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I’m attending a reading tonight by Canadian author Wayne Johnston. I’ve had the great fortune of striking up a friendship with the man, the continents greatest living writer, and on the day of a special event I thought I’d recount the bizarre circumstances of our first meeting.

I had gone out with the Beat Poet for the Bernard Hopkins - Joe Calzaghe fight. We hit the Danforth and found the fight playing at the Black Swan. It was an appallingly dull affair. As a fight fan there is a mantra which, somehow, someway, demands an adherence to the preposterous notion that Hopkins and/or Calzaghe are “great” fighters. They’re not. Able professionals, skilled practitioners, okay, but not deserving of a place on anyone’s top ten all-time lists. Bored and mentally numb, we decided to head up to Yonge and Eg.

At Scruffy’s a pile of congregants were slurping beers and the Poet introduced me to a couple of people I didn’t know.

I chatted away with a Newfoundlander and found him articulate and knowledgeable. We began recommending books and the like and, ah-ha, I thought, I have the perfect book to recommend to an East Coaster, “The Colony of Unrequited Dreams”, a fictional biography of Joey Smallwood and a recounting of the colonies road to Confederation.

He said, “I wrote The Colony of Unrequited Dreams”.

Okay.

A nutter.

And the worst kind, a very serious nutter.

I turned around to find my friends doubled over in laughter. The Beat Poet howled, “You just recommended Wayne read his own book!”

An inauspicious beginning to a friendship with my favourite writer…

GRID IRON..Antwan Odom, DE with the Cincinnati Bengals, is leading the NFL with seven sacks. Next is Elvis Dumervil, a linebacker with the Denver Broncos, with six. The Broncos and Bengals also have, along with the Philadelphia Eagles, the team lead with ten sacks. I’ve made only two bets on games this year, going 1-1, but I’ll get going as the season develops. The sacks stat is one I adore. It points to defences that are disrupting the flow of their opponents and placing them in long yardage situations. Team’s leading in sacks are also likely also recording a number of “pressures” and invariably distorting the manner the opposing offense is approaching the game. After four games we’ll begin seeing strong indications of defences that are “murdering” opposition QB’s and, conversely, those that play with the constitution of ice cream on a hot summer day…gut check time approaches for the stampeding Bronco’s; check out their next five opponents - Dallas, New England, San Diego, Baltimore and Pittsburgh…the reeling Cleveland Browns are expected to start Derek Anderson Sunday against Cincinnati. Brady Quinn will sit…I can’t imagine any football fan passing on an opportunity to watch the Packers visit the Vikings this weekend…disappointments? Here’s my list of teams that have left me baffled and disoriented…would a better organization than the Oakland Raiders have already made a decision on JaMarcus Russell? I don’t look back, if I’ve made a mistake I shed some tears than, emphatically, move on. My shilling for JaMarcus was based on his enormous talent but was a mistake. Sorry, but it’s over JaMarcus, the only thing left to ponder is the “when”…the Washington Redskins were simply appalling Sunday, letting the toothless Detroit Lions run all over their vaunted defence. I can’t give up on the unit yet (they are not receiving any support from the offense), but it is painfully disappointing to see such a talented group play with such little commitment and passion. The Lions converted 10 of 18 third downs on Sunday…Tennessee Titans? Tampa Bay Buccaneers? Hello, hello, the season is underway…the Bucs have basically jettisoned their year with the move to Josh Johnson and the removal of Byron Leftwich from the top two spots on the depth chart. Their very difficult early season schedule was always going to be problematic. Giving up this soon is just unforgiveable…ICE..props to Theo Fleury, now an ex-NHLer. Nothing ever came easy for the diminutive forward but, despite an almost constant collision with personal demons, he leaves in the wake of many notable successes. Fleury should sit down with a reputable writer and get to work on an unvarnished biography. This man knows where the skeletons rattle and where the bodies lie…the Sporting News raves about Brian Burke’s accomplishments with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Here’s a taste; “…the speed in which Burke has closed the talent gap between Toronto and division rivals Ottawa, Boston, Buffalo and Montreal is simply astonishing”. The piece notes Viktor Stalberg and Jonas Gustavsson as two players who impressed during the preseason…I’m still not caring about the machinations of the NHLPA. Really. Don’t care…