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C8 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, August 4, 1999 IS YOUR GARAGE PROTECTING YOUR CAR BETTER THAN YOUR BARGAIN-RATE CAR INSURANCE? 842-2225 Don't trust just anyone to insure your car. see me: An Oakville Beaver Feature Editor: NORM NELSON 845-3824 (Extension 255) Fax:337-5567 Photo by Peter C. McCusker Philthy McNasty's co-owner Jeff White pours a pint while new investor Mike Vanderjagt, of the Indianapolis Colts wipes the counter. Philthy's mixes sports and business By Scott MacArthur SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER NFL kicker maintains Oakville roots By Scott MacArthur SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER For a bom and bred Oakville boy, it is simply a way to remain a part of the community that raised him. That's why Mike Vanderjagt, a for­ mer Toronto Argonaut and current Indianapolis Colts placekicker, is invest­ ing in the Philthy McNasty's sports bar in Oakville Town Centre II, joining fel­ low resident Donovan Bailey as promi­ nent figures behind the Philthy's name. "I'm an Oakville boy bom and raised," said Vandeijagt, who currently lives in Burlington, just outside of Oakville's border with his wife Janalyn and three-month-old son Jay Michael. "I'm proud of it and I feel this is a good way to give back to the people and the community that I grew up in." Vanderjagt never gave placekicking much consideration as a career option, but the events of his childhood seem to have naturally led him in that direction. "I played soccer from the age of seven and joined my first flag football team when I was eight," Vandeijagt said. "In high school (at White Oaks) I quar­ terbacked the team and my coach came to me because we needed a kicker and he knew I had played a lot of soccer, so I just started from there." Following a post-secondary career that saw Vanderjagt attend Michigan State, a junior college, and West Virginia (which he considers his alma mater), he was drafted in 1992 by the CFL's Saskatchewan Roughriders and received no attention from NFL teams. Two mediocre games in Saskatchewan saw Vanderjagt get cut by then Roughriders coach Don Matthews, which is ironic because Vanderjagt would be kicking field goals for the 1996 and 1997 Grey Cup champion Toronto Argos, a team coached by Matthews. "When I came to Toronto, I was a lit­ tle skeptical about returning to a team coached by Matthews," said Vandeijagt. "After all, he had cut me in the past but we got around that and were successful together." It was after the '97 Grey Cup victory that NFL teams started to call Vanderjagt's agent. The New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, Minnesota Vikings and Baltimore Ravens were all teams interested in Vanderjagt's services; how­ ever, he settled on a deal with the Colts. 'That was an exciting time," said Vanderjagt. "I had absolutely no prob­ lems with returning to Toronto for the 1998 season, but the NFL is every foot­ ball player's goal and I didn't want to pass up the opportunity." Vanderjagt has noticed many differ­ ences between the styles of the NFL and CFL, but they don't centre around his position of placekicking. "The pregame hype and crowd sizes are obviously a major difference," said Vanderjagt. 'The money some of my teammates make is way beyond what you would ever dream of in the CFL and the mentality of the game is different. "That being said," he continued. "Many of my teammates have similar types of personalities to the guys I played with in Toronto, so there are similari­ ties." While kicking the ball through the uprights requires the same skill level for both leagues, the pressure is much greater south of the border. "If you miss a kick in the CFL, you feel like everything is going to be OK," said Vanderjagt. "It's different in the NFL. You know everyone is watching and the pressure is that much greater. If you miss a kick, there might not be a tomorrow." For Philthy M cNasty's owners Jeff White and Brian Reilly, nei­ther could have predicted the success that would follow the opening of their first restaurant only five years ago. Since the first day that Philthy's opened its doors to Oakville residents, the roadhouse style restaurant has attracted many loyal customers, gone into business with many prominent Canadian athletes, and expanded to include four other establishments in southern Ontario. Philthy's big break started when Donovan Bailey, then a virtually unknown Canadian sprinter, won a gold medal at the 1994 Commonwealth Games (in the 4x100m relay). White and Reilly invit­ ed Bailey and his friends to the restau­ rant to celebrate the victory, which went by almost unnoticed by Canadians. Bailey became a regular customer, and when the time came for his record setting gold medal victory at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics, Philthy's was about to become internationally known. "Two days before the race, a jour­ nalist asked Donovan where he would be if he were at home," said Jeff White. "Donovan said he would be here (at Philthy's) and as a result, the day of the race, we had the CBC, Global, CTV and others here. "It was rocking, and after Donovan won the race, we got picked up live by CNN in the US. The next day, I had 75 voicemails on my machine from places like South Africa and Germany telling me they saw us on CNN." White agreed that Bailey winning the Olympic gold medal in a record time was the greatest thing that could have happened to his franchise. "Definitely," White said. "It cer­ tainly helped put us on the map." Bailey's involvement with Philthy's grabbed the attention of other Canadian athletes, who wanted to know how they could get involved in the venture. White has developed what he calls a "Planet Hollywood Canada, except with athletes," but feels it's different because his celebrities become involved with the restaurant. "If you go to a Planet Hollywood, you don't stand a chance of running into Bruce Willis," said White. "But here, you might see Donovan Bailey or Mike Vanderjagt, so there's that bit of a personal relationship that cus­ tomers can have with both the celebri­ ties and the restaurant." Philthy's prides itself on good food and good service and White knows that it's the most important part of the business. "Celebrities or no celebrities, if the food and service isn't good and friend­ ly, nobody is going to want to eat at your establishm ent," said White. "We've been fortunate in that we've been able to create our own culture here at Philthy's and the customers enjoy it." Along with the original site here in Oakville, Philthy's has expanded to Burlington, Hamilton, and Barrie. A fifth restaurant will open in Waterloo on October 1st. "We're proud to be Canadian," said White. "Every night we'll sing the national anthem up at the bar and pret­ ty soon many of the customers join in. It's very patriotic." So patriotic, in fact, that the Americans want a piece of the action. Philthy's will open its first American restaurant in Pittsburgh, as part of the new development at the mouth of the three rivers. "The Pirates and Steelers are each getting new stadiums," said White. "We'll be sandwiched in that area, so after the game it will be a can't miss spot for sports fans. (Steelers' running back) Jerome Bettis is getting involved down there as our celebrity, so it's a great opportunity for expan­ sion." Meanwhile, Philthy's will remain at its Oakville location, and while further growth is in the future, White assures that nothing is imminent. "We won't open a new restaurant unless all of our current operations are doing well," said White. "However, Cobra girls win Ottawa tournam ent The Oakville Wiberg Cobras Under 13AA Girls Rep soccer team capped off a great week by capturing the prestigious Ottawa International Tournament over the holiday weekend. Coming off a successful Ontario Cup round robin outing last weekend, the Cobras headed to Ottawa to compete in a 26-team tournament featuring the top squads from Ontario, Quebec and the United States. The Cobras came out strong in first round action, outscoring their opposition by a combined 19-1 margin over three games. A 6-0 victory over Liverpool, NY, an 8-1 drubbing of Whitby, and a 5-0 defeat of Cumberland provided plenty of fireworks. Goal scorers for the first round were Karen Zmirak (6),'Leslie Martin (4), Adrienne Johnstone (3), Stephanie Muldoon (2), Heather Lockhart (2), and Laura Bandy (2). Entering quarter-final action, the Cobras took on Scarborough United. Back-and-forth action saw the Cobras pre­ vail on a late goal by Jessica Povilaitis. The Cobras' saved their best soccer of the tournament for the semifinal game against Kitchener, pulling out a 3-1 win. After falling behind early, the Cobras established their passing game and entered halftime tied after Zmirak notched the equalizer. The Cobras dominated the sec­ ond half, taking advantage of a tired Kitchener squad. Zmirak notched the go- ahead goal and Amanda Cicchini finished the scoring with the goal of the weekend, a rocket from 20 yards out. The championship game on Monday saw the Cobras meet up with the Oshawa Kicks. The game was high-paced and the Cobras fell behind 1-0 in the first 15 min­ utes. Once again, the Cobras were able to force the equalizer before halftime on a goal by Jessica Povilaitis. In the second half, Zmirak scored the go-ahead goal, only to have Oshawa tie it in the last minute of regulation. Sudden death over­ time solved nothing, which resulted in a penalty shootout. After goaltender Katie McKenna made a nice save, Laura Lorenz scored her first goal of the year to decide the game, giving the Cobras the champi­ onship. The Cobras won all three major Ontario tournaments. They were also vic­ torious in the Amherst International Memorial tournament by defeating the New York state champions, and finished second at the Erie Flagship tournament in Pennsylvania, losing to the Ohio state champions. The Cobras now continue with league action and gear up for the league cup and Ontario Cup semifinal play. Longhorns end season on strong note The Oakville Longhorns wrapped up their season in impressive fashion, destroying the Sault Ste. Marie Storm 62-0 on Saturday. The game, played in Sudbury as part of the hall of fame jamboree, was the conclusion to the regular season. Oakville was dominant once again, fin­ ishing in first place with a 7-1 record. Halfback Derwin Phillips, named offensive player of the week for his efforts, rushed for 220 yards on 20 car­ ries. Phillips became the seventh play­ er in league history to rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season, finishing with 1,004. Oakville hosts Sault Ste. Marie on Saturday night (Aug. 7) in a semifinal playoff game, 5 p.m. at Ivor Wynne Stadium in Hamilton. Kumar impressive at Junior Squash Championships Ruchika Kumar, a 14-year-old Oakville resident, returned home after a successful showing at the World Junior Squash Championships held last week in Antwerp, Belgium. Kumar handled her first round opponent, Jennifer Gearing of New Zealand, with ease, defeating her in three straight games. The victory placed Kumar in the championship bracket and gave her a second round date with Ans Van Doninick of Belgium. Kumar bounced Van Doninick in three straight games, displaying a confidence that is rare for a player her age. Participants can be as old as 19 years of age to play in the tourna­ ment. Kumar's young age caught up with her in the third round, losing three straight games to 17-year-old Amina Helal of England. National team coach Heather Wallace predicted Kumar might have difficulty in the third round because "at 14 she doesn't quite have the physical strength of the older players and that could be a big factor against Helal." Kumar finished in the top 32 for the world tournament, an impressive feat for a player her age. ATTENTION: LOCAL SPORTS GROUPS We guarantee results... N ot on the playing field unfortunately, but we do guarantee your results will be published in The Oakville Beaver, if you follow these tips: Results should be dropped off at the Beaver (467 Speers Road) or faxed to (and take note of our new fax number) 337-5567. Be sure to leave a name and phone number for follow up. Reports should be typed, if possible, or at least neatly hand written. Messy hand written reports are especially hard to make out over the fax and usually result in * mis-spelled names. HOUSE LEAGUE House league reports should be submitted as soon as possible after the game, and no later than the following week after a game to ensure publication. The sheer number of players in Oakville's recre­ ational leagues (the Oakville Soccer Club, alone, is almost at 8,000 players this season) makes it impossible to handle outdated house league game summaries. There is some leeway in the game reports. Traditionally, for sports like soccer and roller hock­ ey. goals and assists are tabulated. But for some sports, like baseball (or for the younger age groups in soccer), it's easier to pick an MVP or two for each team with a short explanation (such a s '. . . pitched a great game' o r '... had his/her first multi-goal game' o r '... made a game saving effort'). REP REPORTS Rep reports have traditionally included the scoring summary with most teams also giving key highlights. We do get a lot of questions about what size the article should be, and again, there is some leeway. But generally, the more prestigious or more important or more noteworthy the game or tournament is, the more that should be said about it. The reverse is also true. If it's a 9-0 exhibition rout over lightly regarded opposition then a simple, quick game summary will probably suffice. It's a judgement call. Especially with multi-game tournaments, a choice sometimes has to be made about what to highlight because everything can't always get in. Some teams like to do a multi-game highlight package and this works out well as long it doesn't revert into goal by goal accounts that stretch back a month. So good playin' this summer. And look forward to reading about it in the Oakville Beaver... Ed Note: check today's sports section for the latest house league scores... The Oakville Beaver Sports Winner of Best Sports Section in Ontario (OCNA 1997 awards) VjlSS By Scott MacArthur By Scott MacArthur Longhorns end season on strong note