Showing posts with label Dawood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dawood. Show all posts
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Doctor Hot Tub
So I was sitting at the Mic Mac Bar & Grill with my friend Dave, relaxing after working on the house that I am renovating. Dave was telling me about this recent experience when he was sitting in a hot tub in Calgary. Two young women get into the hot tub and one starts complaining about her boyfriend. After a while, Dave offers some advice. The women thank him, and then a married woman gets into the hot tub (how big is this thing, anyway?). She gives the young woman the same advice as Dave did. I thought this would be a great idea for a show, "Doctor Hot Tub", like Dr. Phil, but in a hot tub. I am publishing this now, in case someone else wants to take this idea. You read it here first!
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Where are Dave's heart pills?
Dave and I watched last night's Patriots game amid the snow, sleet, and driving rain that was hammering against my house in our first real snow storm of the winter.
Despite the natural phenomena occurring outdoors, we were both glued to my TV, as the Patriots finished their closest game yet, against the Baltimore Ravens.
Here is Sports Illustrated's boxscore and recap of the game.
It was a game of catch-up for the Pats, something they are not used to this season, with an average winning margin over over 25 points per game in their so-far flawless year.
One observation I made last night was about the Pats' defensive line. With potential -- and almost all likely -- future Hall of Famers like Tedy Bruschi, Junior Seau, Mike Vrabel, Adalius Thomas and Roosevelt Colvin (who did not play last night due to injury), their combined 58 years of NFL experience showed in that they are all over 30 years old. I wondered aloud if not having any injuries (except for Colvin last week) means that the D-line is just getting worn down. Still healthy enough to play, but not at their peak.
Pats' fans may recall that in recent years, injuries have provided backup players a chance to shine and they have not disappointed, providing a few of the best and most successful seasons in the franchise history. For better or worse, these backups are not getting the opportunity to make their presence felt on the field because the starters are just so darn healthy!
Now, I am not saying I hope the Pats start getting injuries -- far from it. The starters are in those positions for a reason: they are really, really good. But when I watched the tired D-line march down the field at the end of the third quarter, as opposed to the Ravens' O-line pump fists in the air and call for the crowd to cheer them on, I realized that although these men are elite athletes, they are still men.
The last 10 minutes of the game were real nail-biters, especially for Dave who has adopted the Pats as his team. Dave hasn't watched much football before, so he was unaware of Tom Brady's history of 20 fourth-quarter come from behind game-winning drives. Last night made it 21. It was great to see Dave's enthusiasm (he will never be known as a wallflower), jumping up, yelling, cheering, high fiving, sighing, and generally enjoying the game, while Tom did his thing and got the Patriots up the field to score the game-winning points.
The craziest part of the game was the end to this drive, in which the Pats survived 3 fourth down attempts, two of which were stuffed by the strong Ravens' defence. In fact, if the Ravens' coach hadn't excitedly called time in an effort to "ice" the Patriots first attempt at fourth-and-short, the game literally would have been over. The Ravens stopped the Patriots short of converting their fourth down. If not for the call of timeout by the Ravens sideline, Baltimore would have received the ball and could have taken a knee to let the clock run out, giving the Ravens the victory and ruining New England's dream of a perfect season.
The second attempt at fourth-and-short was called back due to a penalty against the Ravens. New England is too good to let a reprieve like that go to waste. The Tom and Randy show came through and put the Pats ahead.
The game wasn't over because there were still 44 seconds left on the clock and Baltimore was receiving a kick-off. Many games have been decided in less time than that. Unfortunately for Baltimore, lack of discipline led to two unsportsmanlike conducts penalties as well as an offside penalty on the TD conversion. This led to New England kicking off on Baltimore's 35-yard-line!!! I have never seen that before and it was unreal. Usually kickoffs after scoring are from the scoring team's 30-yard-line. The three Baltimore penalties of 15, 15, and 5 yards put the New England kicker in a position that he merely booted it through the Ravens' end zone to force them to start at their own 20-yard-line.
The game still wasn't over, as Kyle Boller played one of his best clutch performances and actually completed a Hail Mary pass which was caught on the Patriots' 3-yard-line. Thankfully, there were three Pats' defenders who were immediately on the receiver and they forced him to the ground as the clock ran out.
It was quite possibly the most exciting game ending I have seen for a while. This is what happens when the Patriots' opponent puts all of their effort into winning, trying to be the ones who knock off the kings' crowns. I expect to see more of the same from Pittsburgh, who are the next team for New England on this Sunday. More on that after the game.
Despite the natural phenomena occurring outdoors, we were both glued to my TV, as the Patriots finished their closest game yet, against the Baltimore Ravens.
Here is Sports Illustrated's boxscore and recap of the game.
It was a game of catch-up for the Pats, something they are not used to this season, with an average winning margin over over 25 points per game in their so-far flawless year.
One observation I made last night was about the Pats' defensive line. With potential -- and almost all likely -- future Hall of Famers like Tedy Bruschi, Junior Seau, Mike Vrabel, Adalius Thomas and Roosevelt Colvin (who did not play last night due to injury), their combined 58 years of NFL experience showed in that they are all over 30 years old. I wondered aloud if not having any injuries (except for Colvin last week) means that the D-line is just getting worn down. Still healthy enough to play, but not at their peak.
Pats' fans may recall that in recent years, injuries have provided backup players a chance to shine and they have not disappointed, providing a few of the best and most successful seasons in the franchise history. For better or worse, these backups are not getting the opportunity to make their presence felt on the field because the starters are just so darn healthy!
Now, I am not saying I hope the Pats start getting injuries -- far from it. The starters are in those positions for a reason: they are really, really good. But when I watched the tired D-line march down the field at the end of the third quarter, as opposed to the Ravens' O-line pump fists in the air and call for the crowd to cheer them on, I realized that although these men are elite athletes, they are still men.
The last 10 minutes of the game were real nail-biters, especially for Dave who has adopted the Pats as his team. Dave hasn't watched much football before, so he was unaware of Tom Brady's history of 20 fourth-quarter come from behind game-winning drives. Last night made it 21. It was great to see Dave's enthusiasm (he will never be known as a wallflower), jumping up, yelling, cheering, high fiving, sighing, and generally enjoying the game, while Tom did his thing and got the Patriots up the field to score the game-winning points.
The craziest part of the game was the end to this drive, in which the Pats survived 3 fourth down attempts, two of which were stuffed by the strong Ravens' defence. In fact, if the Ravens' coach hadn't excitedly called time in an effort to "ice" the Patriots first attempt at fourth-and-short, the game literally would have been over. The Ravens stopped the Patriots short of converting their fourth down. If not for the call of timeout by the Ravens sideline, Baltimore would have received the ball and could have taken a knee to let the clock run out, giving the Ravens the victory and ruining New England's dream of a perfect season.
The second attempt at fourth-and-short was called back due to a penalty against the Ravens. New England is too good to let a reprieve like that go to waste. The Tom and Randy show came through and put the Pats ahead.
The game wasn't over because there were still 44 seconds left on the clock and Baltimore was receiving a kick-off. Many games have been decided in less time than that. Unfortunately for Baltimore, lack of discipline led to two unsportsmanlike conducts penalties as well as an offside penalty on the TD conversion. This led to New England kicking off on Baltimore's 35-yard-line!!! I have never seen that before and it was unreal. Usually kickoffs after scoring are from the scoring team's 30-yard-line. The three Baltimore penalties of 15, 15, and 5 yards put the New England kicker in a position that he merely booted it through the Ravens' end zone to force them to start at their own 20-yard-line.
The game still wasn't over, as Kyle Boller played one of his best clutch performances and actually completed a Hail Mary pass which was caught on the Patriots' 3-yard-line. Thankfully, there were three Pats' defenders who were immediately on the receiver and they forced him to the ground as the clock ran out.
It was quite possibly the most exciting game ending I have seen for a while. This is what happens when the Patriots' opponent puts all of their effort into winning, trying to be the ones who knock off the kings' crowns. I expect to see more of the same from Pittsburgh, who are the next team for New England on this Sunday. More on that after the game.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Three concerts and a wedding (with a concert)
Wow. I am going to see three concerts in four days. First up, Philson and I are going to Dartmouth's Alderney Landing Theatre to see Joel Plaskett Emergency with openers: Peter Elkas and the Elkaholics (great name!) whom I read about in Exclaim! -- I picked up the magazine for Joel and learned about Peter too. Check out his website!, local Jenn Grant, and ex-Big Sugar's Gordie Johnson. What a start!
After my eardrums recover from that, Cheryl and I are attending Dave and Jenn Finlayson's wedding reception. They got married today, but Saturday is the big bash at Pier 21. They are having a local band named Big Fish who are a favourite of Sigs since they performed at a few Sweetheart dances (sorry, I can't call them Sweetheart Balls). They mostly do cover tunes but they mix it up and put their own stank on them!
On Sunday, Cheryl and I are going to the Halifax Metro Centre to see Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman, the two creative forces behind The Guess Who and BTO. We have floor seats in the "Gold Circle." Oooooh! I saw these guys at the Sarsfest concert on TV a few years back. At that time, I thought, "I should really go see these guys if I ever get the chance." Originally, I was planning to head up to Toronto on Sunday night to see the next concert, but it was almost $400 cheaper to fly up on Monday, so I decided to do that and spend part of the money I saved on these concert tickets for Cheryl and myself. I am looking forward to this show because I hope they talk about their inspirations behind writing the songs that they perform.
Monday morning sees Philson and me jetting off to T-Dot to see The Police!!! This was one band that I never even thought about going to see since they had already broken up by the time I was of concert-going age, not to mention the fact that they never came close to Halifax. Now that I am older and have discretionary income, I have taken the opportunity to see one of my all-time favourite bands perform live (perform live -- is that redundant?). As I mentioned to a friend a few weeks back, this concert will be better than most since The Police broke up when they were at their best, with only strong material behind them, no unfortunate creative lapses or disappointing albums here, so the songs should all be fantastic.
Philson and I will be in T.O. until Wednesday. On Tuesday, we are going to see a Blue Jays game and I am going to the Skydome Hard Rock Cafe to add another shot glass to my collection. We have no other plans for the 48 hours we are there, but I am sure some adventure will present itself.
Originally, Alistair was supposed to attend the show with Dave Dawood, Dean and me, but Alistair got double-booked by work and I took the opportunity to bring my oldest son to see a band that I am not sure he really likes, but it is the chance of a lifetime. Alistair's loss is Philson's gain, although Alistair has the chance to see The Police elsewhere and I hope he does. Plus, I think Alistair likes the idea that Philson is getting this chance and that he was part of it.
So four concerts and a wedding reception! I think I will be tired next week...
After my eardrums recover from that, Cheryl and I are attending Dave and Jenn Finlayson's wedding reception. They got married today, but Saturday is the big bash at Pier 21. They are having a local band named Big Fish who are a favourite of Sigs since they performed at a few Sweetheart dances (sorry, I can't call them Sweetheart Balls). They mostly do cover tunes but they mix it up and put their own stank on them!
On Sunday, Cheryl and I are going to the Halifax Metro Centre to see Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman, the two creative forces behind The Guess Who and BTO. We have floor seats in the "Gold Circle." Oooooh! I saw these guys at the Sarsfest concert on TV a few years back. At that time, I thought, "I should really go see these guys if I ever get the chance." Originally, I was planning to head up to Toronto on Sunday night to see the next concert, but it was almost $400 cheaper to fly up on Monday, so I decided to do that and spend part of the money I saved on these concert tickets for Cheryl and myself. I am looking forward to this show because I hope they talk about their inspirations behind writing the songs that they perform.
Monday morning sees Philson and me jetting off to T-Dot to see The Police!!! This was one band that I never even thought about going to see since they had already broken up by the time I was of concert-going age, not to mention the fact that they never came close to Halifax. Now that I am older and have discretionary income, I have taken the opportunity to see one of my all-time favourite bands perform live (perform live -- is that redundant?). As I mentioned to a friend a few weeks back, this concert will be better than most since The Police broke up when they were at their best, with only strong material behind them, no unfortunate creative lapses or disappointing albums here, so the songs should all be fantastic.
Philson and I will be in T.O. until Wednesday. On Tuesday, we are going to see a Blue Jays game and I am going to the Skydome Hard Rock Cafe to add another shot glass to my collection. We have no other plans for the 48 hours we are there, but I am sure some adventure will present itself.
Originally, Alistair was supposed to attend the show with Dave Dawood, Dean and me, but Alistair got double-booked by work and I took the opportunity to bring my oldest son to see a band that I am not sure he really likes, but it is the chance of a lifetime. Alistair's loss is Philson's gain, although Alistair has the chance to see The Police elsewhere and I hope he does. Plus, I think Alistair likes the idea that Philson is getting this chance and that he was part of it.
So four concerts and a wedding reception! I think I will be tired next week...
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