), I - much like the rest of humanity - love 24 and would find it hard to stop watching.

But could it be that some of these shows teach us something about "real life," even if it is "real life" at its worst? To some, that may sound like a lame attempt at justifying something I want to keep doing. Is it, really?

The impression I got from Wilson's article was that instead of being in the world but not of the world, we need to be out of the world AND not of the world. To be honest with you, I'm not sure why that is my first impression because I agree with what he is saying. Perhaps it is the tone in which he says it.

Are we not able to find some redemptive value in a sarcastic, beer-guzzling cartoon character who, among all of life's other troubles, has a wife with blue hair? Is the ever-immortal Jack Bauer unable to teach us that, though he lives life at its very worst in almost every respect, there may be other people in the world like him who need a divine intervention? Has it become completely impossible for us - Christians or not - to separate fact from fiction? It's not that I'm endorsing the behaviour of Homer or Jack, but does the fact we don't agree with it mean it is no longer real?

As I look at this again, I notice that I'm asking more questions than I'm answering. I suppose I'm still coming to grips with this myself, and I'm not sure I'm anywhere close to an answer yet. And until I get there, I'll keep asking. Thanks to Nick and Shane for posting a thought-provoking article.