We’ve reached the final day of the first round of the 2015 Hottest Canadian bracket showdown. The final region is filled with rookies as four of the eight women in this bracket make their first appearance. It’s probably worth noting as well that the Prairies and Shield regions will close the polls on Monday. The Arctic and Maritime regions close a day earlier on Sunday. The day after those polls close, we’ll start the Sweet Sixteen round.
Author: Steve Murray
The Most Popular Beers in the World (Infographic)
If you’re a long-time fan of The Lowdown, you know that one of our favourite things is alcohol. That’s why we have so many alcohol-themed posts on the blog and drinking jokes on the podcast. So when I saw this look at what the most popular beers in the world in each country are, I knew that I had to post it on the blog and post it two days after St. Patrick’s Day. I kind of dropped the ball on that one. But it’s still a cool infographic and you might learn something about your country’s drinking habits. I certainly was surprised with Canada’s results.
2015 Hottest Canadian: Shield Region – First Round
Much like the Maritime Region of the bracket, the Shield Region of the 2015 Hottest Canadian bracket has some heavy hitters. Like yesterday’s region, the Shield Region’s top four seeds all went to the last Elite Eight. Unlike the Maritime Region, three of those women went on to the Final Four. We didn’t plan it out that way when we did the brackets but these last two regions sure did turn out to have some fun storylines.
Wednesday Link-Off: Election Blues
I’m a little disappointed I don’t have enough time in the morning to prep the links at the last minute. I’d love to have some links about the Israeli election included in the post but that was still a dead heat last I heard. I suppose that’s what I have the Sunday links for.
Anyway, if it’s Wednesday, it’s time for the links. Let’s kick things off with Lights.
I don’t know (or care) what this Hilary Clinton email scandal is but it’s gotten her presidential aspirations off to a rocky start with two years of campaigning still to go. (Rolling Stone)
Political parties often put a lot of time and effort into finding the right candidate. For the Democrats, if they put that much effort in getting people out to vote, they’d never lose. (Al Jazeera America)
This time of year brings up plenty of questions about why college “student-athletes” don’t get paid but they aren’t the only cogs in a multi-million dollar machine going unpaid. Canada is going through the same thing in junior hockey. (Vice Sports)
2015 Hottest Canadian: Maritime Region – First Round
If yesterday’s launch of the Arctic Region’s first round was a bit light on big names, we completely overcorrect with the Maritime Region. Not only is defending champion Kristin Kreuk in this part of the bracket, each of this region’s top four seeds were in the 2012 Elite Eight. So if the Arctic Region is the Comeback Region, this one is the Region of Death.
Formula E Miami ePrix: The Heat of the Urban Jungle
After two months off, the most electrifying electric motorsports series in the world was back in action last weekend. Following the two-round stint in South America, it was the first of two rounds in the United States of America as the teams took to the streets of Miami for the fifth round of the championship. While there was some hot weather, the hot action was left to late in the day when Nicolas Prost made a pass in the dying laps to score his first Formula E win.
2015 Hottest Canadian: Arctic Region – First Round
As promised, it’s time to kick things off with the first day of the first round of The Lowdown’s second Hottest Canadian bracket showdown. It doesn’t sound quite as impressive when we put it that way. Anyway, over the next week, the polls will open region by region to determine who will make it to the Sweet Sixteen. The first bracket features only one woman who made to the Sweet Sixteen in the first tournament so I guess you could call this the comeback region of the bracket.
F1 Australian Grand Prix: The First Step to Immortality
After a three-month off-season and a month of testing, it’s all to do again for the stars of Formula One. As is tradition, Formula One returns for another year with the Australian Grand Prix. While a new season often starts with a lot of questions, the only real question that most are asking is Lewis or Nico?
The first step in answering that question came in the first race of the season. Unlike last season, it was Lewis who took first blood and won the first race of the 2015 World Championship. Considering all the drama that happened during the weekend, it was almost as if the battle at the front of the field was just a backdrop to everything happening off-track.
2015 Hottest Canadian Bracket Preview
Sometimes, an idea is so good and so unique that we have to do it again… after a three-year hiatus. For the first time since the initial event, it’s time for the second ever Hottest Canadian Bracket Challenge. This is the first, and therefore best, public poll/bracket to determine who is the hottest Canadian woman in the world.
After the jump, we have the bracket and the list of the first round match-ups.
Sunday Link-Off: Not Safe for Work
After taking last Wednesday off to spend my time writing the Formula One season previews, it’s time for my editions of the link-off to resume normal service. While the title might say NSFW, there aren’t any NSFW links. There are some people with some NSFW professions being talked about but wouldn’t reading about that be the fun part of your day.
Anyway, let’s end the preamble and start the links. Let’s kick things off with Rosie Huntington-Whiteley.
If there’s a Ponzi scheme that shakes Canada and no one in Canada was shaken, did it really shake the country? (New York Times Magazine)
The 47 Republican Senators sent a letter to the leadership of Iran that effectively tried to threaten Iran out of signing the long-awaited nuclear agreement with America. Many pundits suggest this is close to treason. (Bloomberg)
And the “Iranian hardliners” sent a letter back. (Slate)
The Lowdown 