Congratulations to Bob Cole after fifty years of play by play

His style was unique, he called the hockey games in his own way

Imagine, the Leafs versus the Canadiens, final game of the year

Couldn’t be a more befitting way to end his career

All those years in this profession, it’s quite a haul

Made me think of the man who started it all

Foster Hewitt was the pioneer of calling the game

Starting it on radio was his claim to fame

This was back in the thirties when he started on air

When they decided to televise, he was right there

The first broadcast was in French with Rene Lecavalier as the instigator

Follow by Foster Hewitt in English, a mere three weeks later

I still remember listening to Rene back in the day

If your team was playing the Canadiens, it was the only way

After more than thirty years, he announced his final game

All over Quebec he is still a household name

Hewitt would retire, 1963 was the year

Then nine years later, he would reappear

1972, the summit series against Russia was the assignment he’d get

Eight games that September that no Canadian will ever forget

Danny Gallivan,  was another that was well known

This man was in a class that was all his own

His use of words and phrases was second to none

I enjoyed listening to him no matter who won

The man enjoyed the game and he put in so much thought

Inventing phrases like “spinerama move” and “cannonating shot”

For thirty two years in English Canada he was CBC’s choice

He brought all the excitement, he had the voice

These men paved the way for the best game around

Those who have followed, try to copy their sound

So when you are watching your team on your favourite station

Remember these three men who laid the foundation

Well the NHL regular schedule is over for another year

Now the teams will have to shift it into another gear

The most exciting time in hockey starts it’s second season

The right to hoist the Stanley Cup is the only reason

Sixteen teams will vie for it, the first round starts this week

It won’t be until the month of June that  it will reach the final peak

All series are the best of seven, the first to win needs four

To capture it in the final round, you have to win twelve more

Now before the first puck is dropped to start the initial round

Hockey fans have their own agenda in hopes of being crowned

They will enter hockey pools and try to predict the outcome of every game

So many factors to consider and not all pools are the same

Some want you to pick out players and total scoring  will win the pot

Others are straight forward while others require much thought

Some that want you to predict the team in each and every round

If you get the number of games right, some bonuses can be found

Still there are some out there that expect you to go right to the limit

Figure out every round including the finals, and every team that wins it

Now I’ve watched a lot of hockey and it’s time to put it to the test

Which teams are the pretenders and which ones are the best

In the eastern conference, Tampa Bay seems to be the team to beat

Holding the record for most points in a year is quite a tremendous feat

They shouldn’t have any trouble beating the Jackets in round number one

I think after the first four games, Columbus will be done

This is just one prediction, I really put myself out there

This is the only round that I will risk to share

I have a form in front of me that’s blank and needs to fill

Never won a hockey pool before and probably never will

Should I do some research and see what the experts have to say?

Sometimes I kind of wonder how they earned that status anyway?

Should I go with my gut and just to feel it out?

No that has never worked before, I’ll try a different route

Maybe flip a coin or roll a pair of dice?

Call a friend and get some sound advice?

I am going to get this entry done after this poem is done

I’m not going to worry about it, will try to make it fun

I’ll fill out with my picks before the deadline end

Maybe this will be the start of a winning trend

I won’t let anyone steal my picks, I’ll keep it out of sight

What a time for hockey! There will be a game on tv every night

So stand behind your favourite team and give them a rousing cheer

If you are a real hockey fan, it’s the best time of the year

When we are all talking politics and sharing our views

The great big orange menace is the person that hogs all the news

He hates all reporters unless they work for Fox

Is there anywhere I can go for a Donald detox?

So I turned off CNN to get my life in some kind of order

To look at events at home, north of Trump’s border

I checked out what was happening in Ontario and then I started to groan

The Premier in Ontario could be a Donald Trump Clone

Not for his looks but the way he is playing his political game

If you don’t know him by now, Doug Ford is his name

Power has gone to his head, he’s running the show

How he got elected? God only knows

Back to Trump who hates his character on SNL that they portray

Ford reminds me of “Matt Foley” a character that Chris Farley used to play

These two guys come from privileged families and don’t have a clue

Ford hasn’t served long but we can’t wait to bid him adieu

So now back to Ontario and listen to the plans Ford is trying to pass

This is after he has changed the curriculum for Sex Education class

Sticking it to our teachers is the bone of his contention

I think it’s payback for all those hours he spent in detention

He doesn’t give an aura of being that smart or being too keen

Me thinks his education was special, if you know what I mean

He wants to increase the size in each provincial class

I thinking he’s been smoking too much of our new legal grass

He has no idea of the burden that teachers now face

Now they want to crowd more students in this small space?

Have you looked at statistics to see what they’ve shown?

One educator can’t teach that many students all on their own

Teaching is a profession that must be respected

If your plan is implemented, more children will be neglected

Classes now are mixed with kids that have special needs

Each of them learning at all different speeds

No one person can handle this task, it’s just too demanding

All children need help, hope and more understanding

Take time to listen to them and show them we care

These children are our future that we have to share

So instead of cutting off funds, make an investment

Check all the facts and do your assessment

Having children that thrive in class will prosper and grow

They’ll be things they want to learn and want to know

More children will graduate and be college bound

Enter the work force and in turn will astound

But if you take the road you are considering please be aware

More teenagers will walk out because they just didn’t get the care

You want them to go online and learn a course?

Just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse

Students who have trouble learning in class won’t attain that final goal

We will have more high school dropouts and sadly more on parole

We need a new Premier that values education and can deliver

Let Doug Ford, like Matt Foley, live in his van down by the river

From the first time that the caveman put their drawings on the wall

Connecting with each other has been important to us all

This was the only way to relay teachings to the members of their clan

Interacting with each other has been important since the origin of man

With the invention of paper, every thought could be written on these sheets

The course of history recording all the momentous feats

Then in 1455, Gutenberg created the printing press, an invention for the ages

 This meant more books could be published and more people turning pages

More books were available and in turn it planted a seed

Those that were illiterate, would soon want to read

Libraries would sprout with material available for one and all

Shelves and shelves of resources lined along the wall

Those who could afford the luxuries could travel to different lands

Others could read about it from their book in their hands

For many people, reading, was entertainment they couldn’t live without

But inventors named Bell and Edison would take a different route

Bell would invent the telephone to connect to one and all

Making anyone available with one simple call

Edison, father of electricity, light bulb and the phonograph just to name a few

Has enabled us to listen to our records and the power to play them too

Radio, television and computers are media we use everyday

It’s hard to live without them, everyone would have to say

The communication sources are boundless for everyone out there

You can connect with anyone, anytime, anywhere

The internet has put us in a place that seems so endless and so vast

It’s hard to believe this ingenuity will ever be surpassed

Just when you thought technology could not be more evolved

All these resources are in one unit, your problems should be solved

The cell phone has become such a staple for everyone to use

So many models and companies, it’s hard to choose

It does everything you need, everything you could ask

When programmed just right, it can perform any task

You think, being a cell phone, you would use it to call

Some people refuse to use this feature at all

Now they message to friends and relatives, that is their choice

No need to say hello, because they won’t hear your voice

Two good thumbs are needed to chat with a friend

Type a few words and then you press send

Lmao, rofl, and lol may come your way

Get an urban dictionary to find out what they are trying to say

Emojis are other things you should watch out for as well

What these really mean? Sometimes it’s hard to tell

You can listen to radio, music and watch television too

Even read an ebook if that’s what you want to do

When friends get together to have some fun

They take out their phones and then one by one

They talk to each other and ask how they’ve been

Then automatically check out their bright little screen

Like a magnet they are attracted by it and go on their own

All of them go into their own private zone

Is it friendship that they are truly seeking?

A room full of friends and nobody speaking?

People who spend their time on social media texting all day

Don’t seem to be sociable in any way.

We have become spoiled by the advances that have been made

Perhaps it’s time to come to each other’s aid

The convenience of having everything delivered to your door

Some people don’t even have to go out anymore

Friends are on” facebook” not by their side

There is no one out there to whom you can confide

The reassurance of someone’s voice has been replaced by text

What kind of consequences will we experience next?

So let’s put away the cell phones when we meet. I’m being serious

It’s time for us to have a real “social” experience

I’m assuming that this love affair of mine starting on a Saturday night

The longest relationship I have had, not sure if it was love at first sight?

I only know I have been true and never wavered when times were tough

We’ve had our share of good times, but more often times,  things were rough

We’ve stuck together through thick and thin and I still remain so true

Will never give up on you, it’s something everyone knows, that I would never do

Not sure how young I was when I first became aware

The fact is we are still together, have moments we still share

People see me on the streets and they know I still care

It’s not the way I act, it’s more the clothes I wear

You see my closet is filled with apparel emblazoned with the emblem of my team

I’ve worn them during the bad times and when they reigned supreme

I have all the sweaters, jackets and shirts of every colour on display

I’ve gotten in the habit of modeling one each and every day

I go here and there and everywhere;  in the morning I have a regular route

There is no denying who I love and there truly can be no doubt

Perhaps it’s time to reveal to people the object of my pride and joy

It’s the Blackhawks of Chicago, from the state of Illinois

I think it was their jersey on television that brought me such delight

Not in living colour , but when the broadcast was in black and white

This was in the era when Bobby Hull, nickname – the Golden Jet

The hardest shot in hockey was firing at the opposition’s net

Stan “The Man” Mikita was another player on the team that year

He never played for any other team, he was a “Hawk” his whole career

Glenn Hall “Mr. Goalie” – stopping pucks was his chosen task

He played 502 games in a row and that’s without a mask

These are the first stars of Chicago that I truly can recall

They are all enshrined now in the Hockey Hall

When they won the cup in 1961, they thought they were on a run

It would be 49 years later before they won another one

2010 would be the year when this franchise finally would end it’s drought

This team was loaded with talent, there certainly can be no doubt

Star forwards like Toews, Kane, Sharp and Hossa just to name a few

With Hjalmarson, Keith and Seabrook on defense, they had great backup too

They won the game in overtime in Philadelphia, the sixth game of the set

After a long delay for officials to see if Kane’s shot went in the net

Once it was verified the celebration could begin

The Blackhawks won the cup, it certainly was a hard fought win

Toews would raise the Stanley Cup and won the Conn Smythe that year

Quite an accomplishment for “Captain Serious” in his young career

The years would follow and they would win in 2013 and 2015 as well

Will they win another one? It’s certainly hard to tell

The team has missed the playoffs for what will be the second year in a row

They started the first half terrible but now I can see them grow

There seems to be a lot of positives to be optimistic for next year

If they make the right moves in the off season, maybe they will reappear

I’m just happy I was there during the glory years and see them hoist the cup

Abandon the Blackhawks now? You know I will never give them up!

Has anyone tried to get the NHL package on their tv?                                    It can be quite an adventure if you were to ask me                                      In order to watch my team whenever I wanted.                                   Buying a package online worked for me, that’s why I got it

I purchased from Rogers and everything works great That’s because my team plays hockey  in the United States You get to choose your team’s broadcast whether they are
home or away You don’t need to record anything, it’s there to stay

You can watch it live or decide to watch it much later Honestly it couldn’t get that much greater You can archive games as far as two years back if that’s what you want to do Can relive your teams triumphs, they are all there for you

Now I am the exception because I’m in Ontario and not in the States If you live near your home team, things just aren’t that
great First of all you have to pay for all the sports channels
they offer to you There is no real choice, if you want to watch your team, that’s what you must do

So you have every channel in sports from coast to coast As far as sports goes, you pay the most Hey now I can watch every game our Canadian teams play! That’s when your blackout broadcasts start to get in the way

You only get to view the game they telecast in your own region The ban will be lifted when you get to the start of the playoff season I am not able to watch the games in my area for 48 hours after the game But I am still able to watch the others on the coasts just the same

You can buy the nhl package from your cable company if that’s what you choose Still you need all the sports channels, the cable company can never lose Two hundred dollars more if you want all the bells and the whistles you crave They covered all of the angles on you, there’s no way you can save

So you pay out the cash and some of us will still come up short We all need our hockey, it’s Canada’s national sport! So why do they have us jumping through hoops to watch our
favourite game? They keep sticking it to us, it’s such a shame

You would think with these new regulations they would throw us some bones Get all our hockey and the hell with these zones Imagine sitting back to watch your favourite team on the ice Throw in the minor league games as well, wouldn’t that be
nice?

This way you can follow the players from junior to when they debut in the big show And being able to stream these games wherever you go You know it’s a pipe dream, their deck is stacked It never will happen, it’s just a fact

Here’s hoping that an online iptv service will come along and fill all our wishes This way we cancel the cable and toss out the satellite dishes Stick it to your provider and tell them they can all go to hell Oh shit! They still got us, they own the internet as well!

Second entry of the blog, not sure if it will be daily or not.                         I’m just going to continue whether I have a little or a lot.                      There are so many subjects that are out there for me to muse.             Most of them are relevant but what do I choose?

Now there is a man out there that has made it hard for us to
ignore.                                                                                                                  Believe me I’ve tried it, it is quite a chore.                                                        His face a bright orange and his comb back a mess.                                  We all seem to know him it’s not hard to guess

So if anyone is still stumped with the answer to my game.                      Just to let you know Donald Trump is his name                                                I can’t help it, I mean he’s the topic wherever you go                                   He never aims high, it’s always seems to be low

He sits in a party that has no control of him at all.                                        All he is concerned with is building his wall                                                   He has been in the Oval office for what seems to be so long                      His claim to fame is not what he’s done right, but what he’s
done wrong

I don’t want to bring up everything he’s brought up in the past Hopefully this term will be not only his first but ultimately
his last                                                                                                                            I will start with something amusing that happened this week.                 He said “oranges” instead of “origin” when he tried to speak

He is threatening to close the southern border in a show of strength    Not just a few crossings but the whole entire length                                   He thinks this will hurt the Mexicans and force them to cave                  But consequences in America would be more grave

He’s lied to his country so many times it’s just another day        Everything he says has to be fact checked anyway                                          He said his father was born in Germany for some reason.                        He wants to charge all the democrats with acts of treason

He wants to cut funding to Special Olympics which seems quite extreme.                                                                                                                       I never got that mad when I didn’t make a team                                              I apologize to you, maybe in the midwest he’s a sensation                       But he would be a great hindrance to this fine organization

His Attorney General says the Mueller report shows he is in the clear Why does he want to stop it if he has nothing to fear?                   Oversight Committee is requesting his taxes, let’s see what
they find                                                                                                                  Just when the Trump White House thought it was time to unwind

So many investigations against Trump to explore.                                    And who really knows, there could be some more                                      His administration is in chaos we all can agree                                          Can he dodge all these bullets? Just wait and see.