okay, so I crack wise in the title, but I actually find this kind of a feel good story. It’s obvious that Madsen feels badly about what happened. And it’s obvious that Ford harbours no ill-will about it.
This is the perfect lesson on how to handle adversity.
February 28, 2008 at 1:11 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
From an ESPN article …
I thought this was great PR for T-Dot and decided to share …
I’ve been getting a lot of puzzled e-mails lately about theToronto Raptors, who are fourth in this morning’s Hollinger Power Rankings despite having the league’s 13th-best record.
The Raptors didn’t have a big reputation coming into the season, have only one household name in the lineup, and haven’t been past the first round of the playoffs in half a decade. So what gives?
Here’s the deal: They’re a lot better than their record. As I keep saying, victory margin is a better indicator of future success than win-loss record, and the Raptors’ average margin of plus-4.64 is better than that of the Mavs, Magic, Rockets, Warriors and Nuggets — all of whom have better win-loss records.
Additionally, that number has ballooned of late. The Raptors haven’t put together an impressive win streak, so they have slipped past everyone’s attention — the Raptors are a solid but hardly awe-inspiring 10-6 in their past 16 games.
But look closer and you’ll see what an impressive stretch it’s been. Five of the six losses were by five points or less, while eight of the 10 wins were by 17 or more; one of the two that wasn’t was a 114-112 win in Boston that was the best shooting display a team has put on all season.
Let’s put it more simply: The Raps aren’t beating people, they’re killing them. Toronto topped Milwaukee by 31, Washington by 39, Miami by 32, Minnesota by 23 and 22, New Jersey by 18, Orlando by 17, and New York by 23. In a 16-game stretch, half their games were blowout wins.
Sum it up and you’ll see in that modest-looking 16-game stretch the Raptors are outscoring opponents by an impressive 10 points per game.
And although the Raps may seem short on star power, you might want to revisit that assumption. Check out what Chris Bosh has done lately — he’s risen to fifth in the league in player efficiency rating thanks to a huge two-month stretch. Since New Year’s Day he’s averaging 25.7 points per game and shooting 56.9 percent from the field.
Not much further down the list is Jose Calderon, who ranks 16th in PER thanks to his insanely high efficiency. I’ve already expounded on his unique combination of high assists, low turnovers and high-percentage shooting so I won’t repeat myself here; suffice it to say that he’s been far superior to several players with much greater reputations.
And although their supporting cast lacks stars, it also lacks duds. Everybody can shoot — the Raps lead the league at 42.2 percent on 3-pointers — and they have the second-lowest turnover rate in the league. So even though the Raptors attack doesn’t seem that awe-inspiring, they’re actually fourth in the league in offensive efficiency and first in the Eastern Conference.
And it gets better. With T.J. Ford back from injury, Toronto has a third dynamic offensive player to plug into the equation.
Yet despite their weapons, I don’t see anybody taking this team seriously as a contender in the East. So I must report that they are, most definitely, a contender in the East. I still like Boston and Detroit’s odds better, but if you’re looking for a dark horse and thinking Cleveland, I’d suggest shifting your gaze further north.
possibly. But people forget that the Playoffs are a SLOW tempo game. It may be a period of adjustment right now. But if anyone can make a difference in a game and series, it’s Diesel.
So the Boston Celtics were an uber-young team last year and now they are an older team. And getting older by the minute. 4 guys on the roster have now played over 10 years in the League with two (Posey and Pierce) about to reach that milestone. With an average age of 27 or 28 years, it’s safe to say that they are definitely experienced. If they sign Cassell … man … someone get the Celts some Metamucil!
With recent news that a bill has passed congress that basically allows the US government to monitor (read: spy) everyone’s communication lines (e-mail, internet, phone etc), it’s pretty well safe to say that the US is slowly but surely moving towards a fascist state.
That being said, now the US government is attempting to get involved in professional sports.
ESPN’s article talks about there being an attempt to get US legislation in place to ban the use of steroids and HGH in professional sports. It’s an “ethically correct” stance to take on some levels due to the fact that SO many professional athletes are role models to a younger generation and that their life on and off the professional arena is greatly publicized and scrutinized.
But this comes from a government that has not used the best of ethics when dealing with foreign counterparts (i.e.: foreign policy governing middle east relations) or even its own people. I wonder if there’s something deeper behind the US government’s latest attempts at regulating Americans’ everyday lives ….
This is my theory …
The bill that allows government to spy on everyone is going to require technology and 24/7 maintenance (manpower) in order to be fully effective. That means MILLIONS of dollars being spent which the government does not necessarily have. And it’s funding that will need to be there one way or another on a year to year basis. Removing it from other areas like education, justice, welfare (what is that?) and housing would immediately raise red flags and have people asking questions.
By passing this bill through congress I can see a scenario where a professional league (baseball?) will pay a handsome fee (aka extortion fee) to the government to turn a blind eye to the rampant steroid use in baseball. This money could … oh, I don’t know … be used to fund the spy program?
If a league DOESN’T pay, then a legal proceeding tarnishing the public image of said league (and thereby hurting revenues) could proceed along with a heavy (monetary penalty) fine if the league is found guilty of violating “the law” could be a foreseeable punishment. In other words, more funding towards the spy program.
Given that the government is in charge of the justice system, I doubt that it would allow itself to lose a legal proceeding of this magnitude and hurt its chances at fund moneys.
And BIG leagues like the NBA, MLB & NFL might be better suited to survive this type of legislation and control, but who can say what would happen to the NCAA and its sports programs should the laws pass?
This is, of course, all speculation.
Call me a conspiracy theorist, but this seems a little too closely related to be a coincidence to me.
I’d say that the US government is already in the process of adopting McCarthyism as an excuse to acheive a more sinister goal. Hell, it could be said that McCarthyism is what has led the US to this bill at this point in time! Or maybe it’s a way to cover foreign policies abroad.
Whatever the reason, it’s clear that the government’s attempts to muscle in and control media (i.e.: videogames, music, movies) and sports would represent a HUGE shift in the way that North Americans would be allowed to communicate and relax.
I’m not sure that government should be allowed into the sports arenas in this manner.
But with Leagues like FIFA and The Olympics already being under the control of governments and the almighty dollar, I doubt it’ll be too long before US government has its claws in our beloved NBA …
February 26, 2008 at 2:07 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
What can I say … I was busy. And I couldn’t think of anything quickly enough. Nothing popped to mind last weekend. NOW I have something … but i don’t wanna post it now. I’ll wait. Sorry y’all.
Soon, you’ll hear of a choking incident involving Curry, James, Randolph, Zeke and some other Knicks personnel. Oh to have the days of The Hoya Destroya back ….
February 25, 2008 at 1:16 am · Filed under Uncategorized
Shaka Dula 88 – Liquid Swords 81
Our record now: 6-6 Division rank: 6th (+/- of 42)
I doubt that our standing in the league will change despite our win given the fact that The Rottens (6-5) are playing Out of Work Porn Stars (3-8) this week.
Anyway, this was a GREAT game. I won’t even front. I thought we were gonna get pounded. I thought it would be an 8 or maybe 12 point loss at best. But something happened today. Everyone came to play hungry. I suppose it’s the after effects of our loss to Fort Garry (66-75). Or maybe it was …. I don’t know.
We started the game matching buckets and I believe I had my most dynamic game of the season going 5 of 6 for 10 points in the first half alone. I shot the first 3 buckets for our team and made them all. Our big, Phil, arrived about midway through the 2nd Q which was great because I had the privilege of guarding “Q” (a 6′-4″, 275 pound black guy) and was worn out. Anyway, at one point we had been down by fifteen, but we only faced an 8 point deficit at the halfway mark.
Despite this deficit, we were confident and focused.
We started the second half by matching buckets again and then it started to happen all over again. We started getting pounded on the boards and we went down by 14 in the third. But Jeremy and Jimmy caught fire and led us back to being within striking distance – 6 points down. Our point, Jimmy, had to leave early due to work (he left about 1/4 of the way through the fourth). But despite Jimmy’s absence, Kenny and Byrnesey joined Jeremy on the “too hot to trot” list and shot the lights out. We tied it with 5 minutes to go (61-61) in the game and we went up by 2 one possession later. But they kept pounding it inside to Q and I f0uled out with about 4 minutes to go. I had to sit and watch in agony the rest of the way.
The key possession (the dagger) came with about 2 minutes to go. We were down 69-68. Byrnesey got the ball, drove to the right, and attempted a layup. He missed it but Phil came up with a HUGE board and popped it back out to Byrnesey who let it fly from the top of the arc and .. SPLASH! We were up by 2. They tied it up with about 1 minute to go and went up by 2 about 20 seconds later (75-73).
With about 20 seconds to go, we called a timeout. I asked the guys if they wanted to tie or go for the win. They said “go for the win” and so we diagrammed a play.
Jer was supposed to start on one wing and he would get a double screen as he made his way to the other wing, cutting baseline, from the high AND low posts. If he got it at the opposite wing, he was to shoot it for the win. Byrnesey was passing and he had the option to go for the layup if he felt like it.
We came out of the timeout and executed the play to perfection. Jeremy got it on the wing but had a guy on him. He juked left, dribbled out to the right and let it fly. AIRBALL! ~insert gasp here~ But Phil beat his man on the baseline and caught the short shot and made the layup to tie it with 2 seconds to go (75-75). OVERTIME!
In the overtime, I don’t know what happened, but we went on a roll. Byrnesey was huge as he scored 6 key points and got 2 steals and a WONDERFUL, BEAUTIFUL block. Guy goes up for a lay up. He’s at the peak of his jump and Byrnesey comes out of nowhere and just puts his hand up and stops the shot from leaving dude’s hands. The ball went off the offensive player’s leg and it became our possession.
The Swords, meanwhile, fed us a steady diet of Q as every single possession appeared to be: dribble to the wing, post up Q and watch him go to town. But Phil was big on D despite getting 3 fouls and we ended up getting Q fouled out with about 3 minutes to go (all 5 fouls were over the backs and offensive related fouls, imagine that). In the end, we pulled away thanks to some clutch shooting and good D and we took the yellow scoresheet home.
The Liquid Swords had a guy with 22 points . Another one had 19, Q had 15 and Damien, who showed up in the third, had 16. Ridiculous.
For our team, Byrnesey had 23, Jer scored 21, Jimmy had 14 and I had 13, Kenny had 8 (coulda swore he had 14). ~shrug~ Unsurprisingly, the scoresheet is not the best source of accurate individual performances – which doesn’t much matter anyway as the W is the only thing we care about. Anyway, it was great. We willed it out in the end and showed that we may be physically outmatched but can make adjustments and pull games out in the end. It was gritty, tough, hard nosed … it was husky basketball, baby!
It was a tough game, matchup wise. Thunder, Lehotsky and Flamand didn’t get to see a whole lot of court time, though they did play. On the one hand, I felt kinda bad. On the other hand …. I wanted the win. And I can only assume that they did too.
Regardless, I’d say that was the grittiest performance we had all year. And we had a HUGE cheering section today as all of Thunder’s immediate family showed up as did the Byrneses and my family. Girlfriends, wives, parents, uncles …. and we even had players from the other teams (Def Squad) cheering for us too. So it was good. I’m glad we didn’t let anyone down.
February 22, 2008 at 1:12 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
So, okay. I’ve been ALL over the internet scouring for news on trades and other crap that happens in the NBA.
And now we’ve reached the trade deadline and now there’s going to be nothing more of trades spoken of here. With the exception of these final two trades that happened yesterday ….
Less than one year after being acquired by Toronto, Juan Dixon has been shipped out to the D.
Reason? He was angry that his playtime had been reduced and that he was playing behind Calderon, Moon, Delfino, Kapono and Ford.
Said Dixon “I Juan to play more” ~lame joke~
So now he goes to Detroit where he gets to play behind Chauncey Billups, Tayshaun, Rip, Stuckey, Afflalo …
looks like Dixon’s gonna keep riding pine.
The Raptors, meanwhile, get Primoz Brezec and cash considerations. Not a GREAT trade … but since the Raps are hurting for size right now … it’ll have to do, I guess.
Less than 7 months after arriving in the now infamous trade for KG from Boston, Gerald Green has been shipped for the Lone Star state to play with Skip to my Lou, T-Mac and Yao.
The Rockets had to give up Kirk Snyder, cash considerations and a 2010 first round pick.
I CANNOT believe that Green was worth that much … even if he won the dunk contest last year …
And i can’t see him possibly touching the floor now with so many good, dynamic guards in H-Town.
“He’s going to come in, we’ll work him out and see if he can get in shape,” team president Rod Thorn said this week. “He’s here. But we are not going to make him available for interviews.”
This, of course, is because Wilt Chamberlain will suit up for the Nets this season before Van Horn does (Wilt, coincidentally, is also not available for interviews). Van Horn is truly living the new American Dream, being paid — quite handsomely — not to work. He will earn $4.3 million for not playing the rest of this season, or $75,439 per day over the final 57 days of the regular season.
It isn’t quite the latest Mega Millions jackpot, but who could turn down free money? Well, Van Horn almost did. When it became clear that one of the most convoluted trades in NBA history hinged on him signing off on his big payday, he needed “some quiet time to reflect on it,” according to his agent, David Falk. That might have been the silliest part of this whole episode, if not for the loophole that allows it.
Most trades are only completed pending a physical examination. This one required an exhumation. The 32-year-old Van Horn had not played in nearly two years, content to spend time with his family and new business interests in Colorado with no intention of ever lacing his sneakers again.
What is Van Horn thinking? Good question. His assistant in Colorado said he’s not giving interviews. The Nets won’t say when — if ever — he’ll be available. He has a room registered in his name at a Meadowlands hotel, but according to the operator, he never checked in.
“Haven’t seen him,” the doorman said, “but it’d be good to see him in a uniform again.”
Van Horn did stop at team offices on Wednesday for a brief visit. “I saw him in street clothes,” head coach Lawrence Frank said. Did he look like he could actually play basketball? “I don’t know,” Frank said. “It would be very unfair to comment. We’ll just have to see.”
Chances are, we never will. Van Horn, the No. 2 pick in the 1997 draft who was immediately traded to the Nets, will write this bizarre ending to his relationship with his first team away from the spotlight. He played five up-and-down years here, got run out of town after the first trip to the NBA Finals, and now “returns” in the deal that helps Kidd leave town.
He gets $4.3 million for his efforts and might never break a sweat — nice work if you can get it. What a country. What a league.
“When we see them with their heads down, we want to stick the knife in deeper,” said Raptors forward Jamario Moon, who had 17 points and 12 boards against Orlando. “We’re going to put our foot on their throats from now on when we see them down.”
This is a blockbuster of a deal as Cleveland is improved dramatically by adding the free shooting Wally Sczerbiak and the rebounding presence of Ben Wallace.
Is it enough to land Cleveland in the Finals this year?
Bonzi Wells and Mike James are on the move once again. This time it’s to New Orleans in exchange for Bobby Jackson. Anyone else find it odd that Coach Adelman has started to move his old Sacramento players over to Houston?
The San Antonio Spurs sent 3 point specialist Brent Barry and dog-house resident Francisco Elson and a 2009 draft pick for Kurt Thomas.
I think this is a GREAT move on the part of the Spurs. They get a savvy defensive minded vet who can hit the mid range J and can D up any low post player in the League. He’ll be a great backup to Oberto and it’ll give the Spurs added toughness inside. Most teams are pulling in good offensive players. The Spurs? They’ll stack their team with D.
Good work R.C. Buford an Popp!
And how weird is it that Brent Barry (along with J-Kidd) are going back to the original teams that drafted them?
February 20, 2008 at 10:25 am · Filed under Uncategorized
What an awesome time to be a fan of the NBA. This season has seen some HUGE blockbuster deals take place before the trade deadline greatly altering the East and Western Conferences.
It took an extra week and an extra $11 Million, but Mark Cuban has reacquired Jason Kidd from New Jersey. The final deal looks like this ….
Kidd, forward Malik Allen and swingman Antoine Wright (who was going tobe acquired in a separate trade, apparently) are sent to Dallas for Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Trenton Hassell, Maurice Ager, Keith Van Horn (via sign-and-trade), TWO first-round draft picks this June and in 2010 and $3 million in cash.
He didn’t come cheap, that’s for sure. And the Mavs have sacrificed their future (the picks) for this deal. Now let’s sit back and see if Cuban’s basketball know-how really works. I was actually watching the press conference last night on NBA TV and have to say that everyone involved looked GIDDY to be there. The Daily Dime breaks down some facts about the Kidd deal. Very interesting.
I wonder what the mood was like for New Jersey and Devin Harris in particular – being that he has gone from one the best teams in the West to one of the worst teams in the East.
“A big factor in any Pacers-Nets trade would be the question of whether the Pacers would be willing to take on the remainder of Carter’s contract, or if they would be able to move him elsewhere in a three-way deal that would bring back expiring contracts, a young big man and a draft pick. O’Neal said publicly last summer that he’d welcome a trade to New Jersey, and his stance is not believed to have changed.”
Does O’Neal know what he is saying?
All I have to say about this is the it merely confirms what I thought of Carter. He’s a guy with infinite talent and no heart or desire to use it. New Jersey has had enough. And if the pacers acquire him, they’ll find out the same thing.
This is a great move by Philly. Mo Cheeks is a superb coach. He’s been able to get MAXIMUM production out of minimal talent in Portland and now Philadelphia. Good for them.
Phil Jackson said of Shaq going to the Suns … “His role will be taking the ball out of bounds and waiting for the other team to get back.” – hinting at the belief that Shaq couldn’t keep up with Phoenix’s high powered O.
Shaq’s response …”He’s a jokester, and that’s funny, very funny,” Shaq said without smiling. “Ha-ha. Very funny.” and later added “I don’t take anything personal,” O’Neal said. “I just have a certain file in my head, so Earthlings must be careful with what they say.”
Man …. Phil Jackson is pissing off the giant and Phoenix looks to have that hunger again …. the playoffs this year are gonna be CRAZY!
I’d just like to point out that Orlando has beaten Boston twice and Detroit once this year. The East playoffs could come down more to what Orlando CAN’T do more so than what other teams can do.
And how good is this for Stan Van? After being ousted unceremoniously in Miami, he finds sweet revenge and retribution in The magic Kingdom …
26 11 and 13? Are you kidding me? All that talent being wasted ….. the Cavs need to make some big moves in the next two days if they hope to get ANYBODY to help LeBron James.
But who’s left? Bibby, Kidd, Shaq, Gasol, Marion … all gone.
The trade looks like this …Anthony Johnson, Lorenzen Wright, Tyronne Lue, Shelden Williams AND a 2008 draft pick for Mike Bibby.
Steep price. But Atlanta becomes immediately better because of this. And Bibby will be able to mentor Childress now. But what do you think the chances are that NOW the focus will be on the lack of good defense in Atlanta?
I got $5 on it.
Meanwhile, all LeBron James can do is glare at Cavs management in disgust.
But despite this trade, Atlanta went out yesterday and fell behind by 41 points at the half!
February 15, 2008 at 1:07 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
Jerry Stackhouse’s mouth could have cost the Mavs J-Kidd this season.
After him saying that he’d be back in Dallas within 30 days, there’s been reports that some GMs were furious and rained their disdain on David Stern yesterday.
Rightfully so. That whole deal just reeks of dishonesty and underhandedness to me …..
~sigh~ poor J-Kidd. Stuck playing with Ms. Carter and wasting his few good playing days away in the Swamp.
Oh, speaking of which … The rest of the League is discoveringwhy Canada hates Vince Carter so much right now. He’s so lame, lazy and uninterested that New Jersey is looking to get rid of him in a trade for Indiana’s Jermaine O’Neal – this is after he was signed to a 4 year $61 Million dollar extension. Forget the fact that JO is a shell of his former self … the Nets would rather have HALF a man than Half-Man-Half-Amazing.
And the Nets may not be done just yet …. I’ve been reading about rumours that Mike Miller would go to New Jersey ina trade for Jamaal Magloire and Boki Nachbar …
Have I ever mentioned how much New Jersey sucks? Good thing J-Kidd’s getting out while the gettin’s good.
February 14, 2008 at 4:48 pm · Filed under Uncategorized
So the BIG news yesterday was that Jason Kidd was going home to the team that first drafted him – The Dallas Mavericks.
Reportedly, the deal would have sent J-Kidd and Malik Allen to Dallas in exchange for Devin Harris (Are you kidding me?), DeSagana Diop, Jerry Stackhouse, Maurice Ager and Devean George.
Everything was good to go … 90% done … except that Devean George basically blocked the trade.
How could Devan George block the trade, you ask? He used something called the “Early Bird Rights” rule which says ….
If a player’s current contract is for only one season, his rights are not transferable to another team (they would be transferable if his current contract were for more than one season). Since he would be losing those rights — known as Early Bird Rights — he can choose to accept or deny a proposed trade.
It was named “Early Bird Rights” because of Larry Bird, who had a similar situation happen to him when he played long, long ago.
This is surprising given his stance no more than 2 weeks ago, saying that he wanted to be traded if he wasn’t going to get more floor time. This trade request occurred e=because he’s slated to become a free agent this summer and wanted to increase his stock.
Dallas fans,of course, showed some class by saying things like “C’mon, what are you doing? Stop it. You’re holding things up. … Quit being selfish. C’mon, we want Kidd.’
George’s agent, who orchestrated the soon to be infamous block, when asked about it, said: “We’re not trying to block anything. The issue is that if he agrees to this deal, he has to give up his Bird rights. To lose that tool in today’s world of free agency is a difficult thing to do. In this day and age, the sign-and-trade is a valuable tool that I don’t want to lose for Devean. We’re not trying to cause a problem. Teams have to do what’s in their best interest. Sometimes players do, too. I hate to cause grief, but I have to do what’s best for Devean. It’s not a power play. My job is to protect him.”
I find it hard to be mad at the guy (George) for wanting to get maximum money. Especially when his playing days are winding downs and his role on the Mavs (and maybe Nets?) will be greatly diminished.
Now, the grit of the story is that both organizations are trying to find ways to salvage the deal. They’re trying to include different players and they’re also trying to talk George into going through with it.
Along the same line … one of the players involved in the trade (Stackhouse) has a fishy scenario setting up ….
If the Mavs and Nets go through with the trade, The Nets will more than likely buy out Stack within 30 days and let him become a free agent … at which point he would sign with Dallas once more. What? You sign a player and then waive him?
Seems like the Mavs included Stack in order to meet trade criteria and in no way really wanted to part ways with him. So it works out like this: When the Nets buy out Stack, they would pay him a total of the remaining contract. And when he resigns with the Mavs, he would sign a NEW contract …. big payday for Mr. Jerry.
As far as I’m concerned it’s more a matter of WHEN and not IF Jason Kidd gets moved. No matter how it goes down, it’ll still be … BLOCKBUSTER! ESPN Articles on kidd to mavs
February 13, 2008 at 2:27 am · Filed under Uncategorized
So I decided to take a break from my all nighter and decided to blog – aren’t you privileged?
I was watching the Raptor Game over the weekend (vs. The Mighty Mighty Spurs) and noticed that several times the town of Bathurst was mentioned by Chuck (Swirsky) and Jack (Armstrong).
I didn’t pay any attention to it til they showed the group of people they were talking about. A normal, everyday family. Then Chuck talked about the tragedy.
It seemed like something so distant at that moment. Like something I knew of before but had forgotten. So I got on the net, as I do when I have questions, and typed Bathurst.
I remember that being the hot topic of conversation for about 2 weeks around my part of the world. And then the busyness of life took over.
Well, having remembered the tragic moment and how it was linked made me appreciate the game I was watching that much more.
Yesterday THIS article came out. It had a link to THIS story.
The more I read the articles, the larger the tragedy struck me.
I guess I was so preoccupied with things that I just didn’t want to imagine something so awful happening to anyone I knew. But the more I read, the more drawn in I became. And finally this little thought popped in my head …
How awful it must be for the people who survived the crash. To know that you are fortunate enough to live is great. But to know that the four that survived had no control over anything and that 7 others are dead must be so overwhelming.
And the driver of the van – the team’s coach, also a survivor …. how terrible it must be for him. Not only did he lose his team. But he lost his wife as well. I can’t even imagine the depth, breadth, height and width of the sorrow he must feel.
And then I look at it from a parent’s perspective. Losing a child is one of life’s greatest cruelties, as far as I am concerned. I cannot imagine their grief.
I have to confess … I cried when I read the stories. I still tear up.
And it was one part of the article (and one line in particular) that pushed me over the edge. Codey Branch’s father is quoted as saying something that only a parent in grief would say. He wonders the “what ifs” and “I should have’s” with which I’ll leave this post for today …
“It’s an accident,” Ginette said. “It’s a fraction of a second in time. A fraction of a second in time, and that’s it. That’s all it is.”
And now his family is left with memories.
The last time Dale talked to his son was just before midnight a month ago. Codey had called from his cellphone to let him know they were in Allardville, N.B., about 20 minutes away and would soon be at the McDonald’s outside Bathurst that was the designated pick-up point.
“I can still hear his voice,” Dale said. “I can still hear the kids laughing, I can still hear the music. They were having a good time. I’ll never forget it. If I would have offered to drive them, they never would have gotten in. They wanted to be in that van.”
Some tough times are ahead. My soul goes out to this community in mourning.
