Maple Leafs, Barenaked Ladies and Classic Bikes

As a hockey fan living in British Columbia, and with a provincial election tomorrow, here is who we should be voting for on the ice tonight in these crucial game seven playoff matchups:

• Toronto over Boston (the Bruins beat the Canucks for the Stanley Cup in 2011)
• Washington over the New York Rangers (NYR won the Cup in 7 games against Vancouver in 1994)

Toronto last won the Stanley Cup in 1967! Here is a flashback with yours truly on my bike in the fall of 1967 in northwest Calgary. PS Had a great lunch and dinner and family time with my mom yesterday for Mother's Day!

(L - R) the late David Hass, Marianne Hass & Ralph Hass (1967)

Below is a photo from 1994 when I was working for Warner Music Canada in promotions, sales and marketing. It was to draw attention to Barenaked Ladies' new album "Maybe You Should Drive."

Kamloops This Week writer Warren Footz (standing) & Ralph Hass (1994)

Barenaked Ladies are BIG Toronto Maple Leafs fans! You can see that here with a cool offer now at their website:

Control Your Speech. Be positive - NOT negative

Wise words from Pastor Tim in his newspaper column this week and he issued a challenge:

See how often you can incorporate the following phrases into your language and just watch your environment change:

"I believe in you."

"I trust you."

"I am proud of you."

"I respect you."

"I love you."

"You can do this."

Tim has hockey in his blood and he references Roberto Luongo in his column. We should build people up rather than tearing them down. My two cents? Please apply this to social media too.

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Be careful what you say. 

Case in point from Derek Chappell: 

You Mean You Can’t Say !@#$%^&*???

• Blackhawks' Duncan Keith claims no disrespect to female reporter.

• Winnipeg Jets coach, Claude Noel, has a way with words. Call it an honest approach:) A Top 10 list starring Noel made it on Sportscentre last night as the coach takes shots at his team, players and...his clothing. Watch all the way to #1 right here for that "line of clothing"...

Boston Strong! Chicago Voice Pat Foley

BOSTON STRONG indeed!
Check out the link from voice talent DB Cooper.

The powerful voice of the Chicago Blackhawks is Pat Foley. He was honored for thirty years of service before last night's 5-4 overtime win against Nashville. Hat tip to Adam Santic for the link!

Our cat, Bunzo, might prefer a headline like Hass-Pawer?

2013 Buffalo Sabres Sports Imaging = my Verbal Fastball?

The 1970 expansion cousins in the NHL just played on a Saturday afternoon. The Buffalo Sabres won, 1-0, against Philadelphia while the Vancouver Canucks lost, 4-3, in Colorado.

Maybe you heard me on the MSG-TV broadcast in Buffalo?


Did you know today is National Scrabble Day? I love Scrabble! I came out ahead (324 to 288) last night playing my wife:)

Baseball announcer Tim McCarver probably has Scrabble nightmares. Read this excerpt from the latest Sports Illustrated:

Tim McCarver's 31 year broadcast career will come to a close after he works his 24th World Series this fall. Are you a fan or not of Tim? Who do you like behind the mic for a baseball game?

Seattle versus Kelowna Was A Modern Day David versus Goliath

It was a "David versus Goliath" matchup in their opening round WHL playoff series for the Kelowna Rockets. They finished a whopping 50 points ahead of Seattle during the regular season! And I guess their answer to Goliath would be Golbourne, who had a team-leading 135 penalty minutes during the season. But we all know how that Bible story ended...

Seattle started strong in the series - winning the first three games against the Rockets - ALL in overtime! But in an epic comeback, the Kelowna Rockets won four straight (including overtime last night!) to advance to round two!
This had happened only once in league history - when current Detroit Red Wings coach, Mike Babcock, coached Spokane in 1996.

Overcoming a 3-0 playoff series deficit has never happened in the NBA and only three times in the NHL (Toronto in 1942; New York Islanders in 1975; and Philadelphia in 2010). By the way, the largest point differential overcome in the NHL playoffs was 48 - when the LA Kings beat Edmonton in the 1982 playoffs. The "David" was Daryl Evans and, of course, the "Goliath" was Gretzky!

March Madness & Voiceover talents

There were 50 basketball games played in March Madness between Wednesday and Sunday night. It wasn't until the 50th and final game that a team ended up with exactly 50 points in their score.

Maybe the most disappointed voiceover artist with that score is my friend, Jane Ingalls. Not too long ago, her daughter played basketball on the Creighton women's team.

This hockey guy picked ALL 12 games correctly in the East Regional for Sports Illustrated's Bracket Challenge. I have Indiana winning it all two weeks from tonight!

If Kansas and Florida collide this weekend, there could be a little friendly trash talk going on between Derek Chappell (Jayhawks fan) and Caryn Clark (Gators fan).

But I think if Tim Tebow shows up with a pre-game speech for his alma mater, you will be cryin' the blues Derek:)

Rockets 50, Spurs 50, Ralph Hass 49

I shared a milestone yesterday with the Kelowna Rockets!

You can never have too much cake on your birthday, right? 

50 and 14 were a winning combination for the San Antonio Spurs too. They beat Dallas 92-91 yesterday to hit 50 wins for the 14th straight season.

Want a winning formula to hit 100 years of age? Read below:

Kelowna Christian School Knights: Senior Boys AA Basketball Champs

The Kelowna Christian School Knights started the season with UNITY in mind and they went through the season that way. The ICING on the cake was winning the Senior Boys AA Basketball Championship in Kamloops on Saturday! Read a wrap of the final here as we knocked off #2 ranked Brentwood College, 58-47.

A day before in the semi-final our son, Jordan, came through in the clutch against the #1 ranked team in BC!

Photo and link updated April 15, 2013.

Respect that Voice: the Ref

I will be back on PA tonight for the Kelowna Rockets. I may be busy announcing penalties as, I believe, the Victoria Royals are the most penalized team in the WHL. The Rockets won last week, 4-1, when I did PA for the Seattle game.

I just tried to blend into the background and not make any mistakes.
The same approach was taken by the referee - but he had a lot more eyes on him.

Click on this link and see the Seattle coach and a little old lady question Steve Papp's accountability as a ref.

I prefer a little Black Puck more than Grey Poupon!

What an exciting finish to last night's game five at Rutland Arena as the Kelowna Chiefs scored with just 1:07 seconds left to win 1-0 against Summerland! They now have a 3 games to 2 lead in the opening round KIJHL playoff series!

Tonight, my hockey PAssion sees me handle PA (public address) for the first time for the Kelowna Rockets at Prospera Place against the Seattle Thunderbirds in a possible WHL playoff preview!

Sunday I will be on PA for five games at the historic Memorial Arena for Kelowna Minor Hockey's Showcase of Champions.

Did you watch the Oscars last Sunday night? I probably only had it on for a couple minutes. There was an ad that ran 32 years after it's original "Pardon Me" campaign. Read all about the Grey Poupon branding here. The extended footage is rather charming here: