The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

n 45 years of being a fullâ€"ume sportswriter at two different Il!nlanu daily papers. I have few regrets about my chosen profession. However, there‘s one thing | wish I had done differently over that span, starting about five years into my journalistic journey. I wish 1 had put a buck or two aside and info my young RRSP every time somebody asked me why 1 would focus so much on high school sports and not try to cover the big guys in the National Hockey League in Toronto or Buffalo, the NFL in Buffalo or the CFHI in Hamilton or Toronto. Needless to say, had [ done that back in the early 1960s and for all those years thereafter, 1 would be roaming some highâ€" end golf course in Arizona right now instead of churning out this deathless prose in an effort to keep my head above the poverty level. OK, that may be laving it on a little thick but you get my ; drifi. Literally thousands of people have asked me that quesâ€" tion over the years, never understanding why my passion for | sports coverage lay with the kids and not with the soâ€"called | grownâ€"ups T As the labour disputt â€" and I‘m not sure that‘s the right term â€" grinds on endlessly in the National Hockey League, 1 just chuckle to myself and think: OU Geek, you had it right all along. Stick with the young men and women who play for the love of the game, school pride and with genuine enthusiasm and to hell with the overpaid, whiney pro athâ€" letes and the stupid, rich team owners who are mostly on ego trips. While high school sports was " c o mntis‘c fl my area of greatest enjoyment, 1 JOHNS also relished my share of Junior A and B hockey coverage, softball/fastball in the summer months and a myriad of other activities, like badminton and lawn bow!lâ€" ing, that had little to do with the pursuit of the almighty dollar. But right to the end, it always came back to dealing with the kids. whether it was basketball, field hockey, volleyball. soccer. footbali, swimming. taick and field or whatever. Do you know how nice it was to talk to a girl or boy after a particular event and see their faces light up because they had just won someâ€" thing and as an added bonus they also knew they were going to get their name in the paper? How do you measure that in dolâ€" lars and cents? Although ! have loved hockey since my days of playing a nonskates form of it on the backstreets of Niagara Falls, I couldâ€" Don‘t get me wrong. I had plenty of enjoyable bigâ€"time interviews over the years with people like hockey greats Gordie Howe and Maurice (Rocket} Richard, boxing champion Floyd Patterson, figureâ€"skating legends Toller Cranston and Ron Shaver and more golf stars than I can count, including Amold Palmer, Gary Player and Canadians Gary Cowan, Dave Barr, Jim Nelford and that sweet. feisty litde tiger called Marlene Stewart Streit. to name just a few. NHL squabbling Ready, willing and ‘Abel‘, says goalie turning me off Cold Weather Gloves . _.._.._._........$9.99 »a »: 3/$20.00 Fantom Titanium Golf Balls .....$12.99 15 peg ar 22$22.00 Selected Mizuno & Ping Caps .. Req $29.99 $11.99 »a Wilson 1200 Graphite Woods .........Reg s99.99 $39.99 » 2i Y MANY INSTORE SPECIALS! e thing I wish I had done differently about five years into my journalistic Continued on page 28 -.*‘ Canada‘s Most Trusted Golf Retailer Since 1969 mfi J i2 C | ou i YÂ¥o i wi \ she‘s fac | history | | filn | t: I works for Goodyear with all the rubber she‘s faced in the sixâ€"game history of the Sir John A. MacDonald Highlanders girls hockey team. But after facing more than 200 shots so far with her firstâ€"year club, goalâ€" tender Chelsea Abel said she doesn‘t mind the work. Especially with the gameâ€"toâ€" game improvements she‘s seen from her teammates. Alter being shut out in the first two games, the girls won the first game in the history of the newly opened school a few weeks ago. They also earned a tie that same week. "I haven‘t faced as much rubber lately because the girls are getting their sticks on the ice and putting the puck in the net a little more," said Abel. "The score might not show it, but defiâ€" nitely if you look at the shots e KW Granite club got its first test l run in hosting worldâ€"class curling talent when World Champion Anne Dunn and others participated at a Scott Tournament of Hearts playdown at the former Rink in the Park last week. That includes current Nokia Bries champion Mark Dacy of Halifax, N.S.. who knocked off Randy Ferbey going for his fourth consecutive Brier win. Six of the top 10 money winners on the But that was just the appetizer to next week‘s main course as the M&M Meats Shops $100,000 Skins Game comes to town bringing with it a who‘s who of Canadian men‘s curling. World Curling tour will also be in attenâ€" dance, including former Brier champiâ€" ons Kevin Martin, Russ and Glenn Howard, Wayne Middaugh and Jeff Stoughton. A former Canadian junior champ and Granite Club alumus, on Morris, will also be competing in the Dec. 27â€"29 Granite club ready to host Canada‘s best SPORTS By Bos Vrranac Chrontcle Staff would By Bos Vrsanac â€" Chronicle Staff BAGS (PS 9" Cart Bag ...« TNT 916 Cart Bagq Edison Double Strap Std. Baq Top Flite Tugger 9" Cart Bag Cobra 9" Std. Bag m SETS MLH & MRH Duamond Back MLH & MRH Edison s 360 MLH & MRH FWS MLH & MRH GFG MRH Wilson Orca MLH Armour 835 MLH Witson Orca MLH Taylor Made 200 senies think she Goodyear Sir John A. MacDonald Highlander‘s goaltender Chelsea Abel turns away a WCI Vikings shot. on net, our end is coming _ town rivals, the WC[Vikings, _ attended WCI last vear, down while their end is _ with a little momentum last _ including Abel. going up. week at Albert McCormick "I know more than haif "That‘s a great thing to Arena. The Highlanders _ this team, and sometimes I see." were also looking for some _ think it‘s not as fun playing So they entered their first _ backyard bragging rights, as _ against people you know. grudge match against crossâ€" a number of the players Continued on page 28 CA Clle ‘ ib e > j JBE ‘ { § J | aHk | [ h H k: } o e ; e 1 _A $ | i o | j + isA k . m » lb * : * & 5 Ti #asd â€" "ats" e f P $ 2 Ne s § ® } *4 + f . .o _f ' 2 | , "“_"‘M M â€" Al | > Cl pe ‘ ; ho\ FeF 0 | ht yR | R =~ D t 4P e ‘ , N § â€" } riks hi § > 95 a & e â€" N wulmabdg o Arur~. & KE * s .1j 6 "coiiimeinyâ€"> / ; f~}+â€" : a > ~ ~ o Apagings event just down the road from his old stomping grounds at Wilfrid Laurier University, where he earned a business degree. Lew Ayers, president of the KW Gran ite Club, said Mortis won‘t recognize his new surroundings. The club is using the pame $100,000 stainless steel stainless steel stainless steel stainiess steel stainless steel stainless steel stainless steel 11 pc 11 pc 11 pc 11 pc 11 pc 8 pc 11 pc 8 pc Req $129.99 Req $119.99 Reg $89.99 Reg $119.99 Reg $169.99 graphite stee! steel stee! graphute steel steel graphite $299.99 $199.99 $299.99 $299.99 $349.99 $249.99 $299.99 $599.99 $39.99 $59.99 $59.99 $74.99 $139.99 In the Skins format, like the skins game in golf, players win ends of varying value until there is an overall money "There‘s just a handful of tickets left," said Avers. "And it really bodes well for the event." "We‘ve goiten some very positive comments about the new Granite Club," said Ayers about the facility which just hosted a grand opening of its new lounge and locker rooms in November. "It‘s amazing to see the reacâ€" tion of people coming in for the first time in comparison from the old to the new. Skins Game as a coming out party for the new curling centre in the heart of Waterloo. And with more than 90 per cent of the tickets for the threeâ€"day event sold, and more than 2,500 people expected to attend, the best place most people will have of seeing the refurbished centre on the edge of Waterloo Park is on Sportâ€" snet as the games get prime time treatâ€" ment each night. www.rwwaterlioo.com "I know more than half this team, and sometimes I think it‘s not as fun playing against people you know. Continued on page 28 CLICK HERE Yolkswagen New & Certified Preâ€"awned Cars Volkswagen Waterioo Continued on page 29