Beijing Boyce

First, football: According to management, The Goose and Duck will show the 96th annual Grey Cup, pitting the Calgary Stampeders against the Montreal Alouettes, on Monday morning at 7 AM. The Grey Cup is the finale of Canadian football, a sport that differs from its American counterpart by being faster and involving more thermal underwear. For those seeking a beverage theme for the morning, fellow Canuck Peter Puck last night suggested Crown Royal and ginger, which he claims is also known as Winnipeg Champagne. I will update this page on Sunday night with any additional info on the Grey Cup screening.

Next, hockey: I visited Paddy O’Shea’s yesterday morning and saw part of an NHL game with this Irish pub’s owner Glenn Phelan. We had choppy reception at times, but this is nevertheless preferable to no game at all. Glenn says he can get a live game every Saturday morning and I’ll soon have more details on what else is available. I also visited Goose and Duck last night and owner John Harkness said the place is getting closer to having the sling-box feed working for HNIC.

I realize management at both places wants to make sure: 1) reception is perfect, so 2) patrons won’t moan and grown and demand freebies. Solution: Add a disclaimer that “signal is not guaranteed” and those who cannot accept this should either stay home or shut their keg holes. In cases where reception cuts out, have one of the following cued up: Slapshot, the 2002 Winter Olympics gold medal game, the 1987 Canada Cup, the 1972 Summit Series, an edition of Rock ‘Em Sock Em Hockey, or even The Miracle on Ice.