Thursday Cheers and Jeers

Back by popular demand, our weekly look at folks who deserve praise, and others who deserve...not so much.

Cheers

• Los Angeles Kings. Poised to win the first Stanley Cup in team history, perhaps Drew Doughty and/or Jeff Carter will bring the mug to London, Ontario while the J-man and I are there this summer. That'd be cool.
• Regina Red Sox. The defending Western Major Baseball League champs have burst out of the gate, opening the season with six straight wins.
• The 80 or so Saskatchewan Roughrider hopefuls going through two-a-day practices at training camp. Anyone who wants to criticize their efforts should try duplicating them sometime. Good luck with that.
• Poulin's Pest Control. They seem to have solved the moth infestation in our sun room. It was starting to look like a scene from an Alfred Hitchcock movie when we turned the outdoor light on at night!

Jeers

• Anyone who labelled ertswhile (and now retired) NFL receiver Dwayne Jarrett as the "next big thing" for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He joins a long list of players who travelled north to revive their careers, only to end them shortly after.
• The comedy of errors that my spring landscaping project has become. Trust me, there's enough blame to go around - no point singling anyone out!
• Me, for not paying closer attention to the NBA playoffs.  Apparently I've missed some of the best basketball seen in years! I'll have to address that once the finals start.

Locker Talk lineup for June 5

Behold, the magnificent lineup for this week's show. According to the schedule on the Access Communications website, the show airs tonight at 9 p.m., Friday at 8:30 pm and Saturday at noon and 3 p.m. on Access channel 7 in Regina. Enjoy!  

Locker Talk Guests for June 5/12 
Co-host: Mitchell Blair

1. A Regina athlete celebrates his second Canadian Scottish Athletic Federation championship in the sport of heavy events. Guest: Jason Johnston (2012 Heavy Events Canadian Champ).

2. A preview of the 2012 Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. Guests: Sheila Kelly (SSHFM Executive Director) & Linda Burnham (Event Co-chair, two-time inductee).

3. Hockey Regina plots a course for the 2012/13 season, with the same crew steering the ship. Guests: Blair Watson (HRI Executive Director) & Geoff Thachuk (HRI President).

4. Access 7 Sports Plays of the Month.

5. Regina’s Lonsdale Boxing Club gets set to host the 2012 provincial championships. Guest: Frank Fiacco (Lonsdale Club President). 

6. A former WWE star highlights this month’s If You Want Blood show, put on by High Impact Wrestling. Guests: Cannonball Kelly & Mike McSugar (The Bromantics). 

7. The Blair Necessities. Mitch’s weekly sports commentary.

Locker Talk lineup for May 29

Here's the lineup for this week's show, which will air tonight at 9 p.m., Thursday at 6 p.m., Friday at 8:30 p.m. and Saturday at noon on Access channel 7 in Regina. Four times? Incroyable!

Locker Talk Guests for May 29/12
Co-host: Mitchell Blair

1. Time is running (ha!) out to sign up for the 2012 Queen City Marathon. Guest: Doug Russell (QCM Race Director).

2. The Regina Red Sox get set to open the 2012 Western Major Baseball League season as defending champs. Guest: Justin Eiswirth (Manager).

3. A review of the recent world mixed curling championships. Guests: Dean Hicke & Chantelle Eberle (Team Canada curlers).

4. Two young men from Toronto are cycling across Canada to raise awareness of the White Ribbon Campaign – an initiative that hopes to end violence against women. Reporter: Arielle Wood.

5. A local boxing coach has plans to promote/raise awareness of and participation in the sport of amateur boxing. Guest: Moses Alli (New Line Boxing Academy).

6. The Blair Necessities. Mitch’s weekly sports commentary.

Monday musings

So this is what 47 feels like huh? Meh. Meh, indeed!

• As far as birthday celebrations go, yesterday's was pretty darn low key - but that's okay, I think.
• Once you get to a certain age, you probably don't want to draw too much attention to the fact you're aging!
• Last night's Memorial Cup final probably took a few years off my life. It was heartbreaking to see my London Knights lose, but the game itself was a dandy - especially the overtime period!
• Thanks to Rod and Cindy and Carlo and Rhea for joining me at the Press Box for the festivities. A good time was had by all.
• This time next week I'll be in a new office, starting a 9 month secondment. This was in the works well before last week's provincial government re-organization, and will land me at one of the few ministries that wasn't significantly impacted. That's definitely a plus.
• Congrats to the Leader-Post's Rob Vanstone, who has dropped almost 60 pounds on his running/eating healthy regimen. Now go out and buy some new clothes, Rob!
• Should I sign up for one more three month session with Satan the trainer? The last stint got me in much better shape, and cut my body fat % pretty significantly, but I didn't lose a single pound!
• Saskatchewan Roughrider rookies hit the field on Wednesday, with veterans reporting on the weekend. Let the games begin! 
• The competitions at running back, back-up quarterback, wide receiver, linebacker and defensive end will be the most hotly contested (and scrutinized) at Rider camp. Let's hope an off-season of beating the bushes paid off!
• The offensive line appears set, although someone still needs to step up and stake a claim to the left tackle position. That will be an interesting competition as well.
• Don't forget to register your kids for the University of Regina Rams summer football camps. The kids on the offensive line will be receiving coaching from the likes of Rams coach Sheldon Neald, Rams star lineman Brett Jones, and...me. Well, two out of three ain't bad!

Friday thoughts

This one goes out to Chuck and Cammy - thanks for stopping by this week!

• This week's royal visit fell squarely in the "meh" category for me. I'm sure Charles and Camilla are lovely people, but I just couldn't bring myself to give a damn.
• Just a few days until football season begins around here, with Saskatchewan Roughrider rookies hitting the field on Wednesday.
• Let's hope some of the glittering football resumes translate into performance, rather than the less than stellar efforts put forth by the likes of highly-touted prospects like Terrence Nunn and Darryl Hobbs in recent years.
• Past performances in the NCAA or even the NFL mean squat unless the player can get it done against CFL competition.
• That's why I refuse to get too worked up about training camp reports. Or even exhibition games. Alert me when each pass, kick, block and tackle has an impact on the standings!
• I know where I'll be Sunday at 5 p.m. I'll be in front of a tv watching the London Knights battle either Saint John or Shawinigan in the Memorial Cup final. Go Knights, Go!
• I also look forward (beats the alternative!) to turning a year older on Sunday. Accordingly, I note that the stores are all open tomorrow for your shopping pleasure.
• I ran into Regina Pats general manager Chad Lang at the Lumsden Arena the other evening. He looks a lot more relaxed than he did at this time last year!
• Here's (selfishly) hoping an NHL team doesn't make Pats coach Pat Conacher an offer he can't refuse this summer. I really like the direction Lang and Conacher have their team headed in.
• It's been quite a wild day in many provincial government offices, thanks to Premier Brad Wall's cabinet shuffle and government re-organization. It would appear the fallout is going to keep folks busy for months to come.
• Will the changes result in better service for the people of Saskatchewan? I'll let you judge for yourselves!
• Plantar fasciitis is a far too convenient excuse for skipping the cardio portion of workouts. Convenient, and...awesome! Well, except for the pain in my foot.  
• But, you know what they say; short term pain for long term...lazy?