Pat Burns is not ready to quit his battle yet

"As your life gets closer to the end, you realize that your body gets weaker, you mind works harder but your heart gets softer. You get closer to family, you get closer to God, and there are things that you realize along the way.” -  Pat Burns March 26, 2010

As we all know, former Montreal Canadiens coach Pat burns is in his third battle with cancer. He announced in January of 2009 that he had incurable lung cancer. Burns had been treated for colon cancer in 2004 and liver cancer in 2005.

I recently talked to a contact, who had been in touch with the Burns family in recently, and got an update on his health.

Burns continues to battle the incurable disease, but by opting not to seek treatment his health is rapidly declining. “He’s not doing well,” I was told.

It’s also reported that the three-time Adams Trophy winner, and his wife Lynne, have also sold their home in New Hampshire and are spending the summer in Quebec. The Burns family spent the past winter in Tampa.

The fact that he was healthy enough to travel back to Canada could be a positive sign that his fight with cancer is far from over. “With that kind of mobility, it sounds like he's still got some time with us,” my source added.

Then again, is anyone surprised that Pat Burns was going to take this on without a fight?

Burns last public appearance was on March 26, for the arena naming ceremony in his hometown of Stanstead, Quebec. A frail Burns spoke with a weak voice, far from the bellowing one that got players and referees attention on the ice.

There was concern the end was indeed near back in April, when the  58-year-old was rushed to hospital with pneumonia. He was released a few days later.

A grass roots movement, and several of his former NHL colleagues pushed to get Burns into the Hockey Hall of Fame this summer, before he passed away.

“Pat’s been stricken with a terrible disease,” said former coach Mike Keenan, when I spoke to him earlier this month. “It was an honest attempt, and a very nice gesture for other members of the Hall to bring up his name.”

Unfortunately their public calls did not factor in with the selection committee enough, leading to criticism of the Hall of Fame by fans and media alike.

Three days later, the NHL and his former teams (the Canadiens, the Boston Bruins, The Toronto Maple Leafs, and the New Jersey Devils) donated $50K to the construction of the Pat Burns Arena.

photo: Canadian Press

More Cammalleri!: Likes the idea of a 2nd Toronto team

Just last week, Canadiens forward Michael Cammalleri got some up front media exposure in Toronto. This week, he hit not one, but two Toronto-based radio stations. I know he’s a local boy, but are the Leafs really that non-newsworthy these days?

First up, his chat with TheFan590’s Eric Smith. Cammalleri, in a phone interview from his Montreal condo, discusses the Canadiens playoff run, the Halak deal, his training regimen and the BioSteel Pro Hockey Week, and the Kovalchuk situation.

For more info on the BioSteel contest mentioned, you can click this link at The Fourth Period for a chance to train for a day with Cammalleri and over another dozen NHL stars.

“We might even get Scott Gomez to come in on a flight from Alaska,” Cammalleri said. “But you didn’t hear it from me.”

Actually, the main site for the event does confirm Gomez as an attendee. P.K. Subban is also slotted to attend.

The Richmond Hill native then moved up the dial to AM640 with Bill Hayes to talk more on the BioSteel event as well as growing up as a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I had a close buddy that was a huge Habs fan,” Cammalleri said. “He was always Patrick Roy, and I was (Doug) Gilmour or Gary Leeman when we played on the streets.”

Eventually, both players he emulated went on to wear a Habs sweater, so we can’t be too hard on him now, can we?

Cammalleri also talked about the current Habs roster and going into training camp with great optimism.

It’s not a concern in the coming year(s) but he also acknowledged that he does have a limited no-trade clause in his contract. You’ll also notice his openness on what goes on in contract negotiations in theFan’s interview.

He also spoke openly on having another NHL team, or perhaps two in Canada.

“I think that would be tremendous. If we can get a couple more markets in Canada, I can’t see a downside to that,” he said. “I think we should have one (a second Toronto team) undoubtedly. I think that market could easily handle another team and it would be good for everybody.”

If that’s not enough of No. 13 for you: A quick write up on Cammalleri’s busy summer from canadiens.com

A push for the Habs captaincy: Hockey54’s Launy “The” Schwartz gives his reasoning to give the “C” to the Habs winger.

Lions in Winter also has a poll on the subject.

Before you eat those stadium nachos…

When Franke Selke took over the Montreal Canadiens, one of the first things he complained about was the smell  coming out of the Montreal Forum. “Clean the toilets! Nettoyez les toilettes!” were the words he muttered, as cited in the book “Lions in Winter.” It was done.

One has to wonder what the Hall of Fame builder would think in present day, after reading what the story published by ESPN on Monday. Thanks to my friend Mike McLaren for bringing this to our attention.

If you are about to eat, you may want to wait until after or just read this before you eat that next hot dog at our favorite sports arena.

The ESPN story outlines recent health inspection reports at stadiums/arenas in 2009 for the four major leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL).

For the health and germ conscious, you will really want to think twice as you dip your nacho into that cheese, while sitting down to cheer on your favorite team.

Best scores: All of Ontario based venues came with an impressive 0% rating, including the Rogers Centre, Air Canada Centre and Scotiabank Place. In Chicago, only Soldier field had any violations and were cited due to a lack of hot water.

Worst: Best to bring your own food to any Florida sporting event. Ditto for the Verizon Center in D.C.

The full article can be found here, but I’ve outline the NHL venues below.

Jobing.com Arena
Phoenix Coyotes
Vendors with critical violations: 33%
Inspection report excerpt: Inspectors spotted an employee scooping ice with his bare hands instead of using scoops.

Honda Center
Anaheim Ducks
Vendors with critical violations: 3%

Inspection report excerpt: The only major violation was for not having chlorine sanitizer in the kitchen's dishwashing machine.

HP Pavilion at San Jose
San Jose Sharks
Vendors with critical violations: 20%

Inspection report excerpt: At one location, inspectors found Chinese chicken salad had warmed to 60 degrees, about 20 degrees above a safe temperature.

Staples Center
Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Kings
Vendors with critical violations: 11%

Inspection report excerpt: One stand dumped 9.5 pounds of sushi after inspectors found that it become too warm.

Air Canada Centre
Toronto Raptors, Toronto Maple Leafs
Vendors with critical violations: 0%

Inspection report excerpt: No critical or major violations.

Bell Centre
Montreal Canadiens
Vendors with critical violations: 3%

Inspection report excerpt: Food found at an improper temperature.

General Motors Place
Vancouver Canucks
Vendors with critical violations: 9%

Inspection report excerpt: A sushi display cooler was malfunctioning, and the temperature of the sushi rose above safe levels. Inspectors also cautioned one stand regarding properly heating donairs, which have been tied to E. coli outbreaks elsewhere in Canada.

Pengrowth Saddledome
Calgary Flames
Vendors with critical violations: 14%

Inspection report excerpt: Utensils and equipment at one location were not being cleaned and sanitized properly.

Rexall Place
Edmonton Oilers
Vendors with critical violations: 25%

Inspection report excerpt: At one location, workers used contaminated cleaning items.

Scotiabank Place
Ottawa Senators
Vendors with critical violations: 0%

Inspection report excerpt: No critical or major violations.

Pepsi Center
Denver Nuggets, Colorado Avalanche
Vendors with critical violations: 67%

Inspection report excerpt: At one bar, inspectors found phorid flies, sometimes called coffin flies, in a bottle of cognac.

BankAtlantic Center
Florida Panthers
Vendors with critical violations: 67%

Inspection report excerpt: Inspectors issued several violations for soiled ice bins and coolers.

St. Pete Times Forum
Tampa Bay Lightning
Vendors with critical violations: 88%

Inspection report excerpt: At one location with five critical violations, an inspector saw an employee handle dirty dishes and then put away clean dishes without washing his/her hands or changing gloves. The same location lacked soap at a hand sink.

Philips Arena
Atlanta Hawks, Atlanta Thrashers
Vendors with critical violations: 35%

Inspection report excerpt: At a couple of locations, inspectors found food not being protected from contamination.

United Center
Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks
Vendors with critical violations: 0%

Inspection report excerpt: No critical or major violations. Chicago health inspectors inspect vendors while the stadiums are empty, when no workers are preparing or serving food.

TD Garden
Boston Celtics, Boston Bruins
Vendors with critical violations: 21%

Inspection report excerpt: Storing dishwashing chemicals on top of an ice machine resulted in a critical violation for one location.

Joe Louis Arena
Detroit Red Wings
Vendors with critical violations: 52%

Inspection report excerpt: Poisonous or toxic materials were stored atop items used to serve customers, posing a potential risk of contamination. Inspectors also found roaches below a soda dispenser at one location.

Xcel Energy Center
Minnesota Wild
Vendors with critical violations: 17%

Inspection report excerpt: Chicken strips for topping a Caesar salad were found at 105 degrees, when they should have been at least 140 degrees.

Scottrade Center
St. Louis Blues
Vendors with critical violations: 0%

Inspection report excerpt: No critical or major violations.

Prudential Center
New Jersey Devils
Vendors with critical violations: 6%

Inspection report excerpt: Inspectors noted that at one location, the person in charge "did not demonstrate adequate knowledge of food safety," and the sink lacked soap and paper towels, and there was no sanitizer solution.

HSBC Arena
Buffalo Sabres
Vendors with critical violations: 8%

Inspection report excerpt: Two critical violations for having a toxic chemical in an unlabeled spray bottle.

Madison Square Garden
New York Knicks, New York Rangers
Vendors with critical violations: 61%

Inspection report excerpt: At one stand, inspectors found "53 mouse excreta" (38 on top of a metal box underneath the cash registers in the front food-prep/service area and 15 on top of a carbonated-beverage dispensing unit).

Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum
New York Islanders
Vendors with critical violations: 0%

Inspection report excerpt: No critical or major violations.

RBC Center
Carolina Hurricanes
Vendors with critical violations: 67%

Inspection report excerpt: Inspectors cited one vendor after watching employees handle raw, breaded chicken while loading fryers and then handling cooked food without changing gloves or washing hands. The employees placed cooked chicken back in the same container used to pre-portion raw chicken before cooking.

Nationwide Arena
Columbus Blue Jackets
Vendors with critical violations: 9%

Inspection report excerpt: One of the stadium's critical violations was for employees' handling lemons, limes and oranges with their bare hands while placing them on beverage glasses.

Mellon Arena
Pittsburgh Penguins
Vendors with critical violations: 55%

Inspection report excerpt: In one of the arena's higher-end clubs, inspectors found a live cockroach on top of a soda dispenser holster behind the bar.

Wachovia Center
Philadelphia 76ers, Philadelphia Flyers
Vendors with critical violations: 15%

Inspection report excerpt: Inspectors found evidence of mouse and fruit fly infestations at one bar location.

Bridgestone Arena
Nashville Predators
Vendors with critical violations: 59%

Inspection report excerpt: Nashville inspectors, who also score vendors, gave the facility's lowest score -- 75 -- to a vendor with three critical and nine non-critical violations.

American Airlines Center
Dallas Mavericks, Dallas Stars
Vendors with critical violations: 40%

Inspection report excerpt: Expired milk, brown lettuce and employees caught drinking or eating while they were working in the stand accounted for some of the stadium's critical violations.

Verizon Center
Washington Wizards, Washington Capitals
Vendors with critical violations: 100%

Inspection report excerpt: Mice droppings, a critical violation in Washington, were found at at least 10 vendors.

Hungry now?

It should be interesting to hear a rebuttal from the four major leagues. Typically they will come up with some criticism of the report as over exaggerated. But when 12 of the NHL’s 30 venues have ratings of 33% or more, it will certainly make people think.