[sunnykerr]

It seems to me like it would make sense.

Of course, league rules will have to change. Right now, we're getting pumelled up here because of the very reasonable regulation from the Players Association demanding that all players, regardless of their team, be paid in American dollars.

Like I said, I get it. And it makes sense. But the Canadian dollar is usually not on par with the American dollar. And the tickets are sold in Canadian dollars, the TV stations pay in Canadian dollars, the merchandise is in Canadian dollars. The Bell Centre is large and it's always full when the Habs play, and still we're at the bottom of the money totem pole.

So I that's why a lot of our teams have moved South. You go where the money is. Problem is, the interest obviously isn't always there.

If the teams do come back, and I hope they do, that situation would have to be revised.

[NikNak]

So, my 49ers had a bye this week which was much needed for them and for me. LOL

[NikNak]

49ers losts 24-21 to Texans today.

[sunnykerr]

Sorry.

The Habs have started winning a little bit, which probably means they'll crap out on the other side of the All-Stars Game. Mind you, it's a tentative winning streak. So they could start crapping out much earlier.

[NikNak]

49ers lost to the Colts on Sunday.

We did our very best, though. I am so proud of my team. Everyone (including myself) predicted a blowout but that didn't happen. So I am glad about that.

A loss still sucks.

[sunnykerr]

Well, the Habs are 7-7-0, which means they've lost seven and won seven.

There's a lot more playing to be done, but it's annoying that it's all really "meh" so far.

[NikNak]

Yeah.

[sunnykerr]

Apparently, they're now at 7-8-0. Bleh. Seriously.

Alberta Official Fired as Flu Shot Fury Hits Calgary Flames Controversy raged Wednesday over the decision to release H1N1 vaccine to Calgary Flames players, as an Alberta health authority employee was fired, and the scandal grew to include the club's B.C. farm team. The province's health authority announced that it had fired the most senior staff member involved in the decision to give the Flames players and their relatives the vaccine while many Albertans considered to be at high risk for contracting the virus, including small children, continued to be unable to get shots. Meanwhile, it emerged that members of the NHL club's top minor league farm team had also received early shots. "Like most Albertans, I am deeply offended that this circumstance has occurred," said a statement signed by Ken Hughes, Alberta Health Services' board chairman, and Stephen Duckett, the authority's CEO. The statement was specifically about the firing of an employee identified as the most senior staff member involved in the Calgary Flames vaccination decision. "AHS board and management have a fundamental commitment to serve all Albertans according to their needs, in medical priority. This circumstance was a clear departure from that principle. We set the expectation that this should not have happened and should not happen again," the statement said. The name of the dismissed staff member was not released. The scandal also moved west, as B.C.'s chief medical health officer blasted a decision to vaccinate members of the Abbotsford Heat, an American Hockey League team affiliated with the Flames. Dr. Perry Kendall said a doctor's decision to vaccinate the hockey team against H1N1 was inappropriate and against provincial guidelines. He said there has been no directive to give priority vaccinations to professional or amateur sports teams ahead of those more at risk and he will be speaking with the doctor involved. "I'd love to say it was an Alberta vaccine and it was a rogue doctor," Kendall said. "It was a recommendation by the team physician. I'm going to have a discussion with him, saying it wasn't appropriate." The investigation into Flames players' inoculations is continuing to determine exactly how the hockey players managed to jump the queue and get their H1N1 vaccinations before Albertans designated priority cases because of their risk of becoming dangerously ill. News that the players, along with some of their family members, coaching staff and management, had arranged to jump the queues faced by most people in Alberta wanting swine flu vaccine cause outrage this week, with Premier Ed Stelmach vowing to get to find out what had happened. Alberta struggled to meet demand in the first week of its vaccination campaign, in which it tried to offer the vaccine to all people in the province. Over the weekend, the province had to shut down its clinics, and plans to reopen them Thursday, but only for those at high risk of getting the flu. They include pregnant women, people under 65 with chronic health conditions, children between six months and five years old, people living in remote communities and health-care workers. So far, the Flames are the only Canadian NHL team to be accused of queue-jumping. The Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens all told Global National their players will wait until the vaccine is available to the general public. The Toronto Maple Leafs declined to comment, saying the distribution of shots was an internal matter. A few members of the Toronto Raptors have received the H1N1 vaccination, the team said in an e-mail Wednesday. "The special treatment for the Flames and their families is unacceptable to us and contrary to all of our existing protocols and processes," Duckett said in his statement. "I apologize for this breach of our duty to Albertans." Dr. Gerry Predy, senior medical officer of health for Alberta Health Services, said he believes the Flames' faux pas was the only such incident of queue-jumping in Alberta. "We're reasonably certain (the incident was isolated), but nothing is 100 per cent," Predy said. Alberta Health Services is the only body in Alberta that receives vaccine doses from the provincial government. The provincial health authority then dispenses it to clinics and hospitals across Alberta. "It's a deplorable situation," said Dr. Andre Corriveau, Alberta's chief medical officer of health. The vaccination of Abbotsford players was conducted at a clinic in the Lower Mainland, Kendall said. Team president and chief executive officer Tom Mauthe said the decision was made to immunize the team members following a recent road trip where several players became ill. "At this point, at first blush, it does not in any way jive with the guidelines the province has set out, so it is concerning," said B.C. Health Minister Kevin Falcon.

Alberta official fired as flu shot fury hits Calgary Flames, B.C. farm team

Now, if the Flames suddenly start taking over the League, I'll be really pissed.

[vc318]

I know I'm late on this but congrats to the Yankees on winning the World Series.

[NikNak]

Yup. Congrats to the Yankees.

[sunnykerr]

Sure helps when you can buy talent...

Sorry, but to congratulate the Yankees on anything would... I don't know, possibly literally twist my insides out.

[NikNak]

I could care less about baseball but I decided to be nice so...

[sunnykerr]

Oh, I'm not massively into baseball either, it's just that the Habs used to be the most storied sports franchise in North America. And we can't afford to buy talent. The Yankees can, and have, and now they have 27 titles to our 24.

[vc318]

Basketball great Abdul-Jabbar has cancer - CNN.com

Basketball great Abdul-Jabbar has cancer

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, one of the greatest college and professional basketball players of all time, says he has been diagnosed with a form of blood cancer.

"I have chronic myeloid leukemia," Abdul-Jabbar told CNN. He said he received the diagnosis last December.

The 62-year-old former center for the Los Angeles Lakers said aside from having to see his doctor and checking his blood levels on a regular basis, having chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) hasn't significantly affected his quality of life.

Abdul-Jabbar said he's going public now to educate people about this disease.

"I think it's possible for someone in my position to help save lives," he said.

Abdul-Jabbar is best known as the 7-foot-2 center who led the UCLA Bruins to three NCAA championships in the 1960s, then went on to win one NBA championship with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1971 and five more with the Los Angeles Lakers before retiring in 1989.

He also has dabbled in acting, notably as an airline pilot in the 1980 comedy "Airplane!"

However, raising awareness about cancer has been part of his portfolio for some time now, too.

He said cancer has been prominent in his life.

"My grandfather died from colorectal cancer, my uncle died from colorectal cancer and my father almost died from colorectal cancer," Abdul-Jabbar said.

He added that he has the gene for colorectal cancer. This led him to get involved in a colorectal cancer awareness campaign in the African-American community. He's also participated in an NBA-sponsored prostate cancer awareness campaign.

But now he's a cancer patient himself. He said he first realized something was wrong when he began having hot flashes and sweats, something he admits wasn't normal, "even for someone my age."

After seeing his physician, blood work showed he had a "white blood cell count that was sky-high." The National Cancer Institute describes CML as a "slowly progressing disease in which too many white blood cells are made in the bone marrow."

Abdul-Jabbar said when he received the diagnosis of early stage CML, he wanted to know what was possible in terms of treatment.

He said his specialist told him the cancer diagnosis did not have to be a death sentence, as long as he followed a proper treatment regimen.

Abdul-Jabbar wouldn't reveal what his prognosis is, but he did say he is managing his disease and that having CML "doesn't impact my life too significantly."

In the process of researching CML, Abdul-Jabbar says he was shocked to learn that some cancer patients do not regularly take their cancer medication. This led him to approach the pharmaceutical company Novartis about launching an educational campaign.

Abdul-Jabbar said Novartis is paying him for his travel and time, but the idea for the campaign was his.

"The message is simple: You have to have the expert advice of a specialist. You have to take your medicine and get your blood analyzed," he said.

In an effort to provide more information about this type of cancer, he is launching a Facebook page -- Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Patient Advocate -- supported by the pharmaceutical company, which manufactures drugs to treat this and other types of cancer.

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), the average person's chance of getting CML is less than 1 in 500. The cancer society says CML is slightly more common in men than women, and it accounts for 10 percent to 15 percent of all leukemias or blood cancers.

The ACS estimates just over 5,000 people will be diagnosed with CML this year, and that 470 will die from it. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society estimates the five-year survival rate for CML of 44.4 percent.

My goodness - when will it ever end?!

[NikNak]

Aww. Man.

At least his prognosis is good.