If you ask a young person what he might be doing for Lent, you’ll likely get responses along the lines of:  “I’m giving up Facebook” or “I’m giving up eating chocolate.”

Granted, these may be noble notions on their own, but young people (along with many adults) often get too caught up in what they might be “giving up” for Lent instead of why they are doing it.

We know that Lent is a solemn, reflective season that prepares us for Christ’s glorious resurrection at Easter.  The forty days of Lent recall the forty days that Jesus spent in the desert resisting Satan’s temptations before starting his public ministry.  During Lent, Christians are called to renew themselves through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (charity).  Think of it as a spiritual tune-up.

Solemn and reflective does not have to mean miserable and depressed.  Lent gives youth ministers a wonderful opportunity to teach about sacrifice, and how these sacrifices can be pleasing to God.  When we sacrifice in one area, we grow or make room in another; in the case of Lent it’s in our relationship with God.  Fasting is a perfect example: it’s less about what we are giving up (food) and more about how we are growing (in prayer).

“One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

An avid cola drinker, for the past 10 years I have proudly proclaimed that I am giving up pop for Lent.  But it wasn’t until a few years ago that I realized that simply sacrificing pop wasn’t enough…God was challenging me to do more.  To spend more time in prayer.  To be a better steward of my resources.  To be more generous.  And to be more “present” to my wife and children.

As youth ministers, we can pray for humility; that we can “die to ourselves” and instead set our hope on the living God.  In doing so we recall the sacrifice He made for us on the cross.

So yes, I will once again give up drinking pop.  In fact, I’ve cut back on my cola consumption since January 1 of this year.  But it’s admittedly only a small part of my Lenten plan to strengthen my relationship with God and with others.

I know that some people like to let everyone know what they’re sacrificing, whether it’s for accountability or for sympathy.  Others may declare their Lenten promises to show people that they are actually doing something.

However, I see no need in posting my other Lenten promises and sacrifices here or on Facebook or Twitter for the world to see.   If you want to really know (for whatever reason) what I’m going to be doing for Lent, just ask me.

May we all use these next forty days to strengthen our relationships with our loved ones and with our loving God.  Amen.

-Today (Ash Wednesday) marks the start of Lent.  Let’s not get so caught up in what we are “giving up” that we forget why we are doing it.  New blog: “Making the Most out of Lent”.

-This past weekend we held our first-ever Archdiocesan Conference and it was a resounding success thanks in large part to our many volunteers.  Read about this outstanding group in my new blog “The Band Behind the Matt Maher Concert.”

-My latest CCC includes pictures from the Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada celebration and asks the question: “What is your favourite hockey memory?”

-You can follow me on Twitter, find me on Facebook, and/or see my videos on YouTube.

The concert was 8 months in the making, stemming from a meeting at the OYYAM.  We had just been charged with the responsibility of planning and executing the “Friday night” portion of the Archdiocesan Conference and after a bit of brainstorming about potential events and ideas, our decision was unanimous:  it was time to bring the Grey-Haired Canadian back for an archdiocesan event for the first time since Spirit Day 2009.

I fired a text message off to Matt in July and he was interested from the very beginning.  However, he cautioned me that they had a couple of irons in the fire so-to-speak with respect to other tour dates (that have since come to fruition…including the East Coast USA tour they interrupted to get to Vancouver on Friday).  After numerous emails, phone calls, text messages, negotiating, and anxious moments, we finally signed the contact in October…4 months after our initial contract and just 4 months prior to the Conference!

It was undoubtedly worth the effort, as over 1,000 people were blessed by Matt’s music and message on Friday night.  There have been countless tweets and Facebook status updates proclaiming love for Matt and the band and deservedly so.  It was a perfect way to start off the Conference weekend.

But I’d like to talk about another band that was present on Friday night.  This band isn’t as musical or as popular and will likely never even record a song together.  But they sure put on a good concert Friday night.

I’m talking about our band of volunteers.

Once the OYYAM staff along with our “Concert Organizing Committee” had the vision in place, we needed some reliable people to help us bring the vision to fruition.  Thus, we recruited a team of young adults that would serve alongside us during the big day.

In the end, there were 25 of us altogether to cover all areas of the concert:  production, hospitality, ticketing, doors, security, merchandise, set-up and clean-up.  By time we finalized our team, we had a virtual who’s-who of Catholic leadership…I dubbed it an “all-star” team.  Not only did each person prove to be reliable, they also proved to be patient…as they endured countless emails from me leading up to the concert.  It’s quite remarkable to think that aside from our pre-concert orientation, we never met together and we planned everything electronically!

Ah yes, the pre-concert orientation.  Once everyone had arrived, we met for a few minutes to confirm assigned roles and to pray for the success of the event.  Among my barking orders:

“I trust you to make good decisions tonight.”

“Remember that amidst the inevitable craziness and excitement, you are representing yourselves, your parishes, Archbishop Michael, the Archdiocese of Vancouver, and our Church.”

“Help each other out…don’t be afraid to lean on each other.”

And my favourite mantra:  “Do whatcha gotta do.”

And with that, we dispersed only to come together 4 hours later for a quick thank you and prayer of thanksgiving.  During that time period, the team truly did what it had to do.  What stood out to me most was the pure humility and joy that every single volunteer served with.  Some jobs were busier than others (ticketing), some were more noticeable than others (front door), and some were downright lonely (guarding the green room)…haha.  Some required gentle force and direction (security on doors) while others required taking direction (running the band’s lyrics).  Some included capturing memories (photo and video) while others included capturing money (merchandise).

As Matt smoothly mixed “Lean on Me” into “Hold Us Together” during the concert, I beamed with pride thinking about and praying for our volunteers.  The songs were most appropriate considering how the team had to indeed lean on each other and in essence hold the event together through its humble service.

I hesitate to use terms like “the best volunteer team ever” as it’s not my place to judge or “rank” them against other groups from the past.  But I can say that the team was among the most humble, dedicated, qualified, faithful, reliable, and unselfish groups I’ve ever been blessed to be a part of.

Was the evening perfect?  Of course not: there were a few registration issues, a couple of technical issues, and complaints that it was too loud.  Even though it was a concert.  :p

But the concert served as a perfect gateway to the Conference as a whole via a celebration of what it means to be in one faith, body and mission.  I also believe that our volunteer team set a high standard for volunteering for the next day; a standard that I can happily attest to being reached.

We often talk at the OYYAM about how blessed the Archdiocese of Vancouver is to have so many quality people at its disposal.  Us OYYAM staff members are paid (insert joke about salary here) and expected to be at events like the Conference.  And I can proudly say that we usually do our job well; I’m very blessed to serve alongside quality people like Analyn, Faye and Gerard.  They are the salt of the earth.  And I would not hesitate to put our office staff up against any other ministry staff on the continent.

But we only go as our volunteers go.  And whether it’s at an event as large as Spirit Day or coming in to help us organize our storage locker, we are always grateful to you.

So thank you Alisha, Angela, Celina, Chris E, Chris S, Clarissa, Coy, Donne, Francesca, Grace, Heather, Jason, Krissy, Marc, Mark, Mary, Megan, Michelle, Oggy, PJ, and Stephen.

We couldn’t have done it without you.

My son Sean and I took in the festivities at the Richmond Olympic Oval for the Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada celebration on Saturday, February 11, 2012.

We were able to witness a celebrity ball hockey game, some junior hockey, street hockey, NHL awards, NHL Hall of Fame exhibit and much more. We also met Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, legendary broadcaster Jim Robson, and Captain Canuck himself, Trevor Linden (look for a video blog soon on http://www.canuckshockeyblog.com)

I, along with the Canucks Hockey Blog crew, interviewed many attendees at the event and ask them: What is your favourite hockey memory?

In this CCC, I share some of my pics from the event as well as my own favourite hockey memories.

I would love to read or watch some of yours…so post a reply below!

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You will be presented with five different exhibits of varying degrees of humour, embarrassment, and ridiculousness.  Listen carefully to each one.  Try to picture each scenario as it played out.  And most importantly, remain objective.

Now Mr. Imoo (referred to as “Clay” going forward) will say that the proof is in the pudding: the OYYAM continues to do good work, his staff is well-liked and well-respected, and he still has a job.  And he may argue that he just plays some of these encounters up just to have fun; or that some of them were caused by him being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  Whether you believe him or not will be at the heart of your decision.

Let’s begin shall we?  For the purposes of this case, Archbishop Michael will be respectfully referred to as “ABM” to help out the person typing on that weird typewriter machine in the courtroom.  Does that thing even work?

Exhibit A:  Under there, Underwear

In late November 2011, Clay and ABM were chatting in the hallway and ABM complimented Clay on his wardrobe selection for the day: Clay was wearing his favourite light purple sweater ala Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men.

“Nice sweater, Clay… very appropriate for Advent.”

“Thanks a lot Archbishop Michael…glad you like it!”

“I’m guessing that you were wearing white last week.”

“I can’t remember what dress shirts I was wearing, but I do know that all my underwear is white.”

ABM shook his head and walked away.

Exhibit B:  Rip in the Pants (read the original blog posted on January 16, 2011).

In January 2011, Clay was cleaning out and re-organizing one of the OYYAM storage rooms when he split his pants below his zipper. After being mocked by the OYYAM staff, he went on to his scheduled meeting with ABM.

Clay entered ABM’s office covering his exposed underwear with a strategically-placed binder.  They exchanged greetings and ABM asked Clay how his day was going.

“It was going great…until I ripped my pants while cleaning up.”

“Oh that’s too bad. I hate it when that happens!”

“Thanks Archbishop Michael. Has it happened to you before?”

“NEVER.”

After a productive meeting, Clay was leaving the office when ABM exclaimed:  “Have a good weekend…and take care of that hole!”

Exhibit C:  Haircuts

In mid-January 2012, Clay was in ABM’s office for a quick discussion, and as Clay sat down he noticed that ABM was sporting a fresh haircut.

“Nice haircut, Archbishop Michael.”

“Thanks, Clay.  I’m surprised you noticed.”

“It’s one of my gifts…I notice when people get haircuts or change their hairstyle.  I’m a big advocate of short hair as you may know.”

“That doesn’t surprise me.”

“Well…I think your hair looks great…it’s probably the shortest I’ve seen it in a while.”

“Actually, I left it longer this time on purpose.”

“So…about the Archdiocesan Conference…”

Exhibit D:  Pallium and Podium (read the original blog posted on July 3, 2009)

Back in June 2009, ABM was one of 34 bishops from 20 countries to receive a wool pallium from Pope Benedict XVI, underlining his unique ties to the Vicar of Christ in Rome and to all the faithful in our archdiocese.  At a reception attended by all the employees of the JP 2 Pastoral Centre the day ABM was leaving for Rome, Clay served as the emcee.

After a few opening remarks, Clay began his introduction of ABM:

“As many of you know, Archbishop Miller is off to Rome later this afternoon to receive the pallium from Pope Benedict. by doing so, it will be a sign of his communion with the Pope, along with his communion with our archdiocese.”

So far so good.  And then it came: Clay’s CLM: Career-Limiting Move.

“At first, I thought that Archbishop Miller was going to receive a PODIUM, because he talks so much!”

Clay didn’t even bother trying to explain that this too was supposed to be a compliment on ABM’s  wonderful public speaking skills, as his foot was lodged too far down his throat. Thankfully, most of the attendees broke into laughter and even applause while the HR Manager prepared Clay’s termination papers.

After what seemed like an eternity (though was likely 2 or 3 seconds), ABM gave Clay a big grin, patted him on the back, and calmly yet directly said: “Ok Clay, that’s enough now.”

Exhibit E:  Trying to Look Important

Just this past weekend, Clay was serving at the Man to Man gathering at St. Mary’s Parish in Vancouver, and ABM was the keynote speaker.  During social time, Clay greeted ABM and ABM noticed that Clay had written his full first name on his nametag.

“Oh, so you’re going by ‘Clayton’ tonight!”

“Yeah, trying to look important.”

“Me too, that’s why I’m wearing my good shirt.”

“Haha…great minds think alike…right?”

No reaction from ABM.

“Talk to you later!”

So there you have it.  Five examples of memorable encounters between Clay and Archbishop Michael spanning a couple of years.  Believe me, there were a lot more to choose from, but we feel this gives you a decent sample.

Now the only question that remains is:  Does Clay act like a fool in the presence of Archbishop Michael?

The NHL held its annual All-Star game this past weekend in Ottawa, with Team Chara defeating Team Alfredsson (with 3 Canucks) by a score of 12-9.

The All-Star festivities kicked off with the Draft on Thursday night in which San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture was selected 38^th overall…or last.  While some people dismissed it as no big deal, in this CCC I argue that it is indeed a big deal to be picked last, even if it’s from a pool of 40 elite NHL players.

Through it all, Couture handled it with dignity and class and we can all look forward to many great years ahead from him.

Also, I will likely leave you yearning for more Marie Hui and less of me as I start this CCC off with my rendition of Vanessa Williams’ “Save the Best for Last”.

http://www.canuckclay.com

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I took my family to the annual Vancouver Canucks Superskills event at Rogers Arena and was generally entertained by all of the events: puck control relay, fastest skater, shooting accuracy, hardest shot, and breakaway challenge (footage included in video).

As I was watching however, I started to think of ways the Canucks could keep this event fresh and it dawned on me that they could add a bunch of new events.

Imagine contests for Hardest Hipcheck, Shot Blocking, Spitting, and Best Hairdo…the possibilities are endless.

See what a few of my friends and family members proposed…along with their predictions as to who might win.

Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments!

http://www.canuckclay.com

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In light of these experiences, I now present to you 10 Things You Don’t Want to Hear Your Dentist Say:

1. “I hope you have a good dental plan.”
2. “What do you mean those are your permanent teeth?”
3. “Wow, look at all that blood.”  My dentist actually said this to me today after my gums started bleeding when he was showing me proper brushing technique.  He must have been going tough on me to prove his point.
4. “Give me a second while I figure out how to stop the bleeding.”
5. “Just a warning, I’ll probably end up cutting your lip or tongue.”  He said this to me too after I told him that in 2 of my last 3 visits, he cross-checked me in my mouth causing me to bleed.  He claims that I just have sensitive tissue.
6. “How does it feel to be my first patient since I was reinstated?”
7. “You’re going to end up looking like rapper Lil John by the time I’m done.”  This is more applicable to my son Sean who was 8 caps in his teeth.  And I’d be freaked out if my dentist knew who Lil John is.
8. “I hope your Tooth Fairy has a second job.”
9. “Drink more Pepsi.”  My dentist actually said this to me after I told him that I have drastically cut back on pop.  I guess he wants more business.
10. “Ooops!”

There are many reasons why you should eagerly anticipate the Canucks Hockey Blog tweetup at the Hog Shack in beautiful Steveston in Richmond taking place this Saturday afternoon:  a good game (hopefully) between the Canucks and the Sharks, good food, contests, and of course, great company.  As I look ahead to Saturday, there are a few tweetup-specific Things That Make Me Go Hmmm:

1.  Do you remember your first time? If this is your first-ever tweetup, we welcome you with open arms!  It promises to be a lot of fun and as they say, you always remember your first time.  My first tweetup was back on May 22, 2011 at Guildford’s Boston Pizza when the Canucks beat the same Sharks 4-2 to take a 3-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals.  At this official Vancouver Canucks tweetup, I met JJ and Chris of CHB for the very first time, and they immediately put me to work making me film this.  We had a great time chatting and filming and we even roped the Game Day Guys (Andrew, Chris and Reigan) in for a few thoughts.  Thankfully, the first impressions were decent enough both ways as they are still letting me contribute to the site.  Other highlights of the day included meeting Nicole Van Zanten (Social Media Coordinator of the Canucks) and devouring my Hawaiian pizza.

2.  Putting a face to the handle. A cool thing about tweetups is meeting people in-person who you might only know via their handle or picture on Twitter.  It’s even better when you can actually recall or quote a recent tweet from someone you are meeting (but only quote one or else you’ll look like a stalker).  At a recent tweetup in Richmond, people recognized me from my musical collaboration with Marie Hui.  Actually come to think of it, they complimented Marie for her talent and good looks, whereas the only compliments I got were for having a talented and beautiful friend.  But I digress.

Also, it’s neat to discover just how close someone’s Twitter persona is to their actual personality.  For example, you can find out this Saturday if JJ truly looks like Jon Gosselin or why we call Matt Lee the “Asian James Duthie”. Is Chris Golden as punny as he seems?  Is Lizz Moffat truly bad at math?  Is Caylie King always talking about the future?  And if you’re lucky enough, Katie Maximick might rant all over you.

3.  Are you ready for the Flatline Burger? The menu at the Hog Shack says it all: “Our signature HEART STOPPER, double burger patty between 2 grilled sandwiches.  It’s to die for!”  Well, they mean that figuratively and not literally as we would like to keep our record of no fatalities at CHB tweetups.  However, the next line is the kicker: “FINISH THE WHOLE PLATE IN 5 MINS OR LESS…IT’S FREE!”  Yes, it’s all in CAPS.  I’ve had the (mis)pleasure of seeing CHB contributor Richard Loat conquer the Flatline Burger in an impressive time of 4 minutes and 20 seconds.  So it’s certainly doable, although Richard is built like a truck (in a good way).  Hopefully we’ll see a few successful attempts this Saturday.  Just don’t die trying, despite what the menu says.

Add it all up and it promises to be a memorable afternoon.  The last time the Canucks played early on a Saturday (just 2 weeks ago), they beat the Bruins in an exciting game.  I’ll be arriving late (from work) but staying late so I hope to meet many of you there.  And best of all…it’s only 5 minutes from my house.  Because I’d hate to have to drive home after downing my plethora of pop.  Hmmm…

As the Vancouver Canucks kick-off a 6-game home-stand, they welcome forward David Booth back to the line-up after he missed 6 weeks with a knee injury.

Booth gives the Canucks more scoring depth, more flexibility, and reunites the American Express line (Booth, Higgins and Kesler).

Booth has quickly become my favourite player, and I can’t wait to see what he brings with his return.

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The Canucks have started the second half of the season by picking up four out of a possible six points in their first three games of a four-game road trip, starting with that memorable tilt against the Boston Bruins last Saturday.  As we look ahead to the team’s five remaining games before the all-star break, here are some Things That Make Me Go Hmmm:

1.  Coach Alain Vigneault’s decisions. Technically, this is a “non-hmmm” instead of a “hmmm” as Alain Vigneault once again has the club near the top of the overall standings (albeit with a few more games played than every other contender… more on that below).  Once in a while, AV will do something that gets us talking and scratching our heads such as starting Schneider over Luongo in Boston, limiting Cody Hodgson’s minutes, or juggling his lines before they seemingly have a chance to gel.  But you simply can’t argue with results.  Since his first season with the Canucks in 2006-2007, Vigneault has amassed a regular-season coaching record of 263-147-44 (through Tuesday night’s win over Tampa Bay) – good for a winning percentage of .628.  Throw in a Jack Adams Award in his first season, and you can legitimately argue that he’s been the Canucks most successful coach.  And to think, he likely wouldn’t be here right now if Luongo didn’t stop Patrick Sharp in overtime in game 7 of last year’s first-round playoff series against the Blackhawks.

2.  The type of team that makes a Stanley Cup Champion. I was intrigued by an interview I heard yesterday on the Team 1040 with Canucks’ GM Mike Gillis.  He mentioned that he has tried to build the Canucks based on the Detroit Red Wings, arguably the most consistent team over the last decade: a fast-skating and highly skilled team that’s hard to play against.  He also alluded to wanting to tinker with the “balance” of the line-up (he was quick to deny saying he wanted the team to be “tougher”).  This got me thinking of what kind of teams actually go on to win the Stanley Cup.  The 2007 Anaheim Ducks were big and bruising.  The 2008 Detroit Red Wings and 2009 Pittsburgh Penguins had line-ups littered with highly-skilled players and with just enough “sandpaper” (think Holmstrom, McCarty, Cooke, Talbot and that goon Malkin who had 51 PIM in the 2009 playoffs).  The 2010 Chicago Blackhawks had both skill and toughness (Byfuglien, Bolland, Eager) and we all know about the 2011 Boston Bruins.  So when Mike Gillis says he’s looking for more balance as opposed to toughness, I think it’s safe to say that he’s looking for toughness.  Our collection of top nine forwards is among the most-skilled in club history, but as a group, do they have enough grit and sandpaper?  Kesler and Burrows certainly play hard and are tough to play against but they certainly don’t strike fear into opponents.  Will Lapierre, Malhotra and Weise as our fourth line be enough?  I don’t think so. Look for Gillis to make move before or at the trading deadline.

3.  Stupefying scheduling. Heading into tonight’s game against the St. Louis Blues, the Canucks are tied with four other teams for most games played at 44.  So while it’s nice to see the team atop the Western Conference standings, one quickly realizes that the team would be anywhere from first to fifth if the top five teams had all played the same number of games up until now.  The discrepancy is magnified even more when comparing the Canucks to the Eastern Conference, as the Rangers are one point ahead but with 4 games in hand and Boston is only two points behind with five games in hand.  It’s not a huge deal as things will obviously even out by the end of the season.  And I know that there are many mitigating factors such as arena availability.  I guess I’m just lazy and find myself reluctantly calculating best and worst case scenarios with respect to the teams chasing the Canucks to get a “more accurate” picture of the standings.  Speaking of evening out, after tonight’s game, the Canucks will have played their sixth game in 11 nights (including three in their last four).  Contrast that to the next two weeks, where the Canucks will play only four games in the next 12 days.  Throw in the all-star break and the Canucks only have five games left in the remaining 19 days in January.

That’s it for this week. Thanks for reading.  I’m still trying to confirm the rumours that Bruins forward Brad Marchand is sporting a new tattoo that says “SUSPENSIAN.”  Hmmm.

Then, I felt my cell phone in my pocket buzz once.  Then twice.  Then again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again. And again.

Finally, I said to Derek, “Excuse me, I better check who’s texting me.”

I pulled my phone out and saw these messages from my eldest son:

I ran upstairs cracking up with my phone in one hand and a roll of toilet paper in the other.  As I found him taking care of business in our bathroom, I asked him why he didn’t just yell down to me.

“Because Kayla is sleeping and I didn’t want to wake her up.” Sean answered.  Well, that was actually very considerate of him.  Not surprising.

“Open your eyes next time” I said, handing him the roll of toilet paper while pointing out to him that there was a full roll beside him in our toilet paper holder.

“Whoops.  Thanks anyway!”

It was a comical moment indeed, and I got Sean’s permission to post it on Facebook and here on my blog.

In looking at the slew of messages he sent me, I find them pretty darn funny (if I may say so myself) for the following reasons:

1.  The message starts with the word “IMPORTANT”;

2.  He types in ALL CAPS stressing urgency;

3.  He call’s it “MOMS BATHROOM” (as opposed to mine and Gail’s);

4.  He repeats the message verbatim…a total of 4 more times;

5.  He then inserts a “Read text” message;

6.  After 2 more copy and paste jobs, he exclaims “ANSWER ME”;

7.  He throws a few mad faces in for good measure (apparently he just wanted my phone to buzz repeatedly) interrupted by one accidental heart; and

8.  A final original message for good measure.

I guess desperate times call for desperate measures!

I’m taking a break from planning my Saturday morning “Ruin the Bruins” party to offer up a few quick thoughts as the Canucks have reached the midway point of the season.  It feels so strange to type the word “morning” when blogging about a hockey game, but I digress.

On this eve of the Stanley Cup Finals rematch, here are a few Things That Make Me Go Hmmm:

1.  The need for perspective. There are so many intriguing storylines heading into Saturday’s game against the Boston Bruins, notwithstanding the fact that it’s the only regular season meeting between the two Stanley Cup Finalists.  Luongo or Schneider.  Mason Raymond’s return to the rink where he nearly had his career ended.  Daniel Sedin vs. Brad Marchand.  Burrows, Bergeron, and biting.

Thursday afternoon, I tweeted: “48 hours from now we’ll either be celebrating a bit of revenge for the Canucks or wondering what it will take to beat the Bruins in Boston.”  I received a couple of replies, with both of them intimating that a Canuck win had limited upside (as opposed to a Canuck loss having a larger downside) and that true revenge would be winning the Stanley Cup.  While I didn’t disagree with these sentiments, I pointed out that a win is a win and we can’t do much about the Stanley Cup until June.  It’s important to remember that this is game #42 of an 82 game regular season and that we shouldn’t read too much into the result of the game, whatever it may be.  I don’t buy the argument that a Canuck loss will have a long-term effect on the team’s psyche… the same way I won’t get too excited if the Canucks walk out of Boston with a win.  Enjoy it for what it will be: a hotly-contested battle of two of the top teams in the league.

2. Biggest surprises and disappointments. There have been numerous “midseason evaluation” posts including an excellent one by CHB writer Matt Lee already, but I thought I would chime in with a few of my observations.  For me, the biggest surprises up front have been Jannik Hansen, Cody Hodgson and Chris Higgins.  The collective Triple H has combined for 31 goals and 37 assists for 68 points, a welcome wave of secondary scoring behind the big four of the Sedins and Kesler and Burrows.  On the flip side, Manny Malhotra is still struggling to regain his pre-injury form of last year and the jury is still out on David Booth, who was picking up his game before his knee injury.

On the back end, the play of the top four d-men (Alex Edler, Kevin Bieksa, Dan Hamhuis and Sami Salo) have helped some Canuck faithful forget about Christian Ehrhoff.  In particular, Hamhuis is quietly piling up the points and is on pace to match his career high of 38 points (2005-2006 season).  Hamhuis and partner Bieksa (who has overcome a shaky start) have become one of the league’s premier shutdown pairs, while Edler and Salo continue to contribute at both ends of the rink.  Conversely, Keith Ballard is still not playing like a $4 million defenseman, and he is still prone to making risky plays in his own end.  I really like him and I want to see him succeed, but 6 points and -1 just doesn’t cut it.

3. The Canucks in the Winter Classic. On the heels of another entertaining Winter Classic and HBO 24/7 series, there’s increased chatter about the possibility of the Canucks appearing in the big game in the near future.  One would think that Montreal and/or Toronto are likely to be considered ahead of our local team, but you never know.  With respect to the 24/7 series, it’s hard to predict what kind of ratings a Canadian team would draw south of the border.  But one thing’s for sure: the Canucks would make for some interesting TV.  I would find it fascinating to get a behind-the-scenes look at the player’s preparation and personal lives.  What is Luongo like away from the cameras?  How are the twins different in how they approach the games?  Who are the locker room leaders?  Does Dale Weise un-follow and block people in real life?  And where does Bieksa come up with his comedy gold?  With respect to opponents, I think it’s a toss-up between Boston and Chicago.  The former for all of the reasons listed above, the latter for the playoff history and animosity between the teams for three years running.  A dark-horse would be Detroit, but their rivalry with the Canucks is one based on respect and similar playing styles as opposed to the dislike that comes with the Bruins and Blackhawks.

Amidst all these questions, it’s good to see that the Canucks have emerged from the first-half of the season at the top of the Western Conference (albeit with the other teams holding games in hand).  Now please excuse me as I continue preparations for my Saturday morning viewing party.  I’m curious as to how many of my friends will be drinking while watching the game.  10 AM seems a tad early, but I’m certainly not here to judge.  Hmmm…

That’s why Gail and/or the kids write 95% of our greeting cards.  As for the 5% who get something written from me, they unanimously wish that they were part of the 95%.

To be completely accurate, the only time I “write” is when doing my signature.  And for something that I’ve supposedly been writing for over 20 years, it’s still wildly inconsistent.

When I worked with Richard in 2000 and 2001, he continually offered to enrol me in a handwriting course.  I would type him emails graciously declining.

At the OYYAM, Faye witnesses me butchering my own name every time I have to sign letters.    Apparently, I’ve gone from Clay to Clon to Clar to Claty.  And that’s with the simple, casual, hey-I’m-trying-to-be-cool name of Clay.

For when it’s time for me to go all formal and sign my entire name, you better not have any other plans…I’ve been known to require multiple attempts to get it right.  Faye has seen me cover an entire sheet with my practice signatures in an attempt to come up with something remotely decent.  She respectfully suggested that we purchase a signature stamp. I respectfully asked her to obtain 3 quotes.

However, I still think my writing is more legible than Gerard’s or Pat’s.  But I digress.

Thankfully, my printing is better than my handwriting (it can’t be any worse).  When I was in high school, I decided to make ALL CAPS PRINTING my scribe of choice.  I actually think I picked this up from my late father Larry, who perfected the “shouting on paper” technique well before the invention of email and texting.

I’m aware that my printing leaves a lot to be desired.  Krissy continually reminds me that I should be a doctor with my atrocious printing.  Megan tells me that she actually can decipher my printing but only if she really concentrates.  And my lovely wife Gail has suggested that I go back to grade 2 so she can teach me how to print properly.

So I’m not at all defensive about my printing…but I will certainly defend it when I think that it’s being unfairly attacked.  Last night at St. Paul’s, I composed my latest pseudo-message from “Gail” in her day-timer (people on Facebook know that every Wednesday night I print a message in Gail’s day-timer pretending it’s from her in an effort to make myself feel good) and then showed it to a few people.  Relatively proud of my penmanship, I asked these people to “rate” my printing on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being horrible and 10 being outstanding.   The results were not pleasing:  scores of 4, 4, 6 and 4 for a paltry average of 4.5 (thanks Barb for the confidence…and to Krissy, Diane and Zinha for being honest I guess).

I was actually astounded at the low score and was convinced that they were grading me based on my reputation as opposed to this particular submission.  To me, a score of 4 says “below average” and thus “I can’t read this thing.”  Sure, my N and G are stuck together in the first word and many of my letters don’t connect (especially my Rs).  But the overall effort is certainly worth at least a 5, isn’t it?

So help me, my loyal readers.  Give me an honest evaluation of my printing on this particular picture by giving me a score from 1 to 10…again with 1 being horrible and 10 being outstanding.  Don’t worry about hurting my feelings, but also don’t shy from giving praise if you feel it’s deserved.

Whatever the result, I’m too old and set in my ways to change.  It just goes to prove the old and familiar adage that messy penmanship is a sign of genius.

And I can read it…isn’t that all that really matters?

In this episode of the CHB TV video podcast, Clay Imoo, J.J. Guerrero and Chris Golden discuss the Canucks’ team toughness (or perceived lack thereof).