Robservations: Nothing beets the Veggie Dance … hammer time! … how I missed Kobe’s 81-point game … I won’t miss Wednesday’s visit to McNally Robinson
SASKATOON — One more submission of this description and the Saskatchewan Roughriders will have to impose a celery cap.
All because of the Veggie Dance — a catchy tune that was audible at and around Griffiths Stadium early in Friday’s rookie-camp session.
Leading up to the workout, designated camp deejay John Knisley had cheerfully complied with a request from Head Coach Corey Mace.
“The Veggie Dance is my daughter’s favourite song,” Maleena Mace’s proud father said in a subsequent interview. “I figured it would get some of the guys rolling.
“It was pretty funny.”
The tune can be found by visiting Gracie’s Corner — a YouTube channel for kids.
“Here’s a song about some of my favourite veggies!” Gracie exclaims, animatedly.
It’s time to eat our veggies, so do the Veggie Dance.
It’s time to eat our veggies. Eat ’em up while you have a chance.
Gracie is then joined by four of her nutritionally conscious, cartoon-character friends.
Now do the Veggie Dance,
Now do the Veggie Dance,
Now do the … now do the … now do the Veggie Dance.
The healthy quintet is suddenly shown behind a table full of (you’ll never see this one coming) vegetables.
Eat ’em up! Yum, yum.
Eat ’em up! Yum, yum.
Eat ’em up! Eat ’em up! Eat ’em up!
Cue the rubbing of stomachs.
I love my veggies!
I love my veggies!
I love my … I love my … I love my veggies!
Yum, yum. Eat ’em up!
Yum, yum. Eat ’em up!
Yum, yum. Eat ’em up! Eat ’em up! Eat ’em up!
Enough generalities. Time to get specific.
Asparagus! … broccoli! … Brussels sprouts!
I love veggies!
Cabbage! … cauliflower! … celery!
I love veggies!
Carrots! … lettuce! … kale!
I love veggies!
Beets, collard greens, corn, potatoes and spinach as well.
Now do the Veggie Dance,
Now do the Veggie Dance,
Now do the … now do the … now do the Veggie Dance.
There’s more, but you get the idea.
“You’ve got to eat your veggies,” Mace reiterated.
“Really, (the song) was probably for me, because the only green I’m seeing is on my shirt. I ain’t putting it on my plate.”
A request for noted requester Corey Mace: Lettuce hope we hear the Veggie Dance again.
HAMMER TIME
A.J. Ouellette arrived in Saskatoon on Friday with the conventional pre-training camp luggage: A travel bag (slung over his right shoulder), a couple of suitcases, a pair of footwear and — this is an absolute must for any self-respecting traveller — a Thor hammer.
The hammer became a popular part of Ouellette’s persona when he was a member of the Toronto Argonauts.
“Everybody wants to be a superhero, right?” Ouellette, who was named a CFL East Division All-Star last season after rushing for 1,009 yards, explained after signing with the Roughriders as a free agent in February.
“I’ve had a long line of wanting to be the Hulk. I wanted to be Captain America. I wanted to be all these different superheroes.
“Someone called me Thor one day and I was like, ‘You know what? Thor’s a great superhero to try to be.”
Thor Odinson, for the uninitiated, is a Marvel Comics creation who, according to Wikipedia, carries an “enchanted hammer that enhances his abilities to fly.”
Ouellette promises to be a marvel in his own right.
His first Coors Light Riders Training Camp workout is to begin Sunday, 8:30 a.m., at Griffiths Stadium.
FROM HAMMERS TO SPEARS: OOPS! … I DID IT AGAIN
I knew that Game 7 of the WHL’s Eastern Conference final, between the Saskatoon Blades and Moose Jaw Warriors, would be a classic.
Two reasons: (1) Five of the series’ first six games were decided in overtime; and, (2) I did not attend the climactic contest.
My absence was also noted (only by me, mind you) when the Toronto Raptors visited the Los Angeles Lakers on Jan. 22, 2006.
My wife, Chryssoula, and I happened to be in the Los Angeles area at the time. We were staying in Santa Monica.
The vacation included three trips to downtown Los Angeles for NHL games. Serious consideration was also given to attending a fourth sporting event — Lakers versus Raptors — but I eventually opted to pass on the NBA option.
By that point, I was tired of L.A. traffic. I just wanted to spend the final full day of the vacation riding a bicycle down the coastline, without having to worry about honking horns, freeways, bottlenecks, puck management, etc.
So, we enjoyed a wonderful day of bicycling and a succulent supper at an eatery on Santa Monica’s Third Street. We then went for a walk before returning to the hotel, just in time for the 10 o’clock news.
I turned on the TV, sat down on the bed, and was promptly informed by an incredulous newscaster that there was “big news at the Staples Centre!”
The Lakers’ Kobe Bryant had scored 81 points — the second-highest single-game total by a player in NBA history.
Let’s just say, without using the specific terminology, that I was displeased with myself at that moment.
Fast forward to Tuesday. I thought about departing for Saskatoon a little earlier than planned so I could catch Game 7 of the Blades/Warriors series.
But then I slept in … and spent too much time talking to the dog … and there were errands to run … and then I resumed the conversation with the dog.
Rationalization was also part of the process. I told myself that a relaxing night, prior to a long training camp grind, would be advisable — especially at my advanced age.
And did I really want to deal with the traffic snarl outside SaskTel Centre?
(Traffic … it’s always the traffic.)
En route to Saskatoon, I listened to the Blades-Warriors broadcast. Les Lazaruk, the radio voice of the Blades for 30 years, conveyed the excitement so expertly, so enthusiastically, that I immediately began to lament the much-later-than-intended departure for Saskatoon.
Naturally, the game went into overtime.
The Warriors won, 3-2, to conclude a contest and a series that will always be remembered as classics.
I could have been there.
I should have been there.
After all, I had vowed that there would never be a repeat of the Kobe Bryant mistake.
And then I went and did it again.
A WEDNESDAY BOOKING
While in Saskatoon, it will be my pleasure to visit McNally Robinson on Wednesday for a book-signing/discussion.
Up for discussion: Anything pertaining to the Roughriders, of course, and Brave Face — my recently published book on hockey’s maskless goalies era.
Copies of Brave Face, published by Triumph Books, will be available.
The event is to begin at 7 p.m. I would love to see you there (there being 3130 8th St. E).
One note: The book-signing/discussion coincides with my 25th wedding anniversary.
The timing, I hope, will not endanger my chances of making it to a 26th wedding anniversary.
ROLL CREDITS …
- Nice people who deserve a plug: Maleena Mace, Micah Mace, Jake Parker, Holton Hill, Dohnte Meyers, Nick Thomas, Betty Mayer, Dave Mayer, Greg Mayer, John Knisley, Larry Dean, Diego Fagot, Jordan Tucker, Dave Thomas, Les Lazaruk, Gary Papic, Jake Harty, Jaxon Ciraolo-Brown, Ryan Berta, C.J. Avery, Wray Morrison, Brenda Edwards, Christian Albright, Brent Buchko, Merlis Belsher and, of course, Gracie and her Veggie Dance friends.
