Canada

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Wednesday Link-Off: Owned The Podium

The Olympics are over and we can officially say that Canada owned the podium. It’s sorta like how Jennifer Love Hewitt owns Friday nights. Can’t figure out how she does that?

Hoserism trumped jingoism on Sunday as Canada beat the USA in the Game of the Century. It also meant winning the head of governmental wager. (Globe & Mail)

Canada: The greatest drinking country in the world. (Time) It’s only two weeks until St. Patty’s Day so if the Irish drinking team wants to swing by Canada, we’ll make it 15 gold medals this winter.

In my high school, any and all cell phones seen outside of a locker were confiscated. Probably so we wouldn’t film what happened at a pep rally in Winnipeg. (Total Pro Sports)

After the jump, gold medal hockey stories, politician fail, and a marketing success. Continue reading →

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Hindsight Booking The Closing Ceremonies Concert

Alanis Morrisette, Avril Lavigne and Nickelback? The thought provoking “Whoa Vancouver” by Inward Eye? That’s the best we could muster for the whole world to see? While both the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were wonderful through my gold coloured glasses, some of the talent booking decisions were beyond horrible. It’s not a matter of why would the producer hire these guys. More a matter of “Was everyone else booked and not willing to clear their schedules?” Bryan Adams singing something other than Summer of ’69 was a mistake and they just kept piling up from there. I’ve been saying since the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing that a Canadian ceremony has to be a giant rock concert. Why not? After all, we have loads of rock and roll talent right here in our backyard. I’m glad that someone followed my advice, it’s just too bad that they did it in the worst way possible.

So let’s fix VANOC’s mistakes and put together a real concert for the ages just to show the world that we aren’t as musically hopeless as we came off during the closing ceremony. Continue reading →

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The Humanoids: The Five Rings of Hell

This is apparently the worst Winter Olympic Games in the history of the world if you ask the British press. But they’re a fickle bunch so I pay them little to no attention. I think these are a pretty Olympic Games. Of course, I’m watching them through maple leaf shaped glasses. That doesn’t mean that these games are perfect. There are some issues and people overshadowing what should be the greatest games ever. And, no, I don’t mean the broken cauldron. That was fairly embarrassing, though. Let’s blame that on the Newfies. Continue reading →

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Not News of the Week

A day late and a dollar short but it’s still the weirdest and wackiest stories from around the world. It’s the Not News of the Week.

Let’s lead off with the “Only in America” story of the week. A middle school student in New York City was led out of class in handcuffs after drawing on a desk with a marker. She wrote “Lex was here 2/1/10” and “I love my friends Abby and Faith.” That was enough to earn the 12-year-old girl a several hour trip to a police station complete with a ride in a squad car. The New York Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit last month over at least 20 similar arrests by school safety officers. Despite the ridiculous nature of the arrest, the girl will have to complete eight hours of community service, a book report and an essay on what she learned from this experience. Continue reading →

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Canada Names Olympic Hockey Team

Team Canada’s Executive Director Steve Yzerman had 23 roster spots to fill for Canada’s entry in the 2010 Olympic hockey tournament. Given the amount of talent that Canada boasts at a professional level, very few players were guaranteed to have a roster spot. So when the team was announced, there were some of the expected names and a few that came right out of left field. Get the roster and analysis after the jump. Continue reading →

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Not News of the Week

Another week, another dose of all the news that’s not fit for print. It’s time for the Not News of the Week.

Downtown Toronto had an unexpected visitor last week. A female deer was found lounging in some shrubs around University and Dundas in the heart of the downtown of Canada’s most populous city. The deer wasn’t too keen on leaving her adopted home near City Hall and had to be both tranquilized and tazed to be captured and removed by animal control. No one is really sure how the deer got to downtown but it had been spotted before it was captured at Union Station which is about 1.5 km south of University and Dundas. However, I am pretty sure that the deer is at least as smart as the average denizen of Toronto. Continue reading →

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Not News of the Week

For the 20th time in the blog’s history, it’s time for all the weird and wacky stories from around the world. It’s the Not News of the Week.

Canada caused quite the diplomatic crisis last week. Federal transport minister John Baird was supposed to be attending gala in Toronto but wasn’t able to make it to the event. To explain his absence, Baird sent someone a text message saying “Thatcher has died.” A Prime Ministerial aide was dispatched to confirm the news and write a statement mourning the death of Margaret Thatcher. However, calls to Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street (the British Prime Minister’s residence) indicated that Thatcher was still alive. It turns out Baird was skipping the gala because his cat, named Thatcher, had died. When British journalists found out about the incident, they naturally had a field day with it. The aide who was told to write the statement was quoted as saying that if the cat wasn’t dead, he would have strangled it. Continue reading →

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2010 Vancouver Olympic Medals Unveiled

vancouver-2010-medalsWith just under four months until the opening ceremonies at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, the Vancouver Olympic Committee unveiled the designs for the Olympic and Paralympic medals. Each medal will be unique because it will feature an image cropped from the artwork of native artist Corrine Hunt. Continue reading →

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Formula One 2010 Schedule Announced

Slightly lost amid the World Motor Sports Council hearing about the Renault Crashgate, the FIA announced the 2010 Formula One schedule. As has been rumoured for several months, the Canadian Grand Prix will be on the schedule. Despite being left off the previously released provisional schedule, the South Korean Grand Prix is listed on this version of the 2010 calendar. There will be a total of 19 races in 2010 starting in mid-March and running through to mid-November. The full schedule and analysis after the jump. Continue reading →

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Hockey Canada Unveils Olympic Jerseys, Drops The Ball

team-canada-2010-jerseysHockey Canada has unveiled the jerseys that Team Canada will don in their attempt to win gold on home turf at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. Hockey Canada was forced to make changes to their jersey after the IOC said that the Hockey Canada logo couldn’t be used on the Olympic jerseys. Previously, the Canadian Olympic Committee had gotten an exemption so Hockey Canada could use the logo. The 2010 jerseys are the same as the most recent Team Canada jerseys but with a new logo. I think that Hockey Canada had a golden opportunity to do something special here but they blew it. Continue reading →