These Are Tough Times We're Living In

So, funny story to pass along from the office today.

One of the other slaves (I call us interns 'slaves'. The paid staff really appreciate it when we say it to their face) was out on Saturday night with some friends and decided to hop over to Gretzky's for dinner.

For those unfamiliar, Gretzky's is a bar/restaurant in downtown Toronto located about a block and a half away from the Skydome (I know, I know...I don't care what they call it now) conveniently located at 99 Blue Jays Way....get it?...get it?
I went there once when it opened and the food was terrible so I haven't been back, but if someone with some pull happens to be reading this blog I would definitely accept a gift certificate or at least a free pitcher to sway me into coming back.

Anyways, this co-slave had just sat down at his table and was looking over his menu when who came up to take his order? None other than Walter Gretzky, that's who.

Now, I presume Walter is doing ok financially (his son, Wade I think (?) reportedly makes upwards of 7-8 million a year coaching the Phoenix Coyotes), but still it must have very bizarre to see the father of the greatest hockey player of all time asking you if you want ceasar or house salad with your burger.

I asked my friend if he got a chance to ask Walter what he was doing, or if he took a picture or got an autograph and alas the answer to all three was no, so I have no actual proof of this taking place. But if anyone else spots a quasi-celebrity in an unusual place, lemme know!

I wonder if ol' Walt pooled his tips.

No Hunny....I Don't Find This Funny At All...

...because that would be inappropriate

Alex Ovechkin Plays Wii Boxing Against Sidney Crosby

...what's that?
Ok, I'm being told this is not actually Sidney Crosby and is, in fact, just a little girl....enjoy!

Weekend Musings

Not in a million years would I have guessed Terrell Owens would end up in Buffalo. Is it just me or does T.O not really seem like a 'Western New York' kinda guy?

The CFL evaluation camp (right) took place this weekend in Toronto. I know what you're thinking, "Pokeroo, I missed it again!?!". Well good news, there's an entire website dedicated to giving you the stats, photos and videos of all your Canadian university football heroes. And so you don't miss out again, the CFL Canadian University Draft is May 2 and the Hamilton Tiger Cats are on the clock.

On Sunday morning we set the clocks ahead one hour. Say what you will, there aint nothing spring about this forward. Waking up this morning felt like it was mid-December again, between the snow and the pitch black.

John Tavares scored 3-goals (aka...a 'hat-trick') in Windsor on Sunday to become the all-time career goal scoring leader in the OHL with 215. For a kid with so much pressure put on him when he joined the league as an underage 15-year-old, he sure has performed damn well. He is widely expected to be (lets just say it, he WILL be) the number one overall pick in this summer's NHL entry draft.

The NHL GM's meetings begin today in Naples, Florida. Among the topics expected to be discussed is, of course, fighting. Everybody is gonna be keeping a close watch on what sorta discussions take place and what action, if any, is taken.

If anyone ever tells me again that having veal for dinner is like eating a cute baby animal, I'm gonna punch them in the face. If god didn't want us to eat animals, he shouldn't have made them taste so good.

I was at the Canada vs. USA World Baseball Classic game on Saturday. It was an awesome game to be at along with 42,000 of my closest friends. Canada has a fantastic lineup with some of the most potent hitters in the game (Justin Morneau, Jason Bay, Russel Martin, Joey Votto) but gave up three homers to a USA squad that reads practically like an All-Star lineup (Derek Jeter, Chipper Jones, Dustin Pedroia, David Wright, Adam Dunn...etc) and eventually lost 6-5 despite scoring a run in the ninth inning and leaving a runner on second base with Jason Bay at bat. If Canada had any of their major league pitching staff in this tournament it would've been a much different game.
One question that came up amongst myself and the people I was there with was why Russell Martin wore a jersey reading "J. Martin". Apparently, 'J' is Martin's mother's first initial and he is wearing it during the tournament and some spring training games in LA as a tribute to her.

As someone who loves to travel as much as I do, I've gotten totally addicted to the show "Departures" which airs on OLN in Canada and National Geographic Adventure in the USA and other countries. Now in it's second season, the show follows a pair of 20-somethings who drop everything and travel the world for a (now second) year, capturing their adventures on film along the way. The cinematography is almost as beautiful as the scenery itself (the show won a Gemini award for outstanding photography). Check out when it's on and don't miss it.

A-Rod has decided that he can't take the jeers and boos he will undoubtedly get upon his return to the MLB after his steroid revelation, so instead he's announced he will be undergoing surgery on his hip and will be out until May...karma's a bitch.

Finally today, two happy birthdays to announce: Today 'Barbie' turns 50 (so I'm told) and also we mark (technically yesterday) the 30th anniversary of the first ever release of the Compact Disc. Originally created by Phillips, it was released under the prototype name of 'Pinkeltje'...I think I speak for everybody when I thank Phillips for deciding to go with CD instead.
Guess which one of the two birthday products has had more impact on my life...?
An awesome no-prize for whoever gets it right!

Owens and Buffalo Will Not Get Along

For once, an article about Terrell Owens will have no mention of his character, reputation or temper.

What we're talking about here is purely statistics driven.

That picture to the right is of the week 17 game this past season between the Bills and the Patriots in Buffalo. The wind and cold that day was absolutely insane...I should know, I was there.

So my first thought when I learned that Owens would be playing this coming season in Buffalo was, "how the hell is he gonna play in that cold weather?". Now, T.O did have two seasons in cold Philadelphia in between stops in balmy San Fransisco and Dallas. But I decided to go through his numbers and see how he's fared in cold weather games throughout his career.

Here are the criteria for my study:
Any game, home or away, in which T.O dressed and played in December or later (including playoffs) in cold-weather cities with outdoor stadiums (Detroit does not count because the Lions play in a dome...for example).

Here's the full list, followed by the statistical breakdown (Catches-Yards-TD):

Dallas
2008: Dec 7 @ PIT (3-32-1)
Dec 28 @ PHI (6-103-0)
2007: No Cold Games
2006: Dec 3 @ NYG (8-84-0)
Wild Card Game @ SEA (2-26-6)
Philadelphia
2005: No cold games
2004: Dec 5 vs GNB (8-161-1)
Dec 12 @ WAS (6-46-0)
Dec 19 vs DAL (2-24-0)
San Fransisco
2003: Dec 14 @ CIN (8-127-1)
Dec 21 @ PHI (1-20-0)
2002: No Cold Games
2001: Wild Card Game @ GNB (4-40-0)
2000: Dec 23 @ DEN (3-35-0)
1999: Dec 5 @ CIN (9-145-0)
1998: Dec 20 @ NWE (3-61-1)
1997: Dec 21 @ SEA (2-37-0)
1996: Dec 15 @ PIT (3-45-1)

Here's how those stats break down:
15 games
68 catches (4.5 receptions per game or RPG)
986 yards (65.7 yards per game or YPG)
5 touchdowns (0.33 touchdowns per game or TD/G )

On the surface, those numbers are actually not too bad. Most mere mortals would be thrilled to have numbers like those spanning a 13-year hall of fame career. But Owens' career numbers tell a different story.

If you take his career averages of 5.0 RPG, 74.7 YPG and TD/G ratio of .73, then subtract his cold weather numbers to account for those games lowering his career averages, you get a completely different set of numbers. These statistics we will refer to as his "warm weather games".

In "warm weather games", Terrell Owens averaged slightly over 5 RPG, slightly over 75 YPG and a TD/G ratio of .76).

"Warm vs Cold"
RPG: 5 vs 4.5
YPG: 75 vs 65.7
TD/G: .76 vs .33

...as they say, the numbers don't lie. Owens has struggled over his entire career in cold weather games.
Even when you look at games played in the last week of November in cold weather stadiums the numbers are no better - three games, 13 catches (4.3 RPG), 152 yards (50.6 YPG), 0 TD's.

You may say, 'ok so his numbers dopped a little bit, but that's to be expected. It's only human nature that a person's performance will be better when one is warm and comfortable than when one is cold and tight'.

If there would be one number I could present to you to persuade you once and for all that Owens performance drops more than a reasonable amount when he plays in cold weather, it would be this:
In warm weather games, over 15% of Owens catches went for touchdowns. That is an astounding number, especially for someone with such a long career and so many receptions.
But, that average practically gets cut in half when looking at his cold weather numbers, all the way down to 7%.

So not only were his catches down, but his quality catches and his ability to make big plays was also significantly reduced. That clearly shows he is both less comfortable in those scenarios and looked to less often in key situations.

All this of course means nothing until Owens puts on that Bills jersey and actually proves what he can do when the real weather shows up.

But for all you Buffalo fans out there who can't wait for T.O to help your team make a playoff push - regardless of if he keeps his mouth shut and is the ideal teammate - once the wind, snow and ice arrive, I wouldn't hold your breath.