Homeward Bound

Quick update: one more night in Ottawa, then back to Calgary tomorrow afternoon...and barring a last-minute change in schedule, I won't be leaving again for a while. Which is awesome, obviously; in fact, between now and Christmas, the most travelling I intend on doing is between the city and the mountains. Have a great night, everyone!

It's Got to Stop

Greetings from the Chateau Laurier! I'm kidding, of course: that would mean I was in Ottawa YYZ! That's right, I'm still at Pearson, sitting in an eerily empty waiting lounge and waiting for the 12:15am flight to Ottawa. For reasons far too complex to explain, I didn't make the 10:30pm. And, well, because of this I'm eating a Tim Hortons dinner, eavesdropping on a nauseating conversation about marriage proposals between (from what I can gather) two complete strangers, and listening to Backspacer. And waiting, watching the clock. Is it four o'clock? It certainly feels like it.

Leaving on a Jet Plane...Maybe, Hopefully, Eventually

Greetings from IND's big, bright and brand-new airport terminal! I'm stuck here for another couple hours...and I'm fine with that, because the alternative was (in all likelihood) getting stuck in Chicago overnight. I avoided that unsavoury possibility by deftly shuffling my flights around; thus, Indianapolis->Chicago O'Hare->Ottawa became Indianapolis->Toronto->Ottawa, and while it means I'll get into Ottawa two hours later than planned, it also means means I'm avoiding a "hot" (i.e., uncomfortably tight) connection--which is what I would've had with my original itinerary.

(A hot connection? At O'Hare? Great, sign me up!)

Not surprisingly, the city is still buzzing after yesterday's epic football game. This morning, Saj somehow talked me into "the Call." He admired Belichick's moxy, his swagger...and Saj hates Bill Belichick, so hearing him make that sort of statement got my attention. Now, I think I agree with him. New England demonstrated that they're easily as good--and, arguably, even better--than Indianapolis. Losing doesn't change that. Realistically, the Patriots weren't getting home field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs, but they certainly won't be afraid of going back into Lucas Oil Stadium if it ends up standing between them and Miami--not after what Tom Brady did to the Colts' secondary last night. Given all that, Belichick went for the jugular. Was it insane? Probably, yeah. But Belichick's won three rings by doing things his way, the consequences be damned. Yesterday's decision won't single-handedly cost him a fourth.

Two more quick points about yesterday's game:

• From the outside, Lucas Oil Stadium looks oddly like Liverpool's Anglican cathedral. Instead, it's cavernous. It's a beautiful facility...but considering it seats only 3,000 more people than the Metrodome Mall of America Field, it's also a lot bigger than I would've expected. Thank goodness for fourth-row seats.
• Last night I saw Peyton Manning, Tom Brady and Randy Moss all on the same field. I don't think I'll ever get to watch three first-ballot Hall-of-Famers in one place ever again...well, unless I make it to Minnesota in January.

In the meantime, I'm going to grab a coffee and then open a book for the next hour-and-a-half. Need proof I'm doing a good thing? The plane that would've taken me to Chicago just took off. They're saying all connections should be "fine"...and that's the exact sort of announcement you don't want to hear when it's involving you. Even if it means spending an extra hour or so in yet another anonymous airport terminal.

Indianapolis Colts 35, New England Patriots 34

I'm spent. In fact, I just spent half-an-hour staring at a blank screen, trying to come up with something, anything, to describe what I just witnessed. Tonight's game will be remembered--rightly so--for an indefensible moment of madness from Bill Belichick, who handed Indianapolis a win on a silver platter. Going for it on 4th-and-2 from your own 28-yard line is the sort of thing you do in Madden...and even then, you probably wouldn't try it in franchise mode. But in a real NFL game? When "It" happened, when Belichick kept his offense out on the field instead of sending in the punting unit, I assumed the Patriots would simply try and draw the Colts offside and then punt the ball away...until I realized they didn't have any timeouts remaining. And then, instead of lobbing one up to Randy Moss (who was lethal today, by the way), Tom Brady threw a quick, two-yard pass to Kevin Faulk--who came up short. I can see where Belichick was coming from; I can also see the folly, the inexcuseable folly, of giving Peyton Manning a 28-yard field with a chance to win the game. The Colts should've been dead and buried by then--New England were utterly dominant--but hung around just enough to give themselves a chance. You've always got a chance with Peyton Manning. You don't need an opposing coach's help...and then Bill Belichick offered it anyway.

Prior to that, tonight's game had been an old-school, Brady vs. Manning shootout (and on a personal note, I was happy to see a classic Brady-to-Moss touchdown, a long, arching rainbow that happened right below where I was sitting). I'll write more about tonight's game in the next day or so, once I've had a chance to recover and get back on Canadian soil (tomorrow night--this is a truncated visit to America). In the meantime, I hope you're as excited as I am to see the fallout tomorrow morning.

Colts/Patriots: It's Happening!!!!!

Greetings from Indianapolis...from a hotel room within sight of Lucas Oil Stadium, in fact. (The room also includes--among other things--a spin bike, a weight set and a picture book entitled Lance Armstrong: Images of a Champion. I'm not kidding...and no, I could never afford this on my own.) The city is buzzing; everyone is decked out in Colts gear. I'm off to join the Blue Parade; also, I think I sort of have to investigate the tailgate party that stretches, quite literally, ten blocks from the stadium. In all directions.

This'll be my first prime time football game, by the way. After spending so many years of attending Vikings/Lions games in Detroit, it's exciting to be in the eye of the storm, to be holding a ticket (they're gold bullion 'round here today) to arguably the biggest game of the NFL's regular season. I'm off to shower and change...and then I'm off to the stadium. There's electricity in the air here, people; reach out and you feel as though you can grab it.

Queen's 43, Western 39: I Detect the Faint Odor of Something...

If you cut me open today, my blood would be running tricolour--this, after Queen's beat Western 43-39 in the 102nd edition of the Yates Cup, an instant classic that wasn't over until the final play of the game. It's the sort of game I wish I could've enjoyed as a neutral; instead, I got to suffer for three-plus hours, then sweat out a final, agonizing drive in which Western's record-breaking quarterback, Michael Faulds, blew out a knee, then literally dragged himself back onto the field for a final, desperation heave. It fell incomplete, and Queen's were Yates Cup champions...and booking a date next Saturday at Richardson Stadium with the Laval Rouge et Or, only the most powerful team in CIS football.

Am I nervous? You betcha. But at least we've got a shot...and a nice, shiny trophy to go along with the optimism. Cha Gheil! (Quick update: the U of C Dinos won as well, on a last-second missed FGA. They play St. Mary's next weekend.)

Gearing Up for Tomorrow

Greetings from...Calgary, actually. I leave at 8:05am tomorrow; more relevant is that I need to be at YYC slightly after 6am to accommodate the airport's woefully incompetent U.S. border patrol. And then it's off to the Twin Cities--sigh--before connecting on to Indianapolis. On Monday, after a single school visit, I fly first to Chicago (oh God!) and then to Ottawa, where I'll be camping out until Friday afternoon. So, to recap:

• today: Calgary
• tomorrow: Calgary->Minneapolis/St. Paul->Indianapolis
• Monday: Indianapolis->Chicago->Ottawa
• Tuesday-Thursday: Ottawa
• Friday: Ottawa->Toronto (for dinner with my parents and dogg)->Calgary

The silver linings: in addition to the Colts/Patriots tomorrow (tomorrow!) I'm seeing the Leafs in Ottawa on Tuesday, and may also see the Penguins there on Thursday. Make recruitment work for you, folks. Talk at you from Indy.

Whip It Good!

There really are no words: here, courtesy mfc172, is proof that Pearl Jam did, on Hallowe'en night, take to the stage of Philadelphia's Spectrum wearing Energy Dome headgear and launch into a cover of "Whip It" by Devo. Just...watch this.

A Diamond from Sierra Leone

Need another reason to root for the Minnesota Vikings' quixotic quest for that elusive Super Bowl title? Step forward, Madieu Williams, who just donated $2-million to his alma mater...and didn't say a word about it to anyone (he's "a private person and didn't want any press," according to a spokesperson). Click here and have your faith in professional athletes restored just a little bit.

Good Night, It's Alright Jane

The rumblings that the Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band train--full of saints and sinners, losers and winners, whores and gamblers and lost souls--is making its final stop next Sunday in Buffalo, NY are gathering steam. Which isn't unusual--these sorts of rumours tend to percolate whenever the band's coming off a lengthy tour--but regardless, here's a video worth watching/savouring. This is "Incident on 57th Street," live from St. Paul, MN, which Cousin Cam and I witnessed from behind the stage in the Xcel Energy Center's upper level. It's nine minutes long, but don't let that detract you: it's well worth your time.

My Sunday Will Be Better Than Yours

Somehow, the fact I'm attending this weekend's Colts/Patriots game went unmentioned until late Saturday--even though I've known about for over a month. It all boils down to dumb luck: basically, my boss asked if I could squeeze Indianapolis into my fall travel schedule, and after finding a workable date I thought, "Hey, I wonder if the Colts are at home that weekend?" (Alright, fine: that sequence of events may not have occurred in that exact order.) Getting a game ticket was easy; ditto finding a hotel (adjacent to Lucas Oil Field!). Thus, next Sunday, while the rest of you watch what Dan Shaughnessy calls the modern day Ali-Frazier, I'll be watching too...with a much, much better view.

Who am I rooting for? No one, really. Who do I think wins? I might be the biggest non-Colts Colts fan there is...but I'm calling the Patriots to make a great, big statement and wipe out one of the NFL's two remaining undefeated teams. If anyone's toppling Indy this year, it's probably New England...and besides, the Vikings fan in me still has a soft spot for Randy Moss. And speaking of the Vikings, how's this for irony? On Sunday, I'll be missing my one and only 2009 Minnesota Vikings game. Guess where I'll be when it kicks off?

Raise your hand if you said, "Minneapolis." Sigh.

At Least It's Not H1N1

Being sick sucks. Being sick with whatever I have--had--is much, much worse. I'll spare you all the gory details; on the bright side, at least it wasn't swine flu.

As a result, I didn't go to Edmonton last night...a good thing, since I was struggling to sit upright at home, let alone in the front seat of a vehicle during a three-hour drive. I'm off sick today, as well, and since tomorrow's a statutory holiday I won't be back at work until Thursday. Again: at least it wasn't swine flu. And after enduring twenty-four hours of absolute living hell, you'll take whatever bright spots you're able to find. Believe you me.