I, honestly, have never ever cast a ballot in any election and voted for an NDP politician, but I still couldn't help but be moved by the passing of Jack Layton on Monday. I never agreed with his politics, and often didn't believe some of the things he proclaimed to be even possible; however the man did a lot of right when you consider the strength of the federal NDP in today's politicial landscape. The struggle he endured over his final few months is admirable when you consider he, easily, could've walked away from a very stressful job long ago. May he rest in peace, and while I'm not a supporter, I hope whoever takes over the party can continue doing what Jack had started.
The Saskatchewan Roughriders lost another game last week and answered the critics by firing head coach Greg Marshall and offensive co-ordinator Doug Berry. The reality is that coaches get too much credit for success and take too much blame for failure. Berry's offense produced over 500 yards in each of the last two games, so his dismissal is especially puzzling to me. Much has been made of the losses at receiver and yet the offense appears to be rounding into form. Marshall was not able to get the players to work to their fullest potential and for that he paid the price. Was it because Ken Miller was lurking in the background? It's very possible. What I see is a team slipping back into 97 years of mediocrity after enjoying the success Kent Austin brought. As Austin left, slowly also did his surrounding cast of coaches and front office people. As those people walk away, the player talent pool goes too. It is likely the Riders will get reinforcements at receiver very soon and, therefore, they will win more than they have through the first eight weeks. That's not due to coaching. That's because of talent. I still see very little in the way of accountability, and losing is still too acceptable for these people. You show me a good loser, I'll show you a loser.
I feel no sympathy for Marshall. The Riders will pay him about $500,000 to 'not' coach from now until the end of the 2013 season. Think about that. You've done such a bad job, your employer will pay you to not do your job.
The Winnipeg Jets are cancelling accounts they believe to be reselling tickets. You want to see a spike in after market prices? It's about to happen.
I don't get the fuss on reality tv stars. Who is Kim Kardashian anyway? And, how in the world can she make over $17-million dollars on her own wedding? I just don't get people in the general public who fuss over other regular Joes. The Paris Hiltons of the world just don't interest me. Not even a little.
Give airlines a lot of credit for this one: In 2010, U.S. Airlines made an extra $5.7 billion from baggage fees and reservation changes.
Special thanks to Garth Simms, who gave me a pretty good laugh last week when he emailed a list of the Darwin Awards, which (in a nutshell) go to people who are extremely dumb. The winner was a robber who tried to shoot his victim, only to have a misfire. So, peered down the barrel and tried again. This time, it worked. My favorite, though, was a teenager who suffered serious injuries after being hit by a train. Apparently, he wanted to see how close he could stick his head out towards the train before it got clipped.
Maybe the most fun I've had in a long time was last Wednesday when our family went to Asessippi to try river tubing. My advice to anyone with a young family is to tie your child's tube to your own. That way, you are bound to be flipped over into the river, receive numerous scratches and scrapes to your body, and have no ability whatsoever to steer. Furthermore, if you are lucky, your child will be terrified beyond belief of lady bugs and dead spiders. On a serious note, it was great. And, considering Asessippi is not usually a place known for being able to have fun on a budget, it was relatively inexpensive.
Nice person mentions this week to Marlo Shore, Calvin Petracek, Scott Debienne, and Taryn Romanowich.
