For a rear yard smaller

www.thevoiceofpelham.ca The Voice, January 29, 2020 Page 17 2 Sporting Green The Voice and TheVoiceofPelham.ca | January 29, 2020 The Niagara “Home is not where you live but where they understand you.” Christian Morgenstern John Chick recalls Kobe Bryant Swart's tips for winter fitness 18

Home SWEET HOME Daniel Singer joins NF Canucks from OHL

Daniel Singer.

BILL POTRECZ

Athletics load up for Minto Cup

The St. Catharines Athletics will play host to the Canadian junior A lacrosse championships in August

BY BILL POTRECZ BPSPORTSNIAGARA.COM

St. Catharines Athletics general manager Jeff Chcoski was a busy man at the recent Ontario Lacrosse Association midget entry draft.

Chcoski did some major wheeling and dealing in order to not only acquire new talent, but be in a position to add pieces at the trade deadline now that the A’s are assured a spot in the Minto Cup following the news St. Catharines will host the event this August.

“It was busy. My head was spinning,” Chcoski said. “[Head coach Steve] Toll was there and there were times he looked up and didn’t even know where we were because we were over somewhere talking. We were super active. We added some lefties and then picked up a good young kid and started to load up on assets.”

Before the draft even began, Chcoski traded a first-round pick in 2022 to Peterborough for defenders Matt Barazin and Danny Bazarin. Matt Bazarin is a member of the St. Catharines Falcons junior B hockey team. “They are big boys,” Chcoski said.

A dispersal draft of players and assets of the now-defunct Barrie Lakeshores was held before the midget draft and the A’s picked up Jackson Webster from Georgetown and Felix Cote of Sudbury.

Webster is an offensive lefty who is committed to Canisius College while Cote is also an offensive lefty who played on Team Ontario with Alex Simmons, Carter Zavitz and Liam Ham of the A’s.

The A’s held the eighth overall pick in the midget draft and BERNIE PUCHALSKI

selected Cameron Pack from Caledon, a lefty transition player with speed to burn, who attends Culvert Academy.

“He’s a great kid from a great family and I spent time talking to him,” Chcoski said. “We’re really excited to see what he can do for us. He can also step into the lineup now and be a solid player for us.”

Chcoski then really went to work trading and exchanging several picks in deals with Peterborough, Toronto, Kitchener-Waterloo and Burlington. The A’s also received a second-round pick from Brampton in 2021 to complete an earlier trade.

“We had to load up on draft choices that we’ll be able to use at the end to bring in the guys we need to win the national championship,” Chcoski said. “Now that we are the host city and have an automatic bid, it’s a game changer. It’s amazing how quick everything is happening.” Chcoski was particularly proud of the fact he was able to add some muscle.

“I promised our guys and our team we won’t be undersized this year,” he said. “Last year against Burlington in the second round, I think we all thought to a man we were undersized against them. We’re in a real good position to be able to floor a real good lacrosse club at this point.”

Earlier, Chcoski added defender Wyatt Haux and goaltender Laine Hruska from the Saskatchewan Swat of the Alberta Junior A Lacrosse League.

The Athletics lost several players from last season including goalie Nick Damude, captain Latrell Harris, Bradley Fannell, Riley St. Onge, Alex Pace and forward Jake McNabb.

BY BILL POTRECZ BPSPORTSNIAGARA.COM

Niagara Falls Canucks coach Frank Pietrangelo received a pleasant surprise recently when he received a text from Daniel Singer.

The Erie Otters winger and St. Catharines native was thinking of coming home and playing junior B and was interested in suiting up for the Canucks.

Pietrangelo couldn’t say yes quickly enough.

“You don’t pursue something like that because he was in the OHL,” Pietrangelo said. “You don’t go around knocking on OHL doors and asking guys if they want to come back and play junior B hockey. It’s not realistic. When it did happen, it was a great surprise and 100 percent was something I wanted to do.”

Singer, who was having a respectable season for the Otters with nine goals and 16 points, said the reason he wanted to play closer to home had little to do with hockey. Singer’s mother, Sheila-Ann Carr, passed away last January, and he wanted to be able to spend more time with his father, Duane Singer.

“Just being back home after all the stuff that went on with my mom, it was just kind of nice to be back,” Singer said. “My dad is at home by himself and it’s nice to be with him a lot more, other than have him come drive two hours. He still works and plays hockey and stays busy and we have a new dog.”

Singer has only played one game with the Canucks —he picked up a pair of assists in a win over Thorold last week — but already feels the arrangement is working out.

“I have that time off to be able to be with him or even just going to grab a bite to eat with him, I think that means the world to him,” he said.

Singer, who turns 21 in February, said a big factor in choosing the Falls was his relationship with Carson Edwardson and Andrew Somerville, who both joined the Canucks recently in a deal with the St. Catharines Falcons.

“I grew up playing with those guys, and when I knew they were coming here that was a big influence for me to come to the Falls, to come and play with them,” he said. “I think our team acquired a lot of strong players and we have a strong team. I obviously picked the Falls because I knew they had a strong team to begin with.”

The Canucks also added forwards Dario Tesoro from Welland and Sam Bourdages from Milton, of the Ontario Junior Hockey League, and Pietrangelo is well aware it may take some time for all the new faces to gel.

“I don’t know how it’s all going to shake down. He’s only been here for one game. We’ll have to see how everything unfolds as far as the lines go,” Pietrangelo said. “We have five good players but you just can’t throw guys on the ice. Chemistry is a big part of it. In that sense, we disrupted our team a little bit. We just didn’t go out and get players. We had specific needs we felt we needed to address.”

The Canucks are now loaded up front and Pietrangelo has no worries there will be enough pucks to go around.

“It’s always all about depth, especially come playoff time,” he said. “That was our goal, to try and improve our hockey club for the playoffs. You never have enough good players. Depth is a very important part of being successful in the playoffs.”

Singer, who played two seasons with the Niagara IceDogs before being dealt to the Otters for Ivan Lodnia, has fond memories of his time in the OHL.

“I had a lot of good experiences and it made me into the hockey player I am today,” he said. “Off the ice, it made me more mature and more of a man. I’m really grateful for the opportunities to play in the O.” Singer hopes to play at the university level next season and has already made contact with a few teams.

Ways to avoid winter de-conditioning L ISTEN TO YOUR body. You’ll be fitter, healthier, happier and an all-round better person. At least, that’s what they say.

Problem is, my body frequently speaks to me in foreign languages and technical jargon beyond my comprehension. Sometimes, it just flat out lies to me, like now, telling me that hibernating indoors for the rest of winter is okay. I’d love to believe I can do no exercise this winter, then pick up where I left off come spring, but I’m skeptical.

What happens when someone who exercises regularly stops training? How quickly will your gazelle-like summer physique deteriorate? How soon before you’re panting rather than bounding up the stairs? Just what is the minimum you can do this winter and maintain your muscular and aerobic fitness base for spring, or simply avoid putting on a few extra rolls or kilos? Aerobic capacity and muscle tissue are key parts of the answer, and each atrophies at different rates. Aerobic capacity is a measure of the ability of your heart and lungs to provide oxygen to your muscles. Strenuous aerobic exercise improves your cardiovascular system by strengthening the heart muscle, blood vessels, and increasing blood volume.

You begin de-conditioning in approximately two weeks if you stop exercising completely, and you will lose aerobic capacity first. Blood volume drops to pre-training levels within a week or two, and your cardiopulmonary system quickly loses its ability to use oxygen efficiently.

If you’re well-conditioned—say you’ve been exercising regularly for at least a year—half of your aerobic conditioning will be gone in three months. If you just began cycling or running this summer, you will regress completely within a couple pf months. Muscle atrophy is different. Each muscle is made up of thousands of individual cells or fibers, and that number remains constant no matter how much you exercise. The strength you gain from exercising is because muscle fibers have the potential to grow in size, density, and efficiency with training. When you stop exercising, or putting demands on your muscles, they begin to return to their normal, pre-exercise composition. This regression rate is different for everyone, and it may take a month or more before you start to feel softer and uncomfortable as your muscles re-adjust to the reduced workload you’re requiring of them.

If maintaining base strength is the goal, most studies indicate as little as one third of your normal fitness routine will be sufficient to maintain most of your season’s strength gains. Short, intense winter workouts can successfully stress your muscles, prompting them to be ready for action. By keeping your muscles on call, a few weeks of exercising in spring will have your strength back to normal.

If maintaining your summer weight is your concern, you won’t get off as easily. Newsflash. Fat and muscle are very different tissue structures, and one cannot mutate into the other. No matter how many late night commercials promise their product will turn unsightly fat into sleek muscle, it ain’t so.

Worse, even wholesome, healthy foods get converted into fat if our muscles aren’t fully consuming the fuel they provide. Bottom line, if we don’t reduce calorie input when we stop exercising in the winter, we’ll accumulate fat. Would you believe those love handles are from too much spinach and tofu? Plus, you can’t target fat for spot reduction. You can jog or do crunches in the basement all day long, but if your fat chooses to accumulate on your upper legs and waist, it’ll be thunder-thighs and a buried six-pack until excess body fat is burned away completely.

It’s not all bleak. Accompanying cessation of training with a small reduction in dietary intake should ensure you don’t gain more fat than you lose in muscle mass during the winter. Those toned calves and thighs may temporarily disappear, but your total weight won’t change.

Whether it’s jogging outdoors in the cool winter air, indoors on a treadmill, or stationary cycling, it’s worth the effort to maintain your summer fitness until next spring. ♦

Voice HOROSCOPE

ARIES – Mar 21/Apr 20 Aries, a budding relationship appears to be on the cusp of taking the next step. Your relationships are your own, so don’t be afraid to slow down if things feel like they’re going too fast. TAURUS – Apr 21/May 21 Taurus, now is the time to institute a change to your daily routine if that’s been on your mind. Planetary energy is pushing you on a course of self-discovery.

GEMINI – May 22/Jun 21 Gemini, small influencers in your life may be imperceptible, but they are slowly turning the wheels of change and you’ll soon be able to realize what is in store.

CANCER – Jun 22/Jul 22 Connect with your spiritual foundations, Cancer. They will be your guide through a week that figures to have its share of ups and downs. Faith will help you ride it out. LEO – Jul 23/Aug 23 The week ahead should be fairly positive for you, Leo. This lifting of weight will inspire newfound freedom to embark on interesting projects or pursue new interests.

VIRGO – Aug 24/Sept 22 You may be looking for fulfillment in your love life or your career this week, Virgo. Some measure of liberation will occur in the days ahead. LIBRA – Sept 23/Oct 23 Libra, as the days unfold, you may find yourself feeling more creative and perhaps a bit more rebellious in your thinking. It is okay to want to set out on a new path.

SCORPIO – Oct 24/Nov 22 Oftentimes you are a master of taking a difficult situation and turning it on its head immediately, Scorpio. Those unique skills may be put to the test this week.

SAGITTARIUS – Nov 23/Dec 21 A reorganization will occur in your life. This may involve physically moving things around the house or an intellectual reorganization that produces a new perspective.

CAPRICORN – Dec 22/Jan 20 Good times with the ones you love do not have to take a back seat to professional goals, Capricorn. Find a way to strike a balance, even if it means delegating more often.

AQUARIUS – Jan 21/Feb 18 Even if you have a mind to help the ones you love, those people have to be receptive to your assistance, Aquarius. Give them a chance to come around.

PISCES – Feb 19/Mar 20 Don’t let others talk you into something you don’t want to be involved with, Pisces. Stand your ground or walk away.

FAMOUS BIRTHDAYS

JANUARY 26 Ellen DeGeneres, TV Host (62) JANUARY 27 Noah Schnacky, Singer (23) JANUARY 28 Ariel Winter, Actress (22) JANUARY 29 Adam Lambert, Singer (38) JANUARY 30 Christian Bale, Actor (46) JANUARY 31 Tyler Seguin, Athlete (28) FEBRUARY 1 Harry Styles, Singer (26)

Kanye West, rapping for Jesus?

Here’s How It Works: Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle! See FAITH LIFT Page 16 K ANYE WEST is a rap megastar formerly known for his idolatrous and immoral lyrics (I won’t give examples). As such, he was a very influential cultural figure in America and beyond.

So, when he announced he had experienced a radical spiritual conversion and had become a Christ-follower, many were amazed and perhaps a bit skeptical. Was it real? Would it last? How did it happen?

The old Kanye Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta, in 1977, to Ray and Donda West. His parents divorced when he was only 3, and his mother moved to Chicago to raise him. As a child he showed a passion for art and music. As a young man he dropped out of college to pursue his musical dreams (much to his mother’s chagrin).

Since 2002, West’s climb to stardom has been swift. His music has been eclectic, spanning hip hop, soul, baroque pop, electro, indie rock, synth-pop, industrial, and now Gospel. His career has produced many albums but also many controversies due to his rash words and unpredictable behavior.

Nevertheless, West is described as among “the most critically acclaimed musicians of the 21st century,” and has become one of the best-selling music artists of all time (over 100 million records sold worldwide) and one of the most awarded artists of all time (winner of 21 Grammy Awards).

In 2007 his mother’s sudden death greatly impacted him. In 2014 he married television personality Kim Kardashian. They have four young children with interesting names — Saint, North, Psalm and Chicago. Referring to his old life, West now says, "When I was trying to serve multiple gods —the god of ego, the god of money, the god of pride, the god of fame — it drove me crazy."

The new Kanye On Jan. 2, West (now 42) declared, “Today marks one year of Sunday Service!” He was referring to his first concert at the “Union Rescue Mission,” a homeless shelter in downtown Los Angeles. West continued, “A lot of times people say, ‘Thank you YE (his nickname) for Sunday Service.’ I’m saying thank God. This thing saved my life. This thing was an alternative to opioids. This thing was an alternative to pornography.” Over the last year, West has been busy living out his faith. He has led “Sunday Service” concerts with a Gospel choir in various cities such as Detroit and Atlanta. In the latter, he said, “Let’s not be concerned with the opinions of men at all! Only the opinion of God!… I know we say, ‘Oh, this is the culture, that’s the culture.’ To be radically in service to Christ is the only culture I want to know about.”

Last October he released a

CROSSWORD SPONSORED THIS WEEK BY

We've got what you need right here, at home!

Weekly Word Search

Find the words hidden vertically, horizontally, diagonally, and backwards.