And So It Begins

INTRO

Well, it’s been a ridiculously long and cold winter.  There is some light at the end of the tunnel though.  The first captains meeting took place last night and there have been some changes!  But before we get to the captains meeting, let’s review the ‘pre-meeting’ which took place on the Donini Deck the evening before. 

Doug:  Buddy, this is nuts, I’m shivering.  It’s too cold for the Donini Deck.

Rob:  Ya, I know.  But its tradition.  Are you ready to talk some baseball? 

Doug:  It beats the hell out of all the hockey talk. 

Rob:  Oh, I don’t know.  The Leafs are doing pretty good. 

Doug:  Leafs?  Like that isn’t bad enough.  The Leafs in all their euphoric playoff making mediocre splendor. On top of that, the Olympic stuff drove me nuts. 

Rob:  Olympics?

Doug:  Ya.  The women’s I didn't mind but the men’s hockey?  Good lord, enough already!

Rob:  Olympics?

Doug:  Yes, the Olympics.  In Russia? 

Rob:  When’s that?

Doug:  It’s over. 

Rob:  Damn.  I missed it.  I’ll have to wait until next year.

Doug:  Four years. 

Rob:  Until what?

Doug:  The next Olympics.  Its every four years. 

Rob:  Oh my Me.  Did we win the high jump?  That’s my favourite.  I used to be a high jumper.  

Doug:  There’s no high jump in the winter games.  That’s a summer event. 

Rob:  WHAT???  Haven’t they heard of gyms?  You can high jump in summer or winter. 

Doug:  Ya, not really how it works. 

Rob:  I should have known there was no high jump, I wasn't notified of tryouts. 

Doug:  Good point.  Can we go in now, I’m FREEZING!

Rob:  No, we haven’t talked baseball yet. 

Doug:  Okay, hurry though.

Rob:  Sure.  So what did you do over the winter?

Doug:  Seriously?  Small talk?  I’m cold!

Rob:  Then get going.  What did you do over the winter. 

Doug:  Good God. 

Rob:  You mean “good Me”

Doug:  What?  Never mind.  Let’s see.  I froze.  I moved.  I shoveled snow.  Had a few events, birthdays at the Legion, house parties etc.  Kind of a normal-ish winter I guess.  And you?

Rob:  Well….finally a topic worth talking about.

Doug:  What?

Rob:    Me. 

Doug:  Of course, how could I forget. 

Rob:  So my winter was BUSY!

Doug:  Ya?  What did you do, go to Italy and visit the Donini Vineyards?

Rob:  No….but that’s a great idea.  Let’s see.  We did a little renovation to the first floor, the living, dining room, hall, family room, kitchen and all the bathrooms. 

Doug:  Little?  That sounds like a major overhaul. 

Rob:  Well, I guess so.  It’s not quite as extensive as the changes to the Donini Deck, but it’s something at least. 

Doug: Big changes Robbie.  That’s great.  Can we go in now?  I can’t feel my ears.   

Rob:  Soon. 

Doug:  Fine, what else did you do this winter?

Rob:  Well I decided to better myself.  I went back to school. 

Doug:  WHAT???

Rob:  Yep. 

Doug:  Holy, I didn't expect that.   Part time or full time?

Rob:  Full time. 

Doug:  Did you get a leave from your job?

Rob:  No, I did it at night.

Doug:  Wow.  Full time job AND full time student.  When do you finish?

Rob:  Oh, I’m done already. 

Doug:  Really?  How long was the course?

Rob:  It was last Tuesday.

Doug:  One day?

Rob:  Yep. 

Doug:  Right.  Where did you go. 

Rob:  That’s the best part.   I did it online.  And you know what?  I graduated first in my virtual class!

Doug:  You did eh?

Rob:  Yep, kicked the other guy’s ass. 

Doug:  Brilliant.  So what are you now a graduate in?

Rob:  I am, courtesy of the Alaskan Institute of Higher Education, an ordained minister. 

Doug:  Reverend Robbie. 

Rob:  At your service.

Doug:  And what denomination would this be?

Rob:    Oh no, I’m a minister, not a dog breeder. 

Doug:  At the risk of my nose falling off in this cold, what is the name of the church?

Rob:  Oh, it’s the Church of Me.

Doug:  You’re missing my point.  I mean, who do you worship?

Rob:  Are you deaf Anne Frank????

Doug: 

Rob:  We worship ME!

Doug:  So after working your ass off for a day, you became an ordained minister and the best you could come up with is worshiping at the house of you. 

Rob:  Bingo.

Doug:  Way to go Jim Jones. 

Rob:  Did you know I saw the Monkees at Maple Leaf Gardens?

Doug:  That was Davey Jones.

Rob:  No….he had a locker.  It was Jim Jones. 

Doug:  Fine.  Who worships at the house of Rob?

Rob:  McCarron, Piellusch, Casullo, The Squirrel, Hager. just to name a few. 

Doug:  Do they know this?

Rob:  Not exactly. 

Doug:  And why do you think they’re parishioners? 

Rob:  They aren't from France you moron, they belong to the church of Me. 

Doug:  Why do you think they’re followers?

Rob:  I sent them emails to the first service and they all replied and said they’re coming. 

Doug:  Can I see the email. 

Rob:  I can read it to you, I printed it out.  “Hey guys, come on over Friday night and watch me turn wine into wine”.

Doug:  That’s it?

Rob:  Yep, they all said they’re coming. 

Doug:  Rob…

Rob:  Reverend Rob.

Doug:  Don’t push it.  They said they’re coming because it sounds like a regular old Friday night Grisslieland. 

Rob:  I don’t think so at all.  I think they they’re interested in the miracle of turning wine into wine.

Doug:  How is that a miracle?

Rob:  I can’t tell you ‘how’ it works; but I start off with Yellow Tail and it turns into Donini. 

Doug:  That’s the miracle?

Rob:    Yes.  Are those tears in your eyes?

Doug:  Icicles.

Rob:  Wow, you could be a minister too.  You turned water into ice!

Doug:  Almost as impressive as the wine into wine.  Do you have anything else planned besides your miracle?

Rob:  Yes.

Doug:  Care to share?

Rob:  Well, I also took a basket weaving course to I pass a collection basket. 

Doug:  I can’t wait for Friday!

Rob:  Me neither.  Hopefully I make enough to get more Donini. 

Doug:  Praise you. 

Rob:  Now you're talking!

THE MEETING

Oh, I know.  You're freaking out!  What happened at the meeting????  Here are some high-lights.

• It was Steve Ross' first meeting as the President of the league.  Not his first time chairing however as he had stood in doing that previously.  It should be noted that Steve broke Jamie McClean's record of 2 meeting ejections.  Pretty good for meeting number one.  Steve has clearly announced his presence with authority.  I'm sure Duggan, Bowers and Lepa will watch their smart ass answers in the future.  
• It was announced that this season will not included the Dislocated Joints.  Everyone is now in line to get Terry Doucet; also known as the 4 who plays like a 1. 
• Without Down Town Billy Brown at the meeting, the roll of league "muscle" was taken over by Al Bales.  Al handled the ejections for Steve (should be noted that he took down Lepa with just a look). Additionally, Al will stepping in for Steve Ross who is taking a leave of absence as captain of the Beer Bros., to focus on the league Presidency as well as his upcoming role in the Mount Wolfe Theatre Group production titled:   "When Life Gets You Down, Pretend You're a Unicorn; Unless You Are Already a Unicorn, The Screw Them All".
• It was also announced that this season will not include an entry from the Red Dogs.  The Candy's, sadly will not be back in the capacity of captains.  No definitive word on whether or not they'll be playing.  There's probably less than 20 people in the league that predate the Red Dogs, this is a pretty big change.  
• Also announced was that Al Fry will spend the year convalescing from shoulder problems that forced an early exit from the field last year.  Taking Al's place will be Scott Mason.   The Beechey said he was a little disappointed in the down grade in speed and power from Al to Scott; but hopes The Squirrel can make up for it with his glove.     
• As you can see, if we have the same number of players as last year, we'll be short a few captains.  We talked about that and have a tentative plan but we'll need a player count before executing it.  
• Rob Farah talked briefly about getting additional field time for the league by lighting C1 (That's Coventry Field 1 for the uninitiated).  The meeting went a little sideways at that point and Steve brought it back to order by smacking his gavel (he actually brought his own gavel, which I think may have been a meat tenderizer).  At any rate, Steve asked for a proposal from the floor.  At the end of it, we voted that Rob, DeLand and Booth will jointly work on a proposal to light C1.  Pully's suggestion of tying hundreds of flashlights to the trees surrounding C1 got a lot of support.

There were a number of other discussion items and a couple of fist fights that Al Bales broke up; but there was nothing else really of consequence.  The REAL minutes from the meeting will be available online at the league site shortly.  If you're interested, keep your eyes open at www.tottenhamoldtimers.ca  It should be noted that the minutes are being done by Paul Piellusch and he is awesome at spelling.  

Some points of interest.

1.  Captains/executive meetings are open to all league members.  They take place on the last Wednesday of the month.  Everyone is encouraged to check it out.
2.  Dates for registration are set:  Saturday March 8th, 1-3pm; Saturday March 15th, 1-3pm; Wednesday March 19th, 7-9pm; Saturday March 22nd, 1-3pm; all at the Tottenham Legion.
3.  The Draft is on April 5th at 1pm; also at the Legion in Tottenham.  There is a countdown on the side of this BLOG.  Be there early, this is a well attended and fun event.

There's lots to do by captains and elected executives in the next couple of months to get ready for the season.  Its giddy up time.  Can't wait for the draft and predictions!