* so if you're Canadian, but you don't know you're Canadian, and the Canadians aren't quite sure you're Canadian - are you really Canadian?

* the Bulls and Blackhawks are in the playoffs for the first time together since the 1996-97 season. Wow.
that's bad.
really.
for a hint as to how long ago that actually was, Bison Dele was still alive and Denis Savard was still playing for the Hawks.

* By now you all should know former Waubonsie Valley pitcher and current Boston Red Sox farmhand Michael Bowden - dude is a stud on the mound and a genuinely nice guy.
And, he's very, very humble. But you wanna know how good this guy really is? And how quickly you'll see him in a major league uniform this year?
Check this out - not many minor leaguers have their own "rumors" page.
Oh - on a purely selfish local note, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Beacon staffers or readers to see Bowden end up in Detroit. A) he'll be pitching the day they trade for him and B) in a year he'll be in the same rotation as Kaneland's Casey Crosby. How cool would that be? Unless you're a Sox fan, like myself, at which point you'll curse the fact that two local boys are beating down your favorite team....

* I've mentioned this before, but I thought it was worth bringing up again after Angel Cabrera's Masters victory. Tiger Woods has seemingly destroyed a generation of golfers..
Think about it.
How many players do you think have won majors in the last 12 years that are say, within five years of age of Tiger?

Tiger is 33 (34 on Dec.30). He has 14 major championships since 1997.He can't win them all of course - 25 other players have won at least one major since then - but here's the thing - 11 of those guys fall within five years of Tiger - and the last four of that group are barely in that picture but I'm being generous.

Trevor Immelman is 29 (turns 30 in December) - 1 major
Ben Curtis is 31 (turns 32 in May) - 1
Geoff Ogilvy is 31 (32 in June) - 1
Zach Johnson turned 33 in February - 1
Justin Leonard is 36 (37 in June) - 1
David Duval is 37 (38 in November) - 1
Padraig Harrington is 37 (38 in August) - 3
Mike Weir is 38 (turns 39 in May) - 1
Jim Furyk is 38 (39 in May) - 1
Phil Mickelson is 38 (39 in June) - 3
Rich Beem 38 (39 in August) - 1

Where are all the golfers from 28-38? I dunno....
Here are all the old guys....

Ernie Els is 39 (40 in October) - 1
Angel Cabrera is 39 (40 in September) - 2
Paul Lawrie turned 40 in January - 1
Shaun Micheel turned 40 in January - 1
Retief Goose turned 40 in February - 2
Michael Campbell turned 40 in February - 1
Payne Stewart was 42 in 1999 - 1
David Toms turned 42 in January - 1
Jose Maria Olazabel turned 43 in February - 1
Todd Hamilton is 43 (turns 44 in October) - 1
Lee Janzen is 44 (45 in August) - 1
Davis Love III turned 45 in April - 1
Vijay Singh turned 46 in February - 3 majors
Mark O'Meara turned 52 in January - 2 majors

This is one of the great unreported stories of Tiger's dominance - that and exactly how impossible it was for him to win the 08 US Open on a torn ACL and stress fractures in his leg. People were amazed by that, but honestly, not enough of a deal was made of how incredibly superhuman that feat really was.

To me - it's the greatest athletic achievement since Ben Hogan's comeback victories (and that includes any football, basketball, baseball, hockey, rugby, cricket, tennis moments you can think of).

* Word is Oswego alumnus Alex Magee, who played four years on the D-Line at Purdue, has gone from a last minute Senior Bowl invitee to being a potential second round pick in next week's NFL draft. Wow.