Even in Oregon's down years, they are still a Powerhouse

 This isn't the College Basketball season I ever envisioned but I was glad to see the Oregon Ducks wrap up their second straight Pac 12 Championship with a win against Oregon State. I am grateful for being an Oregon Duck as our sports programs are kicking butt in every sport. 

I just want to remind people to go with their gut and do whatever seems right in life. I remember when I was in Grade 8 and I saw Oregon Duck fans act like they were the best thing since sliced bread. It took me awhile to come out of the closet and admit I was a big Ducks fan. The same thing happened to the Minnesota Vikings as well the first year they had Brett Favre. 

Unfortunately, I won't be able to watch the Oregon Ducks Quarterfinal game against the winner of Washington State and Arizona State. The Cougars gave Oregon fits in an earlier game this year when they defeated Oregon on February 4th. Oregon has only lost one game since then. 

Here is the schedule for the tournament:

Game	Time	Matchup	Score	Television	Attendance
First round – Wednesday, March 10
1	1:00 pm	No. 8 Arizona State vs. No. 9 Washington State	–	Pac-12 Network
2	4:00 pm	No. 7 Utah vs. No. 10 Washington	–
3	7:00 pm	No. 6 Stanford vs. No. 11 California	–
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 11
4	11:30 am	No. 1 Oregon vs. No. 8/9	–	Pac-12 Network
5	2:30 pm	No. 4 UCLA vs. No. 5 Oregon State
6	5:30 pm	No. 2 USC vs. No. 7/10
7	8:30 pm	No. 3 Colorado vs. No. 6/11		ESPN
Semifinals – Friday, March 12
8	5:30 pm	Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner	–	Pac-12 Network
9	8:30 pm	Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner		ESPN
Championship – Saturday, March 13
10	7:30 pm	Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner	–	ESPN
Game times in PT. Rankings denote tournament seed.

If I play my cards right, this will be the last time I'll ever have to miss the Pac 12 Quarterfinals. My goal is to chase my dreams and accomplish my goals. Over the last five years I haven't done a good job for various reasons but I am extremely close to putting myself in position to do that. I have three more days of work and then 16 straight days off. 

There are a few blog posts that I want to write but haven't had the mental will power to write most days which has been frustrating me. In my peak of my freelancing career I was writing on average every third day which felt good. 

Thank you for being for being my readers as well as my biggest fans. Oregon is a lock for the NCAA Tournament. Will hope to write Thursday after our QF game.

 

If you Don't Shape Your Dream Life, it will Never Happen

 The thrill of the Aussie Open for me took a huge hit last night when Grigor Dimitrov couldn't defeat Russian Qualifier Aslam Karatsev.

I love what I do in the world and try to strive for always being better. I consider myself to be a freelancing blogger and Entrepreneur on the side. I apologize for the lack of effort on this blog asof late, I am not someone that will ever give up on goals that I put out front of myself.

My dream was to be a professional sports better and investor. One is easier than the other but the two together is kinda fun. 

I've learned that not everyday is going to be a positive day. I need to ride the wave. 

Here are some of my goals from years ago:

   Sports Camps for kids with disabilities

      Public Speaking

             Get bapitzed

Be apart of a church

Have a video blog

Have a website

       TRU cares

Start a ESL school in an third world country

Have a YouTube channel

Coach basketball

Mock draft parties

Start Youth Center

Study Abroad

Co-op

Sports Tours

 

A few never really transpired but some are still possible as I try to be a better person each and everyday. 

 

Updates on the progress of a few of these things are coming in the near future.  

Which National Team is More Desperate: Basketball or Soccer ?

 This is a critical time to for both the Canadian Men's soccer program and Canadian Men's basketball as World Cup qualifying is right around the corner for soccer and basketball still has the back door tournament to compete for.  The Coronavirus has halted momentum for both programs with a qualify or bust approach should be the attitude for 2021. 

For me, not making the Octagon would be a huge failure. The team is loaded with talent and the competition in front of Canada is considerably a lot weaker from what Canada has had to go to the Hex

in previous years that I feel like I'm just waiting for this team to screw up some how. 

As for Men's basketball, there is a lot to consider. What was going to be a home tournament is not a for sure thing. Dr. Bonnie Henry didn't make an exception for the NHL bubble last summer and I can't see her making an exception for the FIBA OQT that is supposed to take place in late June early July but I'll be surprised if she lets five other teams from five different countries into the provincial capital seems like a long shot.

If Victoria is a no go than San Juan Porto Rico is the next safest bet. If that happens, don't expect the other five teams to bring their top teams. For one, the NBA playoffs might not be finished by June 29th so don't except the Greek Freak to be coming. More importantly, if any of these players have to spend any sort of time in quarantine than I doubt we get any NBA players coming. 

For things to get back to normal from a sporting accountability standpoint, restrictions have to be lifted at some point. Qualifying will be bittersweet in a empty arena. More so for Soccer but if one of the teams had a better chance at qualifying it would be the soccer team. 

We will see what happens in the build up to both but these two teams are very interesting when you try to compare them. Both face massive chances with competitive rosters. If history repeats itself than both will fall short of their desired goals. 

TSN 1040 Cancelled In Unprofessional Way

 The fact that TSN 1040 has now disappeared is a tough pill to swallow to say the least. When I think of TSN 1040 I automatically think of the Canucks memorable 2011 Stanley Cup Finals run that spring. Despite the bitter ending, the memories of staying up late to listen to the postgame show that regularly went to 1 or 2 in the morning. 

The writing was on the wall unfortunately, like newspapers I believe sports radio is a dying industry. It hit its peak between 2007-2012 and I guess Bell had to make some cuts. Radio is a very fun industry but it is hard to find a radio these days. We have adapted to getting our favourite radio station on apps which means we are not limited to our local radio shows and instead we can listen to our favourite station around the world. 

As someone who used to dream about being a radio show host, this hits home quite a bit. Hoping that Jeff Paterson finds a job somewhere. Hopefully with the Canucks where he belongs. 

The other thing that hurts is that in this day in age almost everyone can start a radio show and post it to Youtube. I will one day but right now I struggle to write on this blog consistently. 

What also crosses my mind about Bell choosing TSN 1040 to cut expenses is how pro Toronto Bell and Rogers is for that matter. Rogers Sportsnet Pacific used to have their own sportscentre and now it is a National feed with Toronto sports at the priority. 

Right now, it feels like the Titanic is sinking. The main disappointment in Vancouver is not the Canucks and on the bright side, I feel blessed to have this blog to make me feel like I'm part of the Vancouver sports world. 

Things will feel brighter eventually but right now I feel sick for my idols who worked at TSN 1040. Bell Media handled this so unprofessionally. 

Greg's Journey - January 19th 2021

 I am overcome by joy that I have been able to relax and reflect on the last few years. It hasn't been easy. At first I struggled to get where I wanted to be. From 2016-2018 I was desperate for a change of paste that I never got for various reasons, I plugged away through drinking a lot of Coke and Pepsi. 

Sports was what got me through the tough times. In fact, in 2017 I started my first sports betting account and by putting $100 in the account every month I decided that this was my way of investing. 

By 2018 I upped that amount to $200. Some months I would put more and other months I would put nothing in at all. I told myself if I ever got to $5,000 I would take it all out and move. Somewhere I could be happy with no distractions. 

It never got to that point. I didn't want help from my parents because something didn't seem right about that. At the same time, I didn't want the pressure of a 9-5 job and all that comes with it. There are pros and cons to both sides. 

Life on here is temporary and when your single, money is looked at differently than when you have a wife and two kids. For me it is even more different. I am on disability so getting a free 1,200 every month is important to me. 

This is where I always had trouble accepting what direction I wanted to go in life. I have so many options that at times it felt overwhelming. This is where the phrase the grass is always greener on the other side comes into play. A lot of people would have loved to have the life I have but for me it felt like I was living a life of unfulfilled potential.  

I can fully say that I have reached where I want to be in life. The turning point was Covid for sure as I now realize how good I had things a few years ago. I am going to try my hardest to give you a daily update on here as much as possible. I love my friends on here and I'm hopeful I can never get upset about little things again. 

Where Do The Canucks Fit in With the Canadian Division?

 Well, I don't remember that much from our win last night. I had five drinks yesterday but enjoyed the win. Today, I watched by myself and felt frustrated throughout most of the game. 

I'm trying my best to not over react but it is worrisome that we don't have a point target that we think will get us into the playoffs. In an 82 game season, that number is 93. 

Let's do the math, 93 X 56 / 82 = 63.5. If my math is correct, the Canucks have to go 31-23-2 to make the playoffs.

We are 1-1 right now but these early games never sit well with me. I mean it sucks to start the year off 2-5 or 3-4 for that matter. I really like how this team is assembled but we didn't play well against Canadian teams last year going 4-10. 

This is the real process of rebuilding a team. We made the playoffs last year which snapped a four year absence. Making the playoffs last year for me gives me some wiggle room as this team continues to progress. Having a playoffs or bust type attitude is an unhealthy fanbase in my opinion which is what we had from 2010 - 2014. 

Canucks fans need some patience. I want to win a Stanley Cup just as much as the other guy but it won't happen over night. When the Sedin twins were 22 years old we relished at the opportunity to win a division title. 2003 was a very exciting year for me as a fan. This organization now is in a very good place and I don't want that to go away.  Enjoy the process! 

Here is what the standings might look like this year:

Toronto        32-20-4

Montreal     30-20-6

Edmonton    30-20-6

Vancouver   28-24-4

Calgary      27-25-4

Winnipeg    26-26-4

Ottawa       23-31-2

Here is how I think the final standings will end. 500. hockey will likely not make the playoffs unless the top two teams run away with the division. Also it is hard to say what the records will be because of how many three point games their will be. 

Four games over 500 should be good enough because 57% of the division will make the playoffs. 

Four games over 500. is very doable for a team that has this much talent on it. 

Suns Are Not a Fluke

 The Phoenix Suns will be gunning for a 7-2 start tomorrow when they play the Detroit Pistons who are going in a completely different direction. 

James Jones the General Manager of the Suns has made the job look extremely easy in his year and a bit on the job. The team is assembled very nicely and don't expect their to be a slow down in the performance. They have beaten projected playoff teams and their seems to be a change in the balance of power in the Western Conference since the Suns 20+ win seasons a few years back. 

For one, Golden State is a 500. team without Klay Thompson. That is one team that the Suns can finish ahead of. Memphis while they have improved, aren't better than the Suns. Minnesota, will be fun to watch but not a playoff team. 

That brings the Suns into the Top 12. OKC is completely rebuilding and will not be a playoff team. The Kings have an unbelievable offense but as we saw in the early season, they struggle defensively and to top it all off, the Houston Rockets are imploding off the court with the James Harden saga. 

That would bring the Suns into the Top nine. From there, the rest of the teams are really good. Out of the other nine, the Suns just have to have a better record than one of them. They have already beat a handful of those teams. Dallas, Utah and Denver all have playoff aspirations. The other part of that is the schedule has been a tough one so far with Phoenix passing with flying colors. 

This front office has finally got it right. Chris Paul isn't the long term answer but he is the ideal Point Guard this year. We shoot well from beyond the arc. 

The NBA's talent gap between the Top four teams and the next tier is so big I can't imagine the roster being any stronger without acquiring a Top 5 player. 

I think Suns fans need to get used to winning. It is here to stay for awhile.