Random Thoughts & Ramblings

The Long Awaited Wait:

2007-06-18T10:13:00.000-06:00

I may have never got the Residence Director position, however, news just in I have been hired today by CN Rail for a conductor position. I start my job on Monday June 25th 2007. Needless to say I am very excited plus very nervous as I do not like changing jobs too many times; I have over the last few years because of summer and temporary positions. I am also nervous for the amount of cramming I will have to do with the study material. There is a large rule book that you need to know. Anyways, I am glad for the new opportunity.

The Unknown Future:

2007-06-10T08:55:00.000-06:00

I never got any of the Residence Director positions I applied for. I never even got short listed by any of them. Trinity Western University has reposted their position again and I am not feeling to hopeful to getting short listed even with another posting they have. If they were happy with the resumes they had then they would have short listed with what they had, obviously they are not happy with what they have and now have reposted they position. I am disappointed as I thought with the experience I now have I think at least I should have been short listed. I guess not this year and seeing how this has been the second year of applying for these positions I do not see myself applying again in the future for any Student Development positions again. I am actually ok with that.

As I have said in my last post plan ‘B’ looks like it would be Vancouver. I actually have a plan ‘C’ in the works. I have just been interviewed and gone through a medical exam for the position of a Conductor for CN Rail. I am now waiting to here back on their decision. I am really not sure what lies ahead now. I am not sure if working for CN Rail is the direction I want to go at this point. CN Rail is a good company to get in and if they offer me a position I would probably take it. I will update as I find out what is going on. CN is going to contact me in a couple of weeks if I get the position or not.

Winter of 2006-2007 Review and A Look to What Lies Ahead:

2007-05-11T07:10:00.000-06:00

It has been awhile since I last updated. Since early March I have been working night audit at the hotel I am currently employed at. It has been a huge learning curve to learn all there is with balancing the daily revenue from a busy hotel that has banquets, restaurant and pub along with the room revenue. There are a lot of areas to the hotel that a night auditor has to deal with when it comes to the daily revenue. My job is to make sure that at the end of the day everything balances and then break it down to reports for the hotel executive management everyday. Sometimes it is quite fun and other times it can be the most frustrating thing to work on. I actually like doing the job, never thought I would enjoy something like this. The two things that I do not like are the hours and the front desk work at the hotel. The bonus of the front desk work is the fact I get commission off the rooms I sell to walk-in guests. Other than that I really do not enjoy the front desk work. The other thing is the night shift has been the hardest to get used to. I have been doing this for awhile and yet I still have a hard time sleeping through the daytime. I go 2-3 days a week without getting a good sleep.

The time has come to move on from this position of a night auditor and from this hotel. I have a few resumes out for Residence Director positions throughout the country. I do miss that position. It was a great job to do at Providence for the couple of years I did it there and I am hopeful that experience will help bring on another position for the upcoming school year. If for some reason I do not attain of the positions I have applied for then my plan B will be to move out to the west cost. Regardless of what happens my time at the hotel will come to close soon. I have not heard back from any of the resumes I have out so I am not sure when my time at the hotel will be done. I will say this my time at the hotel has been a positive one. I may never work as a night auditor again, however, the experience I have obtained is valuable to put to use in other area I may work at in the future. The hotel experience is great to have when planning to go back into residence life. Along with the two positions I have had with the hotel I have helped out in other areas of the hotel. The time has come as now I am starting to get excited of the possibilities of the summer of where I will be going, though I really have no idea where that is, it still is exciting.

It has been a good winter for resting my soul. My time at Providence College & Seminary ended well as an employee, however, it did not end well as a student, in fact it ended quite stressful and bitterly. One day I may write about my experience with Providence but at this time that probably would not be a good idea. Secondly my time in Winnipeg did not end well either, after all the stressful situations with Providence in my last two years there. I decided to move into Winnipeg, I was working in Steinbach at Smitty’s Restaurant as a night manager at the time. They owned the Winnipeg locations and I asked to be transferred to one of those locations and they did and they also placed me at one 3 minutes from my new place which I thought was great at the time. It did not go well at that location; I was under a lot of pressure at that location as they had unreal expectations of the staff there. With having a couple of really stressful two years at Providence my tolerance was not high. One day I snapped and got into it with one of the managers, 2 weeks after that fight they had fired me, it was weird after 17 years with the franchise and that location being so short staffed I was stunned and very surprised. Plus I had earned a lot of respect from the one owner as I worked with him in the Steinbach location. The owner Robert did not find out a week after I was let go as he never works in any of the Winnipeg locations. Needless to say he was not impressed and if I wanted to go back to Steinbach location to work I would have to take a significant pay cut and I would only be allowed to work weekends, I would have to start over to earn my respect back. This was an unfeasible financially as I would have to commute from Winnipeg. My time at the Steinbach location went well when I was there; I really did not want to leave as I had been in a good position there. I looked for other work in Winnipeg but after countless resumes handed in I never heard back from any of them. That left me with returning home to Edmonton AB. It did not take long in Edmonton to find a job. I worked at Smitty’s by my parent’s place for about 2 weeks after I got back to Edmonton. The hotel called me in for an interview shortly after I started at Smitty’s. I did have to take a pay cut to work in the hotel but at the time I wanted something that was a lot less stress than working in a kitchen.

I started at the hotel last October shortly after I returned home from Winnipeg. Out of all the winters I decide to take a shuttle driving position it was the worst winter storm wise. Snow came the second day I started driving for the hotel and most of the winter had terrible roads. Even with all that stress of winter storm weather plus busy rush hour traffic to drive 30 minutes to the airport I found it to be relaxing. I had a lot of time this winter to unwind from a stressful couple of years in Manitoba. God has been good to me, he has provided me with the financial resources this last winter to help pay down my lack of financial responsibility over the prior year. The Smitty’s I worked at for 2 weeks by my parent’s place was shut down a month after I left for the hotel. God has provided for me.

One main reason I hope to never work a graveyard shift again is the fact that I fell constantly tired. Since starting night audit I have not spent a dime on anything other than fuel for my vehicle. I have done nothing for fun, there is no social life when you work these shifts as for me I find I get my best sleep from 1pm to 9pm through the daytime into the evening. I feel that being a night auditor and working graveyards is a short time and it is doable to stick it out as it pays a little better than other positions in the hotel. When they terminated the shuttle driver position I did not want to go find another job for a few months. I was disappointed that the position was cut. So I thought it would be ok to stick out this position and shift for a short time. At the time I thought it would be easy to adjust to working nights, it has been the opposite.

I believe God will bring a position this summer that I will enjoy a lot and will be able to work at for the next few years, I am getting tired of job jumping. My biggest prayer when I started at the hotel was this has to work this winter because I was getting tired of changing employers.

In conclusion, it was a good choice to move back to Edmonton. What would have happened if I had moved to Steinbach instead of Winnipeg? I believe that decision would have been good at the time but after deciding on Winnipeg and being locked into a lease my best choice was to go back home. Winnipeg was not a good choice but I liked my roommate and it and I wanted to keep him as my roommate. I do miss Steinbach though, as Southland Community Church became my home church and I left behind really great friends there plus my roommate I had at Providence and in Winnipeg after we moved there, he was the main reason for moving into Winnipeg. I did make a one trip back there last February, it was good to see those I did not get to say good-bye to when I left. I decided to move to Edmonton in October of 2006 and I left within 4 days. That did not leave me much time to hangout. I needed to leave like that as if I prolonged my departure life would have become more difficult. I now look towards the future to see what lies ahead. Who knows, maybe I stay in Edmonton, which would be ok as this was the place I grew up, I did apply for a residence director at a campus in Edmonton, in fact it is only 4 minute drive from the hotel I work at currently. Thank you for reading this. I write this to inform what this last winter has been like for me. I will update when I hear back from my resumes.

Five Weeks of Night Audit

2007-04-11T01:22:00.000-06:00

I am now into my fifth week of night audit at the hotel. I must say sleeping through the day is not as easy as it looks. I have applied again this year at Trinity Western for an RD position. I hope I can get in this year. I have not applied for any other RD positions as none have come up to my knowledge. The hotel business can be fun and yet at the same time frustrating. Doing audit has been a huge learning curve for me. All I have been doing since starting on the audit is working, I still feel like I am adjusting to the different times I am up and sleeping. Nothing new to report on.

CBC Keeps Hockey Night In Canada (HNIC)

2007-03-28T00:24:00.000-06:00

NHL is staying with CBC and I think that is not a bad thing. Actually in my opinion it is a good thing. The problem we end up now with the CFL is it will not be broadcasted on farmer vision. I know most have some sort of service to get TSN either it being Shaw, Bell Express, Telus, Star Choice, Rogers, etc. There are many providers out there, however, there are a lot of people out there who can’t really afford a service provider, those who can’t afford it now will now not be able to see the Grey Cup game. As for the CFL with TSN’s coverage in the past I feel it has lacked a lot of quality, maybe which is a reflection on the league. When you watch NFL on any of the US networks; all of them put a better package together in comparison to any Canadian Network with the CFL. As a true blue westerner from Edmonton I really do not like CBC HNIC, TSN as a whole, and now even SportsNet. I will flush this out in the following paragraphs.

CBC does lack quality in their programming with sports. We all know Bob Cole should retire and some other personnel should probably go. However, I would like to add that they did go out and get the best play by play person with Jim Hughson. I believe Jim will be the one who will be in the Stanley Cup playoffs with CBC in the near future. Jim does all the Vancouver games on SportsNet Pacific. My issues with TSN and SportsNet it is all about Toronto Sports. SportsNet now advertises your home team first, however, with the west region it is now Vancouver who is first on SportsNet Connected. I will say this, when it comes to hockey TSN does the best job out of any of them. HNIC is a tradition in Canada, what do most Canadians do on a Saturday night in the winter, they watch HNIC.

I would like to add my thoughts of the voice of the Oilers on the radio 630 CHED’s presentations of Oiler games with Rod Phillips as the play by play. When we get a ceremony where Rod is the MC for the function before the game starts we get Morley Scott (Colour) doing the play by play and I hate to be the devils advocate but Morley does a way better job than Rod on play by play, maybe they should switch places. I think Rod is not that good with the play by play and I say this after listening to a so many different ones now. Rod is good with being right into the game and it is obvious he is really passionate; however, most play by play personnel out there do not stutter through the plays, maybe Bob Cole now. I think for Rod Phillips and Bob Cole theses are the voices we have grown up with so to make that change will be a difficult one until they decide to retire on there own.

One idea I would like to see SportsNet West is having one hour of Inside Sports from 630 CHED on every evening. Why do we need to have the Fan Network from Toronto with Best Damn Sports Show Period, why not each region have there own sports show like that, for the West we would get an hour of Inside Sports?

In conclusion I my biggest issue with Canadian Sports Networks: it is all about Toronto Sports, at least SportsNet is making strides to improve coverage in the West. CBC is trying ever since double header so now we always have a western team on HNIC. We all know TSN’s nickname with Toronto Sports Network, and with CBC they will always show every Leaf game on Saturdays regardless.

Those are my thoughts for the day.

TERMINATION!

2007-03-18T21:37:00.000-06:00

It was a good idea when I decided to learn the night audit at the hotel. A few days later my shuttle driver position was terminated as the company I would transport to and from the airport and hotel would be contracted out. This was the company’s decision and it works best for both them and the hotel I work for. I am now a full time night auditor at the hotel. I keep a position there, which is good. After one week of staying up all night and sleeping all day I think I am starting to get use to it.

It is the Middle of the Night

2007-03-12T03:06:00.001-06:00

For those who do not know, I work at a Starwood brand Hotel. Someone at work left so I decided to move off the afternoon/evening shift for the morning shift so I could have my evenings off. I only then worked 2 morning shifts and then I decided to add to my current position as a shuttle driver. I guess you could say a promotion. I will slowly work from my entry level position from a shuttle driver to night auditor. I will then have to work through the overnight now. It is a significant move for me because shuttle driving is quite boring at times as there are a lot of times when there is nothing to do. I will still drive through the overnight and in the down time I will be training for night auditor and of I like doing Night Audit then I will slowly move out of the shuttle driving. So now I am trying to get myself switch to staying up all night. I have had a great time at this hotel; the people are really good to work with. The benefits are great and there have good incentives. The one bonus that I have cashed in on is the discounts at same brand of hotels with traveling.

I have sent out a few emails and I copy and paste what is going on with me and then personalize each email to who ever it is intended for. The one thing I just noticed is I misspelled a particular word and if you forget a letter with this word (like I did) then it becomes a swear word, oops, I did reread it each time and missed it every time. At least in the contents of the sentence everyone should get it, and if you are reading this and you where one who received my swear word accidentally then I apologize for the typo.

Oilers Lost 7 in a Row

2007-03-12T02:57:00.000-06:00

The Oilers are now on a 7 game skid. It is hard to watch this as an Oiler fan. The good thing is maybe they will fall into a better position with their draft picks. The remaining 13 games will be interesting. This will be the test of how the team responds to this huge slide at this time of year. I think the Smyth trade really damaged this team. When Craig MacTavish gave his thoughts about the Smyth trade you could see how frustrated he was with the whole situation. This was the one player who has shown consistency and commitment for the team, Smyth was his best player and now he is gone. The other frustrating thing about the Oilers is all the injuries they are facing right now as well. It would be really good from a fan’s perspective to see the team finish up well even though they will not make the payoffs. They can have fun and damage other teams with their positioning. I am looking forward to the off season this year to see what the Oilers will do.

As for the remaining part of this year I guess I am going to have to cheer on another team in the playoffs, who will that be? I can’t see any Canadian team in the final 4 for the conference finals. The American teams I will cheer for after all Canadian teams are eliminated will probably be Pittsburgh if they are still in and in the East and for the West Nashville. If either of them are not in then we will pick one. I believe the East will stand a good chance this year as the West looks way more competitive and by the time the one Western team gets to the Stanley Cup final will probably be all beaten up. I hope a Western team wins this year if all Eastern Canadian teams have been eliminated.

Well, those are my thoughts for the current Oiler situation.

Chris Simon’s Slash on Ryan Hollweg

2007-03-10T11:06:00.000-07:00

I am sure you have seen the two hander Chris Simon of the NY Islanders gave to Ryan Hollweg of the NY Rangers. After seeing the incident a few hundred times on TSN and Sports Net, I think the league needs to make a statement. I realize Simon was checked into the boards but that was a clean hit, his bell was rung, however, I think Simon needed to be more self disciplined with his actions. Just because he got his bell rung dos not justify going over to two handing Hollweg. That incident looks worse than McSorley’s hit on Brashear. McSorley never played another NHL game after that. Maybe it was not worth it after a long time in the NHL and being 37 at the time. I remember NHL players saying if McSorley returns he will be a marked player to attack, there were a lot of players who did not want to see him return. Then came the Todd Burtuzzi hit from behind on Steve Moore. I think Simon should at least serve as long of a sentence as McSorley. Simon intended to take out Hollweg, McSorley intended to take out Brashear, and had big time consequences. Simon should be reviewed, should he have the same fate as McSorley or Burtuzzi? I think the NHL needs to examine this closely and have a discipline that is suitable for Simon, in my opinion he should be suspended and asked to leave the NHL. The biggest problem the NHL is having right now is a lack of respect amongst players. In a situation like this it would send a definite message to the players if they can get fired (a good phrase) from their jobs when they do something undisciplined like this. If I did this at my work I would get fired, arrested, charged, and probably thrown in jail, why should a professional athlete get special treatment. McSorley was charged and I think Simon should be as well.

Steve Moore is still trying to get more from Burtuzzi, maybe Moore should not be greedy, but then Burtuzzi changed his life and Moor had no choice in the matter. I actually think Burtuzzi should have not been allowed back in the NHL. I know Burtuzzi is not a dirty player before and certainly not after, but he made a major error and if the NHL wants to clean up its image then they need to make players more accountable for their actions.

With all the concussions in the NHL this year, I think the NHL needs to start taking discipline actions of checks/shots to the head. There seems to be more players that get concussions now than before. The NHL needs to find away to bring respect amongst the players. I wonder if the NHL has got to big now, before when the NHL was smaller more players new each other and would show more respect for others? A larger league means more people and the more there are the harder it is to get to know them, the ones you don’t know you show less respect for. Who knows, in the end the NHL will need to find away to prevent needless injuries from the lack of respect from other players.

That is my thought for the day, if you do the crime then you should be accountable and do the time.

The Westin Bayshore Vancouver BC

2007-03-08T00:13:00.000-07:00

When it comes to food I would say my best experience comes from Currents at Bayshore Restaurant for breakfast/lunch and Seawall Bar & Grill for supper both in the Westin Bayshore downtown Vancouver is the best food I have ever had from a restaurant. It is pricy; however, it is worth it if you want quality food. All the ingredients are fresh and cooked to order. They have a really good breakfast buffet in Currents, the funny thing is they will cook you toast and omelets fresh when you want them and it is include on the buffet price. If you ever visit Vancouver I highly recommend the Westin Bayshore as a place to stop and enjoy a high quality dining experience. Actually The Westin Bayshore is a really great Hotel to stay in, I highly recommend it.

Oilers Blockbuster Trade with NY Islanders

2007-03-08T00:02:00.000-07:00

You are probably wondering what my thoughts are as an Oiler fan what I think about the Ryan Smyth trade. My opinion as an Oiler fan I believe the trade was a necessary one. I am a long time Oiler fan, it hurt to see Gretzky and Messier leave. I was sad when Curtis Joseph (Cujo) left. As a fan I felt really let down by Pronger. However, I wonder is this was a lesson learned from Cujo’s departure. We all expected him to get traded by Sather by deadline day and he was not dealt. When the free agency hit Cujo was long gone from Edmonton and the Oil had nothing for him, I wonder if Kevin Lowe wanted something even if we get peanuts for him? The difference between Cujo and Smyth is it looks like Smyth really wanted to stay in Edmonton. The ball started rolling down hill ever since Pronger asked to be moved, our Oilers where dismantled last summer and even though by paper we stood a good chance this year with our offensive punch we were domed. I believe our underachieving players were not worth much on the NHL trade market this is whey the only moves we seen where Bergeron and Smyth. I am an upset Oiler fan with the exception of last year; every year we hear in the future we will be better.

I do think since Kevin Lowe has taken over the GM position we have had a better team than prior with Glen Sather’s last few years. I think Kevin has done the best he can with what he has. When we got the new CBA and we had Pronger the future for this team looked really good. Did we get a good deal for Pronger, yes, but not in the immediate, in the future the Pronger deal may play out better for us. The Smyth deal, well, if Kevin Lowe can pull a rabbit out of the hat with what we get then hopefully we will score with it in the future.

As PO’d as I am with the situation plus seeing a big welcoming picture of Ryan Smyth on the NY Islanders website when he was traded I do trust Kevin Lowe to pull something together in the off season, it just really sucks to write off the year so early. It is hard to see the one consistent payer gone; Ryan’s absence will push the Oilers well below 500 for the remaining games of the season. They have not won a game in the current home stand. The Oilers have lost their last 5 games and still have not won since Smyth left. The one thing that may help the team finish well is those who want to keep their jobs in the NHL, now comes the test, if they trade out there best consistent player, no one is safe from being exiled out. It has been years since we have been at this time of the season sitting in a good place as the playoffs come.

We all need to remember Smyth had the choice of staying, he turned down the Oilers offer as the Oilers turned down his. If Smyth really wanted to stay then the 5.5 million he was offered he could have taken. Lowe freed up room in the Oilers budget and I hope he can attract a high-end player. I would like to see a team that is consistent for the entire year, not that they do not slump, but be consistent. I think Oiler fans deserve a solid team put together. We have had to put up with mediocrity for too long now. I wonder what Calgary Flames fans would do if they traded Jarome Iginla. As an Oiler fan it sucks when Calgary does better. It will be interesting to see if the Oilers sell out Rexall Place for the remainder of the season? This team needs to be dismantled again this next off season and rebuild. With the Oilers wanting a new facility (or redone Rexall) they need to show us a great product on the ice, last time when Rexall was renovated they threatened to move the team and at that time the only selling point was the history of the team, it would be nice to see a consistent positive team be the selling point for the Oiler franchise.

Those are my thoughts for the Smyth trade, it was a sad day seeing your top guy go and not seeing at least another player of equal value come back on the return. I agree with Don Cherry, both sides made a big mistake, I would like to see that high-end player on the Oilers, like a Daniel Briere (who will be a free agent this summer if he does not sign with Buffalo Sabres) playing along side with Ryan Smyth. I believe Smyth was hurt by the trade and I believe he probably will not sign with the Oil this summer.

Random Thoughts, NHL Schedule, Oilers (should the Oilers fire their coach?) & the New Jerseys for the NHL

2007-03-07T22:27:00.000-07:00

The NHL schedule does need to change. I actually liked the idea of the time zones that makes more sense to me in regards to travel. I have no issues with the salaries with the players, however, if I am going to pay big dollars to get into a NHL game I better see an entertaining game. The rivalry with the NY Islanders may have died out, but it would be fun to have that rivalry again, or even with another team like the Carolina Hurricanes. I love the battle of Alberta but it would be fun to widen that.

The one thing Kevin Lowe the Olilers general manager has done well is providing Oiler fans with an entertaining team for the most part, they may have their inconsistencies, however, it is still entertaining. I wish this team was not so dismantled after last season, the one thing they brought to the playoffs last year was consistency. They need to find that rhythm again. Will it come with a change, maybe, hopefully, I think they need that Pronger defenseman. Look at the Ducks, Pronger is gone and they are struggling, that guy brings so much to a team, if the Oilers won the cup last year he would have been the MVP. They need a guy like Pronger who moves the puck well, but also brings consistency to the team, it is obvious that Stoll and Smyth (Smyth now gone) consistency has not rubbed off on the rest of the team. I would also like to add that Mac-T is not as good as a coach as everyone gives credit. I think this team could be different under a different coach. Mac-T has made some calls that I just do not understand. For example Matt Greene playing every game last year in the playoffs and making unwise plays, taking dumb penalties, etc. Mac-T insisted on playing him. Everyone blames Bergeron for knocking the Hurricanes player on Roloson, he may have done that but he had to scramble to get that Hurricane player because Greene did not check that player originally. What about Marc-Andre Bergeron under Ted Nolan. Bergeron has been making a difference on the NY Islanders. I think Mac-T can get more out of players than he does. Look at the St. Louis Blues, a good coach goes in and look at the difference. I think a coaching change is needed for the Oilers, a lot of Oiler fans would disagree with me.

I like the idea of the new jerseys for the NHL, however, I hope they do not double up the price from where they are now for an authentic jersey for the public to buy retail. If this helps players with movement maybe the entertainment will increase. I wonder if this will be the year where some teams may make a change with the jerseys now that they will be getting new ones, for example change colours, logos, designs, etc. It will be interesting. The sad part is the Oilers are actually going to drop there third jersey for the next season. I really like those Oiler third jerseys. The Oilers announced this after the All-Star game, we may see a slight change, but it is expected the current Oiler colours and logo will not change.

These thoughts are edited from my comments on Dan Tencer’s blog on the 630 CHED website on January 23, 2007 - 3:31:49 PM

Subway or Quiznos?

2007-03-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

What do you think is better; Quiznos or Subway?

I think Subway have made improvements on the quality of what they serve. I must admit I enjoy a Subway Melt with Chipotle Southwest Sauce. However, I went to Quiznos the other day and had the Black Angus Steak sub and I would say to this day that was the best sub I have ever experienced, I would even put it better than California Subs (those who have had a California Sub from Regina will know what I am talking about). The reason I say this is the beef in the sub was so tender and it was melt in you mouth steak. The sauce was great and of course the best part of a sub is all the melted cheese on it. The only issue I have with Quiznos is their prices are expensive.

Thoughts from Monday March 6, 2007

2007-03-06T20:04:00.000-07:00

My comments for Monday March 6, 2007, this is a posted as a comment on Dan Tencer's blog on the 630 CHED website, I sometimes comment on his blog, Dan Tencer is the host for Inside Sports on week nights in Edmonton on the radio:

1) I think the Oilers need to lose every game now because then if they can't get into the playoffs then we should shoot for draft positioning, that would add to the assets of the team, it would suck to lose every game but at the same time would be good to add to our assets for the next year. Now I am looking forward to the spring and summer to see what Kevin Lowe does.

2) How about Mark Messier practicing with the Oilers, I really have a ton of respect for that guy, I hope the Oilers can find him a role for our team, it would be so good to have him a part of the Oilers again. I think Mark would actually make a great coach, he is a solid leader and I think coaching would come naturally for him.

Well, those are my thought for the day.

First Rambling Thought, How I like to Dislike The Anaheim Ducks:

2007-03-06T13:43:00.000-07:00

Today I was Reading on the Sports Net website about the Anaheim Ducks General Manager Brian Burke had published his log entries to USA Today. This is a typical Brian Burke move, only thinking about himself, just like arguing about the schedule with other GMs around the NHL, the only thing Brian cared about is that his team travels too much, he does not care about the fans. How about the fighting instigator rule, he says they should ease up on it, make it more flexible, I may agree with him on the rule change, but he does have the team with the most penalty minutes, I wonder who he is thinking about there. I am going to say Burke only cares about his job and how well his team plays. I wish Kevin Lowe never traded Pronger to the Ducks, I want to see Burke and the Ducks fall to the basement of the NHL. Vancouver was smart to railroad him out of town. I hope for this year is that the Ducks will get knocked off in the first round of the playoffs. I am happy that Burke went to the Ducks; I never have liked that team. Why would Burke publish his trade log, what would have to gain other than embarrassing other GMs, should other GMs deal with Burke now they know what he will release to the media? Here is the thought, will the Ducks crash in the future because Brian built the team for the now and now that he has proven he can’t even keep information confidential with the other GMs, who will deal with him, or better yet what will he get to dump salaries off his team. I thought you all would be interested with Burke’s log entries.

Here are Brian Burke’s logs taken from USA Today March 5 2007 2:05 PM:

Anaheim GM Brian Burke logs entries

Anaheim Ducks general manager Brian Burke has always been among the NHL's most colorful wheeler dealers. In 2005-06, he overhauled his team midseason and made a strong playoff run. Last summer, he made a major swap to land franchise defenseman Chris Pronger. Heading into Tuesday's trade deadline, Burke hoped to make a major splash. He was able to make one deal, but he was unable to land one of the premium forwards. This is his diary of his efforts to make the major deadline deal:
Wednesday, Feb. 7

We're interested in Peter Forsberg, but when Philadelphia general manager Paul Holmgren calls I tell him we aren't trading (first-round pick) Bobby Ryan. We go through a package and I reject several names, including Corey Perry. I say, "No." Homer and I are fishing buddies, and he jokingly says he wants to help us win the Stanley Cup by trading me Forsberg. I say, "We're out," and Homer says he wants me to stay in.

Thursday, Feb. 8

Homer and I talk again on Forsberg and this time he talks about Perry again. He tells me that he has a better offer on the table than Perry and a high pick. I say Perry isn't going anywhere. We discuss multiple names to go with the high pick and they ask for specific players (Perry, Ilya Bryzgalov, Chris Kunitz). I like Homer and want him to succeed, but I'm thinking we would be better off looking at Todd Bertuzzi and the possibility of landing another defenseman. But (Florida GM/coach) Jacques Martin isn't shopping Bertuzzi yet. We are looking at defensemen around the league who could end up being available —Brent Sopel, Brad Stuart and Sami Salo. But I think Vancouver is trying to re-sign Salo.

Friday, Feb. 9

I speak to Los Angeles about Sopel. Trying to trade is like playing musical chairs. You are always afraid you aren't going to have a chair at the end. You worry that if you say no on one deal, you may not get any. Also, there is a "keeping up with the Joneses mentality," particularly in the Western Conference. Players, coaches and fans want you to add. The allure of making the right trade draws you in. Remember last season when Edmonton was on the verge of missing the playoffs, made some deals, including getting goalie Dwayne Roloson, and they go to the Finals. It's the most pressure you face all year, and it's also the most fun you have.

Saturday, Feb. 10

Phoenix offered me Ladislav Nagy for a first-round pick. I call Doug MacLean about the possibility of acquiring Fredrik Modin. He says he's trying to re-sign him. One of my problems in trying to make a deal is that I don't have a first-round pick. I'm thinking I could move defenseman Shane O'Brien to get a first-round pick.

Sunday, Feb. 11

I think Tampa Bay's (GM) Jay Feaster is interested in O'Brien. Homer calls and tells me that two teams are offering two first-round picks and a player for Forsberg, and another team is offering a first, second and another pick. To me, this is too rich for our blood. I think it's too high of a price for a rental player.

Tuesday, Feb. 13

Feaster tells me he is interested only in hockey deals, not rentals. I have a long talk with St. Louis Blues President John Davidson about Keith Tkachuk. They want Bobby Ryan in a package.

Wednesday, Feb. 14

Officially turn down the Blues. Vancouver GM Dave Non-is, my former assistant, tells me he is going to re-sign Salo. New York Rangers GM Glen Sather tells me he's not a seller, at least not yet.

Thursday, Feb. 15

Forsberg goes to Nashville. Homer was frustrated with me. He said I didn't know the marketplace. But I have to give him a lot of credit. He really helped the Flyers with that deal. Tampa Bay offers goalie Gerald Coleman and a second for O'Brien. We want a first- round pick.

Saturday, Feb. 17

I talk to Florida assistant GM Randy Sexton about Todd Bertuzzi, and he tells me "the guy we like is Perry." I offer him profanity. If you are offended by profanity, it's difficult to make a trade in the NHL. If you are going to try to rob me, at least wear a mask. We talk to Philadelphia about Kyle Calder.

Monday, Feb. 19

At the general managers meetings in Naples, Fla., Feaster sweetened his offer to a first-round pick and Coleman and he wants a third to go with O'Brien. I call Sather to see if he can better that offer for O'Brien.

Tuesday, Feb. 20

Sather talks to me about O'Brien, and Pleau asks if I want to revisit the Tkachuk deal and make it bigger. We decide it's not going to work, but we are interested in Bill Guerin. Sather tells me he's got a good offer for Aaron Ward from another team.

Wednesday, Feb. 21

I call Montreal's (GM) Bob Gainey and push him about whether he's going to move any of his defensemen. Gainey says he's unsure if he's selling. Timing is beginning to be a problem. I decide to push on this, but I don't get anywhere.

Sunday, Feb. 25

Tkachuk is finally traded to Atlanta for Glen Metropolit and first-, second- and third-round picks, plus another first-rounder if the Thrashers re-sign him. Davidson and GM Larry Pleau hit it out of the park on that one. We decide to trade O'Brien to Tampa Bay. We need the first-round pick to get into the card game. We felt comfortable making the deal because of the way Kent Huskins had played when he was called up. Oilers GM Kevin Lowe thinks he could have trouble re-signing Ryan Smyth. Would I be interested? He said he would want a "Tkachuk style package." I say we can't do it. Craig Rivet is traded to San Jose by Montreal, and I call and whine to Gainey about not calling me back and telling me he was available. He tells me that I was late to that party, and he had been talking to Doug Wilson for three weeks. Fair enough.

Monday, Feb. 26

Modin re-signs. While at a game in San Jose, I initiate a deal for Brad May via e-mail. I know him well and like his toughness.

Tuesday, Feb. 27

We were in on several trades. We offered a first and a fourth for Bill Guerin, but the Blues liked the Sharks' deal better. (Los Angeles GM) Dean Lombardi talked to me about how Mattias Norstrom wanted to stay in southern California and I offered him a first-, second- and third-round pick, but I now believe he never intended to trade him to us. The Anaheim-Los Angeles rivalry is real. We looked at Bertuzzi, but the price was too high. I wanted to make a deal, but I stuck to draft picks. I told our younger players that I wouldn't trade them and I kept my word. But I did get May. He's a great character guy with a sunny disposition.

First Time Blogger

2007-03-06T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hello there, first time blogging my random thoughts. Welcome to my blog, I hope you enjoy ramblings.