The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Although the weather may not be an accurate indicator, I assure you that we are in the dog days of summer. Around town, I can't say that there is a whole lot of sporting activities taking place on a daily basis, but we do what we can to make sure there is something to look at on the sports page every day. Even in my daily travels, rarely do I see kids enjoying recreational activities outside, other than the spray pools and the local skateboard hangouts. Of course there are exceptions to this, but most kids seem to be either spending the summer at the lake or in front of the television. If your kids are looking for something to do, the City of Flin Flon provides a couple of options during the summer months. Pretty much every day during the summer, the Flin Flon Aqua Centre holds a public swim from 1-4 p.m., and again from 6:30-8:30 p.m. (except Saturday evening, which is reserved for family swims). This Friday afternoon is a special fun day at the pool. See the ad below. If your kids are the right age, Summer in the Parks is an excellent opportunity for them to enjoy the summer and meet new friends. As well, there are acres of park land in Flin Flon and area, and I can't think of too many kids that don't have a bike, roller blades, a scooter or a skateboard. If all else fails, two feet and a heartbeat is still the best option for getting around in the summer. See 'Whitney' P.# Con't from P.# If you don't like the heat, ice is already in the Whitney Forum, and Beastie will be posting times for scrub hockey as early as Tuesday next week, so dust off the blades and get them sharpened up. Hockey School is also just around the corner, and you can register at the Whitney Forum during the Roller Goodwin Memorial Classic this weekend, which is another thing to enjoy. My favourite summer activity when I was growing up in Flin Flon was throwing a ball around, be it a football or baseball. More recently, I've taken up paintball, and earlier this week I made it to the Phantom Lake Golf Course for my first round in two years. These are just a few ideas for kids with cabin fever, who can't wait to get back to school in September. Around the wide world of sports, my Roughriders are starting to get their act together in the Canadian Football League, but the Blue Jays are having problems with their bullpen, despite the money they invested in relief pitching in the off season. Hockey experts predict that there will be no NHL season next year, which will be a disappointment to many people come October. If the owners and players can't get their act together soon, we will get to see a lot deeper coverage of some other winter sports, such as figure skating and downhill skiing. Personally, I think both sides are being greedy and could use a good kick in the pants by the side that really matters - the fans. After all, we are essentially the ones who pay the salaries of the players AND fill the pockets of the owners, who incidentally, have put away $300 million dollars in case of a lockout - more money than all 30 teams combined claimed to have lost last season. Finally, Mike Tyson will be back in the ring tomorrow, with much less hype than he is used to. The former champion-turned-freak-show will face Danny Williams in the ring on Friday night, in an attempt to save his boxing career. Tyson, who has been better known for his antics outside of the ring (notorious for biting ears, serving prison terms and threatening to eat Lennox Lewis's children), has had a much more reserved approach to this fight. He didn't have anything crazy to say on Wednesday during a press conference, claiming he wants to put the past behind him. So why is he getting back into the ring? If enough people pay the $50 pay-per-view charge to see Friday's fight, he will be able to pay off some of the $38 million he owes creditors. It won't be much of a fight, however, as Tyson is still a 9-1 odds-on favourite to beat Williams, who was knocked out in four rounds by Julius Francis, the same fighter that didn't last two rounds with Tyson.
