TundraTalk lands a big fish....

Tonight I went to an Edmonton Rush game for the second time in a week. Why do you ask, well this week it was because the Trailer Park Boys were the celebrity guests. I took the picture above last year, and the had the boys sign it. Cool, but the best thing was that I managed to convince Ricky to sit in for a Podcast. It was awesome. Just click the link to the right and it is all good.

There was only thing that was bad about the interview was the mic that I have for my iPod malfunctioned during some of his answers. So when you listen to the show keep that in mind. I had to do a bit of editing to help it make sense. I hope you enjoy it. I did. I actually made him laugh. He laughed when I called him a natural athlete. That was cool. He did the interview in the Ricky character so I asked him stuff as if I was talking to Ricky. Very cool.



Also here is a glimpse of what is coming. Marty went to his Playboy Mansion party and here is a sneak peek. I am hoping Marty will send me a play by play so I can share and live vicariously through him. Please...



Have a good weekend, we all know Marty had a great week.

KILLER BRETT FAVRE PICS AND SOUND BITES

Oh, have a look at Hauser's blog with the link to the right. Cool pics of him riding his bike on the ice at a Gambler game.

The Worm is in Edmonton, the Hip, and Coach J...

Thanks for the pic Jason

Okay so I am sure you are wondering "What in THE hell is Dennis Rodman doing in Edmotnon?" Maybe it was the annual 'weirdos of the world convention', or the 'Strip Club of the year Awards', or an 'S&M Jamboree'. If any of those was your answer, well you are wrong, and kinda right. He was in town to make an appearance at an Edmonton Rush Lacrosse game, and head to a strip joint immediately after. He made a point to tell us that several times. Along with name a number of women he has slept with. Classy.

We of course had to go and interview him, which he really wasn't interested in doing, and see what he is up to. He dropped many 'F' bombs and really did not say anything. He did get to give a pep talk to the Rush team before the game. That was interesting. Lots of 'Kick thier asses' and 'F#@k Calgary' and stuff like that. Kinda funny. I wish I could show it to you but I am still stinging from the Ryan Smyth Jacket thing so I will not. If you come and visit me I will show it to you. Worth the watch.


Dude is big

Now you know I am not going to waste my Saturday evening at a Lacrosse game unless I get a pic with the man to add to my 'Brush with Greatness' collection. He was so annoyed with having to do anything except drink beer and go to a strip joint. You can see it in his face. The owners of Von Dutch custom motorcycles were there also as his entourage. Quite an entertaining bunch. That is one of them with all the muscles in the pic below.


He did a lot of this, standing around


Hip, Hip, Hip

Donna and I went to see one of our favorite bands last night, the Tragically Hip. If you are Canadian you love this band, if you are American, you might have heard of them. That is pretty much the way it goes. Donna and I try to see them whenever we can. We have even bought tickets to a show in Ames Iowa for Plant/Page which they were supposed to open, but did not show up, so we got our money back. The Hip are one of the best live bands I have ever seen. Right up there with Soul Asylum and the Foo Fighters. They are now the leaders for me in bands that I have seen more than once. Four times. Three here at Rexall Place and once in Kimberley Wisconsin.

Here is a short clip from the show. The sound is bad on this camera and it only records 30 seconds so I will know not to take this camera next time. Sorry. Anyway here is Poets... There are a few more up there if you want more...



Hip sing Poets at Rexall Place jan 14 2007 on Vimeo


FINALLY


Coach J on the left

Got some bad news this week, my High School Football coach died. Todd Johnson, Coach J as we knew him, as died in December. He was a good coach that we all thought looked like Hulk Hogan with a beer belly.

I remember the first year I played for him. My parents made me write him a letter to tell him that I was coming to Hazen and to let him know what position I played. Basically a resume. I did not want to do it but they made me. Well the first practice I had it seemed that every guy on the field was gunning for me. Come to find out, he read the letter to the team. Nice. I basically had a target on my back from day one. Thanks mom.

When we were seniors, grade 12 for you Canadians, we (Nick and me I think) bought him one of those lucite clip boards with 'Coach J' engraved on it. He was really proud of that clipboard, at least he made us think he was. Good man. I will miss him.

Here is an article on Coach J. RIP.




A true coach
By MICHAELWEBER
Bismarck Tribune
Rick Philion worked with former Hazen football coach Todd Johnson for only one season.

However, that one season greatly impacted the man who became the head coach of the Bison in 2003.

"I learned so much from him that year," said Philion, who served as an assistant under Johnson during in 2002. "At that time, he was getting ready to retire and he took me under his wing and taught me everything he could. He had such a big heart. He was a big man and a little rough on the outside, but kind of soft on the inside. He cared about everyone around him."

Johnson's big heart stopped beating Dec. 30. He died suddenly at his home in West Tawakoni, Texas at the age of 63. Funeral services are scheduled for today at the Hazen High School gym.

Johnson, a native of Bismarck, came to Hazen in 1981 after stints in Washburn, Cooperstown and Buckeye, Ariz. He coached football and and track and field there until his retirement in 2003.

"He was a very good coach and teacher ... and a great friend," said Chris Sorensen, who was one of Johnson's assistant football coaches from 1988 through 1999. "He had a way with the kids. He was always honest and fair with them ... all of them. They knew exactly what he wanted, what he expected of them."

"He loved the kids and they loved him," Philion said. "They were at the forefront of just about every conversation you had with him."

Hazen athletic director Jerry Obenauer played football for Johnson from 1986 through 1989, starting all four years. He also was a thrower on Johnson's track and field teams.

"When Todd spoke you listened. ... We had so much respect for him," Obenauer said. "If he asked you to run through a brick wall, you did it. You knew as a player that he knew what he was talking about ... you took it all as gospel.

"He challenged you and he pushed you to be your best. You always wanted to give 110 percent for Todd."

Johnson excelled as a coach in both football and track and field at Hazen, but his football teams gained the most notoriety, winning nearly 150 games during his tenure.

The jewel of his coaching career was his 1996 team, which gave him his only state championship. Led by the hard running of Len Crouse and Clint Mannie and a ferocious defense that allowed only 38 points, the Bison went 12-0, capping off the campaign with a 20-0 win over Hazen in the Class B 11-man title game.

Johnson was named Coach of the Year in 1996.

"We had a great group of kids. ... It was one of those dream seasons," Sorensen said. "We were a very physical team with a tremendous defense.

"It took awhile for him to get that state championship and when it happened, it was pretty exciting. He certainly deserved it."

Johnson guided the Bison to the 2001 Class AA championship game, where they fell to juggernaut Dickinson Trinity.

Obenauer said Johnson continued to follow the Hazen athletic scene after moving to Texas in 2004. Of special interest was the Coal Bowl, the annual Hazen-Beulah football game.

"The Coal Bowl was always a huge deal to him as it is to everybody in Hazen and Beulah," Obenauer said. "Todd loved coaching in that game and he had so many stories to tell about them."

Sorensen said Johnson tried his best to stay in touch with former players and assistants.

"He was good about that," he said. "A lot of folks liked to keep in touch with him, too."

Johnson is survived by his wife Pam, five children and six grandchildren.