Petr Sykora?

So apparently the latest from the Team in Edmonton is that Petr Sykora is indeed almost surely, it has to be true this time, I swear, I wouldn't lie to you... coming to Edmonton. Seriously. We're not kidding this time.

Jason Gregor apparently said we can expect it by the end of the week. Just like we could expect it by the end of 2 weekends ago.

The length of time this is taking has led to people speculating about whether or not Sykora actually wants to be an Oiler. If the deal was on the table, is he just stalling hoping something better comes along?

It's possible. Sykora has said in newspaper articles he'd prefer to play in the east. It's not a shot at Edmonton, it's the reality of travel. The travel situation likely cost us Spacek, who knows what impact it had on Samsonov (who we apparently wern't even in the running for... uh huh...) and who knows how many free agents it's detered. We know Chara wanted to stay in the east as well.

Is there anything the NHL can do about this? Not really. Combine all that with Edmonton's climate, and Kevin Lowe has some extra work to do when recruiting players. The other thing is we're going to have a do a great job drafting and developping talent. Ales Hemsky is a great example of something the Oilers have done right. He has become a man on the Oilers, and now he's going to stay here another 6 years.

Anyway, back to Sykora. I think there are other possibilities that have delayed the deal. Were the Oilers waiting to hear about Mikhnov before deciding if they wanted to bring in Sykora? Are they continuing to wait on him? Apparently Lowe and Howson were on vacation one week, and now Sykora's agent Rich Winter is overseas. Look, there's obviously no rush here. How many teams are there who even have the cap room to look at Sykora? His options are limited.

As for his value... Sykora is 29 years old and has scored 20 goals 7 NHL seasons in a row.

Need I repeat myself?

The guy obviously didn't have a perfect fit in either Anaheim or New York last year. However, with the loss of Pronger the Oilers really can use some help on the Power Play. According to what I've read, a role on the top PP unit is key to where Sykora will decide to play.

How can you ignore a guy who scored 20 goals in all of his last 7 NHL seasons? Especially while playing a lot of them for New Jersey. Line him up next to the young talent we have, and I'll almost guarantee you he'll top 30 goals.

Far as I'm concerned he'd be a bargain.

We have too many rookies on the opening night roster as it stands. Sykora is a great veteran piece, with Stanley Cup rings on his fingers. As far as I'm concerned, it's a no brainer.

DO IT!

Good Job, UK!

Hey, credit to the UK for once again foiling a terrorist attack. There's lots of cynics out there who find a way to spin something like this in an anti-government way, but why does this have to involve politics?

Thank you to the men and women involved in stopping this attack. Simple as that. I don't care what side you're on in terms of how to deal with terrorism, there's no bad news or negative spin here. We know people are going to try to attack places like England and the US, so anytime people are arrested and stopped is good news as far as I'm concerned.

Thumbs up for a job well done.

Harper Fires Pilot

Interesting tidbit from a Globe article...

"By way of illustration, on a recent trip, the Prime Minister was asked by a flight attendant to turn off his cellphone and BlackBerry. Mr. Harper declined. The pilot then made a request, saying it was for safety purposes. The PM relented. But, at the end of the journey, one of his staffers gave the pilot some news: His services would no longer be required on prime ministerial trips.

The aviator should have known that this is the new Ottawa. In Harpertown, you fall in line or fall from favour."

Now I seem to recall from my time on airplanes that everyone has to turn their phones off when they're in the air. I think a trained pilot understands better why this is done than the Prime Minister. Regardless, if it is so essential he have his blackberry on while in the air, perhaps he could work this out with the pilot? This all seems overly harsh.

I know Harper is often a noted control freak, but I also hear he's a good guy. He cares for foster cats (cats... grr), he um shakes his kid's hand, a class act. Doesn't seem like he was behaving like one in this case.

Good friends and a Good Dog

Thanks to all who came out to Toronto on Sunday for the Blue Jays game and the gathering at East Side Mario's.

It's been what, 9 months or so since I've seen most of my friends in Ottawa? 9 months since I've even been to Ottawa. It's unreal to think that I've been gone this long. I'd never lived anywhere else in my life, and now I havn't seen the city for what is approaching a year.

I really appreciate the effort all of you made in coming out. Especially to Chris and Sarah who seemed to take on a leadership role in making it happen. It's funny, I've been able to keep myself occupied with work, a slowly growing social life, and a lot of video games. Enough that I didn't think I really felt the void. Then seeing so many of my friends again Sunday it made me realize how much I really do miss them.

I have to make it home more often.

Of course I also will have to because Amy is returning home next weekend :( I'm hoping to be able to take her, as well as attend a family event that Saturday. If I do make it I'd be glad to see as many people as possible in the little time I have.

It's been great to have Amy here. We've had some growing pains learning what it's like to live together, but what else could you expect? I think in a more perfect world (a job she actually liked, we both had more other friends around) it would've worked really well. As such, we had some issues but man was it a thrill to have her with me day in and day out. She got me out there doing things - walking a lot more, exploring where I live, just getting out of the house and doing something.

Amy and I often seem to have a lot of superficial things we don't agree on. She's not a sports fan, our music tastes often differ, etc. But you know in talking with her more and more, especially on some of those long walks, it's obvious we both want so many of the same things in life. I'll miss her.



I've also really liked having a dog around. Tinker is the older one pictured here with me. She's an interesting one. Some dogs are constantly after attention and will do anything to get it. Tinker does what she wants. When she wants our attention, she'll give us the "poke." Say I'm petting her or scratching her, if I stop and she wants more she'll hit me with her paw. Sometimes several times, at least until she gets her way. But if I go to pet her or pick her up when she's not in the mood I'll get a quick growl. Amy likes to say it's when her love tank is full.

Anyway, Tinker and I get along famously and have ever since Amy first moved back to her Dad's house. It's been great having her here. We've been walking her a lot and have helped her drop a few pounds. She's apparently in the best shape she's been in for years.

Having Tinker here was a result of Amy visiting and my new landlord saying it was OK with him if I had a dog for the summer. I kind of took that to the next step and decided I could then go ahead and get my own dog. I wanted one ever since leaving home, and my two fish wern't really working out as companions. The latest one (Lenny) offed himself jumping out of the bowl. I guess I'm not that interesting.



So here is my latest addition. He's a mix of a Shitzu or however you spell it, and a Westie. Or West Highland Terrior. Something like that. He's a little puppy we saw being sold near my house. I wanted to get something from the pound, but there were no hyper-allergetic dogs there. After a few days of careful consideration and a name the dog contest on Mix 106... I decided on Amy's suggestion of Mowgli for the name. An amazingly cute kid came up with Bear and won the contest on Mix, so that's going to be his middle name.

Puppies are a hand full. He always wants attention. He chews anything he can get his paws on. He doesn't really understand when I scold him, but he does understand praise. He's learning more and more to pee outside, he's starting to listen more when I tell him no. I think Mowgli's making great progress given I've only had him for like 2 weeks. He's all ready growing too, it's amazing.



A dog is quite a comitment too. I mean I'll have this guy until I'm close to 40 at least. That's something. 40! But I love him all ready, and he'll help ease the void left by Amy and Tinker when they leave me.

Hope I can see those I havn't seen soon, and those I just saw sooner than another 9 months.