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Playoffs
Schedule & Game Recap

On November 2nd the Cardinals baseball team became football fans down in Buffalo for a tilt between the Bills and the Jets. This is the second year in a row the team has made the trip down for a game and hopefully will continue to be a tradition going forward. Many thanks to Kent Barber for organizing the food, beer, tickets and transportation via limo bus down.

Against the advice of our physicians, the team said ‘No’ to salads, vegetable trays and tofu and elected instead for a steady diet of chicken wings, sausage, baked beans and pulled pork. This writer did not get a final tally on the number of beers consumed, however I’m pretty sure an abacus was required. Ice was used as ‘rocks’ for mixed drinks, to chill the beer and most importantly to place on our kidney’s and livers at the end of the day.

There were several highlights/lowlights from the day. Tim Barnes did a pole dance which sickened everyone. He also wore an Eric Moulds jersey that he had bought many years ago. A few pounds must’ve accumulated for Timmy over the years because several people mistook the jersey as body paint and couldn’t be convinced otherwise until Tim cut the jersey off with scissors. Johnny Piatkowski, a CBC employee had the responsibility of getting the Audio/Video equipment up and running. He was able to get a steady diet of infomercials for all to enjoy. This was considered to be a better option than anything that CBC has to offer that does not include ‘hockey’ in its title. Dave Warner, our liquor rep and good friend of Kent Barber started the team off with a drink which, no word of a lie, included a strip of bacon used in a similar fashion as a celery stick is for a Caesar. Kudo’s to Dave for abiding to the teams strict ‘anti-vegetable’ policy and going with the cholesterol rich bacon option. The post-game celebration included front row seats to a Royal Rumble between disgruntled Bills fans and mocking Jets fans. Some dude got punched in the face and lost a tooth which almost ended up in the baked bean pan. Fortunately it came up a few feet short and the Cardinals were able to continue to enjoy the fights. Steve Maher was not in attendance, which was fortunate for him as he assuredly would’ve drawn a punch or two himself. Whether they’d have come from strangers or teammates is to be debated. All kidding aside Steve, Mark Thomas, Russ Pereira, Jason Saker and Dave Kerr were the missing roster players on the trip. Alumni Don Deelen and Chris Foulon were able to join the team as well as a few friends of teammates to make the day a great one. Look for pictures from the day to follow before too long.

The trip signifies the true beginning of the off-season now as there are no more planned activities. Players now begin their winter activities which means hockey for many and hibernation for some. Three new additions to the Cardinals families are expected in the coming weeks and months leading up to the new season. Mark Thomas and his wife are expecting a child any day now which will be Mark’s third. Jay Hodgson and his wife Rebecca are expecting their third child as well with the due date slated for November 20th. Jeff Gilleland and his wife Shannon are expecting their second child – this one a boy due to join his big sister Keira in the world in early March. Best of luck to you and your wives for the safe arrival of your new additions.

On behalf of the Cardinals we wish everyone a very healthy winter with fond expectations for a great 2009 season ahead! Stay tuned to the website for all offseason news in Cardinals land.

Front row (l to r) - Rob Whitteker, Dave Kerr, Jay Hodgson, Jeff Gilleland, Jason Saker

Missing: Mark Thomas, Rick Paradis