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.
I made the best shot of my short golf career during the Flin Flon Bomber tournament last Friday. From roughly 60 feet out, I hit a line drive shot with my nine-iron and made its way toward the hole. Then the unbelievable happenedÉ it hit the flag and stopped two inches left of the cup. Randy Winfield, who was in the group, and a die-hard Canucks fan like myself, gave me a high-five. I couldn't believe it, especially after making the comment that I could understand why everyone forgot I still had to make my shot since I hadn't done anything memorable. Bomber hopeful, Clayton Weppler, was quick to remind me of what I said. I'm still smiling about it. That shot helped improve the team's score as we finished one under, and not good enough to win the tournament. It didn't help that our group was two over after three holes. None of us were doing very well with our short game. During nine holes of golf, that shot was my defining moment as I enjoyed playing with Weppler, Bomber coach/GM Ryan Hoffman and Colin McPhee. The joke Winfield was pulling on me was he would deny he even saw the shot. Of course just to bug me, they will say it didn't happen or they weren't paying attention or too busy sipping on their beverage. The main reason for the tournament is to give people a chance to meet a player before the season starts. It's also an early opportunity for the community to support the team. The best time to talk to the players would have been after the golfing was done as each group had one Bomber to play with. I enjoyed talking to Weppler and learning about him. The Swift Current native will fight hard for a roster spot on the Bomber's blueline unless he has the luxury of the job being his to lose. He played forward for a few seasons during his young career before returning to his comfortable position on the backend. If Weppler makes the club, Bomber fans can look forward to watching him rush the puck and occasionally drop the gloves when necessary. While talking to Weppler, he seemed like a good kid and mature for 18. Who knows, you may eventually see a letter on his jersey, but that's a little presumptuous at this point. Another player I had the chance to speak to was Brett Needham, the former OCN Blizzard who was traded for last Wednesday. He was still shocked by the trade and being a Bomber hadn't sunk in yet. Having goalie Dale Pettit, a long time friend, should help ease things for him. Despite it raining the majority of the time, I think most would agree that golfing was fun and the food was good. To top it all off, there were several great prizes for everyone, you just had to win the tournament to get the better ones. Perhaps my group should have been rewarded for our terrible short game. It was really quite embarrassing.8/31/2005
