Club Q Q107-Loyalty Club (Southern ON Only) v4

[attitash]

looks like a big sandbox.............where's the beach?

Step on it in with no shoes on & tell me if if feels like sand!

[the H team]

Step on it in with no shoes on & tell me if if feels like sand!

[The Jester]

You know who you are......


and each of you is worthy

[rock lobster]

(not you aloha)
Greetings from the sauna that is southern Florida.
We've just completed our regularly scheduled evening
thunder storm from Tampa (spit).... ((Miami wanna-be.))

Weather report for the next six months: sunny and
.....very hot... hot... and not quite so hot.



(Testing new headphones)

[Safariduck]

Hi gang hope all is well ....

[Safariduck]

IN his home town of Victoria, Canada, it's fair to say Mike Pyke's exploits with the Swans aren't widely known - but they should be. After arriving on Sydney's doorstep four years ago, the former rugby international was a major contributor in yesterday's victory.
Pyke took six marks and won 29 hit outs, even carrying the Swans rucking duties for most of the last quarter when an injured Shane Mumford was subbed off.
"It's an amazing reward," Pyke said. "You don't always get rewarded for your efforts in life."
Last year, Pyke played only a handful of games in the seniors and his career looked to be at the crossroads.
"There was a moment when my handball wasn't going great and I started to doubt myself a bit," he said.
"The coaches convinced me it was about small improvements, no one expects you to be best on ground."

Yesterday, Pyke was immense against Hawthorn as he continued the foreign legion tradition established at Sydney with Irishman Tadhg Kennelly in 2005.
"Pykey's story is tremendous," Kennelly said.
"To play in the position he's playing is such a specialist role. His marking was outstanding, probably his best in the Swans jumper."
Pyke's ruck coach Steve Taubert couldn't be happier with the efforts his pupil produced at the MCG.
"It's an Australian sports story which will take some matching," Taubert said.
"He'd only seen Aussie rules on the internet four years ago - he'd never seen a live game. It gives me enormous pride to have been part of what Mike has achieved.
"He turned up at the club's door four years ago with no financial support. To learn all the intricacies of the game and ruckwork in such a short time, and to have such an influence like he did in this grand final, is unbelievable."
John Longmire was equally glowing in his praise for the big Canadian.
"He's a quality person who performed really well today," Longmire said.
"He was really strong today, whether forward or back, and he rucked unchanged in the last quarter."
"It's a great effort in listening and taking feedback, working hard at your craft.
Pyke's mother was there to watch, along with his in-laws.
"I also had some friends from back home who are living in Sydney and Melbourne," Pyke said. "I think there were about 12 Canadians at the game which is the most that have every been in Melbourne at one time."

[Safariduck]

IF Wayne Gretzky is Canada's "Great One" then Sydney Swans ruckman Mike Pyke is the "Great Unknown" in his homeland.

When Pyke runs out on to the MCG he'll become the first Canadian to play in an AFL grand final. Eh.
But in his home town of Victoria in British Columbia his remarkable achievement has barely rated a mention in local media.
"I had my first interview in about three years today," Pyke said.
Ice hockey is the only game in town and the only team that matters is NHL's Vancouver Canucks, where the Sedin twins Daniel and Henrik earn $6.1m a season - a figure which could buy you 30 Mike Pykes in the AFL.
"I hope Air Canada gets ready for the flow of AFL players coming,"Pyke joked to the assembled media.
"It would be great if there were a couple of people come across but obviously in Canada, ice hockey is the No. 1 sport along with basketball and baseball."
British Columbia is also the home province of NBA superstar Steve Nash and even names such as Alex Gogolev, the leading scorer for the Victoria Royals in the Western Ice Hockey League, is better known than Pyke.
"They're (Canadians) starting to take more notice," he said.
"Hopefully people get exposure to it. One of the biggest hurdles AFL has in other countries is there aren't many cricket fields. Where do you play the game?"
While he's better known here than at home, Pyke remains one of the country's great sporting stories.
In the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France he latched onto a pass from All Black Dan Carter for a length of the field intercept try.
Less than two years later he was in Swans colours and now he's trying to follow the lead set by Tadhg Kennelly who became the first Irishman to win an AFL premiership in 2005.
Kennelly had gaelic football, a game with plenty of similarities. Pyke had a whole lot of learning to do.
"He knew virtually nothing of the history of AFL at all," Swans ruck coach Stephen Taubert said.
"Now he's a real student of the game watching TV shows, reading books and asking lots of questions."
Four years into the experiment, Pyke is proving a success. He's kicked eight goals and has seen off Mark Seaby for the Swans' No. 2 ruck spot.
On Saturday, he won't be the only Canadian at the MCG.
"There'll be about 12 Canadians I know of at the game, which is probably the most who've been to Melbourne at one time," Pyke said.
"My mum's here and my mother and father-in-law.
"Surprisingly I've got some friends I grew up with here in Sydney and in Melbourne who'll be at the game."
The capacity 98,000 MCG crowd expected to attend the grand final is a test for anybody's nerve but Pyke believes that he's up to the challenge.
"We played Hawthorn in round 21, the house was packed out and I didn't notice the crowd until the last five minutes," he said.
"It will be the same on the weekend.
"Whether it's the Stanley Cup or the SuperBowl, when you're an athlete and you get to play in a game like this, it's the pinnacle of your career.
"It's an opportunity to win a championship, a top level championship in a great sporting country in a great sporting code.

[Safariduck]

Going over to the island for the day .... to bad its for work

[kawam]

Thanksgiving Dinner#1 is complete. It going to be a tough series of attacks against the waistline this month.



We had a wonderful meal and a great time with the family and Grandchildren

[ecat444]

Hi All and a Happy Caturday to All!

Lee: I've been to Lucy's Restaurant once, I'd go again but I don't get out there much....
Rockit: Congrats on your pinkie!!!
Rock Lobster: Welcome to Florida - lucky you - are you staying for the whole winter?

Lick's down here had a deal on Nature Burgers - 25 cents, I got two and didn't need to make dinner! A guy ahead of me paid almost $9 for two hot dogs, seems pretty silly to me when you could get a burger for 25 cents - I get the deals when I can!

[Andit]

Hope everyone enjoyed their day.

Lesson for the day: if you take your cat out in a bag during Nuit Blanche, you may be mistaken for an art installation. I think next year, we might have to apply for a grant to sit out & showcase "cat in a bag". Goodness knows he's a lot cuter than the toilet fountain, the ferris wheel made up of card tables or the weird giant hand that smacks those who dare pull a cord. Clearly, I am unable to appreciate modern art.

Gonna go see all I missed.

Night all.

[attitash]

Good morning Q sters....one more w*rk day to go.

[kawam]

Morning all. Coffee time.

[kawam]

*

[Mechman47]