McDavid, Generals put Oshawa in hockey's bright lights

It's official: McDavid McMania arrives in the Shwa tonight.

Tickets went on sale for games 1 and 2 of the OHL final Monday morning and were sold out (in about an hour!) as local hockey fans - and ticket scalpers - clamoured for a chance to see hockey's next wunderkid, a once-in-a-generation player named Connor McDavid.

Did I say scalpers? I did say scalpers. Tickets were being sold on Kijiji shortly after the box office opened for $200 and more. Each. For a junior hockey game.

To put that in perspective, tickets to TFC's home opener - a hot ticket for sure, with international stars Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco in the lineup - were selling on the same site for $150.

This is the OHL final and a berth in the Memorial Cup awaits the winner so there would be interest in the series regardless of who the Oshawa Generals were playing. But $200? That's insane. But that's the kind of mania that has been following McDavid all season long.

Connor McJesus McDavid

The future Edmonton Oiler (local media have taken to calling him Connor McJesus) is an electrifying player who puts people in their seats, only to lift them out as soon as he touches the puck. He has broken more ankles this season than Lionel Messi (to use another soccer analogy) and has put up mind boggling numbers in the process. Try 120 points in just 47 games and he would have run away with the scoring title if he hadn't broke his hand in an ill-advised fight before the World Juniors.

(He came back in time to lead Canada to the gold medal. Of course.)

He has even stepped it up a notch in the playoffs with 42 points in 15 games for his Erie Otters as they ran over all western conference opponents - including Sault Ste. Marie, the number one ranked team in the country.

Now he has the Oshawa Generals in his sights, the last step before Memorial Cup glory.

The problem for McDavid and his Otters is the Generals may have something to say about who wins this series. Erie may have a McSuperstar and the most explosive offence but the Gens can score too and they boast a defence that has been called one of the best in the history of the Ontario Hockey League.

And you know what they say wins championships...

The team and its fans may also have a wee bit of a chip on their shoulders, considering the national media has been providing a 'Connor McDavid Watch' all season long, while not giving Oshawa - the top ranked team in the nation for sixteen consecutive weeks - any publicity at all.

My guess is the boys have something to prove.

But back to those damn scalpers. My Saturday night is free this weekend and the J Man and I would have loved to snap up some tickets.

This year`s Generals were doing a lot of this

So would my pal Mark. While there will always be a wide gulf in our NHL allegiances - he's a diehard Habs supporter while I will die a Leafs' fan - we share a passion for the Oshawa Generals. He goes to as many Gens games as he can and he sure wanted to go to one of the weekend matches at the General Motors Centre.

That didn`t happen and Mark was a little pissed, progressing through the classic four emotions of loss, at least where ticket scalping is concerned: Anger ("this is junior hockey, ffs"); Disgust ("people bring their kids because they can't afford NHL games"); Scheming ("we'll dress up like pizza delivery dudes to get in free"); to Resignation ("at least it will be on Sportsnet").

Mark will be watching and I will be working (I'll try not to run over the sports reporters and TV talking heads expected to litter the downtown streets) when this series gets rolling shortly after 7 tonight.

Wayne Gretzky called McDavid the best player to come out of the draft in 30 years (translation: better than Crosby) but the Generals and their supporters aren't intimidated.

Bring it.

Oh yeah. Go Gens!

Community art thriving in Oshawa's Living Room

The last Saturday before Christmas was a busy day for me, as I'm sure it was for most people. I had a few shopping stops to make and not a lot of time to do it as I was headed across the border for a brief beer shopping excursion before finding my way to a Christmas party in Burlington.

I managed to avoid the mall this day, but not Wal-Mart and Target and the Christmas stress was palpable among the throngs of shoppers looking for last minute bargains.

I had one other stop on this day, however, that more than made up for any Christmas blues I may have been experiencing. The Living Room Community Art Studio in downtown Oshawa.

Mary

The Living Room is a storefront art studio for the community - especially those who are most marginalized. On any given day the place is filled with budding artists - most of them children - intent on expressing themselves through their art or learning about their craft at workshops staffed by volunteers.

Front and centre in this magical place are two people near and dear to my heart: my sister-in-law Mary and my brother-in-law Anthony. Mary in particular is like a rock star here: children would constantly come up to her to show her their work: "Look at this Mary!" and "See what I did Mary?" and "Can you help me?"

And she would look. And she would help. An actor by trade and an art therapy graduate, Mary would be ringing up a small art purchase and chatting with me, a woman who had come in to praise the studio and a budding artist or two, and then, as smooth as tomorrow's silk, take two strides to her left to welcome participants at a workshop that was just getting underway and then return to us and the conversation without missing a beat.

Like a boss.

Anthony, meanwhile, was also on hand offering advice and assistance, though his presence was a bit more restrained. A movie man himself, with a ton of experience in independent films as a producer/director and in supporting roles in bigger budget flicks, Anthony spent this day ensuring the workshop participants were able to realize their artistic potential and have fun doing it.

They make a great pair, these two. And the art community in Oshawa is the better for it.