Friday, June 8, 2007

Stanley Cup and Canadian Grand Prix....

I went against the Ottawa Senators for the first 3 rounds of the playoffs. In the Final, I paid them the ultimate respect by saying they would lose to Anaheim in 7. To be honest, I am not surprised that Anaheim won as easily as they did. For one I was not sold on Spezza and Heatley; they made me eat my words for 3 rounds and when the going got tough; they collapsed. Im not surprised. The two players are talented but the jury is still out on them. To be honest, I am not surprised that Anaheim won as easily as they did....Don't believe me? Checkout my playoff hockey pool. www.officepools.com (login: team990)(password: montreal).I have believed in Anaheim for a long time. They had all the right ingredients and elements. They worked hard and stuck to the gameplan. The 2nd line of Getzlaf, Perry and Penner is so good and they'll be together for a while...The year Pittsburgh won the Crosby Sweepstakes; Anaheim got the 2nd pick and drafted Bobby Ryan. Imagine if they would have won the Draft Lottery? Think for 1 second....Crosby on Anaheim,,,,scary isn't it. Speaking of Crosby, I think his Penguins will be a force in the East for the next 2 years. In the West, I think Anaheim will be the best team for the next two years as well. Message to Teemu Selanne: Congrats on the Cup; well deserved. If thats your last game its fitting that you go out a Champion.

On the show today; Pj and I debated whether F1 Drivers are athletes. PJ said they weren't; I disagreed. Of course they are. Their fitness is impeccable; their eye-hand coordination is unreal; their focus is superb; their mental toughness is tremendous. For all those reasons and more; F1 Drivers are definitely athletes.

After the show; I went to Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Ile Notre Dame to take in the 2nd free practice session....I saw Michael Schumacher; he was visiting. Tried to get a quote or two from him; he's not a jovial guy...at least not with the media...other celebs included: Max, who supposedly plays the role of Tony Soprano's driver. Former Habs GM Serge Savard visited with Ferrari as well....

As much as I appreciate F1...its not fun working this event. We get extremely little cooperation from the teams. For one; Ferrari only spoke to Italian and Brazilian media at Pit Lane. And, over at Mclaren there was 50 reporters tackling each other to get a few clips...I got hit in the head from a few television cameras and it wasn't fun. Not too mention the 38 degree temperature making it tough....Im hoping for a good race on Sunday....not expecting any surprises...it will be McLaren or Ferrari again....

In ending, last week I was given an assignment by our GM at the station. He asked me to write a piece titled, ''If I were Bob.'' referring to Canadiens GM Bob Gainey and what moves I would try to make to revamp the Habs over the next month. The article will be posted on www.team990.com

On Monday, I am filling in for Mitch Melnick between 3pm and 7pm. It will give us a chance to discuss the article and talk about the Canadian Grand Prix. Enjoy the race everybody. Talk to you then.

1 comment:

Freddy said...

Hi Tony,
old friend from a previous life! I hope you rememeber me! The F1 master! lol... You know I totally agree with you on the F1 drivers being athletes! How could they not be. This Pj guy doesn't know what hes talking about... Alain prost once said that a regular person like PJ couldn't finish one lap in an F1 car without hitting the wall. He was ready to put money on that. Their phisical strength is par none! imagine having to run with a helmet on, holding weights and turning your wrists and losing 10-12pounds a race just on sweat...
Anyway, nice to write to you & I am very proud to say that I know you & tell my buddys that I once worked with you!
Freddy