Reg Presley passed away on February 4, 2013. Reg was an English singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer for 19560’s band The Troggs. They has several hits back in the day, but the one he will be most remembered for will be “Wild Thing“. The band also had a major hit with “With A Girl Like You”. Both are linked below. He was also an author, writing “Wild Things They Don’t Tell Us”, a book about lost civilizations etc. Another piece of my youth has left us.
And a bonus, the answer to who originally did Wet Wet Wet’s 1994 hit “Love Is All Around”.
Don’t touch on sports to much anymore, but it has been an interesting few weeks. First off, the Rugby World Cup 2011was completed last week,
All Blacks
and I can’t believe this but I am now hooked on rugby. Great game and nothing beats the challenge (Haka) by the All Blacks of New Zealand at the beginning of each game. The All Blacks won it all, beating France in the final. On the way they schooled a game Canadian team by a score of 79-15.
Second up is the CFL. My beloved Saskatchewan Roughriders have crapped out. I
Taylor Field, Regina
cannot wholeheartedly cheer for any other team so I will make an objective prediction. Prior to last week I would have said the BC Lions in a cakewalk, then in true CFL fashion, they had their butts handed to them by the Hamilton Tiger Cats. Having said that, I will still go with BC, likely meeting up with Winnipeg in the Grey Cup.
Third up is the Vancouver Canucks. As I expected, they are playing as well as a non-playoff team and are already in panic mode. Roberto Luongo
Roberto Luongo
is a spent force in Vancouver and I am sure that the Canucks will make an effort to ditch him. He can’t stop anything right now. In addition they traded Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm to the Florida Panthers for David Booth and Steve Reinprecht. Reinprecht heads straight for the AHL, so essentially they dumped 2 for 1. Booth, although having potential, is just another fast skater with no toughness and questionable defensive skills. He was a minus 31 in Florida last year, with 23 goals, 17 assists and 26 penalty minutes. Not the player they were needing. Even Samuelsson had more points and penalty minutes than that. All the Canucks gain is youth.
The Winnipeg Jets are rocking, doing as expected and giving the fans some hope for the future. Last night’s 9-8 victory in Philadelphia against the Flyers was both ugly and beautiful all at the same time. The Jets have an excuse to be on the bubble for the season, maybe the Canucks can learn something from the Jets.
Fourth, the World Series. Baseball is a wonderful game to watch when everything is on the line. In no other sport do you have such drama, literally hanging on every pitch. Last night was no exception. David Freese is now a legend, whose heroics will be remembered for eternity in baseball lore as will the St Louis Cardinals comeback. The Texas Rangers will have to shake this one-off if they want to win. Regardless the Series has been a true Fall Classic, and Game 7 could be one for the ages.
From his series of videos, DonaldTrump gives his opinions on Derek Jeter‘s 3000th hit, the guy who gave him back the ball for nothing, Obamacare and how the republican’s should deal with the debt ceiling. An eclectic mix done in true Donald Trump style.
Dick Williams passed away today. For those who don’t remember, Dick was manager of several baseball teams in the 60’s,70’s and 80’s. He managed the Boston Red Sox to the 1967 World Series, then led the Oakland Athletics to back to back world series championships in 1972 and 1973. This was the era of Reggie Jackson and the first team with long hair and moustaches.
Fired by oakland in his 3rd season , went on to the California Angels and then to where I remember him best, managing the Montreal Expos. He led them from doormats to the NL Final in his tenure, where the Expos lost in heartbreaking fashion. Steve Rogers, a starter and their best pitcher, came on in relief in the final game to close out the Dodgers. In a moment that I still can’t bear to relive, Rick Monday tagged one out of the park, giving the LA Dodgers the pennant.
He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2007. A sad day for ball fans everywhere. He was, in many ways, one of the icons of baseball in his time.
I can still see in my mind’s eye, the 1965 World Series. The LA Dodgers vs Minnesota Twins. The Twins surprised all with their capture of the AL pennant that year and went on to face the Dodgers of Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale and the rest of that powerhouse. Behind the pitching of Jim Kaat, Mudcat Grant and the powerful bat of Harmon Killebrew, the Twins took the Dodgers to a 7th game, only to be shutout by the great Koufax. They were held to 3 hits and lost 2-0. I remember being heartbroken. The underdog had almost pulled off the unthinkable. Those summers when I was 9, 10 11, were dominated by ball, and Killebrew, along with Mickey Mantle, were my favourite players. One of the sad parts of growing older is seeing your childhood heroes, who are now 20 years older than I pass on. I have attached a rare piece of footage showing Harmon Killebrew going head to head with Willie Mays on Gillette Home Run Derby and a link to Wiki describing the 1965 World Series.
