A MAN for ALL SPORTS SEASONS

Last night's hockey game loss to the Florida Panthers was a devastating one for the Toronto Maple Leafs and their fan base, who have been waiting for almost sixty years for a playoff breakthrough.

I couldn't help but think of my friend Ed Durham as I watched the game. Ed passed away last week at the age of 90 after hip surgery. He was a big Maple Leaf fan who always hoped they could return to their glory days of the 60s.

Ed played hockey at the minor league level as a young man and continued playing on pick-up teams well into his 70s. On more than one occasion, he thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to play against some retired Leafs like Bobby Baun, Red Kelly, and Bob Pulford in old-timer charity games. 

Ed loved all sports including pickleball which he played until the age of 84. 

I used to love hearing his sport stories from the past including the day he separated his shoulder sliding into home plate in a baseball game or the week that he and his parents drove to Pasadena, California from their family home in Manitoba to watch the 1952 Rose Bowl Game. I also learned that back in the 50s, you could get a driver's license at a small bait and tackle shop just outside of Winnipeg.

More recently, we enjoyed some NFL football games together. When the Buffalo Bills played the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs in 2023, he learned all about Taylor Swift. In the 2024 game, he put his allegiances to Buffalo aside as he cheered for the Chiefs to keep scoring so he could get another glimpse of that ‘music girl,’ he called her. 

Ed and his wife Heather, who passed away in 2019, used to enjoy curling together and every year since 1993, their son Ryan hosts a bonspiel at the Thornhill Country Club in support of spinal cord research. Ed was so very proud of his son's fundraisers which to date have raised almost $700,000.

Here's hoping Ed is now able to watch all the games he loves with his wife by his side. He was a good man and I miss him for his kindness and his love for all things sport-related.

May he rest in peace.

WELCOME POPE LEO

Here is a press release from the Archdiocese of Toronto. A hopeful piece, the only thing lacking is a mention that the new Pope has a degree in Mathematics from Villanova University in Philadelphia. If anyone can understand infinity, it's him.

Habemus Papam! Pope Leo XIV named 267th successor of Peter

Posted : May-08-2025

Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, O.S.A. of the United States has been elected the 267th Pope and has stepped onto the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica as Pope Leo XIV.

Born in 1955 in Chicago, Illinois, the 69-year-old becomes the first US-born Pope in history. He is a past provincial prior for the Augustinian Province in Chicago and also previously served as a missionary in Peru.

It has been a long while since the Church has had a Pope taking the name of Leo, the last being Pope Leo XIII, elected in 1878 and serving until his death in 1903.

An emotional Prevost hesitated at first before speaking as the crowd cheered him on.

"We still have the sound in our ears of the weak voice of Pope Francis who was blessing Rome here," he said, speaking in Italian.

"Giving his blessing to the world on that day of Easter Sunday. Allow me to continue that same blessing. God loves everyone. Evil will not prevail. We are all in the hands of God. So without fear, united, hand in hand, with God in ourselves, we go forward."

He added: "We are disciples of Christ … the world needs his light. Humanity needs him."

Leo then thanked his predecessor.

"May we all build bridges with dialogue … so that we can all be one people in peace. Thank you, Pope Francis."

In his first comments in Italian, Pope Leo XIV says he wants this message of peace to “enter your hearts, to reach your families and all people, wherever they are.”

Paying tribute to Pope Francis, he urges faithful to “move forward, without fear, united, hand in hand with God and with each other.”

He also thanks fellow cardinals for choosing him for the role.

In his first comments, the new pope calls for the light of Christ to serve “as the bridge” to God’s love.

He recalls the words of St Augustine:

For you I am a bishop; but with you I am a Christian.
He also says a few words addressed to the church of Rome, and thanks his (now former) diocese in Chiclayo in Peru.

He leads the faithful in St Peter’s Square in prayer, with Ave Maria.

A HUMBLE SERVANT

The world said goodbye to Pope Francis today in a beautiful funeral service in front of thousands in St Peter's Square.

His wooden casket seemed in stark contrast to the stunning architecture that surrounded the event. 

Many have spoken about the Pope's compassion for the marginalized, his constant reminder of God's mercy for us, and his voice of reason in the midst a very unreasonable world.

However, I think one reporter said it best when he described Pope Francis as a shepherd who smelled like his sheep.

May you be richly rewarded for your humble service, Pope Francis.