ON THE MARK.

NIFTY, THE HAMMER, P.K., LIZ AND JEAN VAL JEAN.

I had a great time on Saturday at "Road Hockey to Conquer Cancer", where over 1500 players and tons of "celebrities" took part in a day long tournament in the parking lot of Ontario Place.   My wife came along with me, and remarked that it was "like a school reunion" with men and women who hadn't seen each other in a while commenting on things like hair, expanding waistlines and swapping stories from the good old days.

I knew I was in trouble when one guy asked me "Who's the celebrity on YOUR team?"  Luckily, I pointed to the great Canadian tenor Michael Burgess, who played Jean Val Jean in "Les Miz" and has a voice which makes angels in heaven green with envy.  Michael is what I would consider a "celebrity".   Me?  I'm just a TV guy.    The real stars, in my mind were people like Dave "The Hammer" Schultz, Rick (Nifty) Middleton, current Montreal Canadiens defenceman P.K.Subban (although he's out of a job right now) Elizabeth Manley, Tie Domi, Tony McKegney, Todd Warriner, Marty McSorley and several Olympic athletes.  All of them donated their time and energies to this fabulous cause, and helped raise 2.2 million dollars for the Princess Margaret Hospital and the Canadian Cancer Society.   Oh, and by the way, my team "The Hammers", came back to tie our final game 3-3 after falling behind 3-0.   I'd like to think my stalwart defensive play helped inspire the troops.  I hope they want me back next year.

On the "real" hockey front, it's amazing how bitter some of these former players are.  Many played back when Gary Bettman was the comish, and they have nothing but nasty things to say about Bettman and his regime.   Their suggestion to the current players:  You've only got so many good earning years in this game, so you'd better make hay while the sun shines.  Translation:  Get a deal done soon or there might be some cracks in the union's foundation.

Neil Young and Crazy Horse are playing 3 shows in Ontario this week, and I'm looking forward to Saturday's show at the John Labatt Centre in London.   Neil, 66, is a longtime San Jose Sharks fan, who frequents many games along with his son, Ben, 33, who suffers from cerebral palsy, is a quadraplegic and unable to speak.  Actually, it's Ben who's the Sharks fan.  Neil recently pledged allegiance to the Winnipeg Jets in a TV commercial, and that had Sharks fans all riled up.  Neil, of course, spent his teenage years in the 'Peg living with his mother, while his famous father, Scott Young, wrote a newspaper column in Toronto, authored several books, and ended up in the Hockey Hall of Fame.  When someone mistakenly pointed out that Neil's favourite growing up was Punch Imlach,  the former Leaf coach, Young replied "Maybe my father's favourite, but certainly not mine".  By the way, Neil is in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame twice.  Once as a solo artist, and once as a member of Buffalo Springfield.   I get the feeling he hated the Leafs, the team his father covered, but I'll try to confirm that when I attempt to get an interview on Saturday.   Stay tuned.

Best moment of the weekend:   Watching the U.S. golfers choke and gag down the stretch as they blew the Ryder Cup to the European team.   It wasn't so much the players, but rather the American fans.   Every time they shout "USA USA", it makes me dislike them even more.   This chest-beating borders on jingoism and reminds me of the Atlanta Braves fans and their stupid "Tomahawk Chop" back in 1992 when the Bluejays defeated them in the World Series despite the upside down Canadian flag and incessant chopping.   You would never hear Canadians act that way.  I like the fact that we're just as patriotic, but certainly more "reserved" than our American friends.