Blades 4 Wheatkings 3

The Saskatoon Blades opened a 2-game roadtrip in Brandon with a 4-3 victory on Friday night. The Wheaties outshot Saskatoon 38-21 but the Blades scored 3 times in the 3rd to claim the win. Adam Chorneyko netted the winner with just over 7 minutes to play. Derek Hulak, Ryan Funk on the power play and Sam Klassen also scored for the Blades.

The win moves the Blades 6 points up on Brandon for first in the East Division. The two teams will tangle again on Saturday in Brandon before a return engagement at Credit Union Center on Tuesday night. The Wheatkings hold a game in hand on Saskatoon.

Remaining games for the Blades:

Road - February 28, 2009 7:30 PM vs Brandon

Home - March 3, 2009 7:05 PM vs Brandon
Road - March 6, 2009 7:30 PM vs PA
Home - March 7, 2009 7:05 PM vs Lethbridge
Road - March 10, 2009 7:00 PM vs Moose Jaw
Road - March 13, 2009 7:30 PM vs PA
Home - March 14, 2009 7:05 PM vs PA

Although the Wheatkings are 6 points back with a game in hand, they do play the Moose Jaw Warriors 3 times in their last 5 games. The last couple weeks shoud be interesting as the PA Raiders, Edmonton Oil Kings and Regina Pats are in a dogfight for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Edmonton currently holds the spot as they are one point up on PA and 6 ahead of the Pats.

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Canada stole single points in the 10th and 11th ends to edge PEI in a tie breaker at the Scotties Friday in Victoria. Jennifer Jones' Winnipeg rink now plays Stephanie Lawton on Saturday at 1:30 PM (SK time) in the 3-4 Page Playoff game.

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The SJHL conference semi-finals opened on Friday night. In the Itech Conference, Humboldt and Flin Flon opened their best of 7 series with wins over North Battleford and Melfort respectivley. In the Sherwood Conference, Melville took a 1-0 lead in their series vs Yorkton with a 4-1 victory.

The Weyburn Red Wings will kick off the playoffs at home vs the Kindersley Klippers on Saturday night. The Klippers are coming off a hard fought 5 game series vs Estevan in the Sherwood survivor series.

-Suds-

And that train keeps a rollin....

(photo courtesy of saskcurl.com)

So, after starting the Scotties at a dreadful 0-3, Stephanie Lawton's crew has reeled off 6 straight wins to turn the standings upside down. The odds of making it into the top 2 or 3 seeds for Championship weekend shrink when you have 3 losses....even more so with 4. Who could believe that by bedtime Sunday night of the opening weekend, Team Saskatchewan would already be in a pickle?

The girls from the CN Curling Club in Saskatoon, started strong in each of their first 3 games only to lack finish in the latter ends. That had to be cause for concern. They say you have to hit rock bottom before coming back up. The bottom may have been in game 3. In the 8th end, Newfoundland layed a 5-ender on Saskatchewan to take command. The frustration was evident on Lawton's face after her last shot of the end. That could have been the breaking point. Instead, it may have been the TSN Turning Point.

In Draw 6, Saskatchewan eked out a 12-11 score over PEI. That victory has been followed up with 5 more wins.

Though not in dominating fashion, Lawton and crew seem to have righted the ship and have it pointed in the right direction. Three days later and a winning streak that stands at 6 has catapulted the green team back into the playoff hunt.

Thursday will bring an end to round robin play. Saskatchewan closes out the day with games against Quebec in the afternoon draw and Manitoba in the evening. With 2 wins, the CN crew would sit no worse than a tie for second. A 4th loss would more than likely mean a tie breaker.

Conspiracy theorists will give you all sorts of scientific hullabaloo as to how or why this team has managed to turn things around. I don't know the girls personally.....well, I guess I did play hockey with and against Sheri's brother Corey 20 years ago. But, here's my theory as to how Lawton and Co. have turned the tide......

A) Their home club is the CN Curling Club in Saskatoon

B) I happen to be a part-time bartender at the CN Club.

Yes, it's all about me!

-Suds-

"The Uglies"

Hollywood rolled out the Red Carpet for all it’s pretty people recently. So, it got me thinking… I’ve played sports most of my life and I’ve encountered a lot of “pretty” people myself. Pretty in the Planet of the Apes sense…..as opposed to pretty in the Hollywood sense. When I played senior fastball a few years back, the 4 starting pitchers of one of our rivals would have been Mr’s June through September of the uglypeople.com calendar.

So, I decided maybe it might be time to roll out the red carpet for Hockey’s version of “The Uglies”. The votes have been cast and the accounting firms have done the calculating. The nominees have taken their fair share of ugly pills. Drum roll please……

Best Performance in the roll of Enforcer Punching Bag…… And the winner is…… Gino Odjick. Gino has the perfect combination of sunken eyes, big ears, crooked nose and no teeth. Honorable mention goes to Tim Hunter.

Ugliest Hockey Jersey EVER… And the loser is...this ugly thing.

Proudly worn by the Vancouver Canucks.

Ugliest 50-goal scorer. Washington Capital Alex Ovechkin

Best (worst?) Look-a-like….. Mike Ricci Worst Hockey Hair….. Sorry, this one is a tie between the Duck's George Parros and Jaromir Jagr. Nice mullet!

Ugliest dude in a hockey movie - From Slapshot, Ogieeeeeeeeeeeee Ogilthorpe

Coolest Ugly Dudes in a Hockey Movie…..Also from Slapshot, THE Hanson’s - "old time hockey. Just like Eddie Shore".

And the final Award….the Award for Best Recipient of a Darian Hatcher Elbow - Jeremy Roenick
The Academy would like to thank those who cast their votes.

The Tailgater would like to thank Google for providing all the photos of the winners and losers. This post was a light hearted look at the game of hockey and many of the game's heroes. Only some hockey players were hurt.

This and That

The Scott Tournament of Hearts kicks off today in Victoria. Stephanie Lawton's foursome will be reppin' the 306. Lawton's crew has had a strong year on the Women's Tour and will look to capture the title for Saskatchewan for the first time since Sandra Schmirler won in 1997. Saskatchewan opens against BC in the first draw at 2:00 Saskatchewan time.
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The Saskatoon Blades will host Kootenay tonight at Credit Union Center. Puck drop is at 7:05. Currently the Blades sit 4 points up on Brandon for first in the East Division. This past week also saw the Blades climb up to 6th in the CHL rankings.
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Can the U of S Huskies Women's Basketball team shake off a 21 point loss? They'll have to if they want to continue on in Canada West Playoff action. The 4th ranked Huskies were drubbed at home last night by the 5th ranked U of A Pandas by a score of 67-46. Game 2 is at the PAC tonight at 7:00.
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Kavis Reed was introduced this week as the Riders new running back's coach and special teams coordinator. Clearly the team needed someone new in the special teams department as there has been nothing "special" about the return game. Alex Smith has done a fantastic job guiding a linebacker crew over the last few years that turned out gems like Reggie Hunt, Mo Lloyd and Anton McKenzie to name a few. He's also been co-ordinating the Riders Draft prospects. Recent history of drafted Canadian talent on the roster would indicate that Smith has been doing a great job with that as well. Perhaps in this case, change will do some good. Look for the Riders to also establish a premiere returner this year to try and tilt the field in their favor.
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What is happening with the Montreal Canadiens? Next.......
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Toronto Blue Jays have opened Spring Training in Florida and are looking to maintain their stranglehold on 4th in the American League Eastern Division. I mean really, no AJ Burnett and no Shaun Marcum in the starting rotation...... The only thing left to determine is how many games will they beat Baltimore by to stave off 5th place? Doc Halladay will have to pitch on 3 days rest routinely and win 35 this year if the Jays hope to play into October. Good luck Cito!
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The Toronto Raptors got blitzed in New York last night. They gave up 75 points in the first half alone....to the Knicks?.........the New York Knicks?.......Is the Raptors Franchise a black hole?
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The Toronto Argos re-signed Kerry Joseph this week to remain "veteran" at QB. KJ had a fantastic year in 2007 to win the Cup here in Saskatchewan. And no slight to KJ intended, but, the Argos continue their trend of staying fossilized at pivot. Time to develop some young talent? Ahhh what do I know?
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The Toronto Maple Leafs sit 12th in the Eastern Conference and now 13 points out of the playoffs.
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Do you sense a trend here about T.O?
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Friday Night Sportsnet ticker......UFC President Dana White indicates that GSP was ilegally greased by corner man. Can you say Welterweight re-match?? Rush will promptly dispose of Penn again.
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Have a great Saturday and enjoy the rest or your weekend!

-Suds-
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Just like old times?

There's something about this time of the year for me and hockey. Usually, hockey takes a back seat to everything else going on. Football season turns the calendar until the end of November. Work commitments in December makes the Christmas season fly by. Then World Juniors take center stage. By the time Wiarton Willie crawls out of his winter getaway, I'm about ready to start paying attention to the pro game and what's happening with my Dallas Stars.

So far this season, my interest level was waning a little more than usual. The Stars haven't been in their customary spot at or near the top of the Western Conference. A young defence, poor goaltending and a slough of injuries have had Dallas on scramble mode from the get-go. Injuries to captain Brendan Morrow, Sergei Zubov, Jere Lehtinen for a length of time and now to Brad Richards have kept the trainers in Big D busy. The fate of the Stars playoff chances may have taken a serious hit with the latest injury to Richards who suffered a broken wrist. What is with injuries and the two teams I follow anyways?

It wasn't until this morning that I realized the Oilers and Stars would be renewing hostilities tonight on the boob tube. So, off with some good company for a few cold pops, a basket of hot wings and a date with Sportsnet at a local watering hole.


Ho hum.....Make the final.......Dallas 4 Edmonton 2. At the final buzzer the scorers tonight for Dallas read Kris Barch, Ray Sawada (who?), Fabbian Brunstrom and Jere Lehtinen. What's wrong with this picture? No Modano, where's Ribiero? Other than Lehtinen, the other 3 probably were a twinkle in daddy's eye when the Stars moved to Dallas. Rivalry? Maybe years ago, but, this is a different Stars team now. It's hard to get excited by the offensive stats of those plugs.

The recent play of Marty Turco and the emergence of Loui Eriksson has pushed the Stars back into the playoff hunt. Will they be playing into late May this year? I doubt it. But anytime the Stars beat the Oilers, it's a good enough reason to drink a cold soda and eat a good basket of hot wings.

Cheers Marcel!

-Suds-

Bah Humbug

In case you've been living under a rock and you must be if you haven't heard, the Riders lost their top two Free Agents today on Day one of Free Agent Frenzy......to division rivals no less. Good for Mo Lloyd and Anton McKenzie for parlaying their 2008 season into big contracts.

You have to wonder if their isn't something bigger coming down the pipe in Riderville. If the Riders were content to offer these two fair market value and then pull out of the bidding war, it makes me think something else is on the back burner. Perhaps Ken Miller is getting ready to pull the string on a major deal to bring in some veteran defensive player. I know that ET and co have preached about the quality of depth the team has but, that is a major chunk out of the middle of the defense to replace. Upon further review, there will be a) new linebackers, b) a new safety, c)a new cornerback and D) as in a new Defensive co-ordinator.

One of my buddies did make mention of the fact that there is a long list (maybe even longer than this year) of Free Agents after the 2009 season as well. So in retrospect, maybe the lack of noteworthy moves thus far, other than resigning their own FA's, is a precursor to contract extensions being offered to option year players. Time will tell. In the mean time, good luck to Anton and Mo......just not against the Riders.

-Suds-

Tick Tock

It's the Canadian Football League's version of Christmas Eve. Free Agency strikes tonight at 12:01 am EST. So, some of the players at the top of Santa's Wish List include:

WR Toby Ziegler, LB Rocky Schwartz, RB Lavarus Giles.....ooops wrong list.

OL Rob Murphy, LB Maurice Lloyd, LB Anton McKenzie and RB Jesse Lumsden among others.

Many Rider fans are wondering will Mo Lloyd still be around under the Rider tree or will he be scooped up by some Grinch west of here? What about Anton McKenzie? Number 42 apparently verbally agreed to a deal with the Riders and then changed his mind. The players honored their contracts with the Riders and earned their time to check out what the market will bear as far as Free Agency Clink goes. Certainly I know very little about where these guys will call home in 2009. However, I get a queasy feeling when thoughts turn to where the top Dawgs on this year's market will end up.

In 2005, Henry Burris gave Rider Fans the ol' don't worry.....everything will work out.....yada yada. Certainly players have to say the right thing when it comes to dealing with the media regarding free agency. Never say too much, never tip your hand and never burn bridges. It's kind of disconcerting to hear players negotiating with their team through the media. I guess that's why I feel that MoLo is as good as gone. He did however, come out on his Maurice Lloyd Facebook Fan Club page and comment that negotiations continue on....despite the fact "some reporter" apparently had Mo hitting the dusty trail. I said it before and I'll say it again. Maurice Lloyd is the heart and soul of the Rider D and I hope he stays. So, if your listening Mo?.....Section 28 and the rest of the Rider Nation wants you back in Mo'town'.

Anton McKenzie had an outstanding year. He replaced Reggie Hunt and was close to the top of the league in tackles all year until he was slowed by a stinger. He was solid. Great speed and he sticks his nose in there. He's on my list of favorite players to watch. Losing one of these two may not be the be-all-to-end-all....but, losing both will have the LB core lacking some continuity in 2009.

The not so surprising release of Matt Dominguez was a move that surely freed up some cash to put towards the signing of Free Agents. Now it's time for Santa Miller to Show the Dough to Mo and Co.

edit: DB James Johnson has been traded by the Riders to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in exchange for a future late round draft pick....... Another salary dump to have money to throw at Lloyd and McKenzie???
http://communities.canada.com/reginaleaderpost/blogs/roughriders/archive/2009/02/15/james-johnson-traded.aspx

Update.......

After shooting a bogey free third round, including one eagle and 5 birdies, Graham DeLaet is atop the Leader Board at the Vodacom Championship in South Africa. He sits at -13, one shot ahead of two others.

http://www.sunshinetour.com/


Happy Valentines Day!!

Oh yeah........

Medic…… Someone call 911: the Habs are in a free fall. My Habitant friends just mumble when I ask them what’s going on with the Canadiens?……”trade the goalie”….grumble, grumble…..”No defense!” They are 2-8 in their last 10 and have lost 4 in a row while giving up 21 goals over that span. Ouch, or is that aie! Montreal is in danger of falling out of the playoff picture if they don’t find a way out of their doldrums. Maybe they should move Reggie Hunt over from the Alouettes to shore up the defense. Perhaps they should also bring over Anthony Calvillo and Jamal Richardson to hang up a quick 6. Lord knows they need the offense lately. Hello Vinny Lecavalier.

Speaking of offensive..... Sean Avery appears to be headed back to the NHL. What are the New York Rangers thinking? The Stars hung a 10 spot up on them last week and now the Broadway Blue Shirts think Avery can help them? In what capacity I ask? The Rangers of all teams have seen Avery’s antics before. Glen Sather must have a short memory.

I’m a Stars fan and I never could figure out why they wanted the geek. Steve Ott is a much more effective player. He plays the same role and is smart enough to know his job without upsetting the entire apple cart. Brett Hull went out on a limb when he signed Avery. That experiment made him look worse than Dennis Rodman in a wedding dress. Now the Stars take a huge cap hit and nothing to show for it. Sorry Brett…..you are not GM material.

Someone to keep your eye on…….

I’m not saying this because of family connections, but, bookmark this…… Graham DeLaet will be in the PGA in the next 3-5 years. Having just turned 27, his best years of golf are ahead of him. Even guys like Mike Weir and Phil Mickelson didn’t hit their stride till they were in their 30’s.

In 2008, Graham won his first title on the Canadian Tour and finished 4th overall on the money list. Graham and Wes Heffernan formed the 2-Man team that represented Canada at the World Cup of Golf in November in China. There, they finished T-13th in a 28 country field that featured several PGA vets including the Defending Champion Scotland and Colin Montgomerie.

He’s kick started the 2009 season with 2 strong finishes on the very competitive South African Tour including finishing T-12 in the Joburg Open and bettering Retief Goosen by 2 strokes. You can follow Graham here over the next 2 weeks…..
http://www.sunshinetour.com/

The Riders re-signed veteran LB Sean Lucas today to a new contract. Most printed material I’m reading indicates that Anton McKenzie will re-sign as well. So where does that leave Mo Lloyd? Any vibes coming out of Camp Lloyd seem to lean towards him taking his watermelon hat and heading off somewhere else to greener pastures. It’s too bad really as he was the heart and soul of the defense. However, the depth of Rey Williams, Sam Olajabutu and a host of others could make Mo expendable and save some cap space. Sayonara MoLo. I hope you surprise me and make me eat that entire watermelon hat.


Time to run out and find something for Valentines Day…….

Well, what to do now.....

Anyone who knows me knows that I hate sitting around doing nothing. HATE IT!! So, while some would enjoy a week of sitting around doing nothin'……this cat says no mas. If it were the Dominican Republic or the Mayan Riviera (where everyone but me seems to be going), that would be a different story. I mean, who wouldn’t enjoy a Mai-Tai while sitting on a beach, watching all the 300 lb 50-somethings walk by, wearing nothing but a thong.

Being off with an eye problem has left me sitting at home in silence waiting for something to happen. Headaches, blurred vision and crappy tasting antibiotics......blah..... Next Tuesday can't come soon enough. Did I mention the waiting list for my surgical procedure sits at 3 months to 1 year! Hmmm, what to do???

OK…..
8:00 - breakfast for the kids. (check)
8:15 - cleaning up dishes. (check)
8:20 – brushing teeth and doing pony tails. (check)
8:40 – drive kids to school. (check)
9:00 – Enter the Tim’s Drive Thru for a Double-Double (check)
9:45 – Leaving Tim Horton’s Drive Thru…….now what???






*Crickets*………………………………………………………………………








Back home to apply hot compresses to my eye repeatedly………… I need a day nurse. You can forward applications to me in the comment box……..

At least in the evening I can enjoy my favorite show which seems like it’s on 4 or 5 different times. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if I want to be sitting on a beach in Mexico. That would be too much intense sun. I don't want my face to look like a catcher's mitt!

Ode to a Friend

When I started cultivating ideas for a Blog, most of my thoughts centered on discussion on my favorite sports teams. When it comes to the Saskatchewan Roughriders, we can take the tiniest tidbit of info and turn it into a mountain of topics. Who the starting quarterback will be is usually at the top of the list. Long winters make every morsel of Rider info welcome news at this time of the year. The Rider message boards continue to fire away as a host of us “so-called” armchair GM’s weigh in on every coaching and management decision. Yes, the Riders are a way of life here in the Land of Living Skies. Over time we have seen just how the fortunes of our team are tied to how the province is ticking along, and vice versa. Really though, there has to be more to life than sports. Isn’t there? Well, I’d like to think that this “place” is going to be a place that I can not only discuss the fortunes/hardships of my teams, but also share some joy, a lot of laughs, some sports tidbits, discussion about great friends and friendships and of course the important things in life such as my family.

I’ve never been one to run and write my thoughts down. But, perhaps I’m getting older and I’m writing them down so I can read them when I’ve suddenly forgot about what I’ve been up to….. I kid my mom from time to time that she has “Sometimers”….sometimes she remembers telling me things and sometimes she doesn’t. Perhaps that apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Recent difficult times in our family have kept me awake sometimes, long into the night. When the health of those you know and love start to decline, it takes a toll on you emotionally and physically. To say the least, 2008 was a trying year in our family. The loss of my Father-in-Law to cancer, my wife’s grandma and my aunt’s ongoing battle with cancer has put life into perspective. Now my dad is battling cancer as well. He’ll beat it though. He’s tough!

Lately I’ve been thinking that at this very moment in my life, this blog may have more of a Therapeutic value than an informative one. My intention for this blog is to share my experiences and the many friendships I’ve made over the years. I am truly blessed to be surrounded by many great and unique people. I’ll get into those experiences a little later. But for now, I’ll begin this Blogging Journey with an experience that I just had today…..

........Each one of us has felt the joy of Love. For some, it’s in your married life or children or grandchildren. Perhaps your relationship is with a pet. It certainly doesn’t have to be physical. Maybe it’s the shiny car in the garage with the slammin stereo. Maybe it’s sitting in a boat, kibitzing with friends while your line is in the water. No matter what “it” is, we’ve all felt “it”.

Almost 16 years ago, I met the Love of my life. Kim is a great girl that has turned out to me my wife for the past….oooh…almost 12 years. She’s a wonderful lady so full of care and compassion. Truly, Kim has the kindest of hearts. She comes by it honestly. She’s a great mother and a talented cook…….I know I’m spoiled. When we met, I just knew that she was the one. We met on the September long weekend of 1993 while both participating at the 1993 Western Canadian Fastpitch Championships in Brandon. As I said before, we just knew this relationship was one worth working on. Many conversations involved “kicking the tires” about marriage. By Christmas, she had decided I needed extra companionship when she couldn’t be with me. I think it was her way to get me to work on my nurturing skills. Don’t tell her I said that though. One December night while we were watching a movie, she said “I’ll be right back”. I remember it like it was yesterday. She disappeared upstairs and was back momentarily. She came down to the bottom of the stairs and said “close your eyes”! Around the corner comes this awkwardly bounding blob of black fur. Complete with a red bow on his head. A puppy. Kim got me a puppy for Christmas. Not just a puppy, but one with character. Over the next few days of our lives together I discovered how much of a Character he really was. This little black bundle was now known as NORM. He was Norm; named after…yup you guessed it, Norm Peterson of Cheers fame. This Norm also liked his Suds!

We became the Best of Friends. We went everywhere together. He traveled well. I would load up the car and he and I would make regular 4 hour trips to Weyburn to visit Kim during the summers. He also established himself in his favorite perch as we jumped into my Honda Prelude for many journeys. He had it all figured out. Into the back seat and bounce around to the driver’s window. Now the Prelude wasn’t a big car so…..he would stand with his back feet on the back seat and his front feet on the arm rest of the driver’s door. This would have him situated where he could either rest his chin on the door with an open window or my favorite, with his chin resting on my shoulder as he watched the country go by.

He quickly found a way into everyone’s hearts. There’s one thing about Norm you should know. It was only fitting that since Kim and I had met playing ball, that one of his first toys would be a ball. A green hard rubber ball would be his toy of choice. It too went EVERYWHERE that Norm went. He even carried it. I didn’t have to. In the car (which meant rolling around under the front seat), out for long walks. That was a sight to see. You just have to picture him trotting down the block with a ball in his mouth and his tongue hanging out the side. He was majestic and proud. It went to bed with him. He brought it onto the couch. He couldn’t go anywhere or do anything without that ball. He even had to eat with it. No matter where I was in the house, I knew when Norm was eating. All I could hear was….bounce, bounce…..crunch, crunch, crunch…..bounce…..crunch, crunch. Inevitably you would hear the hustle of his claws chasing the ball across the kitchen floor if he let it get away from him.

My intention of this particular blog entry was not to be long but, if you knew Norm, a short entry wouldn’t do him justice.

Over the years, Norm has been a constant source of love, tears, laughs and enjoyment. Kim and I married in 1997 and soon kids were on the way. Kim and I often talked about how Norm was going to react to strangers living in HIS house. Well, we discovered that his keen sense of hearing still existed. A newborn bathing usually elicited screams, howls and wailing. And the baby cried too. Whenever the baby cried, Norm would jump 3 feet in the air…..so concerned for the welfare of the child. This usually was also accompanied by him howling at the moon until someone would lower the baby down to his level so he could sniff and smell and lick the baby to ensure she was safe. A TRUE watchdog that cared and looked out for everyone in the house.

To know Norm was to love him. Norm could make you putty in his hands. With the tilt of his head, he'd have you oohing and ahhing. He came to be quite the performer and trickster. A smart little guy, you could teach him a new trick and he had it down pat shortly. He would dance for treats and do all the regular stuff so to "speak". He could even smile on command.

Years went by and Norm made several trips to the Vet. We thought he was half cat and he was using up the lives left, right and center. The usual stuff, him eating things he shouldn’t be eating. Sudden illness followed by frantic feelings of “Oh no, this can’t be happening”! Bladder stones and an accidental poke in the eye with a zipper on a jacket would land him in the vet for another expensive visit on separate occasions. Sudden, shall we say, “explosive” incidents during the night on the bedroom rug. Each time we thought this could be it. Amazingly though, after a healthy vet bill, he always pulled through.

Time went by and of course it started to catch up with him. He started to turn grey everywhere……under his chin, around his eyes, around his mouth and on the pads of his feet. Long walks with his ball turned into short walks due to his arthritis. The cold January and February winds would have him standing on 3, and sometimes 2 feet as he waited for someone to pick him up. He was still the man of the house. However, he started to lose his hearing and just wasn’t himself any more. This little guy celebrated his 15th Birthday in October of 2008.

Which brings us to this week…..Norm’s normally voracious appetite had been waning recently. At 15 and a half, he had slowed right down. His weight had been dropping and there was the feeling that it wasn’t going to change. Norm had earned our respect and no matter what was to become, he wasn’t going to be a pin cushion. With heavy hearts, we knew that the tough little bugger was struggling.

So, today on the toughest of days, Norm’s journey with us here on this Earth ended. He passed away peacefully this morning just the way he should have, resting in Kim’s arms. Kim presented Norm to me some 15 and a half years ago and today he went to sleep in her arms.

I write this entry with a heavy heart, tears in my eyes and a lump in my throat. Norm brought so much unconditional love into our hearts each and every day. We all felt “it”. He may no longer be at the door to greet us when we get home, but, I know he will be waiting at the Gates to greet us when we get to the next stage of our journey. We love you and we’ll miss you. Thanks little Buddy. You were the Best of friends……….