I know what you might be thinking.
You might be wondering why the Junior A Crushers are approaching municipal councils across Pictou County, asking for financial help.
So far, they’ve gotten financial commitments from the Town of New Glasgow and the Municipality of Pictou County (tentatively). I’m pretty sure they’d rather not have to go out seeking public money, but it’s obvious they feel it’s necessary.
Most teams in the Maritime Hockey League, even ones that have owners with deep pockets (Miramichi and Woodstock are a couple of examples) get some form of “assistance” from municipal units, so it’s definitely not without precedent. The Campbellton Tigers, in fact, have their bills covered by the city itself.
Whether you like hockey or not, the Crushers are an asset to Pictou County, and not just because they spend time in the community, working with kids and volunteering for this, that or the other thing – lots of people do that, for sure.
It’s the game. In Pictou County, we are crazy about hockey (sometimes literally, like, whacked out of ’er… but enough about some hockey parents).
“This is the biggest entertainment in the community,” Crushers president Wade Sullivan told The News this week.
“Nothing else is taking 800 people to one venue once a week.”
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Non-Sports Thoughts of the Week
• Gord Downie wasn’t just a rock singer, he was a Canadian cultural icon. For days now, since his passing on Tuesday after battling cancer, I haven’t been able to get 50 Mission Cap or Blow at High Dough or The Darkest One out of my head. How many rock bands can write songs about hockey and not make them sound corny?
Conservative MP Tony Clement suggested a state funeral be held, an idea I find highly appropriate, not because Downie was a famous musician, not because he was a poet and an activist, but because he was all those things and more. And, because, as Clement said, “he matters that much to Canadians.”
• To those who smashed the bird feeders built by little kids and placed along the Samson Trail, or wrecked the piano set up at the gazebo in New Glasgow, down by the East River: you need to be better for what we call “society,” you need to bring a little more to the table.
There is still time for you to stop embarrassing yourself and your family, and contribute to your community in a positive way. So far, though, you’ve been a big disappointment.
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The birds seen above are Pekin ducks. You sometimes find them roaming around the Eagle’s Chance Par 3 golf course. The one in front is a male and is the more aggressive one and dare I say, more intelligent. When you toss food their way, the male is right on it, but the female seems to get confused, looking around trying to find what you threw at them, while the male is already shoving it down his gullet.
They like granola bars, so the next time you head to the Par 3, take one with you.
Kevin Adshade is sportswriter with The News. His column appears each Saturday.