After a thrilling come-from-behind victory over the Calgary Stampeders last week, my beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders were hammered 45-18 by the B.C. Lions in the CFL Western Final this afternoon. No Saskatchewan-themed Grey Cup party this year, but at least I can look forward to all the tasty snacks we enjoy on Grey Cup Sunday. As long as Amanda has pot, she can handle watching my lone sports indulgence with nary a complaint (of course the aforementioned snacks, such as pepperoni sticks, crackers, cheese and assorted vegetables, help soothe her pain).

I've encountered a lot of resistance from my fellow artsy colleagues concerning my interest in sports. Aren't there many writers who romanticize about baseball or hockey? So why not have a Canadian writer, who hails originally from Saskatchewan, enjoy Canadian football? Methinks it makes me not a jock or some other boorish stereotype, but merely a well-rounded individual who appreciates the aerial strategy and execution of Canadian football.

Thanks for a roller-coaster year, Riders. And if Danny Barrett doesn't return as head coach next season then I must tip my non-existent hat to the man who brought back playoff contention, respectability and excitement to the province of Saskatchewan. Thanks, Danny.

Go Riders in 2007!

Look pal, Miami Vice seasons 3 and 4 are being released on DVD in March! More Michael Mann greatness!

While I continue to gnash my teeth at the Conservative government's perpetual blunders (think lack of adequate greenhouse emissions legislation and breaking an election promise by announcing plans to tax income trusts), another strange, completely unimportant news item has tickled me to no end. It seems that the Calgary Stampeders, hosting the Saskatchewan Roughriders this weekend, have banned the Roughriders' mascot, Gainer the Gopher, from setting foot inside McMahon Stadium. This has infuriated the province of Saskatchewan, with MLAs condemning the action in the Saskatchewan legislature. Why such a fuss over a seven-foot tall gopher?

The Stampeders feel that "[our] fans have earned the right for us to be led on the field by our own mascot without competition from Gainer."

Give me a break! It's called poor sportsmanship. Gainer has made the same playoff travels to Vancouver and Edmonton with nary a threat, so I guess Calgary just isn't in the same class as those cities. The real reason to ban the Riders' mascot? Fan support. Calgary is home to an estimated 250, 000 ex-Saskies and the Roughriders are known for having the most passionate, loyal fans in the CFL. Calgary is well known to the rest of the country as having the finest sit-on-your-hands fans north of the 49th parallel (sorry, the Flames failed Stanley Cup run in '04 doesn't change anything). 12, 000 Riders fans at a Calgary game usually drowns out the rest of the Calgary fans, who make noise only when their team scores a touchdown. The Stampeders don't want Gainer whipping the Saskatchewan fans into a frenzy to cut down on crowd noise; it's that simple.

While the Roughriders don't fare well at McMahon Stadium, perhaps this gopher gaffe can rally the troops and they can beat one of the most arrogant, hated teams in the CFL. Go Riders!!

Now the affairs of the nation may continue...

Cosmic justice. That's the only way I can describe my turn of misfortune. What else could it be that prevents me from going to the Sloan show that I've been anticipating for weeks because of a raging fever? Shelling out $50 for two tickets doesn't really bother me, but to become gravely ill a mere two hours before showtime strikes me as some form of cosmic justice meted out by the universe. Was it something I said? Should I have given that homeless man some change instead of walking by, should I have complimented a co-worker for their diligence and hard work? Should I have picked up Amanda's litter last week instead of leaving it to blow onto the street? Perhaps I shall never know, but if Sloan announces a dissolution shortly after their tour, I'm going to be unimpressed. Justice served? Not bloody likely.

Amanda and I saw Scott Thompson's Scottastrophe, a comedy/Power Point presentation on Friday and it was quite funny. His anecdotes of guest-starring on Star Trek: Voyager and Touched By an Angel were standouts. Amanda had Scott autograph her newly-purchased Scottastrophe t-shirt and I simply shook his hand and thanked him for a good show. The rest of the weekend was spent running errands, cooking dinner, watching Thank You for Smoking (an amusing but slight "black" comedy), checking CFL and NHL highlights (Saskatchewan beats Montreal with a last-play field goal to secure a playoff spot!) and finishing the first season of Battlestar Galactica on DVD. And now you have my complete weekend itinerary.

Yeah, I passed over Scorsese's The Departed in order to see Trailer Park Boys before Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday. I'm told I should hand in my film aficionado card because of this unconscionable act. I'll see the much-ballyhooed film this weekend, though I also have to catch The Science of Sleep and Scott Thompson's comedy show on Friday.

Oh and about Trailer Park Boys: it's really quite funny and well-shot for 16mm. Series creator Mike Clattenburg has done a good job making a film that still respects its no-budget TV roots yet is visually interesting enough for the casual filmgoer and hardcore fan. The subtle references to other Canadian films and a tracking shot that pays hommage to Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange are great fun and clever too. I love Jim Lahey's "shit" rants and Ricky's malapropisms are always memorably stupid. And it's earned over $1.5 million in its first weekend, a record for a Canadian film (and no. 11 at the North American box office, no mere feat for a Canadian film on only 181 screens). Hopefully Trailer Park Boys can topple Bon Cop, Bad Cop as the highest-grossing Canadian film ever. Now that would be greasy!

Goodfellas and Good Burger, two films with little in common, yet both share the word "good" in their respective titles. I chatted to a co-worker today about Martin Scorsese's upcoming The Departed, a film both of us have been eagerly awaiting since the first trailer was shown online. A brief retrospection of his earlier masterpieces began and, as we praised Goodfellas, another co-worker exclaimed that "Good Burger is the shit." Not just shit, but the shit. We sat stunned, looked at each other for a moment and then burst with laughter. I explained that one film was a violent, complex history of a particular mob crew while the other was a Nickelodeon family film.
Nevertheless the co-worker, a likeable though somewhat young and naïve man, continued to praise Good Burger. I asked him to write me a two-page essay articulating just what exactly he finds so compelling about Good Burger, so perhaps he can convince me with an impassioned and witty review.

I can picture Martin Scorsese being interviewed by this earnest young lad and asked about the parallels between Goodfellas and Good Burger: an interview that ends abruptly with an angry Scorsese spitting on the clueless interviewer, cursing him in Italian.

I'm constantly amazed at the wealth of material I cull from my daily experiences at work for my writing.