I still have nightmares about summer camp.

As an eight-year-old, I lasted exactly one day at Camp Gordon after a gang of senior woodchucks decided it would be fun to roll me back and forth across a picnic table for a half hour.

So upon learning that the Toronto Maple Leafs were heading to The Great Outdoors for three days of bonding in advance of their NHL season opener, the question was obvious.

Why?

According to GM Brian Burke and coach Ron Wilson, these type of team building exercises are crucial to developing chemistry. Watching movies together; a rousing game of paint ball; sitting in a circle and revealing something about yourself that teammates wouldn't know - all designed to instill a sense of togetherness when the Leafs face an on-ice jam.

But despite being on a bit of a youth kick, the Leafs are still too old to be sitting around a campfire singing On Top of Old Smokey. When the regular season grind gets going, the Leafs will be traveling, eating and yes, even showering together. Do they really need to spend more time in each other's company just so they can learn that Colton Orr has watched The Bridges of Madison County 15 times?

Being forced to travel like a pack of dogs is one of the downsides to being a professional athlete that rarely gets mentioned. How would you like to be a veteran Leaf, for example, who's forced to miss their kid's birthday party because the organization has decreed that a team building weekend is more important?

"Sorry, honey but I won't be at Bobby's birthday because I've got to go shoot some paint balls at Alexei Ponikarovsky."

And we wonder why some pro athletes have trouble growing up and facing reality when their careers come to an end.

A September Halladay

A tip of the cap to Blue Jays fans who made the final few games of the season at Rogers Centre a weekend to remember.

After some record-low attendance figures earlier in September, an average of 30,000 fans passed through the gates for last weekend's trio of tilts against Seattle; not bad when you consider the Jays disappointing record this year.

The highlight of the weekend took place Friday night when Roy Halladay, appearing in what seemed like his tenth potential farewell fling, went the distance and shutout the Mariners. The Doc was his usual masterful self, completely handcuffing a line-up that included future Hall of Famers Ken Griffey Jr. and Ichiro Suzuki.

With that said, it should be mentioned that the Mariners are playing out the string just like the Jays. In fact, while Halladay was toeing the rubber and preparing to get the show underway on Friday, Seattle's relief pitchers were busy picking teams and staging a relay race inside the cozy confines of their bullpen. It was difficult to identify which group ended up winning the goofy intrasquad contest, but if the Mariners displayed that kind of enthusiasm during the actual games they might have been able to snap their eight year play-off drought.

The Jays, meanwhile, haven't made a trip to the post-season party since Joe Carter danced around the base paths in 1993.

But at least Halladay gave Toronto fans a treat last weekend, as they brace themselves for a cold winter while wondering if Roy will still be a Blue Jay by the time spring rolls around.

Coach Jay and Coach "K"

Following the firing of Sam Mitchell last season, the Toronto Raptors managed to put up a record that was even more rotten under new bench boss Jay Triano.

So, why was a rookie who compiled a 25-40 record promptly rewarded with a three year contract?

It was the contention of yours truly that a big part of Triano's new deal was based on the fact that he's a Canadian who gets handled with kid gloves by the media because he's a heckuva nice guy.

But after conversing with legendary Duke and USA Olympic coach Mike Krzyzewski earlier in the summer, a re-evaluation was in order. After being dumped as the coach of Team Canada four years ago, Triano hooked on as an assistant with the American program while working side-by-side with "Coach K".

According to Krzyzewski, Triano is one of the brightest basketball minds on the planet and that he's the perfect choice to lead the Raptors back to the post-season.

Let's see now.

Mike Toth or Mike Krzyzewski?

Something tells me you'll probably go with the guy who has a gold medal and three NCAA championships on his resume.

Then again, if the Raptors turn out to be a big bust again this year, "Coach K" will take the "L" while the "Ol' Tother" comes away with the "W".