Rick Ley may have grown up to become a hardrock defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New England Whalers, and Hartford Whalers, but he started out as a goalie, as you can see in the bottom paragraph on the left side, when he earned his sixth shutout as the first place Raiders turned back the [...]

I’ve just heard that one of my old hockey coaches from when I was a kid, Blair Ashmore, just got married! Mr. Ashmore is 90-years old. Congratulations to him and his new bride!

Yes, our beer is better. Thanks to my buddy Ron Green in Orillia for sending this. It’s a nice, catchy tune, and it makes me thirsty. Ron’s a fine fellow, even though he likes the Leafs.

I might have hated high school even more than I hated the Leafs. I fell behind right off the bat. And I realize now that one of the big reasons I wasn’t all that successful with the ladies might have something to do with those early morning hockey practices and not showering afterward. Grades one [...]

Whenever the Canadiens lose, like they have in their last two outings against Boston and Buffalo, I have to change my television viewing habits. I refuse to watch hockey highlights after the game, and the following day. Especially when the gang gets scored on with two seconds left. Seeing some sportscaster talk about a Habs [...]

When I was back in Orillia recently, an old friend drove up from Waterloo and he brought me a gift, one that he’d kept for many years and one I remember seeing it at his house years ago. It’s in bad shape, but it’s beautiful, this 1965-66 Canadiens Forum calendar. Ron knew something like this [...]

For just $600,000, you can be the proud owner of the Orillia arena. Of course, you have to keep in mind that it’s condemned and has to be torn down (for about $400,000), but at least you’ll own prime property in the core of Orillia where you can put in a miniature golf course or [...]

There’s been a whack of friends who have rallied behind me in this last week when my dad died, and it’s made my heart soar like a Madagascar Pygmy Kingfisher, but at this time I’d like to take a moment to say thanks to Mel St. Onge, an Orillia guy, a former longtime sports columnist [...]

My dad was a self-taught sign painter, a profession he found himself in after working for Gordon Lightfoot’s father at Wagg’s Laundry, a place which cleaned, yes, you guessed it, laundry. Along with the normal sign painting duties, he also drew cartoons which were published several times in magazines, he painted art on motorcycle gas [...]

To everyone who has sent kind thoughts regarding my dad, I thank you all very much. I’m very touched, as is Luci and my brother and his wife Kelly, who have read these comments on this site and also on Twitter, Facebook and emails. Everyone has been so great, and I’m tremendously appreciative. It must [...]