WHAT DO THE LEAFS NEED MOST OF ALL?

           I'm not withdrawing any nasty articles about Leaf's ownership. I can't withdraw a single word.
I meant everything I said about the OWNERSHIP FUCKAROO in Leafs' land.
          They make big money with bad  teams! Then they try to con us. Ownerships assures us they are trying really hard.

BUT:

I made a vow: "I will not die until the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup."
        I made this vow in 1990. I was 13 when I personally (with my dad) watched the Leafs win the Stanley Cup in 1967 FOR THE LAST TIME! (47 years ago).
           Problem is, if you do the math you'll see I'm a hell of a lot older now. And I have employed various stimulants, several forms of hallucinogens,
and an avalanch of booze to make my mind more keen in order to write books and support the
Toronto Maple Leafs.
           But sometimes ( as your wives will tell you)
support means 'telling the truth'.

           I love the players. I always have.
            
           A few  LEAFLINES! I'll make a few suggestion, as usual:


(1) Don't play Bernier in Montreal.  There's too
      much pressure on him.

(2)  Find another defenceman ( from the Marlies
       if necessary....) PLAY # 51 as a forward.
       Stop being so damn stubborn. Get a massage   for those brain cramps! Make him a forward. He's got obvious talent in that role.

(3)    JOSH LEIVO. Keep him in the NHL! Damn!  Get that goal-scorer up from the Marlies! Smarten up! KEEP HIM ON A GOOD LINE. Don't you
know a natural sniper when you see him?
         Some forwards are not meant to play much defence.

(4)    I've been watching this game for 47 years
         and I'm rarely wrong. 

(5)  Bring back McClaren. You're going to need
       him. Don't let the captain fight all the time.
       You need the Captain for DEFENCE and
        McClaren has one hell of a punch. People
         fear him, and fear is an essential tool
                 in the Big League. Fear is worth one
           defenceman.
(6)   The Leafs played pretty damn hard against
        Nashville.  The truth of the matter is,
         Nashville has a stronger team. The cure?
         See above stories re: ownership. How did
          Christian Ehrhoff    make it to Buffalo?
           Why didn't we grab him on the way by?
          Ownership should be willing to spend some
           of the fortune, the monetary bonanza
            they make on the Leafs. As they
            selfishly allow the morale of the City           of         of Toronto to wane and fall into the depths of          depression and despair...
              GIVE,FOOLS, GIVE!   Reach into
              your oh so tight pockets and buy another
              star or two for the team.
                     What a surprise that would be!
              A little generosity. 

           Of  the new guys on the team, here's some of the guys I like:  I love Josh Leivo, a natural
scorer, a sniper. Keep him up in the big club. Let him get used to a good line, then watch what happens in a month or two! 
            I love Komarov, also.
             Vote of confidence for Polak, and Panic,
and I'm forgetting several guys.
               Someone's thinking.  Kudos to the
scouts.
              Of course, Bernier's fine, and the defence
seem to help him a little.
               But Reimer's a better goalie than his press sometimes suggests. The big deal is -
don't let the power forwards of the opposite
team run him.  For God sakes, in the old
days if you got in the crease and knocked over a goalie you were in Big Shit.
               I think the rule must be made more strict
re: running goalies. Why are goalie's such big targets these days?
              If a guy's going to hit your goalie,
HIT HIM before he gets there. The lack of protection Reimer gets from the Leaf's defence is a disgrace!
               Also, tell Reimer not to leave his crease and try to stick-handle.
                 What do the Leafs need to do most of all? Start laying some heavy body checks on the
opposing team! What the hell?
                 Watch some Scott Stevens tapes! 

SHANAHAN - A POSITIVE STEP........... OTHERWISE.......

                                  The addition of Brendan Shanahan as president
of the Toronto Maple Leafs, this move has to be
a plus for the team.
                   Shanahan is a class guy and a good
strategic thinker and  of course he's had a terrific
career as a player.
                   My hope is this - I hope that Brendan
Shanahan  will put up with only so much
humiliation, before he demands that positive
changes be made to the team.
                  Because the Leafs have been losing
for so very, very long, a masochistic situation
has arisen with regard to Toronto hockey
viewing. When the losses start to pile
up again, the sports press enters, scene left,
and starts to pick apart every circumstance
that led to every loss.
               Every gaff is seen through
a magnifying glass, and this intense situation
is hard on the psyches of the young players
trying to make it as Leafs.

               This situation can weigh on the
mind of a Leaf President, also.
               I've been a leaf fan for a very
long time, and it has taken a lot
to make me as cynical as I am today
about the motives of Leaf Management.
                When the Argos were constantly losing
years ago, they were still very popular,
because it was still fun going to the games,
and having a few drinks and booing
good-naturedly.
         But Toronto is a hockey town, and
there's nothing funny about  the Leafs
losing for decades  and living in the
basement and continuing to do so,
with no end in sight!
         Nothing funny at all.  Changes will be
made to the Toronto Maple Leafs
management's methods and attitudes.
If changes are not made from within,
changes will have to be made externally
to alter the monopolistic hockey
situation in the Toronto area.
         All anyone can do at the moment is hope
that the appointment of Brendan Shanahan
is the beginning of positive changes 
within the Leaf organization.

               Otherwise...

               I think perhaps Leaf's Management ought to
understand that this really is the
end of the line for them... only a few more years, and
this present situation will be excised utterly,
as in a 100% excise tax.

CHEAP AND DUMB AND DETERMINED TO LOSE

                      There was weeping and wailing
in Toronto Maple Leaf land last night and the
 day before. WEEPING AND WAILING AND GNASHING
OF TEETH...BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON,
I KNELT DOWN AND WEPT.

            If the Buffalo Sabres were wealthy and brave
enough to bring back Matt Moulson at 25 million
dollars over 5 years... why under all the formerly
bright stars of the milky way couldn't Toronto
Maple Leaf management sea its way clear to
bring back Dave Bolland, who is a far more
valuable player than Matt Moulson?
            This is not to sell Moulson short. He's a damn
good player, and probably helps inspire the team,
just like Dave Bolland did for the Maple Leafs...
Only Dave Bolland played a far more important
inspirational role.
             There's no question about his importance
to the team.  Last year the Leafs were on a terrific
and nearly record win streak.
             What happened next?
 
             DAVE BOLLAND WAS INJURED
AND THE WIN STREAK WAS OVER...!!!!

            But, woe is me! The bright days of winning
 are over. Stupidity and greed, once more, have won the
day. Toronto sports fans have just been
SCREWED AGAIN...
            Once more this phrase passed through
my head, just as when Bolland was injured
las year:  THERE GOES THE SEASON!

            I remember one other day, as gloomy as
this one... Many years past, the Toronto Maple Leafs
traded Steve Thomas, at the height of his powers, to
Chicago.
              The Leafs wouldn't cough up the necessary 12,000 dollars.... Yes, that was the sticking point - some
paltry sum of money.
               And what happened as a result of this
blood simple, short-sided moron-time lack of
thought?
              Oh, yes.

               THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS WON THE CUP!

THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS CONTINUED TO WALLOW
IN THE MIRE OF STUPIDITY, BLINDNESS
AND BUNGED-UP BRAIN CRAMPS!

                FOOLS!

                 FOOLS!

                  FOOLS!

                   My friends, Leaf Fans across this
noble land, join me this evening as I crawl down to the Don River on my knees, a two hundred pound cross on my back... And by the shore of the River, I will pour ashes on my head and wail at the loss
of hopes that might have been.
                  Great Babylon has fallen.
The GREED-HEADS in Toronto Maple Leafs
management have done it again! 
                  The MORONS are running the show.
The slathering rabid avaricious fools once
more have won the day.

                  THE BLIND ARE DRIVING THE BUS!

                  We are the fans! We're the ones
 who pay for this show.  Does no one consider us?
Is no one looking out for us? Does no one
care about the Spirit of Toronto?


                                     Leaf fans are smart.  We know we've
been screwed. We know this means DOOM
for the team. 

THIS IS THE TIME TO STICK TOGETHER!

         The most intelligent,
insightful statement made by any of the
leaders of this half-assed crazy world
has been made - not by our prime minister........
not by the president of the USA, and not by the
premier of Russia ...........

         Nope.

          And what do we expect?

           We don't expect our political  leaders
to be intelligent! And we get exactly
what we've expected....


           BUT IN CANADA - LAND OF THE WILD
AND THE FREE

           we damn well do expect brains
and mental capacity
            FROM OUR HOCKEY LEADERS!!


            And do you know what?
             We get what we expect
in this arena, also. And thank God for
 this!

              Dion Phoneuf has just come
forward with the most intelligent, insightful
statement I have heard in a long time.

                 "When we're losing, when times are
tough... this is the time to stick together."
                  He has proved why he is the
captain of the TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS,
the greatest team ever to play hockey on land or
sea or in outer space.
                What character!
                  What truth!
                    What deep insight!

                      I am so very proud once again
to be a LEAF fan!!!
                      We just won the cup! The real cup -

the trophy it takes brains, belief and character to win -

what class! what a guy!
WHAT A TEAM!
WHAT A COUNTRY!

                                       FINALLY SOMEONE HAS MADE
A STATEMENT THAT MEANS SOMETHING!

                     I'm tired of morons and fools
and self-centered gloating actors
stuffing the airwaves with idiocy and dross!

                    This is why hockey is a great game -
because sometimes it brings out the best in us.

                    Hey, Dion, good man!  Now we know
why you're captain! We know why you lead the team!

                    When are you going to run
for politics? (Whoops!  I'm sorry!
Why would you bother?)

                     This is the finest bit
                             of wisdom and wit
                                   I have heard publicly stated
                                                                        in a very long time!



GO LEAFS!
I LOVE YOU GUYS!



                                  You just made it, baby!

THE BELLY OF THE BEAST AND HEAVEN'S DOOR: MANIC-DEPRESSIVE ILLNES, HOW TO PREDICT WHEN YOUR GAME WILL BE OFF---------HOW TO PREDICT YOUR DANGEROUS TIMES

THE BELLY OF THE BEAST AND HEAVEN'S DOOR - A DISCUSSION OF MANIC-DEPRESSIVE ILLNESS;----------HOW TO PREDICT YOUR DANGEROUS TIMES

                             Somewhere between one in ten to one in twenty players will be affected.


                                 I've been in the belly  of
the beast for three weeks now, underwater, in the
tunnel. And the worst part of it - I didn't know it.
I thought the Doom that I was feeling
was permanent: feeling doom was simply reality, just the way it things are. Learn to live with it.
            Right! That is horrible advice!


            I feel just fine now. The cycle is moving
along in its inexorable way and I don't worry about 
a thing. I can organize twelve things at once
that's what I think in the manic part of my life.
And the problem is, at that particular time, I
really can do it!
                        So I get twelve projects started,
and people agreeing to work with me. I
can make million dollar deals. I once
put a bid in for a gravel pit.
            I put in a call to the owner at
7:30 A.M. and he was up.  I asked
him how much he wanted for his pit
trucks, conveyers and loaders. He said
7 million.
            We phoned each other back
and forth. By breakfast I had him down
to 4 million.I'm good at that kind of
bargaining. 
           Problem was I had about
three dollars in the bank. 
           There was the fact that
I didn't really want or need a gravel pit
to begin with. You might say, "How crazy
can you get? Buying something
you don't even want."
          Well I can get a lot crazier
than this. Once I get an IDEA and
I'm manic, well, I'll follow the idea
through rapidly
          
            It's all this manic energy running
through me. You can make deals that
you think you can manage. And maybe
you would be able to manage a major
enterprise, if you stayed in that manic
state.
            Problem is, next comes depression.
And when you are in deep clinical depression,
 all your ability to follow through is gone
and all urges to follow through are extinguished.
You are immobilized. And you can be in
serious trouble.
           In deep and ongoing depression,
 the only creative urge you might have,
is the urge to end the utter misery
of your worthless life...(you are saying
this to yourself. The negative script
is a component of depression - and the voice(s)
in your head telling yourself how stupid and useless
you are, how lazy... And on top of these things,
what a prick you are!
            This continuing script, in my view,
has to be attacked.


            One quarter to one third of manic
depressives kill themselves. So obviously
it's a dangerous disease.
             I hadn't been taking my diagnosis
seriously. I just thought I was way, way out
there. I started plotting out my cycle for
the depressed period, way before I knew
about any diagnosis, I knew I was subject
to a disturbing cycle.
            
             There's a short period of time
during your depression, I call it "the depressive
peak." That's when you have to really
watch yourself. You can really go over the
top, during the peak ( which might be
3 days or thee hours or three weeks).
 You have to counter the negative self-talk 
with  positive images, which you have prepared
repeatedly.

         There are ways to train yourself
to picture  one scene of a place you love,
or a person you love with whom you feel
grounded, or tender moments with a dog or cat.
 You find these moments of joy within yourself
(And sometimes it takes a week to think up
even one such image. Don't worry. Just
don't stop. You need the positive image to
counteract the ravening beast who is calling
you names, deep in your own mind.

       Press one index finger on one hand
against the index finger of the other hand.        
This becomes a trigger for you.
        Every time you press the two
fingers together, you imagine your
beautiful scene.
        When you have a horrible
suicidal thought, you trigger the scene
to offset the doom and gloom of
the thought , and it helps...truly
it does help. But it takes a while
and it takes practice.
       You have to practice. The
non-medicinal cure takes work.
It works better if you can borrow
a hypnotist to help you with your "imagining
sessions"     and to help you embed your image
into your mind so you can call up the scenes
of joy and happiness quickly, when  you  are
in desperate straits. When you are under 
attack...
       We all get in desperate straits. I used
to hit the depressive peak every thirty-four
days. I'd map the times of my cycle. I had to, 
to protect my life, it was a lot better when I knew
the timing of each phase my cycle time  map.
        I used to call it my 'psyche map'. At
least when you are attacked, 
when this dark curtain is pulled across
your heart and mind, you know  when it's
 coming. You have a calendar of days.
       You have a map of your own psyche. By
writing down notes on each stage of your
cycle, as you pass through each cycle,
you can nail the time frames down. It will take
about three times through, to get a somewhat
accurate cycle time map.
       You know when your depressive peak is coming
 And more important you know when it's leaving, and
you know it IS GOING TO LEAVE.
         You know this dark beast is
leaving. And you have a projection
as to how soon it will leave. So you
know this terrible darkness will stay for just
so long. 
          This way you are dealing with
a finite situation. You are no longer facing
 infinite misery. The feeling of Doom 
will NOT stay with you for the rest of your life.
         
          Just this one little step
can make a huge  improvement
in your life. You are going from
passive to active.  And that
always feels good and helps relieve
the feeling of "helpless" and "hopeless"
       
       Of course , there are
exceptions! I've just come out
of a 2 or 3 month depression
and I didn't even know I was depressed!
Sometimes it comes up on you from
behind...
       And creeps into your being
slowly, oh so slowly that you don't
feel its presence or it's growing
power over you, until you're  in a situation
that seems impossible to change.
(This is starting to sound like a sci-fi
 movie)
.     The weird stuff happens. There's
no denying this fact. But I'd say the 
'psyche cycle',the timing of your cycle,
which enables you to project your dangerous
time... I'd say this works and will help you
8/10ths of the time. 




                                     Good luck and happy hunting.
                                     Respectfully submitted, R.R.R.
                                     (C)2014 by William G. Milne 

CHANGING BELIEF SYSTEMS - THE MENTAL PART OF THE GAME---------------WHAT I MEAN BY, "THE ZONE"

        When any of these top eight players gets
"IN THE ZONE",; any one of these
guys can beat any of the others.        


        Getting "in the zone" is what this blog
is all about.
          There are specific ways to do it, ways
to get there... But we are really entering
into the area of meditative techniques.
          There is such a thing as meditation
in action. That's part of what the dervishes
are all about.
          There are also yogic techniques
that apply.
           It's not a method you can use just
anywhere - I try not to get into too
deep a meditative state on my bicycle, 
for example.
           But tennis is a game well-suited
for meditation in action. I'll have to
get a better phrase for this discipline -
the "Art of Ecstasy" comes to mind, but this
is not a phrase that I have invented.
           Getting "in the zone" is a good
phrase. You know you're 'there', when
there are no thoughts in your mind,
just a intense, burning attention to
every movement you see across the net.

          Runners know  about "the zone".
In fact, a combination of the feeling
that you have when the endorphins start
to click  in - plus that sense of utter
concentration that comes with hard
breathing and strong exercise -
this is why many distance runners run.
Also, more casual runners who run
just for  exercise and  health,
who are not necessarily racing a stopwatch,
they know about "the zone" also.
         
           Let's face it, this moment of the
intense concentration of a mind
that is fully aware is a delight!
The game is to find the joy at
the core of things, without being
burdened with an endless train of 
thought.
           Full concentrated awareness
without content, while in the midst
of focused activity - this is the joy
of sports! But I must say, tennis
is particularly relevant  to this
kind of awareness, this joy of the
zone.
           There is a lot of empty
space in tennis. The situation
you are facing is more cosmic
than cluttered.
            Across the area in which
you play is a net full of holes - more
empty space! And an opponent some
distance away... firing balls in your
direction at high rates of speed.
             And you are running and reacting
in a court that is exactly big enough
to challenge even the best athelete.
The area and size of the tennis court
is a work of art, almost a work of genius.
          Any larger, and nobody would be able to
make it to the lines. Any smaller area
between the lines, and the challenge would
start to disappear - the elegance of the
strokes would become constricted.
          Tennis is the enemy of the enslaved,
monkey-like mind.

          Like in the martial arts, the player
is in a situation where any thought at all
impedes reaction times.
           Intense concentrated awaresness
without content, aided by pain-killing endorphins
fed with the energy of a fully functioning 
cardiovascular system - this is the joy of 
the game! And tennis is the game of life!
          
       Yes, and so is hockey!


                                   
       The Martial Arts, Tennis and Hockey - it's all about
clearing reaction time.

DAVE BOLLAND, MOJO MAGIC MAN FOR TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

         I realize a severed or badly-cut tendon
can be a worse injury than a broken leg. Tendons
are hard to repair and take time healing.
      This is well known. But Dave Bolland seems
to be some kind of a magic man for the Toronto Maple
Leafs, and as his fortunes go, so do the fortunes
of the team.
      I remember thinking the moment he had that
injury - "There goes our season!" And damn it,
I wish for once I was wrong!

      Get well, Dave! And even if you can't play.
Come and sit down beside the bench. Because
whatever you have, we need it bad!
       I know it's your playing we need, but you seem
to possess some kind of invisible 'mojo' as well.

       I know there's no superstition in sports...
ha! ha! That was a joke!

       Having been raised in a country where voodoo
is practised, let me tell you. 'mojo' is real. And we need
yours now! 
                Here's hoping you're feeling a little better.






          And... sorry for the 'Mojo Magic Man' handle. That's the kind of thing that sticks.

THE ZONE - HOW NOT TO DEFEAT YOURSELF

My last article on hockey and The Zone was
in "THE TENNIS PSYCHOLOGIST" blog.

Tennis is a game in which the mental aspect
of the game has to be tuned...sharpened to a fine point
which is essential for fast reaction.In fact, the word, "sharpened" is incorrect. The mind must be emptied
of all content, until only focus remains.

Tennis is a game in which keen awareness is essential;
it's one on one. Utter attention across space is necessary.

But hockey is really not that different. When you watch
a great goal scorer sweeping down towards the net , like an eagle, you'll notice there is no hurry about his movements, only utter deliberation, intense focused sight.

Great speed, perhaps, but no hurry. Fluidity rather
than hurry.  The no mind, the empty mind allows great co-ordination to arise without impediment.

And a sense of NO TIME...

This calm in the midst of frenetic activity
is MIND which partakes  of the ZONE...

WINNING OR LOSING
LEARNING HOW TO STAY IN THE ZONE
this is what sports is all about.

I have become knowledgeable in this study, 
having lived at  high intensity  for  most of my life.

Because of the extremes of my own personality,
it was necessary for me to learn how to sit still
and watch the river flow within me, watch as the muddied
stream slowly, slowly turned clear again.

Working  hard, trying hard, this was not difficult
for me. What was difficult for me was learning
how to not try - how to let the river flow on
its own, how to leave well enough alone,
and not try to control the country of the soul.

Make no mistake, whether the activity you pursue
is music, or sports, or courtroom battle -
these activities can best be carried out in a state
of no mind... an intense state of utter attention
without specific content. 

Thoughts like: "I wonder who Mary's with now?"

                                                 or: "The coach is going to hate me for that
                            last move."

or: "My whole family is gone..."
or: "I'm going to break that fucker's neck!"

All these thoughts hinder fast reaction.
When you think about it - and if you're a professional
athlete you'll already know this: extraneous thoughts
slow reaction time.

Right now I'm only talking about instantaneous thoughts.

But there is a whole way of thinking that can screw you
up deeply --- an unconscious wave of negative thoughts ...
and these waves repeat and repeat, the same stream
of ugly self-destroying thoughts... over and over
again.... this is THE NEGATIVE SCRIPT...

MOST PEOPLE HAVE THE NEGATIVE SCRIPT TO SOME DEGREE... 

And this will screw you up - whether you're performing in the rink, in the courtroom, or on stage - you do not need
the negative script.


NOTES:

 Hang onto #38 MacLaren.
Do NOT trade him.  

 RE: David Boland's Injury. The Leafs' Season died with his
       injury.I'm not saying it was deliberate, but...
       It occurs to me, the rules should be changed --- Any
player who causes an injury to another that causes him
to lose over one month of play, should be made legally
liable. The injured player ought to be able to pursue
a civil suit against any player in the NHL who causes that lengthy an injury.
       You'll see long-term injuries fall off in number,
considerably. And you'll see deliberate moves to injure
fall off to nearly zero.
        With a civil suit, the situation is much more serious
than a mere fine in punishment. A year's lost wages,
if the guy's getting paid $3 million a year. That hurts
a whole lot more!