I wanted to write something about the amazing Grey Cup victory this afternoon, but an accident with my dog has distracted me. It seems Oliver cut his eat on another dog's studded collar. According to my wife, blood was pouring out of the cut. She took him to the vet and he's in surgery now. There's a good chance he'll lose a bit of his ear and will have to wear a cone for a few weeks. Poor little guy.

Anyway, about the Grey Cup: after watching most of the pre-game stuff and the game (which was one of the best football games I've ever seen, not in terms of excellence of play but back and forth) I have two thoughts. First, the Roughriders beat themselves. Leave the miscue that resulted in the repeat kick aside for a second, Saskatchewan was unable to capitalize on a couple of key Montreal mistakes, particularly the 7 yard punt. When they needed to get a time-killing first down, they couldn't.

Second, the Montreal coach, Marc Trestman, is a stand up guy. From the pre-game speech to his team, to his candid comments before the second half, to his post-game speech, I was completely struck with his soft spoken humility and sportsmanship. Reminding his team that they're entitled to nothing and praising the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Trestman exuded class. Hotheaded Winnipeg coach Mike Kelly could and should take a page out of Trestman's book.

Hey, hey, hey, goodbye

With the Winnipeg Blue Bombers officially (and perhaps not surprisingly) out of the playoffs, I need to find another CFL team to cheer. I'm leaning towards the Hamilton Ti-cats: the dramatic, late-season turn around; the impressive win over the Roughriders; and the fact that their current starting quarterback, Kevin Glenn, should have never been traded by Winnipeg. On the other end, I could cheer for the Roughriders: my in-laws are Roughrider fans and will likely invite me over to watch the games. For the sake of family unity, maybe that's the way to go.

Should you go with hated rivals who have a good shot at the Grey Cup or the team that put your team out? Or do you just watch as a detached observer, cheering for the game itself? What's the usual course of action for the fan of a losing team? I figure I'd toss this one out there and let people chime in with their two cents. Some of my friends who are Leafs fans and will have had DECADES dealing with this problem might have some interesting insights.

Can't get next to you

I know, I know. Months have past by without so much as a "how-dya do." I'm a terrible friend and a horrible person. Please forgive me.

Rather than going on and on about the mundane events of my average life I thought I'd list a couple of websites and their stories that have brightened my dark days.

My Life Is Average

Last night, after I thought all of the trick-or-treaters were gone, a boy of about 14 years of age came to my house. He was dressed all in red. Instead of saying 'trick-or-treat', he said 'I'm your period, sorry I'm late.' He got my last jumbo bag of candy, and he restored all of my faith in his generation.

Shit my Dad Says

"Just pay the parking ticket. Don't be so outraged. You're not a freedom fighter in the civil rights movement. You double parked."

Also good for a laugh: People of Walmart and Awkward Family photos, similar, but, because people send in photos of themselves as opposed to strangers, less mean.