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I've had run ins with several players in the past, most recently Perry, Hyman and Kane (curiously, all at the same grocery store), but also Leon once a few years ago, and Skinner last year. Being respectful of their personal space took me ZERO effort.
I remember waiting for a table at Earl's Jasper Ave during one of their playoff runs (maybe 2017?), and Zack Kassian walked in behind me and requested a table. He was made to wait like a normal plebe like me, and sat directly beside me in the lobby. It took a lot of restraint for me to not geek out on him, but I kept it together and didn't bother him. These guys deserve not to be mobbed all the damn time.
 
I've had my share of brief run-ins with Oilers over the years:
- shook Craig Simpson's hand at Chase nightclub
- said hi to Kelly Buchberger at Barry Ts nightclub
- Dave Semenko (R.I.P.) stood in line behind me at an Alberta Registries office on Princess Elizabeth Ave
- Grant Fuhr was on the same plane as me during his waning days as a player - he was in business class, I was in peasant class
- witnessed Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano and Ladislav Smid having lunch at the sushi bar in the downtown Mikado
- saw Dwayne Roloson waiting in line at the Overtime nightclub during the 2006 playoff run - he was injured by that point
- walked by Kevin Lowe and Craig McTavish as they were meeting at the Daily Planet cafe in Bell Tower
- watched Todd McLellan shopping for clothes at the downtown Bay store
- briefly chatted with Bob Nicholson in a Bell Tower elevator
- saw Grant Fuhr at ECC about 1 or 2 years ago
- shook Georges Laraque`s hand at the Oilers store in ICE District earlier this season - he appreciated me calling him a hero
 
I've had my share of brief run-ins with Oilers over the years:
- shook Craig Simpson's hand at Chase nightclub
- said hi to Kelly Buchberger at Barry Ts nightclub
- Dave Semenko (R.I.P.) stood in line behind me at an Alberta Registries office on Princess Elizabeth Ave
- Grant Fuhr was on the same plane as me during his waning days as a player - he was in business class, I was in peasant class
- witnessed Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano and Ladislav Smid having lunch at the sushi bar in the downtown Mikado
- saw Dwayne Roloson waiting in line at the Overtime nightclub during the 2006 playoff run - he was injured by that point
- walked by Kevin Lowe and Craig McTavish as they were meeting at the Daily Planet cafe in Bell Tower
- watched Todd McLellan shopping for clothes at the downtown Bay store
- briefly chatted with Bob Nicholson in a Bell Tower elevator
- saw Grant Fuhr at ECC about 1 or 2 years ago
- shook Georges Laraque`s hand at the Oilers store in ICE District earlier this season - he appreciated me calling him a hero
My dad rode on an Edmonton-Calgary flight with a young Wayne Gretzky. They were flying through a storm and Wayne apparently didn't like flying back then. He observed that my dad seemed pretty calm, and my dad said, "Hell no. I'm terrified. But if you're here they can't afford to let this thing go down. It'll sink the whole airline." So, my dad told him bad jokes for the entire rather short flight. When they were deplaning, someone asked for an autograph and before Wayne could react, my dad said, "Sure," and took out his pen and signed.
 
Free parking, $10, discounted food and bev...
Screenshot 2024-06-06 at 11.06.22 AM.png
 
Btw, is the CITY not having their own version of a "FanPark" in Winston Square? They should have their own fetanyl and alcohol free zone for families?
 
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Which I mentioned before is a bit of a shame.

I would love to see a family friendly, no booze, bring your own chair there with enhanced police and bylaw to ensure folks can come and enjoy and experience it in a different way WHILE reminding people that coming Downtown is ok now.
 
Free parking, $10, discounted food and bev...View attachment 570220

This had me get real excited for a second that Funky Buddha on Whyte was back from the dead until I realized this obviously was not for Edmonton. Lol.
 
This had me get real excited for a second that Funky Buddha on Whyte was back from the dead until I realized this obviously was not for Edmonton. Lol.

I forgot that Funky Buddha has been permanently closed on Whyte Ave for a few years now. Maybe it was the pandemic that did them in?
p.s. I never darkened their doors but I knew a guy who worked there as a bartender.
 
I forgot that Funky Buddha has been permanently closed on Whyte Ave for a few years now. Maybe it was the pandemic that did them in?
I believe so, but overall even the most popular nightclubs in this city seem to only have a 8-12 year lifespan before they shutdown or renew into something else so it was probably about that time regardless.
 
It will never not bug me that the Panthers have taken the name "Florida", there is another team in Florida so it's not like they're trying to attract from the wider state like say Colorado, Minnesota or now Utah.

I know the team is in Sunrise, not Miami, but the team should definitely be called Miami Panthers. They're in the Miami metro area.

I also don't think Amerant Bank Arena is a suitable long term home for them. It's located literally at the far flung western side of the Miami metro, almost as far as you can be from downtown Miami, it's closer to Fort Lauterdale. I think they should be looking into finding a permanent home in downtown Miami. Maybe they could move in Kaseya Arena with the Heat, right on the waterfront, in a beautiful downtown location. Though I know that hosting hockey and basketball in a venue that's only designed for one can be very problematic (just look at the Delta Centre, which is going to be hosting the Jazz and the Utah HC next year, with over 18 000 seats for Basketball and 13 000 to 16 000 for hockey). If Kaseya isn't an option, they should look at building a new arena downtown. Even with all the construction in downtown Miami, there are still plenty of empty lots big enough to host a major sporting venue like this.

The Panthers have gone from being a team on the brink of being moved just a few years ago, (I was advocating for them to move to Quebec, since they already have an arena and could stay in the same division, the move would be seamless). But now, they're drawing good crowds (at least for the playoffs) and have regular season attendance that is better than teams like the Flames, Islanders and Red Wings. This could all just be a product of them being a good team now, and I think to secure their future, they should move to a better location... and make their name make more sense.
 

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