Bumble Bee Melody, Whoopsy and Pending Dismissal!

Alas, week three in blogger world with many things to dwell upon. First and foremost I must inform you all that I have recently been the recipient of a threat - I am told by my immediate supervisor that if I mention his name, diet and/or fitness again that I will be dismissed. Tempting - I could use a holiday.

The World Cup is well underway with all of the usual anticipation; however, I would not be alone in suggesting that thus far we as viewers world wide have been left underwhelmed. Dull, low scoring affairs, prone to incredible blunders and uninteresting headlines. With little doubt the grandest blunder thus far would be Robert Green and his lapse of concentration at the worst possible time in the recent England - USA fixture: Whoopsy! I must say I did feel a bit for him and remain most impressed with both his ability to remain in the match; making a fantastic save in the second half, in addition to how he and his teammates have handled the media post match.

Vuvuzela - sometimes called a "lepatata" (its Tswana name) or a "headache" (its Television Audio name) is by design a blowing horn up to approximately 1m in length. It is commonly blown by fans at soccer matches in South Africa. Technically speaking the instrument is played using a simple brass instrument technique of blowing through compressed lips to create a buzz, and emits a loud monotone - Bb3 if you must know. As I sat down to view the first match of the World Cup I annoyingly spent most of the first half trying to diagnosis what I was sure an audio difficulty with my television as the sound of a massive parade of bumble bee's invading my surround sound was all new to me. I am told this is a part of South Africa and their culture thus I will leave it alone BUT wow what a deeply troubling sound to endure.

Moving on - 770 CHQR AM Radio is hosting a World Cup show and have asked several local soccer figures to sit in and offer their insight to the "beautiful game" airing live on Tuesday Evenings from 8:00PM. This week's guest was to be our very own Shaun Lowther; however, Shaun has backed out at the eleventh hour upon discovering that CHQR would in fact not be feeding him! None the less the show must go on and tonight's guest will be Tino Fusco of Mt Royal University and the Alberta Soccer Association which poses to be interesting as I do know the local police have been searching for Tino's personality for quite some time. In all seriousness I love Tino and in fact my kids refer to him as Uncle Tino but the sound of silence this evening could prove to be an awkward radio moment. Yes, yes I too will be a guest on the program in the coming week's which is strange considering I am blessed with television looks but sadly will be hidden on the radio - I need an agent.

Finally, I am excited to announce that Calgary United whom both Shaun and I coach are privileged to play host to Esporte Clube Vitoria from Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. The match features the very best Calgary has to offer versus a team known as one of the elite clubs in Brazil. Vitoria plays in the Serie A and look to provide a rare opportunity for all of us to get a glimpse of some pure quality right here in Calgary. A special thanks to Chris Baker (CUFC Owner) for organizing such an event and I hope to see many of you at the pitch on June 25th cheering on your local boys on a world stage. Please see our nsdsc website for the press release and ticket information.

Team of the week: NSDSC Saints 95 - a well played match versus the league leaders of U16 Tier 1 girls and a remarkable performance at the past Academy session despite having spent two days at Spruce Meadows in a fundraising contest. Pure Class and a direct result of the coaching staff Dean Drozdiak and Wes Oddan. Well Done!

Have a great week on the pitch and enjoy the World Cup! I'm out.

"It's the lack of belief that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself" - the great Muhammad Ali.