OT: One More Off Topic Off Season Thread

[bellagiobob]

 

[Bryanbryoil]

I really appreciate the response
I’m ok
Just lost a close friend to pancreatic cancer. Was diagnosed in November and passed away yesterday. Amazing how quickly it progressed and how this disease can take someone who was seemingly a healthy individual to bed ridden and pain stricken. 0-100 just leaving people stunned.

Sorry to hear that. Pancreatic cancer is sadly usually a death sentence.

 

[The Trash Man]

Sorry to hear that. Pancreatic cancer is sadly usually a death sentence.

Thank you and it really is. By the time someone is showing symptoms it’s usually far too late. Even after his diagnosis he felt fine. Although the odds were against him everyone was very positive because of how he felt, hell even his oncologist was amazed that a guy with stage 4 pancreatic cancer was looking/feeling so good. Then unfortunately it’s the stroke likely caused by the cancer that brought everything to a halt. Couldn’t do chemotherapy as that would have increased the risk of another stroke. Just goes to show how important it is to go see your doctor just for simple check ups.

My heart goes out to everyone battling this devastating disease. I know we’re all affected by this horrible disease one way or another.

 

[bellagiobob]

Neat little unit.

 

[Senor Catface]

Another day, another Hfboards server error.

 

[bellagiobob]

 

[brentashton]

Not wanting to stir, but because this has been a topic here on a great former Oiler, I thought this was good information to share.

`I AM CANADIAN!'
JOE WARMINGTON

Toronto Sun
Apr 09, 2025
Great One leaves politics to the politicians

THE GREAT CANADIAN

When he first went south of the border to play for the Los Angeles Kings after the famous 1988 trade from the Edmonton Oilers, Wayne Gretzky vowed they could take the Canadian out of Canada but couldn't take Canada out of the Canadian.

“I made a promise to my mom and dad, when I went to the United States, I would stay a Canadian citizen.”

Some 37 years later, he has honoured the covenant he made with Phyllis and Walter Gretzky, of Brantford.

“At the end of the day, I am Canadian,” Gretzky said in an interview Tuesday. “I never got American citizenship, or an American passport, and I never will.”

That's not to say he doesn't love the U.S. He does.

“I have an American wife, five American kids and seven American grandkids,” he said with a chuckle, adding that he tells them while he's proud to be Canadian, they, too, should be proud they're American.

But they all know he's the Canadian in the house. What I didn't know was that Gretzky wasn't a dual citizen since that has been widely reported.

This is “100%” false.

“I can't even use the number 99 because it's 100% not true,” said Gretzky. “I never did that, and I never will. I am a Canadian, through and through.”

And, as for suggestions he's involved with anything political — with President Donald Trump or Prime Minister Mark Carney or former PM Justin Trudeau — that, too, isn't accurate.

“It's not my lane,” Gretzky said of the political world. “I have met pretty much every president (and PM) since 1980. I like to think we are friends. I don't profess to ever tell them anything about politics.”

So, when there's a picture of him at Trump's Mar-a-lago or with any Canadian political leader, it's based more on friendship than political support.

“I'm a retired Canadian hockey player. That's what I am. I am not a politician,” said Gretzky, adding that, during his 20 years in the

NHL, things were never political in the locker room. “When the Berlin wall came down, we thought it was great for the world” and that's “about as political we we've ever got.”

But that was then-president Ronald Reagan's greatest achievement — someone Gretzky met at the White House.

“We were at the NHL all-star game, and they told me, `You are going to sit beside Gordie Howe and President Reagan,' ” he said. “I didn't know what to do. There were four forks and knives and spoons and I said: “Gordie, what do I do?' Gordie said: `I will follow the president and you follow me.' ”

A few years later, the all-time points leader — who Sunday saw his long-standing career goals record fall to Washington Capital's legend Alex Ovechkin — said the Edmonton Oilers were invited to 24 Sussex Dr. in Ottawa by then-pm Brian Mulroney.

“I said to Paul Coffey and Mark Messier, `Can you believe we are standing in this house? This is incredible.' ”

Photographed at Trump's victory party at Mar-a-lago, Gretzky had been friends with the president long before he won last November's election.

“I have known President Trump since 1996 when we came to New York,” he said.

Gretzky said he and wife Janet met Trump 29 years ago when he joined the Rangers. Trump gave them advice on where to live and they've been friends ever since.

But when it comes to Trump looking out for U.S. interests, Gretzky said he defers to others to talk to the president about that.

“I told him many times I have no interest in politics. He knows that,” said Wayne, who talked to Trump Monday when he called looking for Ovechkin's phone number to congratulate him. “That's between (Trump) and the prime minister to battle out. It has nothing to do with any athletes or Wayne Gretzky ... like I told the partner of my wine company. He didn't tell me how to play hockey and I don't tell him how to make wine.”

While this stance was appropriate, there definitely was some backlash from some in the public who misunderstood Gretzky's role.

And No. 99 said he's OK with that. “First of all, Canadians are proud,” said Gretzky. “They defend each other. And when they are getting taken advantage of, they speak out. We protect our domain. My dad always called Canada God's country.”

But he was surprised some questioned his loyalty to Canada.

“Yeah, it was kind of out of left field. But I understand,” he said, adding: “People are very protective of their country and they should be.”

That said, “people who know me, know I am Canadian” and he was “disappointed” that some “don't know how strong a Canadian I am.”

Don Cherry certainly knows. Bobby Orr, too. And Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

“Listen. You can't make everybody happy in life, right,” Gretzky said. “Sometimes the facts are not true. In this point in time, the facts weren't true.”

But he's not angry about it or feeling any further backlash.

In fact, he's getting a lot of love for the way he acted when Ovechkin broke his record.

Gretzky wore a No. 9 pin to make sure everybody didn't forget Gordie Howe, who's record he broke all those years ago. And like Howe's wife, Colleen, gifted a piece of jewelry to Gretzky's wife, Janet passed a ring along to Ovechkin's wife, Anastasia.

“It was a small ring with eight diamonds and said Ovi, 895,” said Gretzky.

Wayne was also remembering his wonderful mother and father in this moment who always preached for him to be a humble, classy Canadian — something he showed Sunday while representing the NHL and his country of Canada.

“To me there's no fight,” he said. “I am Canadian. At the end of the day that's all that matters.”

 

[Stoneman89]

Not wanting to stir, but because this has been a topic here on a great former Oiler, I thought this was good information to share.

`I AM CANADIAN!'
JOE WARMINGTON

Toronto Sun
Apr 09, 2025
Great One leaves politics to the politicians

THE GREAT CANADIAN

When he first went south of the border to play for the Los Angeles Kings after the famous 1988 trade from the Edmonton Oilers, Wayne Gretzky vowed they could take the Canadian out of Canada but couldn't take Canada out of the Canadian.

“I made a promise to my mom and dad, when I went to the United States, I would stay a Canadian citizen.”

Some 37 years later, he has honoured the covenant he made with Phyllis and Walter Gretzky, of Brantford.

“At the end of the day, I am Canadian,” Gretzky said in an interview Tuesday. “I never got American citizenship, or an American passport, and I never will.”

That's not to say he doesn't love the U.S. He does.

“I have an American wife, five American kids and seven American grandkids,” he said with a chuckle, adding that he tells them while he's proud to be Canadian, they, too, should be proud they're American.

But they all know he's the Canadian in the house. What I didn't know was that Gretzky wasn't a dual citizen since that has been widely reported.

This is “100%” false.

“I can't even use the number 99 because it's 100% not true,” said Gretzky. “I never did that, and I never will. I am a Canadian, through and through.”

And, as for suggestions he's involved with anything political — with President Donald Trump or Prime Minister Mark Carney or former PM Justin Trudeau — that, too, isn't accurate.

“It's not my lane,” Gretzky said of the political world. “I have met pretty much every president (and PM) since 1980. I like to think we are friends. I don't profess to ever tell them anything about politics.”

So, when there's a picture of him at Trump's Mar-a-lago or with any Canadian political leader, it's based more on friendship than political support.

“I'm a retired Canadian hockey player. That's what I am. I am not a politician,” said Gretzky, adding that, during his 20 years in the

NHL, things were never political in the locker room. “When the Berlin wall came down, we thought it was great for the world” and that's “about as political we we've ever got.”

But that was then-president Ronald Reagan's greatest achievement — someone Gretzky met at the White House.

“We were at the NHL all-star game, and they told me, `You are going to sit beside Gordie Howe and President Reagan,' ” he said. “I didn't know what to do. There were four forks and knives and spoons and I said: “Gordie, what do I do?' Gordie said: `I will follow the president and you follow me.' ”

A few years later, the all-time points leader — who Sunday saw his long-standing career goals record fall to Washington Capital's legend Alex Ovechkin — said the Edmonton Oilers were invited to 24 Sussex Dr. in Ottawa by then-pm Brian Mulroney.

“I said to Paul Coffey and Mark Messier, `Can you believe we are standing in this house? This is incredible.' ”

Photographed at Trump's victory party at Mar-a-lago, Gretzky had been friends with the president long before he won last November's election.

“I have known President Trump since 1996 when we came to New York,” he said.

Gretzky said he and wife Janet met Trump 29 years ago when he joined the Rangers. Trump gave them advice on where to live and they've been friends ever since.

But when it comes to Trump looking out for U.S. interests, Gretzky said he defers to others to talk to the president about that.

“I told him many times I have no interest in politics. He knows that,” said Wayne, who talked to Trump Monday when he called looking for Ovechkin's phone number to congratulate him. “That's between (Trump) and the prime minister to battle out. It has nothing to do with any athletes or Wayne Gretzky ... like I told the partner of my wine company. He didn't tell me how to play hockey and I don't tell him how to make wine.”

While this stance was appropriate, there definitely was some backlash from some in the public who misunderstood Gretzky's role.

And No. 99 said he's OK with that. “First of all, Canadians are proud,” said Gretzky. “They defend each other. And when they are getting taken advantage of, they speak out. We protect our domain. My dad always called Canada God's country.”

But he was surprised some questioned his loyalty to Canada.

“Yeah, it was kind of out of left field. But I understand,” he said, adding: “People are very protective of their country and they should be.”

That said, “people who know me, know I am Canadian” and he was “disappointed” that some “don't know how strong a Canadian I am.”

Don Cherry certainly knows. Bobby Orr, too. And Ontario Premier Doug Ford.

“Listen. You can't make everybody happy in life, right,” Gretzky said. “Sometimes the facts are not true. In this point in time, the facts weren't true.”

But he's not angry about it or feeling any further backlash.

In fact, he's getting a lot of love for the way he acted when Ovechkin broke his record.

Gretzky wore a No. 9 pin to make sure everybody didn't forget Gordie Howe, who's record he broke all those years ago. And like Howe's wife, Colleen, gifted a piece of jewelry to Gretzky's wife, Janet passed a ring along to Ovechkin's wife, Anastasia.

“It was a small ring with eight diamonds and said Ovi, 895,” said Gretzky.

Wayne was also remembering his wonderful mother and father in this moment who always preached for him to be a humble, classy Canadian — something he showed Sunday while representing the NHL and his country of Canada.

“To me there's no fight,” he said. “I am Canadian. At the end of the day that's all that matters.”

Great article, thanks for sharing. I just wish it would have written, or he would have made a statement to confirm all of this earlier when some people were losing their minds, but better late than never. And shame on those people, including some on here who set their hair on fire and made dumb statement based on their assumptions.

As for the wine, I've tried some of The Great Ones offerings, and maybe he should have got involved in making it. In particular, his whiskey is shyte.

 

[brentashton]

Great article, thanks for sharing. I just wish it would have written, or he would have made a statement to confirm all of this earlier when some people were losing their minds, but better late than never. And shame on those people, including some on here who set their hair on fire and made dumb statement based on their assumptions.

As for the wine, I've tried some of The Great Ones offerings, and maybe he should have got involved in making it. In particular, his whiskey is shyte.

He was on the Ben Mulroney show the other day and he told Ben that ZERO media outlets have reached out to him to discuss this matter other than Ben. Not surprised, doesn’t fit mainstream media’s narrative to delve into.

 

[Stoneman89]

He was on the Ben Mulroney show the other day and he told Ben that ZERO media outlets have reached out to him to discuss this matter other than Ben. Not surprised, doesn’t fit mainstream media’s narrative to delve into.

Especially CBC. They're on a crusade for the next few weeks.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

yay, my stocks are up!...for today

 

[Morpheus]

Obsidian Artifacts in Alberta Reveal Vast, Ancient North American Trade Networks

Over 500 archaeological sites across western Canada have yielded a striking discovery: sharp-edged, inky black fragments of volcanic glass, which would have been used by ancient Native Americans as hu

www.ancient-origins.net

 

[bellagiobob]

yay, my stocks are up!...for today

 

[BIeucheeseWithWings]

Great article, thanks for sharing. I just wish it would have written, or he would have made a statement to confirm all of this earlier when some people were losing their minds, but better late than never. And shame on those people, including some on here who set their hair on fire and made dumb statement based on their assumptions.

As for the wine, I've tried some of The Great Ones offerings, and maybe he should have got involved in making it. In particular, his whiskey is shyte.

He shouldn't have said a thing. Just let the whiny babies do what they are most comfortable with: bitching online. They would have forgotten once the media told them what next to be angry about.

 

[Stoneman89]

Can I come out from under my bed yet? Elbows up!

 

[brentashton]

@KeithIsActuallyBad
Couldn’t DM you but thought of you when I saw this article. Thought I’d share in case you hadnt seen it

I hope I’m not alarming unnecessarily.

Lenses used in eye surgeries recalled until company knows ‘exactly what’s going on,’ CEO says
Lenses used in eye surgeries recalled until company knows ‘exactly what’s going on,’ CEO says

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

@KeithIsActuallyBad
Couldn’t DM you but thought of you when I saw this article. Thought I’d share in case you hadnt seen it

I hope I’m not alarming unnecessarily.

Lenses used in eye surgeries recalled until company knows ‘exactly what’s going on,’ CEO says
Lenses used in eye surgeries recalled until company knows ‘exactly what’s going on,’ CEO says

Thanks for keeping me in mind. I hadn't heard anything but it does tick a few boxes. I didn't see anything about "EnVista" in my package when I decided what lenses to use. It was lipiflow. Not sure if that's an entirely different brand.

EDIT: It's not. Here's another article on the issue: Bausch + Lomb recalls Envista intraocular lenses over safety risks

For whatever it's worth the inflammation has decreased dramtically over the past few days.

This article mentions it's typically within 48 hours that the reaction occurs. It's been over 2 weeks since my surgery. If it keeps up maybe I'll ask the doctor about it.

 

[bellagiobob]

My wife won’t agree with this, but I’m in the perfect range.

 

[Stoneman89]

My wife won’t agree with this, but I’m in the perfect range.

I'm in the good range as well, but for myself, it's about quality as well. A nice clean eruption that provides instant relief is better than those quiet sneaky ones that smell like a corpse and can turn out to be gaunch stainers.

 

[Drivesaitl]

I was watching Coachella on weekend just to see if theres much new and interesting to listen to. Instead I got full up on the latest Twerking acts and reminded me of this classic:



They got so much right in idiocracy. 100k people spend 600bucks, a weekend lining up in vehicles for 12 hrs with no portapotties no access to water or anything in 100 degree heat to watch a bunch of "musical" acts flash their asses around.

Its hilarious. Singers gotta stop singing the song for a minute because they gotta get their twerk on, and like its part of the song. Fart notes will be the next thing.

No wonder the music industry is dying.

Gee people, Fyre Festival was a message. Stop getting duped. The VIP facilities and washrooms didn't even exist. It wasn't there. Portapotties like anybody else. Staff had the only decent facilities in the whole place.

But then when I search "twerking" AI doublespeak is telling me twerking is a cultural action, not vulgar and everything is subjective and that its actually empowerment. My ass has power. Who knew?

 

[brentashton]

@bellagiobob sharing posts about farts, @Drivesaitl posting about ass twerking being an empowering action.

Hopefully the play offs start soon.

 

[Drivesaitl]

@bellagiobob sharing posts about farts, @Drivesaitl posting about ass twerking being an empowering action.

Hopefully the play offs start soon.

ftr I was mocking twerking. Old man yells at Coachella
1 Fart/perhour. /avg 10horsepower propulsion. German efficiency. Comes in handy hiking uphill.

 

[brentashton]

ftr I was mocking twerking. Old man yells at Coachella
1 Fart/perhour. /avg 10horsepower propulsion. German efficiency. Comes in handy hiking uphill.

Gonna go out on a limb and assume one of Daimler, Benz or Porsche was an avid outdoorsmen and thus invented the muffler.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

@brentashton Eyes are pretty much all cleared up. Vision is still not perfect but definitely improving.

 

[brentashton]

@brentashton Eyes are pretty much all cleared up. Vision is still not perfect but definitely improving.

Keith, that’s such positive news. I’m happy for you.

Other than being a lifelong wearer of contacts, eyeglasses and years ago undergoing LASIK surgery on both eyes (which is minor compared to your recent procedure), I have luckily not experienced cataracts, lens replacements and such.

I hope it keeps getting better every day for you. When they say that a picture is worth a 1000 words, its only because of the gift of sight that it is even possible.