Past meets future

Got a fax from Sylvester's Glenn Chenell regarding the Sylvester Swamp Rats, a delightfully-named men's fastball team that had been around for years and years.
He explained the origin of the nickname:
"Back in the day, late 60s, our ball field in Sylvester had a very low, damp left field," he wrote.
Chenell, well-known these days in local running circles, says he was heavily into cars back then, and "in the world of drag racing Don 'Big Daddy' Garlits was the king and named all his cars 'Swamp Rat' - thus the name."
Matt Fillier's hockey life underwent an abrupt change this year; zthe Durham resident went from playing major junior hockey with the St. John's Fog Devils, to finding himself with the Montreal Juniors.
Fillier, still just 19 but entering his third season as captain with the QMJHL franchise, gave some thought to playing university hockey this coming season, but the 2007 Los Angeles Kings draft pick - still unsigned - chose to continue with his junior career.
Fillier was disappointed to have to leave St. John's because of friends he's made there.
He'd still love to play in the NHL and will attend Kings' rookie camp in L.A. beginning Sept. 11, but is also mindful of getting an education. "I want to get my schooling out of this," he said last week, prior to heading to the QMJHL camp in Montreal.

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It's the end of an error in Toronto this fall, as much as it will be in Washington, D.C.
Bryan McCabe will no longer be patrolling the blue line for the Maple Leafs and words can't describe how happy I am about this development.
McCabe, traded to the Florida Panthers yesterday has been a liability ever since he signed a huge contract couple of years ago. For the past couple of seasons, there have been too many bad decisions and too many bungled attempts at puckhandling. He was Todd Gill all over again.
It was torture watching him play - we expected disaster and too often got it. McCabe will get a fresh start out of the media glare in Toronto and perhaps having a lightened mental load will help him play better.
The important thing is, it's time to say goodbye to Bryan. I wish I could say it's been a pleasure.

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You wonder how many lives Bob Kennaley touched in his 73 years. Kennaley, who died last Thursday, coached softball and soccer for 20 years at East Pictou and NNEC. Always with a kind word, he was the official scorekeeper and announcer at Weeks Crushers games and his absence there will be very noticeable.

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Next Sunday, I don't want to be bothered. Unfortunately, I have to put that out there now as a preemptive strike.
It's the first weekend of the 2008 NFL season and I don't want any phone calls, I don't want anybody knocking on the door and I don't expect a lot of conversation unless the commercials are on. Even then, let's keep it light and fluffy.

Kevin Adshade is sports editor with The News