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20 saturday may 15 2004 economist sun suntribune diversions all quiet in leafland as playoff futility eclipses year 37 byjohncudmore staff writer its the death of a nation the leaf nation to be precise and when things go quiet they go really quiet only fans of the toronto maple leafs can ride the roller- coaster of wins and losses to such broad emotional extremes hang ing on every detail of their beloved team until the very end alas that end arrived too soon once again for the diehards just as it has for what 37 years straight now and when the leafs exit the stanley cup playoff chase the nation not only falls into a state of mourning it can be a lifealter ing occurrence as the faithful look for ways to cope until next year it is a certainty the calgary flames and tampa bay lightning hardly carry the same cache but for hockey fans they will have to suffice suddenly the pregame rituals and superstitions are shoved aside as the nation goes back to reality you can tell by the state of my house the leafs are out said sandra turnsek a newmarket resident and diehard maple leafs fan in fact i think ill get a fair bit of housework done now for me ill be paying more atten tion to my family and house ill look in on the other teams but with not as much focus id kind of like to see calgary and tampa bay in the final in her home the rest of the family has varying degrees of interest in the team but she serves as the soul of the maple leafs theyll watch for a while and then go do their own things they have other interests unlike some fanatics mrs turnseks pregame rituals are hardly unusual sure she has the leafs apparel staff photosjoerd witteveen maple leafs fan and markville shopping centres fan attic collectables assistant manager dave walker sits amid a pile of unsold leafs merchandise although the team showed a lot of heart in the playoffs they were simply outmatched by the philadelphia flyers the sweatshirt tshirt pin and cap but is not one of those who pulls on the stuff left side first or anything karmalike you hear about those fans who dont go to the bathroom and the leafs do well so they wont go the next time either i guess everyone thinks they affect the outcome of a game basically i just make sure dinner is out of the way and everyone else is out of my way they clear the area because they know i do a lot of yelling but wasnt this supposed to be the leafs year as usual of course mrs turnsek said every year we think well win when the leafs season ends few businesses suffer like the watering holes where the faithful gather to root on their heroes with others of the same ilk sharks flyers sorry just doesnt cut it the game is on but nobody is interested in watching people arent coming in to watch the games said piero occhiogrosso manager at archibalds see bars page 24 a nations history overall playoff record 2432563 stanley cup championships 1966- 67 196364 196263 196162 195051 194849 194748 1946- 47 194445 194142 193132 2004 lost to philadelphia 42 eastern conf semifinal 2003 lost to philadelphia 43 eastern conf quarterfinal 2002 lost to carolina 42 eastern conf final 2001 lost to new jersey 43 eastern conf semifinal 2000 lost to new jersey 42 eastern conf semifinal 1999 lost to buffalo 41 eastern conf final 1996 lost to st louis 42 western conf quarterfinal 1995 lost to chicago 43 western conf quarterfinal 1994 lost to vancouver 41 western conf final 1993 lost to los angeles 43 western conf final 1990 lost to st louis 31 norris division semifinal 1988 lost to detroit 42 norris division semifinal 1987 lost to detroit 43 norris division final 1986 lost to st louis 43 norris division final 1983 lost to minnesota 3t1 prelim inary round 1981 lost to ny islanders 30 pre liminary round 1980 lost to minnesota 30 prelim inary round 1979 lost to montreal 40 quarter final 1978 lost to montreal 40 semifi nal 1977 lost to philadelphia 42 quar terfinal 1976 lost to philadelphia 43 quar- terfinal 1975 lost to philadelphia 40 quar terfinal see 67 page 24 sheryl greenspan notes on a napkin familyrun restaurant bellissimo mille piatti location 9929 keele st maple phone 9053030777 type italian entree selection extensive price range 895 to 1795 hours closed sunday 1 he name mille piatti literally translates to 1000 plates and i this is what youll find hanging on the walls of this lovely fami- lyrun restaurant well maybe not exacdy 1000 plates but that was the original intent according to adriano stravino who along with his uncle and chef maurizio buttinelli coown and run this delightful neighbourhood gem for the past 10 years mille piatti has been a labour of love for the unclenephew team who hail from rome during the week the place is qui eter and getting a table is not usually a problem but come the weekends things pick up and reservations are rec ommended for friday or saturday nights the menu offers a tempting variety and the prices considering the gener ous portions of what is quite obviously fresh homemade fare are far less than other local italian bistros we started with an order of mussels steamed with onions garlic tomatoes and white wine 725 the bowl was overflowing and the mussels were large and perfectly prepared there are sever al traditional italian salads including caprese 795 fresh tomato with boc- concini cheese and basil and the peren- see all page 23 jjvr psrfiinamgarlfi celebrating j 20 years ojvj marveh j subscribe save subscribe to any of our fabulous series or chooseyourown series and save fup to 36 on single ticket purchases to see our entire new professional entertainment season or for more information call for your free season brochure today jh 905305show ggg tollfree i 8667688801 jamie fvpo itke theatre pre ti tnt i i xmsi 2 pm sw mitt 1 5 i cfiiwsl2 stiltskrt ov2820044 jhssu 1302005 il3m2pm iji7 adult 18- v jg- child s 16 hilton suites m i