Brilliant!

This is one for the "I can't believe it took this long to come up with this idea" file. While doing my weekly shopping at Meijer this afternoon, I came across a new type of Oreo on the end cap. Now, I love Oreos, but I'm always amazed to see how many varieties are trying to be called Oreos these days. But these were different: specifically designed for dunking.

Oreo had an entire ad campaign saying they were "milk's favorite cookie," yet the round format made them difficult to dunk in a glass. Now these redesigned cookies resemble Milanos in shape than traditional Oreos, but they get the thumbs up from me.

Photo: Moments before being torn open

Draft-day Deals

The Sharks finally resolved the platoon system at goaltender today by dealing Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell to Toronto for the Leafs' first-round pick at #9. So this means that Evgeni Nabokov will be the lone sherrif in San Jose this winter, so hopefully Doug Wilson backed the right horse.

I was never in favor of the two-goalie system that was implemented last year, but it seemed to work during the regular season and both netminders never seemed to lose any momentum after sitting out and returning the following game. But after Toskala got hurt and Nabokov started pretty much the rest of the season including the playoffs, the writing was on the wall. This isn't supposed to be a deep draft, so hopefully Wilson saw something worth going after in Logan Couture with the pick.

In addition, the Sharks resigned trade-deadline acquisition Craig Rivet to an extended deal. Bill Guerin stole most of the thunder from Rivet when the trades happened, but Guerin was non-existent down the stretch and Rivet proved to be a key addition to the blue line. So good job to Wilson, and let's hope these moves get us past the second round this season.

10 Years, 100 Changes?

In an on-going effort to keep reminding the American public it exists, the American Film Institute updated its 100 Years, 100 Movies list (so shouldn't it now be called "110 Years, 100 Movies"?) last night on CBS. Citizen Kane, which I find rather dull, remained #1, with Casablanca and The Godfather rounding out the top three. While I assumed there would be some movement among the movies from the previous list, I had no idea the new list would hardly resemble the old one.

Apparently Raging Bull aged very well in the last decade, jumping 52 spots to #4 this time around, but the biggest jump belonged to The Searchers moving from #96 to #12. Ridiculous movement aside, I think my biggest complaint about the new list was the ones from the last decade that bumped off several movies I think are more qualified. The biggest offender is Titanic, but I was also disappointed to see Toy Story, Blade Runner, Lord of the Rings and The Sixth Sense added to the list. These "more qualified" films came at the expense of such drivel like Rebel without a Cause, Patton, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, and one of my favorites, The Manchurian Candidate.

Now I know the purpose of these shows is to create discussion and foster debate about the merits of certain films over the other, but it seems that CBS almost dictated that newer films get some more precedent over older but better movies.

What's the score?

I went to the Tigers game last night with a friend from work, and he was surprised to see me buy a scorecard before the game. He's probably 15 years older than me, so I guess he didn't think people in my generation even knew how to keep score in baseball, much less enjoyed doing it. I may not be the biggest baseball fan, but any time I head out to the park, I have to keep score to keep focused on the action.

I think keeping score appeals to my inner meticulous nature. Watching baseball in person allows you to drift in and out, since the ball is in play about 1/10th of the time. The system allows me to remember the key plays earlier in the game and pay attention to what is going on at the moment. Plus, the jargon is just cool to say.

Woe Canada

So the second post-lockout NHL season rapped up this week and yet another Canadian team fails to win back their beloved Stanley Cup from the hands of their neighbours from the south. For three straight seasons when they actually decided to play, Calgary, Edmonton and now Ottawa missed a shot to bring the Cup back to the Great White North for the first time since 1993.

I could go on and on about the lousy TV ratings that’s to Fearless Leader’s deal to show games on OLN/Versus and NBC, but since I watched all the games on CBC, I’d rather focus on Anaheim becoming the first California team to win the title. The bitterness for Canada losing three straight Cups has to be that much worse that the winners in those series were from the sun belt: Tampa, Raleigh and now Los Angeles. Naturally, I hoped the Sharks would be the first to bring Lord Stanley to the Golden State, but that becomes yet another disappointment for San Jose this season.

The recent downturn for the NHL has to be frustrating to Canadian fans watching their sport be run into the ground by incompetent American businessmen who never played the game. Don Cherry has railed on American influences in hockey for awhile, but I think more people are starting to take notice. If the rumblings about more U.S. expansion are true, hockey may be dealt the final blow it has escaped in recent years.