Andie Bennett's Blog

Computer problems??

2008-03-12T14:35:00.000-07:00

I have not had a chance to mention this yet however I had these amazing dudes come over and fix my new/second-hand computer and have never had such a great, frustration-free experience with computer techs. If any of you out there need some help at home, they are 2 young entrepreneurs that know. their. shit. Check out www.athomesupportwebsite.com The main guys name it Mitchell Polsky and his number is 514-295-8373. He will sort you out!

Now back to Habs, had a great time working the game last night and got a much better show than I think anyone expected. Sergie Kostitsyn was unbelievable, and imagin what could happen if he starts shooting instead of passing! Its really difficult to think of the potential of this team if they continue to keep it simple and play the system that seems to be working for them. I get the impression that they have out the blinders on some of the players media-wise, which although it sucks for us might be a great idea. Lately it is pretty slim pickins when they open up the locker room doors so there could be some players that are being kept out of the media spotlight.

Friken ICE.

2008-03-10T15:39:00.001-07:00

So I came to work in my car today and I am going home on foot. Why you ask? Because once again, through no fault of my own my car is damaged. Get this: Ice fell off the roof in the back of THE TEAM 990 building and just happened to hit MY car and crash through my back window. Lovely no? Its official. My car is cursed.

Anyhoo, more importantly I had my first interview in french this weekend on Radio- Canada for International Womens Day! It was super fun and I think (hope) I held my own so a big thanks to Jason Cavallaro and Alexandre Coupal for thinking of me and inviting me on to their Satellite show!

The week off was wonderful, got to see some family, go snowboarding and watch A LOT of Dexter. Check it out if you are hard up for some good TV.

I'll write more soon with all me awards selections. One I don't have to think about is rookie of the year who I think has to be Patrick Kane.

Habs reporters have a collective heart attack

2008-02-26T12:01:00.001-08:00

Marian Hossa is going to Pittsburgh. There was a ripple of excitement here as his name was mentioned on TSN followed by a mixture of disappointment, excitement and indifference-(from the camera men :)) when the destination was announced.

Should be interesting to see what will fall after this one went through as Hossa was no doubt a first choice for many who will now move on to the other irons in the fire.

Hossa and Pascal Dupuis go to Pittsburgh for Angelo Esposito, Colby Armstrong Erik Christensen and a 1st round pick.

Huet on his way out

2008-02-26T08:54:00.000-08:00

ok BREAKING NEWS!!!!

Cristobal Huet on his way to Washington for a 2nd round pick.....I was expecting Huet to move since they gave the reins to Price for tonight despite his loss on Sat.

Blogging from the Bell center

2008-02-26T08:36:00.000-08:00

How much can you talk about nothing? That seems to be the goal for most of the Trade coverage. Maybe I just cant get in the spirit of things but this is my 3rd year covering NHLs trade deadline and it is quite possibly the most overblown day for news. Everyone is huddled around the same TV waiting for SOMETHING to happen so we can relay what is most often minor deals to our listeners as soon as possible. Unless they are watching the same TV that we are in which case they already know.
There is a small possibility that we may find something out about 30 seconds before it makes it on TSN TRADEWATCH but short of sneaking around the Bell center basement and trying to figure out if Marion Hossa's equipment has been moved locker rooms there is not too much going on. Wade Belak has been traded to the Panthers for a 5th round pick. Whoop de doo.
So far the prevailing rumor is that Hossa is coming to Habs for Ryder, Grabovski- who was called up today- and Lapierre.
ok back to eavesdropping and snooping.

quick note: habs were told to stay away from Bell center till 5 but I just saw Chris Higgins and Josh Georges kicking around a soccer ball and getting ready to do some light work outs.
Marian Hossa is also staying away apparently chilling in his hotel room having a late breakfast.

My Take

2008-02-12T10:22:00.000-08:00

Big weekend for sports news with 2 Canadiens players getting hauled into the pen after a crazy night partying topping the list of headlines in this city. Am I missing something here? Are the Florida cops so hard up for action that this warrants (ha ha get it?) an arrest? Last time I checked Florida has a pretty severe drug problem so how do these cops just happen to be on hand to arrest 2 drunken athletes? And what kind of training do you have that you can't simply diffuse this situation on the spot? I certainly don't condone whatever it is these guys were up to a 3 am in a Tampa bar but I will say this:

A) I would never let my purse out of my sight while out a a busy nightclub and any chick that does, pretty much deserves to have it stolen.

B) Grand theft? Are you serious? Consider the effect this may have on O'Byrne's life. Is it worth ruining someones career because some slag cant keep track of her purse and some drunken hockey player decided to play a prank on her?

C) The fact that they have been lambasted in the media for being out at - heavens no! 3 am!! Anyone up on their high horse should remember that, they were not playing the next day and this was the tail end of their rookie dinner which is supposed to be a partay- Yes. Obviously things got a little out of hand but who hasn't had a few too many IN THEIR EARLY 20'S and woken up with a pile of regrets the following morning. Wait is that just me? And what better time to tie one on than following a 6-1 loss at the hands of the league leading Sens. If that is not a reason to drink I don't know what is.

Anyhoo Moving on! Richard Zednik remains in intensive care today after Ollie Jokinen's skate severed an artery in his neck on Sunday. Crazy, crazy injury. Thank God he is ok, I for one do not want to witness a death on the ice. However if players and decision makers continue to macho themselves into dangerous situations this could become reality. I don't mean to imply that this is the fault of Zednik or Jokinen however I can't figure out with the speed of todays game that there are still really simple safety precautions that are not being put into place. Visors for one seem to carry with them a connotation of wimpy-ness. Thank you Don Cherry. What is wimpy about not wanting to go through the rest of your life blinded or worse? And trust me, I like fighting in hockey, when it is spontaneous and for an actual reason. Heres an idea: wip off the helmet if you want to fight. Couple it with dropping the gloves.
Granted the visor would not have helped Zednik in this situation but a neck guard would have. Obviously we need to start re-thinking hockey equipment if we are serious about keeping the players safe.

How do I love Ovechkin?

2008-02-01T10:55:00.000-08:00

Let me count the ways:

1: Sexy Ugly.

2: How he starts the game with a big open ice hit to Steve Begin. like saying 'hello, my name is Ovechkin, not only will I undress multiple defensemen but I'll also take on the grinders.'

3: How he uses the opponents players as a screen before ripping and impossible slapshot, from an impossible angle to an impossible corner.

4: How he can somehow be a finesse player but also register 5 teeth rattling hits against players of Komisarek's stature.

5: How he seems to find space on the ice when there shouldn't be any.

6: How he never gives up and manages to be a threat ever second hes on the ice.

7: How he considers it a special day because he got stitches AND broke his nose. Oh ya and he scored 4 goals in a game. For the second time this season. And also registered and assist.

8: How his boyish enthusiasm does not seem at all affected by a monstrous contract.

9: How he glams up his outfit with Yellow laces and a tinted visor.

10: How even though he is speaking another language you can tell that he has a great sense of humor.

Habs v. Blackhawks and Female Presidents

2008-01-08T15:05:00.000-08:00

Its an original 6 match-up tonight-as you know if you listen to the Drive show (I must have said original 6 about 20 times) and one thing that stood out for me at practice today was- how teeny Patrick Kane is!!! I mean seriously, I am going to keep my eyes out for this guy and I know he was a number 1 pick overall but heck I don't often watch the Blackhawks so never thought for a minute that he looked so young! He's listed at 5'10" 163 pounds. ummmmm yeeaaaahhhhh. Don't think so. And just look at that face. Don't you just want to pinch his cheeks? Must be something special to be such a standout among the giants he plays next to. For the game tonight keep you eyes out for #88 as well as on the Habs, the Kostitsyns who really have come into their own this season and of course hopefully the Lapierre-Higgins-Ryder line that I hope will only get better. Ryder playing well is spectacular when you see how quick a shot he has and they have teamed up for some pretty sweet plays as of late. Andrei Markov is sure to be on his game after receiving the honor of being not only chosen for the All-Star team but coming second only to Sidney Crosby in voting. Seriously? Seriously? I mean he absolutely deserves it but I am pleasantly surprised that hockey fans supported him so much that he falls directly behind Crosby.

Switching gears completely- Now I am not American but am I the only one sick of hearing the debate - Is America ready for a female president or is America ready for a Black president? (Although we hear the latter less as its more acceptable to be completely sexist than racist these days) How about this Americans? Why not try electing someone for their values and platforms that you think will be able to turn around the frikken mess you find yourself in after letting someone who makes Paris Hilton look like a MENSA member run your country for the past 7 years? If you think that they can get the job done and have some brains and hopefully some understanding of the world outside the United States who cares if it's a woman, man, trans gender- aren't you looking a bit deeper than this? It's the dumbest question ever but I do love seeing media types discuss it while trying to avoid sounding blatantly sexist. Men and women by the way.

New Years Resolutions anyone??

2008-01-02T15:05:00.000-08:00

Well since over the Holidays my computer connection went from no wireless to no nothing, your movie list will have to be more of a must see in the New Year as opposed to vacation viewing. Since I have a serious love of Kung-Fu I was going to categorize all the recommendations but heck you guys can figure it out! so here they are in no particular order:

Fist of legend – Jet Li

Drunken Master- the original with Jackie Chan before he started doing stuff like Around the World in 80 days

Ong Bak- it will renew your love for Kung-Fu- Tony Jaa is insane.

Donnie Darko- if you loved 80s movies (John Hughes only please) you will dig this totally weird movie.

True Romance- don’t be fooled by the title; it's witty, violent and best of all has Gary Oldman who can pretty much do no wrong. I mean the guy played Beethoven and Sid Vicious. Range anyone?

Taxi- the original French one. If you have not yet seen this you are truly missing out. Especially if you like cars. Cool ass cars.

Millers Crossing-First of all it is Coen Brothers so that alone should sell you but also has bar-none the best quotable lines like: "Take your flunky and dangle."

Ghost Dog- Director/Writer Jim Jarmusch is definitely not for everyone but if you like RZA the soundtrack alone will blow your mind and the movie is damn cool.

Down By Law-Another Jarmusch masterpiece- Tom Waits and Roberto Benigni in one of the funniest films I have ever seen.

Rushmore-Wes Anderson is also hit or miss with most people but if you want something different, sweet and funny check it out!

Sexy Beast- Great gangster flick- Ben Kingsley most intimidating tiny gangster.

Top Gun- I'm sorry I have to include it on every list. Know it by heart- I used to want to fly fighter jets and did 3 years of Air Cadets. Also my cousin is a pilot and sent me THIS http://alt.coxnewsweb.com/ajc/swf/blueangels/blueangels.swf which you really have to check out.

Feel free to add to the list!!! And now time to get back to sports.

RECAP of fun-ness!

2007-12-18T12:14:00.000-08:00

So many things to recap right now so prior to my must-see-holiday-movie-list that I am working VERY hard on- I wanted to blog about a few things that have happened in the past week or so.

First: It is game day meaning one of 2 things.- tomorrow Habs fans will be planning where they will be watching the Habs win the Cup or tomorrow Habs fans will be calling for Carbonneau’s head on a platter, claiming Gainey is an idiot and discussing the merits of a non-French speaking captain. The team looks like they seem to have gotten past the lack of confidence problem that was making it hard to win game and Sergie Kostitsyn looks like a good fit for the Koivu top line. How long will it last… who knows?

Second: Melnick remote at Mechant Beouf

I have to be honest, I normally do not love doing remotes because they make me really nervous. It always turns out better than I expect because of all the wonderful people that take time out of their day to come down and hang out, participate in the show and of course come over to say hello! This time was no different. A big thank you to the Resto/Hotel and everyone who stopped by. Also due to the lovely folks working homeland security we got to spend more time with Bill Lee who was in fine form at the show.

TEAM 990 Staff Party

Our party this year was at Irish Embassy. A first time there for me and it was great! As usual with the TEAM 990 get-togethers it was a total sausage fest so I brought along some girls that do my show TOTALLY BROAD (on hiatus till January) which I am sure upped that bar bill significantly. A good time was had by all and I think most of us were suffering for it the next day!

Bring on the Bruins

2007-12-05T14:10:00.000-08:00

Yes Yes the movie list is coming. Hold your horses! I just had to write in today following that abysmal loss to the Wings last night. The Habs had 16 shots on net last night and won 40% of the face-offs. You don't need to look at a stat sheet to see that they are having problems. I think it is important to remember however, before everyone panics, that the team looked SO much better at the beginning of the season. If they were good then, they can be good again in my opinion. The problem for the Canadiens as I see it is simple. They can win games against top teams when everyone contributes and the effort is there on every shift. However you get a few passengers or fall behind and say goodnight Gracie.

How do the Canadiens now find themselves so low on confidence that they can not manage a come from behind win? How does Andre Markov suddenly become a glaring weakness on the team? How does Micheal Ryder suddenly look like the second coming of Sergie Samsonov? What happened to Francis Boullion? There are a lot of unanswered questions right now for the Habs. Lets hope that Maxim Lapierre and Ryan O'Byrne have some answers.

Do they do this on purpose?

2007-11-28T12:28:00.000-08:00

How many times have the Habs let a goal sneak in with under 20 seconds to go forcing overtime? I mean my goodness, I think I am going to have to send my massage therapy bill to the Canadiens for all the undue stress they have caused me! We are supposed to be impartial but I cant help but hope for the win especially with a 4-3 lead on the Leafs. Those late goals are just killers but I have to confess, I love overtime and most of the time I love the shootout. I am sure all the hockey purists are groaning out loud but I can't help it I love seeing the different moves especially when I am expecting something and they do something else. Perfect example; Alex Kovalev last night. I thought for sure he would pull some kind of deke and instead he roof s a beautiful shot over Toskala.
Feelings on OT and shootouts??

Also as the holidays are approaching I am in desperate need of a new book to read. Its so hard to choose books, I get way too overwhelmed in bookstores and every good book I have read is from a recommendation. So, here are mine for you:
BEST easy reading: The Curious incident of the Dog in the Nighttime by: Mark Haddon or Save Karyn By Karyn Bosnak

Just damn good books:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
Papillion by Henri Charriere
Life of Pi by Yann Martel (read it quick before they make it into a movie!!)

OK thats all you get for now! Send me in your top pics. Im also a bit of a movie snob so I will be putting together a list of must-sees that you can check out on vacation!

I have been relegated to: 'Sister to Myshka'. - Myshka is a dog.

2007-11-13T11:02:00.000-08:00

Has anyone else's parents inched closer to insanity with retirement or is it just mine? I was met at my parents house this weekend with a cry of "Myshkaaaaa! Your sisters are here" Which would not be all that strange except for the fact that Myshka is a Black Lab/Rottweiler who has somehow usurped my sister and I as my parents favorite child.

It was a wonderful long weekend on the heels of a week rife with discussion of Hall of Fame entries and who should and should not go into the Hall. To be honest I have a hard time when we talk about the Hall of Fame because more often than not the contenders are a little before my time and I did not see them play with my own eyes. All I have to go on is usually whatever is on the record about the possible inductees, and as I have realized over the past few years is that, at times the pundits get it wrong. This I do know however; the HOF should be reserved for those that were way out in front of the rest in the era they played. Not great player, hell of a guy etc etc but the truly exceptional. Otherwise why bother. I think Mitch put it best when he said something along the lines of - "If there is a debate over whether or not they go in, you have your answer." I like the simplicity of this rationalization. It reminds me of another story making the headlines this week; What is the future of Jim Pop as head coach of the Alouettes.

All knowing (with curiously svelte legs) Herb Zurkowsky wrote in the Gazette today that Owner Robert Wetenhall has plans to meet with three offensive veterans: Ben Cahoon, Bryan Chiu and Kerry Watkins about the strengths and weaknesses of Popp, the team's general manager and head coach. I think if it gets to the point where there appears to be so many malcontents on the team that the owner needs input from the players to try and get the real story.... you already have your answer. I hate to qualify an opinion but I will say that I respect everything that Jim Pop has done as a GM with the Als and he has never been anything but friendly and forthcoming with me, however I do not think having a GM as Coach is ever really a good idea. In some cases it works but I think there is a conflict of interest there that can have a disastrous outcome on the club. That being said, we must remember the Als were dealt a few significant blows this season, not the least of which being the injury/D-listing of Tim Strickland and Anthony Calvillo making the absolute right decision by leaving to be with his sick wife. So the Als will not win the Grey Cup- but who cares? The Habs are going to win the cup!

Poor Andie and stupid journalists with a personal mandate

2007-10-31T14:36:00.000-07:00

Hi guys! First I want to thank all the folks who took time to email me telling me that I am right and Mitch is wrong. No better way to start the day! I won't draw out this topic but I do think that my point was slightly misunderstood by Mitch and Pierre. I am the last person to focus on the negative regarding the Canadiens. I agree that Carey Price is a great goalie, future of the Habs etc.. but lets not get ahead of ourselves.. we should be just as critical of his play as we are of Cristobal Huet. Thats all.

That being said; as much as I appreciate the emails talking about how hard Mitch is on me sometimes, one of the great things about Mitch is that you can have a heated discussion/disagreement with him and nothing is ever personal. I enjoy the challenge of working with Mitch, if nothing else he keeps me on my toes and expects nothing but the best from the people he works with and tries to do the best possible show every single day. Don't feel too bad for me. I'm scrappy, I can take it.

Another topic I don't want to dwell on but I have to mention is the yearly visit from the TVA contingent showing up at practice and wasting everyones time with inane questions to Saku Koivu and Coach Carbo. First of all it would be lovely if these bozos had enough class to remain quiet after they get their xenophobic questions out of the way for the rest of Carbos press conference. I know its a lot to ask, but you just made all the reporters sit in the room while you beat a dead horse for 10 mins the least you could do is not screw up the rest of our audio with sounds of you taking down your camera, dropping tapes then conversing with your token English speaking (barely) reporter you brought along while Carbo is still talking. Second of all if it is such a cinch to learn a new language, why don't you learn some English? I love the irony of a uni-lingual French speaker telling another Bi-lingual person that they should learn French. ARRG! And they wonder why young people are leaving Quebec. Its no mystery to me. We are fed up with this. I love being Bi-lingual. It is truly an asset for anyone but its a choice. Even for the Captain of the Canadiens. He owes you nothing more than giving his all on the ice and being a good leader for his team.

Am I missing something here?

2007-10-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

Well despite the fact that lovely listener 'lynch mob' enjoys commenting on my blog about how I should stick to 'weather and traffic' I will risk embarrassment once again and write about sports. And BTW Lynch Mob- Rod does traffic and weather. I do sports updates.

So after yesterdays practice that had 5 guys wearing the dismal gray jerseys we arrive today at practice to find that not only will Guillaume Latendresse sit this one out but so will Steve Begin. STEVE BEGIN??? The guy who is throwing himself in front of pucks in the pre-season? Steve Begin the guy who is sporting a chrome dome for a young fan going through chemo that he doesn't want to feel like an outcast? Steve Begin the heart of the team that leaves it all out on the ice every single time he laces them up?
I understand that Begin is not the number one point getter on the team but he has certainly not been a disappointment after 3 games of the regular season. And if there was something that Carbonneau saw that he did not like does Begin not merit a least a sit down for some constructive criticism before he rides the pine?
Begin found out he was not playing this morning by showing up at practice and noticing that his name was conspicuously absent from the wipe-off board.

After Carbonneau pointed out in the off-season that communication was one of the areas of his coaching style that needed improvement it is a bit surprising that a Canadiens workhorse would not get a personal word from the coach before hand that may have made the disappointing news a bit easier to swallow.

And here is why I love Begin. His response: 'I am going to do whatever I have to do to make sure that this never happens again.' Now that is a player you want on your team.

Where will the Habs finish

2007-10-03T14:09:00.000-07:00

I am not going to pretend that I am enough of a hockey analyst to accurately rate how the eastern conference is going to shake out before even 1 game of the regular season is played. What I do know is that there is more to a team than a power-forward or a bona fide enforcer. For me successful teams usually have more to do with how the players jive together than individual strengths. I am calling the Canadiens to finish 7th and I feel justified in doing so because:

-The Habs missed the playoffs last year by a mere 2 points and they managed that with; the Samsanov soap opera, questionable goal-tending that got them down early far too often, a team wide flu, the Kovalev factor, Higgins injury, and a defense that let WAY too many goals make it to the goalie.

-Carbonneau will be better this year

-5 on 5 will be better (can't be much worse)

-Carey Price. Carey Price. Carey Price.

-Red Fisher called it and he knows everything.

As to where everyone else will finish I know the Flyers got way better but they lost 48 GAMES LAST SEASON! So I'll go:

1. Ottawa, have to admit Spezza, Alfredsson & Heatley pretty much kick ass
2. Carolina-can't downplay experience
3. Pittsburgh- If Crosby can pull his panties up
4. Flyers- they will be so amazed to not suck they'll finish strong
5. Sabres- I loved them last year...despite losing Briere and Drury they still have a lot of talent in Pominville, Afinogenov, Connolly etc..
6. Rangers- Avery is far too annoying to put them above 6th
7. Canadiens
8.Leafs- barf but hey it makes sense.

I have no clue about the west but I am rooting for the Red Wings cause they took Aaron Downey and he plays the game cause he loves it and is grateful for every day hes out on the ice.

Thoughts of Dodgeball from the Presidents Cup

2007-09-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

We are on location at Royal Montreal all week and try as I might, golf just does not do it for me. It’s a beautiful day outside but we are set up in an air conditioned tent so we would never know it if there was not a huge screen in front of me showing the outdoors.
Totally Broad will feature dodge-ball this week after a friend of mine told me that he saw organized dodge ball the other day with actual spectators. Mitch snickered when I told him the show topic was dodge ball but quite frankly you would catch me with a cold beer watching some dodge ball before I donned pleated front khakis, disposed of my cell phone and came out to follow a bunch of cranky old men knock a ball around a golf course.
My brush with greatness was slightly disappointing after finally getting within a few feet of Tiger Woods- these guys are so sheltered from the media its ridiculous- he did not even look up and acknowledge any of the fans who had been waiting outside the trailer to catch a glimpse of the best golfer in the world. He didn’t even glance in my direction despite the fact that he walked right by me and I was waiting to talk to his assistant captain. At least when I walked by Gretzky in the Bell Center he smiled and said hello for gosh sakes- and that is GRETZKY- (I also heard once that when Gretzky called into a media conference call-he actually spelled his name. Does anyone else find that hilarious?)

Calvillo who?

2007-09-10T12:03:00.001-07:00

No disrespect to Anthony Calvillo or Robert Edwards but both players were an afterthought in the Als stunner over the Lions at McGill stadium yesterday. With Marcus Brady showing that he has not been twiddling his thumbs sitting on the bench for a year and a half and Jarrett Payton taking punishment to bring the Als 3 touchdowns the Als were able to rekindle the hope of winning the Grey Cup.
It was the first Alouettes game I have attended this year and it was pretty much the best game I have watched all year. Think the team was happy to have Tim Strickland back?
My one gripe is the borderline-bad-porn-storyline on which the cheerleaders seem to have based their halftime show. Is the naughty school girl thing just a wee bit played out by now. Britney Spears pretty much put that to rest did she not? What with the bad camera work, French dubbing over School of Rock roll-call and ghastly makeup choices I was ready to cover the eyes of the children sitting in from of me for fear of what was coming next.
I guess the reason I feel free to criticize the Alouettes cheerleaders choreography is that I spent my Saturday as a rookie addition to 'The Flying Wallendas'. Yes that is right, I Andie Bennett flew on a trapeze and I have to say it is one of the scariest things I have done since trying Calamari for the first time. (sidenote: I hate eating things that look like they could crawl off your plate.)
First of all, they don't exactly ease you into the whole trapezing thing. I thought hey, first timer, we will perhaps swing back and forth on the bar a few times. Ohhh no! First time up you try a knee hang which means; you climb up a really tall ladder about half a foot wide, onto a platform where another trapezer is waiting and he hooks you in, (we were harnessed in something that quite frankly as a climber I was a little wary of) then holds the belt while you reach out for the bar-at this point I have the uncontrollable shakes and my palms are sweating so much I am beginning to think this was a horrible mistake. So after about 5 mins of instructions we are expected to swing out on the bar HOOK YOUR KNEES THROUGH YOUR ARMS AND OVER THE BAR THE LET GO WITH YOUR HANDS AND REACH OUT BEHIND YOU WHILE ARCHING YOUR BACK. Then you simply reach back up bring your legs down slowly and "legs front-back-front and let go as you back flip off the bar onto the net." Easy-Peasy. My Totally Broad sidekick Debbie Mahoney looked like a pro and made it all the way through with no problems. Me, not so much but I did do everything except the back flip. We finished the 2 hour class by completing a catch and despite the fact that the fear was still there, it was the most amazing feeling to be swinging upside down and reach back and actually have someone catch you off the bar. It was a true sense of accomplishment that is impossible to explain. Go try for yourself at Trapezium.

http://www.trapezium.qc.ca/

Check out Totally Broad this Thursday at 11:00pm on The Team 990 for more Trapeze info and a full review of our experience!

"It's not really tubing until somebody splits a lip."

2007-08-13T13:07:00.000-07:00

For some reason I have always been attracted to sports or activities where there was a chance of serious injury. I knew I was hooked on water-skiing after my first true bail that resulted in a complete sinus cleansing and consumption of a dangerous amount of lake water. "ohhhh you let go of the tow rope when you fall. Right."

Since it is my first day back from vacation I thought I would give you a little taste of what recreational time is like in the Bennett camp. For about 10 years of my childhood every summer was spent at a lake in Maine water skiing and trying to survive a tube ride with my uncle Steve driving the boat. This summer was no different. We have revived the Bennett summer get-together and since everyone else in my family seems to have become old and boring I brought along my new favorite toy and had to convince the cousins that severe bodily harm on a wake board was a small price to pay for family wide entertainment.

Wake boarding was a great discovery for me because as many of you know, water skiing once a year uses muscles you don't normally recruit meaning 3 mins of fun equals at least a few days of severe pain. Wake boarding on the other hand is much less taxing on the body. You pop right out of the water and since the boat doesn't need to go as fast there is less stress on the muscles. That is unless you face plant right off the start in which case you may not want to give it another go. Also its pretty much like snowboarding on the water. I convinced my cousins to try it out without considering that it may not feel quite as natural if you have never been on a snowboard. Oops. Hopefully they will forgive me. I managed to escape the wake boarding and water skiing with no serious injury so it was indeed time to break out the tube. One we cleaned out the broken glass inside the tube (It had doubled as a beer caddy to the floating dock.....) we were ready to go. The title of this blog is pretty much the family mantra when it comes to tubing so it was no surprise that after kart wheeling off the tube at high speed on my very first dumping I lay in the water for a second thinking..."yup...my neck is definitely broken.." Thankfully feeling returned to my limbs and I was able to shake it off in time to enjoy more family fun.

So back to the 'real' sports as I put aside wake boarding and water skiing for another year-HOWEVER stay tuned on Totally Broad, (every Thursday night at 11pm-my show where we talk about sports outside the mainstream) we will cover both events, street luge and long board, coming up at Top Challenge on the mountain the weekend of August 25th.

Cocky or confident

2007-07-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

I have to be honest, while attending Canadiens development camp the first person who catches your eye when you look to the ice is P.K. Subban. I could say its cause he is fast and he is, or because he goes all out on every single drill, which he does, but the fact that he is the only black dude out there makes him pretty darn easy to spot. Props to Subban to not only excel in his sport where he is in the minority but to have to stones to walk up to the table where Bob Gainey and Guy Carbonneau were sitting and tell them that he will be playing on this team and is prepared to shoulder the burden of bringing the cup back to Montreal!

Carbonneau loved the boldness and spoke about what a huge part confidence plays in sports. It got me thinking; where is the fine line between confident and cocky and when does it tip over the line and begin hurting the team?

I certainly think there are more than a few pro athletes out there that would do themselves and their team a great service if they would check their egos at the door- Terrell Owens anyone?? But who would you prefer to have in the room, an underrated quiet guy who can get the job done or an overly confident player who will never live up to his perceived greatness. P.K . Subban in my opinion falls somewhere in between the 2 which is great news for the Habs as you look to the team of the future.

So feel free to throw me out some names that you think fall under confident and who needs to tone down the cockiness and remember Ali: It's not bragging if you can back it up!

akkk my groin

2007-06-27T07:41:00.000-07:00

After repeated emails from Mitch informing me I am a lazy good fo nothin I have decided on my own accord that it is time to update my blog! :)

I do like to write when something gets me going and with the exception of Paris Hilton, not too much has me riled up these days. Well thank goodness for charity softball games because once again I am forced to defend a sport that so many men in this business enjoy slamming despite the fact that they "have been farting into the same sofa cushion" for 10 years. Now I played fast pitch softball which is quite different from slo pitch softball, for one thing our ball was just slightly bigger than a baseball and I cant say the actual speed of the pitches- we're girls so we don't get clocked or scouted or anything- but I was a catcher and my pitcher used to severely bruise my hand if I caught it outside the web. (She went on to get a scholarship to Long Island University)
So imagine my deep satisfaction when after hearing Mitch refer to my game as a bastardized version of baseball I turn up at Jarry Park and see Mitch limping over to say hello! And they were only in the 4th inning! Sooooo the sissy game of softball somehow managed to have the last laugh!
The day was a complete smash and so much fun to have a chance to talk with some other sports types that were out of their element. And FYI Guy Carbonneau pretty much rocks, I saw him hit a pretty sweet line drive past the shortstop.

Pefect segway to the Canadians draft picks. Now is there a shred of possibility that after winning 5 Stanley Cups as a player and 4 Selke trophys Gainey might have a better idea of what is good for the club than say...Vinnie from Lasalle? Just a thought. And with so many up in arms about the Canadiens not selecting Esposito I am curious how many of them follow these young men around to evaluate their talents. Such a waste to be spending that kind of time and money just to fill out a message board. I have no clue who any of these up and coming players are. Most of them look like I could still be babysitting them to be quite honest. So if you truly have this kind of energy to expend in knocking choices that frankly I believe few people are qualified to make- (and the ones that are were probably at one of the tables in Columbus) how about making those that deserve it a little more accountable? If there were as many people scrutinizing the envornmental and social choices that our government made there would be no pollution or poverty.

Stanley Cup Final-LY

2007-05-28T15:27:00.000-07:00

Its almost June and I spent most of the weekend taking the sun and the Stanley Cup final is JUST getting underway. I love hockey and I am sure my excitement will resume as soon as I watch these 2 teams play what is expected to be a fast, rough and dirty (hey-the Ducks have Pronger) series. However, considering the priority of the NHL is to increase popularity in the States and Canadians pay the price by losing amazing franchises like the Nordiques and the Jets, you would think stretching it out like this is counter productive. Sometimes I wish we were not so damn Canadian and made a worthwhile PROTEST when someone spits in your face.
For the record I am going with the Sens in 6. NOT because they are "Canada's team" but because of the way they have made it to this final. I truly thought that nothing could stop the Sabres. They looked so dominant against the Rangers... and then they ran into Alfredsson and the Senators and pretty much crapped the bed. The Sens seem to have the depth, the defense, the momentum and the hunger to counteract the presence that Pronger, Selanne and Niedermayer bring to the series.

Side note- My heart goes out to any family members of Marquis Hill but what are you DOING on a jet ski with no life jacket?

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2884762

I come from a long line of lake go-ers in the summer and granted, we were more of the waterskiing-tubing persuasion but everything is/was always done with a life jacket and the few times I have been on a Jet Ski in a lake with NO Current, you couldn't get me on that thing without a life jacket. There seems to be an element of Darwinism here.

Video Replay???

2007-05-14T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Senators have a chance to take a 3-0 series lead on the Sabres tonight and If I was Lindy Ruff I would be ready to throw every available water bottle at the video replay decision makers. In my view the Sabres have been robbed of 2 playoff goals that could have changed the situation the conference leading team finds themselves in right now. The first one I have let go. I did see the puck cross the line even on my crappy TV but its gone, in the past... it was inconclusive...whatever. The last one off Vaneks glove- I do not understand how you don't call that a goal. Is it possible they are slowing down the frame SO much that they are seeing things that didn't actually happen in the .2 seconds of action? He is standing at the net the puck bounces off his glove that is planted firmly on the stick and lands in the net. Why not a goal? Was he making a batting motion at the puck that seemed to catch everyone including Vanek by surprise when it flew in front of the net? Well if you slow it down enough apparently so. Personally I think he was robbed and also am starting to think that perhaps they are tossing a coin and the entire video replay is a complete sham.

My Sally Ride moment

2007-04-30T15:08:00.000-07:00

I had a crazy weekend. Not only was I the first woman for CTV to have on Ron Reusch's Sports Night 360 but I attended the Golden Age of Sports Celebrity Breakfast and got to introduce Henri Richard, Jacques Demers and Kirk Muller.
Starting with 360, I was super stoked to be on the show and although doing TV makes me incredibly nervous it is really fun and a new challenge. So my first problem - I have to be honest here- was my hair. I left for the show and it was, for me, the worst possible conditions, heavy mist in the air. When I arrived my perfectly coiffed hair had morphed into frizzy, island girl, BIG HAIR. I pulled most of it back and then strolled into makeup and quipped that I sure hoped they had a straightener or at the very least a blow-drier to help me out. They had neither. Now I'm no DIVA by any stretch of the imagination but no blow drier-COME ON. I combed the bags best I could, we sprayed down the rest and the lovely makeup artist proceeded to cake on the makeup. 10 mins later I'm watching the Sharks and Redwings in the Green Room and the producer walks by and says, "don't worry they will be right down to do your makeup." :0
Yeeeeeaaah.
So the show starts and I quickly realize that not only am I the only woman but I also disagree with everyone on the panel re: Kovalev. Now, not wanting to appear like a ranting crazy lady I feel like I let a few opportunities slip by to make good points.

#1 I absolutely disagree that Saku Koivu is not a good passer. I don't know which games those guys were watching but Koivu REGULARLY passes the puck right onto the tape of his line-mates stick. Remember he did that all season with a CATARACT on his eye.
#2 Yes Kovalev had a disappointing season and I can tell you that I see him every day at practice and after a large number of games and there is no doubt in my mind that Kovalev is a competitor and is far more annoyed than you when he plays poorly. That being said, Yes he underperformed and of course its frustrating when you don't think he plays up to potential, but you know what? Players have bad games. They even have bad seasons. Does that mean fans and the Club should give up on him? I don't think so. Give the coaching staff a chance to gel with the-built-like-a-brick-shit-house-soul-of-an-artist player. He may be difficult to handle but imagine if we supported our players instead of salivating at the mouth when there is a chance to lambaste them in print.

Points about Kovalev I like:
Kovy's Kids: Kovalev picking up the torch from Theodore and pays for the loge where sick and underprivileged kids can watch the games.
He still makes jokes with the media despite their obvious desire the trade him for a bucket of pucks.
His pure skill on the ice when he is ON. He may need to be handled with white gloves but so does the Stanley Cup.
For the most part he speaks his mind. I don't buy that Kovalev is a liar. I'm sure he has fudged some of the facts of what he said in a few interviews to avoid being tarred and feathered on his way out of the Bell Center. But quite honestly I couldn't care less what he says to a Russian reporter. Short of telling the Canadiens you want out in November (Samsonov), I dont see anything wrong with a veteran criticizing decisions they were not happy with and talking about what they think they need to succeed.

Moving on to the Sports Celebrity Breakfast. I was very honored to be invited to this and sitting at a table with Henri Richard in front of me, Elmer Lach and Dollard St. Laurent at the table to my left and numerous others that I never thought I would find myself in the same room with was a really cool experience. Speaking in from of a huge room FULL of people however not so cool. Thanks goodness for Jacques Demers who snagged that microphone out of my hand before you could say "18 goal season" and he was off to the races.
Can't wait to get the pictures back of me on stage with these icons (wearing my FIERCE leopard print shoes I got just for the occasion!)
I will post them as soon I get them!- the pics not the shoes.
All in all great morning, thanks to Lorne Rubin who also represented THE TEAM and all the amazing guests that showed up to help out for a very worthy cause. (The event will support the Centre’s Med-Aid program that delivers much needed medication to seniors who are unable to financially look after their medical needs.)
Hope you tuned in on Saturday! I'll get to the playoffs in my next post.
Andie

Roller Derby: are these girls insane?

2007-04-18T13:34:00.000-07:00

My new show Totally Broad- THURSDAYS AT 11PM has been rolling along pretty smoothly so far with the exception of the Canadiens getting bounced out early, hence the Athlete quiz has been put on hold for the time being before its transition to the Alouettes quiz of the week!
This week is based on one of the original ideas behind the show: ROLLER DERBY! I caught some reality show about these chicks a while ago and they seem completely nuts and extremely vicious. I love it.
I must share with you part of an e-mail sent to me by the captain of one of the Montreal teams who will be joining us Tomorrow night at 11pm.

There's been a bunch of hype going around about Montreal's birth of a roller derby league and May 5th will be this baby's Bat Mitzva!

The teams playing will be Montreal's very first team, The Contrabandits vs. the second team (my team) Les Filles Du Roi.

One thing is for sure, this wont be your regular Saturday night. Our ladies have been training like soldiers in preparation for this event and will be sure to leave you hungry for more!

Don't think that the derby girls are just a bunch of pretty faces. We are competitive and ruthless adrenaline junkies all wrapped up in fishnets and fundies.... that rhymed... hehe.

For real though, if this kinda thing gets you all fired up, try and get your hands on some suicide seats. That's right, SUICIDE SEATS!!!!!! On track level, the floor 15 feet out from the outer ring of the track itself is reserved for our freak fans who like the idea of a body checked derby girl flying into their lap.

One last thing..... If you do decide that this is how you wanna kick off your Saturday night, then bring lots of signs that say "Go Filles Du Roi" and support your local "Slut's and Criminal's".
Love,

Captain Beater Pan-Tease

LOLOLOL! I will absolutely be attending this event hope to see you out there!

Andie

Totally Broad makes its debut on THE TEAM 990

2007-03-30T12:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know, I now have my very own show at THE TEAM 990. How exciting is that?? The show is about sports outside the mainstream and its called Totally Broad airing every Thursday night at 11:00pm. The show made its big debut yesterday and it was a blast. Bianca Bayer joins me working the board, our producer is Debbie Mahoney-a very good friend of mine and snowboarder extraordinare.
In case you missed it we discussed Parkour on the first show and every subsequent show will focus on a different sport so tune in if you feel like listening to 3 hot ladies discussing the unsung sports!

Next week-snowboarding takes center stage as we preview the return of

Canada

’s largest snowboarding event: Empire Shakedown 2007!

Totally Broad Thursdays at 11:00pm!

Should have gone 5 hole.

2007-03-20T14:04:00.000-07:00

I feel the need to blog about not only how much my team DOMINATED at our Bell Center Hockey extravaganza (Melnick in the Afternoon went 3-0 thank you very much!) but also of how cool my team was to be saddled with, not only, the lone girl in the tournament but one whose hockey skills can only be described as Bambi after a hard night out drinking.
It was such a great day and after my team got over the HORROR of sharing their locker room with me, they were all about trying to help me fulfill my dream of scoring a goal. Despite their best efforts including Terry Ryan waiting for me to come up the wing and take a pass MANY times and giving me a penalty shot that I almost took on our own goalie (oops!) it was not to be. Mitch was a stellar coach and only short shifted me once-but then I said i regreted agreeing to play this game and wanted a trade and he shaped up.
Thanks to all the guys on my team that made sure I was out for all my shifts and all the guys on the other teams that did their best not to run me over, except for Paul Lambert who pulled no punches in drilling me into the corner. Juuust kidding Paul was on my team and in my exuberance to actually see the puck a few feet away from me I tried to flail my way over there unfortunately Paul was already on the move and as he said, stopping 300 pounds is no easy task. I learned that the hard way. :)

My favorite moments of the day:
Hurry the F*** up next time" Terry Ryan the first time he tried to help me score.
"That was the worst F***ING off-side I have ever seen" Terry Ryan when I was, I admit, BADLY offside.
"You should have gone 5 hole" The guys in the dressing room after I failed to score on my penalty shot. Guys, 5 hole would be great but It's a miracle I still had the puck on my stick by the time i got there.

Pics are up on the website. I'm the midget wearing 11.

dedicated to Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell

2007-03-02T15:39:00.000-08:00

A poem for sexist pigs:

“If anything I say offends you I’m sorry”

I can’t tell you how much this BS annoys me.

Stand by your comments and take the fall;

You are a big, tough manly-man, after all.

It’s a tough gig at times being a lady in sports

Cut us some slack and un-bunch your shorts.

Act too aggressive and they'll call me a bitch,

You don’t know from aggressive: I work with Mitch.

I’m not moody, a lesbian or even PMS-ing

Your comments are simply ignorant and quite frankly depressing.

If women had never got out of the kitchen,

You'd have no Gold Medals or chicks that are bitchin’

For every Hardaway and Maxwell you've got to spew bile,

I see you a Tewskbury and raise you a Heil.

Hockey players have nothing on spinners and ballet dancers

2007-02-26T15:27:00.000-08:00

My weekend was spent by almost being done in by a spinning instructor and getting a look at what true strength and athleticism really is. I will start with the spinning. For those of you that don’t know, THE TEAM 990 participated in a Spin-A-Thon for Lupus.

www.lupuscanada.org

If you don’t know what spinning is….let me just say this; think long and hard if anyone ever invites you to a class. It was hands down one of the most physically demanding things I have done since I stopped rowing. Basically you are on a stationary bike and the instructor takes you through an hour of telling you when to sprint, increase tension so you are 'climbing a hill', more sprinting, pushup like things while you bike standing up, more sprinting…all to very loud techno music that you are supposed to ‘keep the beat with’. Ya right….how about I just keep myself breathing instead?

A good time was had by all and when our shift was done and I peeled my red faced, tired ass off the floor where I had collapsed moments earlier, the event had raised over 6000$ and there was still a few hours to go.

Thank you to all my wonderful coworkers and colleagues who sponsored me. Pics are on the way

Saturday evening I had the good fortune to be invited to the ballet. I am - to put it mildly - a ballet neophyte. I’ve seen The Nutcracker and another one where all the men were in tutus. I enjoyed both of those but neither came close to what I experienced at Place Des Arts on Saturday night. The Ballet was Revelations presented by Alvin Ailey ^® American Dance Theater. The night was an amazing combination or GREAT music- Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Nina Simone, Roberta Flack, Regina Carter and Diana Krall just to name a few, and dancers that will knock your socks off. These men and women can do things with their bodies that I didn’t even think was physically possible. Click this link and just LOOK at that woman’s body.

http://www.alvinailey.org/

If you ever see this come to town again or are in New York and can catch it I highly recommend checking it out.

Do Barry Bonds, Britney Spears and Tim Hardaway all share the same brain?

2007-02-21T13:11:00.000-08:00

"No Comment, no comment, no comment" that is pretty much the gist of Barry Bonds meeting with the media yesterday as he reported to spring training. Now Barry, I understand you don't want your son to find out that you cheated your way to the top but could you consider for a second that there are actual people out there facing some very real life altering consequences as a result of this charade and do not have the luxury of sitting in their gated communities thinking up new (old) ways to stonewall media members that have the AUDACITY to ask you questions about the biggest smear on pro sports in recent memory that you, like it or not, happen to be at the center of. Hey Barry; You know they are going to ask you questions about steroid use and the possibility of facing jail time for perjuring yourself so how about preparing a well thought out answer that shows that you actually care about the issue at hand or express some regret with how the sport that many of us love has become riddled with drug use over the years?

Moving from one bald headed loser to another. Ahhhhh Britney Spears. Now I thought the interview with Matt Lauer was rock bottom but she seems to have outdone herself once again. Yes, you could feel bad for her but I will reserve my pity for the millions of women in Africa afflicted with AIDS because their men cant keep it in their pants or the millions of girls sold as sex slaves every year in India and there will even be a little left over for the poor Spears/Federline offspring. Hey Britney: It's a child. Not a cute talking purse that you take out if it matches your outfit. Even Madonna realized that she would have to channel some of her Blond Ambition towards raising her children.

Do you think Tim Hardaway enjoyed the open mouthed kiss between Britney Spears and Madonna? Hey Tim. You can apologize till you throat bleeds but money talks and BS walks. You have already proved the latter so how 'bout you pony up some of those hard earned dollars and donate them to a gay/lesbian support line that will be overloaded with calls due to your insensitive and ignorant comments you made not once but twice in a public forum.

Is it a sport if it doesn't hurt?

2007-02-06T12:31:00.000-08:00

As everyone else is cursing the cold outside and pretty much dropping like flies around me at the station, I couldn't be happier that we finally have snow and I have been able to get to the slopes a few times already.
Unfortunately in my exuberance I sometimes forget that I am now an old lady and probably should not be quite as foolhardy (read stupid) as I used to be. Learning to ride with mostly boys I was often used as a guinea pig to check landings as in; "Andie go drop off that and check the landing", so falling on crap landings is not an unusual feeling for me however bending my spine in half this weekend has put a real damper on my week so I think those days may finally be over.
The flail has got me thinking however, especially after boarder cross was such a roaring success at the Olympics, what is considered a sport these days?
From what I understand the IOC has dropped women's ski jumping out of the Olympics because by classifying it as an 'EVENT' and not a 'SPORT' you need more countries to have active participation in order to warrant its inclusion. Now, if flying 100 meters in the air while holding your body tight as a drum and actually landing without doing yourself in and taking a few spectators with you is not a SPORT then how can you call Golf a sport with a straight face?
Listen I'm not going to lie and say that I am biting my nails at Olympic time waiting for women's ski jumping to come on but there has been criticism that this EVENT/SPORT clause in the Charter is a loophole that has grandfathered in the discrimination against women ski jumpers. Is this really the direction we want to be going with amateur sports? In a time where kids spend more time in front of a TV/PLAYSTATION/NINTENDO (take your pick) and most adolescent girls are surviving on saltine crackers and the occasional apple because they are afraid to get fat, should we be pulling the funding out of women's events or supporting these girls who want to compete for their country? And doing a damn good job of it might I add. Canada has 3 young women on the National Team that rank among the top 16 jumpers in the world.

Blog attempt numero uno

2007-01-29T12:46:00.000-08:00

I had a thought this weekend as I was watching sports coverage on a certain network that seems to enjoy pretending that the Montreal Canadiens are some second-rate expansion team unworthy of their attention.

Anyhoo the standard middle aged man was going on about what a snore the All-Star game was and how they need to do something about it..."it was so much better in my day"... "why don't they go back to how it was in 82.." etc etc...

Regardless of how you feel about the All-Star game, am I the only one tired of these guys being so concerned with reliving the glory days that all they can do is complain and put down the product of today?
Maybe nothing at all is wrong with sports now. Maybe if they would stop telling people that something is wrong and just be positive and enjoy it for what it is-A GAME-you could let us ALL enjoy it a little more.

I'm not saying everyone has to be a Pierre McGuire and hop on the love train but I feel like sometimes the broadcasters seem to have lost the very reason why they got into the job in the first place. For the love of the game, the players, the competition, the underdogs, the up-and-comers, the buzzer beaters and all the parts of the game that you want to expose to your viewers and listeners.

You tell people something is crap enough times and you know what? They are going to start thinking that maybe its crap.

I think we could all use a dose of whatever Steve Irwin was on and approach life every now and then "with passion and enthusiasm!" (you have to say it out loud in a thick Aussie accent to really get the gist)