28 June 2009
The Sorry State Of Alberta Health Care
04/07/2009 19:15
Hi Don:
In the Friday edition of the Edmonton Sun appeared an article with the following heading:
"PENSION OUTRAGE - EX HEALTH EXEC
SCORES $268,908.00
A YEAR
'JACKPOT'
It was revealed that a former top provinicial health official along with executives was bought out after the province formed the Alberta Health Services superboard.
The former head of the Calgary Health Region will collect $22,409.00 a month for the rest of his life.
Another former health services boss, Paddy Meade, received almost $1.9 million in a payout after nine months of working as "executive operating officer contrinuum of care, for Alberta Health Services - the position she held from July 8, 2008 until this past March.
Also an interim chief financial officer at the former East Central Health Region collected more than $3 million after being bought out from her job that began July 8, 2008 and ended 31 March of this year.
It stated that the total amount in severance for the top executives is roughly $22.5 million.
You read the aforementioned and see the deterioration in health services in this province and one has to wonder where is it all going to end. In the past when top government officials are questioned re the ludicrous "deals" that are agreed to when it comes to financial pay for services, that we are told this is the price we have to pay to obtain top 'talent' - if this is so one must question the earlier individuals who were not even on the job 1 year. This also brings up the question - what is the 'cost' to the Provincial Government for the head of the new superboard who was brought in from another country?
We have from what I understand is a cabinet minister responsible for health services with a questionable education and poor communication skills calling the shots - with very little heard from the Premier regarding the continuing deterioration of what was once a workable service.
It just seems as though the government is operating like a sea captain - with orders are, "Full Speed Ahead, we don’t know where the hell we are going, but we sure are going to arrive somewhere in a hell of a hurry”.
George Proulx
St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
Yeah George, I don’t know many people who like either the health minister or that snide stare he gives Albertans.
It was revealed that a former top provinicial health official along with executives was bought out after the province formed the Alberta Health Services superboard.
The former head of the Calgary Health Region will collect $22,409.00 a month for the rest of his life.
Another former health services boss, Paddy Meade, received almost $1.9 million in a payout after nine months of working as "executive operating officer contrinuum of care, for Alberta Health Services - the position she held from July 8, 2008 until this past March.
Also an interim chief financial officer at the former East Central Health Region collected more than $3 million after being bought out from her job that began July 8, 2008 and ended 31 March of this year.
It stated that the total amount in severance for the top executives is roughly $22.5 million.
You read the aforementioned and see the deterioration in health services in this province and one has to wonder where is it all going to end. In the past when top government officials are questioned re the ludicrous "deals" that are agreed to when it comes to financial pay for services, that we are told this is the price we have to pay to obtain top 'talent' - if this is so one must question the earlier individuals who were not even on the job 1 year. This also brings up the question - what is the 'cost' to the Provincial Government for the head of the new superboard who was brought in from another country?
We have from what I understand is a cabinet minister responsible for health services with a questionable education and poor communication skills calling the shots - with very little heard from the Premier regarding the continuing deterioration of what was once a workable service.
It just seems as though the government is operating like a sea captain - with orders are, "Full Speed Ahead, we don’t know where the hell we are going, but we sure are going to arrive somewhere in a hell of a hurry”.
George Proulx
St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
Yeah George, I don’t know many people who like either the health minister or that snide stare he gives Albertans.
READER RESPONSE:
Don,
Re George Proulx’s email, “The Sorry State Of Health Care.”
Please don’t get me wrong. I really have no great love for Health Minister Ron Liepert, either. However, while regular Albertans may feel the need to take their rage over the present state of Alberta’s health care system out on Minister Liepert, please rest assured the Minister does absolutely nothing in regard to health care in the province of Alberta that does not have the direct and specific blessing of the Premier – Hon. Ed Stelmach.
Perhaps it’s time the farmer from Andrew, ‘Fast Eddie,’ actually came to and started to pay attention to what’s happening around him and what Albertans are trying to tell him?
Jim Starko
St. Albert
Bubble Wrapped Kids . . .
04/07/2009 19:11
Hi Don,
The recent story about the extreme measures people are using to overprotect their kids had me thinking.
Later that day saw a kid on a bike with a helmet, probably full body armour under his clothes and a plastic bubble visor to protect his eyes/face/teeth. Only one problem; there was so much condensation on the visor I am sure the kid couldn't see anything.
Not at all sure how that visor made the kid safer, but thought it was worth mentioning.
Bob F.
St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
Yeah Bob, we’re a nation of social engineered whimps.
Bride Wants Divorce After Airport Bathroom Stop
04/07/2009 19:07
A BRIDE has demanded
a divorce from her husband of just one week who
left her at an airport after their romantic
newlywed jaunt because she took long in the
toilet.The Daily Mail reports that only a week of married life, one couple's romance came to a dramatic end after the bridegroom decided his wife simply spent too long in the bathroom.
His solution was simple. Get on the plane without her.
The woman in question, a teacher, had gone to use the facilities at the airport before boarding a flight back in Saudi Arabia.
Quite how long she stayed in the toilet remains unclear.
What is certain is she emerged to discover her husband had vanished without trace.
The woman, who had paid for the holiday, began a desperate search of the airport and grew increasingly concerned that something terrible had happened to him.
It eventually emerged that he had in fact boarded a plane, according to the Saudi Gazette.
When he arrived at his destination, he calmly told relatives his new wife was still in Malaysia.
His bride was not so calm about his behaviour. She has demanded an immediate divorce.
SINC SAYS:
That’ll teach her to take so long to powder her, er, nose.
Anonymous Reader Needs Help
04/07/2009 19:05
Hi There,
I need a small favor, if it's not too much trouble.
I am going away on vacation, and I need a friend to come over to water my plants while I am gone.
The plants are mostly geraniums and begonias.
In the hot weather they'll probably only need water twice a day. I'll be gone only 21 days. I've attached a photo for your reference.
I'll send you a post card.
Thanks
P.S. - The ladder is in the garage.
I need a small favor, if it's not too much trouble.
I am going away on vacation, and I need a friend to come over to water my plants while I am gone.
The plants are mostly geraniums and begonias.
In the hot weather they'll probably only need water twice a day. I'll be gone only 21 days. I've attached a photo for your reference.
I'll send you a post card.
Thanks
P.S. - The ladder is in the garage.
Boy Gets Head Stuck In Storm Drain
04/07/2009 18:58
A young boy was
rescued after getting his head stuck in a storm
drain Thursday in Lakeside,
Calif.
The 7-year-old may
have been trying to retrieve a lost toy.
Rescue teams used the Jaws of Life to pry the
drain apart in order to free the boy.
The whole ordeal took about 40 minutes. The boy was not injured, however officials had paramedics standing by to examine him.
The El Cajon, Calif., fire department released the photo to the left of the rescue.
SINC SAYS:
Ah yes, the old brain in the drain trick.
The whole ordeal took about 40 minutes. The boy was not injured, however officials had paramedics standing by to examine him.
The El Cajon, Calif., fire department released the photo to the left of the rescue.
SINC SAYS:
Ah yes, the old brain in the drain trick.
Is There A Ghost Cat In Taranaki?
04/07/2009 18:51
Ross and Donna
Sowerby don't believe in ghosts but are having
difficulty explaining what they caught on
video.
So is there a ghost
cat in Hawera?
Watch the video and judge for yourself.
A mysterious apparition in their driveway has a Hawera couple perplexed.
Donna and Ross Sowerby had set up a security camera after a bike went missing from their property recently. But instead of catching the possible culprits, the sceptics believe they've captured something much more obscure.
When Ross returned from work on Wednesday evening, the couple sat down to watch the 40-minute video and were more than surprised by what they saw about 25 seconds in.
"I said 'did you see that?' because I wasn't sure if it was just me," said Ross.
"I was sort of expecting to see nothing."
An orange coloured blurry ball came into view and made its way across the screen and was out of sight 30 seconds later.
"You're going to think we're crazy but I think it's a cat," said Donna.
"You can see its legs."
A ginger moggy that belonged to a neighbour was hit by a car a few months ago.
"It used to walk around out there like that."
Spookily, 18 minutes further into the footage, a real ginger cat wanders through.
SINC SAYS:
That video is just plain spooky.
Watch the video and judge for yourself.
A mysterious apparition in their driveway has a Hawera couple perplexed.
Donna and Ross Sowerby had set up a security camera after a bike went missing from their property recently. But instead of catching the possible culprits, the sceptics believe they've captured something much more obscure.
When Ross returned from work on Wednesday evening, the couple sat down to watch the 40-minute video and were more than surprised by what they saw about 25 seconds in.
"I said 'did you see that?' because I wasn't sure if it was just me," said Ross.
"I was sort of expecting to see nothing."
An orange coloured blurry ball came into view and made its way across the screen and was out of sight 30 seconds later.
"You're going to think we're crazy but I think it's a cat," said Donna.
"You can see its legs."
A ginger moggy that belonged to a neighbour was hit by a car a few months ago.
"It used to walk around out there like that."
Spookily, 18 minutes further into the footage, a real ginger cat wanders through.
SINC SAYS:
That video is just plain spooky.
Woods, Kim Tied For Lead At Congressional
04/07/2009 17:41
BETHESDA, Md. -- Tournament host Tiger Woods and defending champion Anthony Kim set the stage Saturday for a showdown everyone wanted at the AT&T National, with some expected company on a suddenly crowded leaderboard at Congressional.
Woods salvaged an even-par 70 from a roller-coaster round, losing a three-shot lead in two holes and having to scramble down the stretch to regain a share of the lead.
Kim turned birdie into bogey with an ugly three-putt on No. 9, but kept his cool in warm, blustery conditions for a 2-under 68.
The 24-year-old has never finished higher than Woods in a PGA Tour event, and this will be the first time they have been paired together in any round of any tournament.
"I'm excited to be there," Kim said. "There's not too many chances to play against the best in the world at his tournament. I would love to play great tomorrow."
And what does he expect from Tiger?
"I expect he's going to be wearing a red shirt and be out there ready to go," Kim said.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
A lot of people were looking for this final pairing on Sunday, folks, and it ought to be just a great final round today with Tiger Woods and Anthony Kim going head-to-head. I don’t bet against Tiger when he’s either tied for the lead or leading after 54 holes.
Jesse Lumsden’s Pain Endures
04/07/2009 17:40
Shoulder injury stops tailback in his tracks
Jesse Lumsden must derive enormous pleasure from his football success, because he pays a terribly painful price for those sweet moments.
When the 26-year-old Eskimos tailback went down with a dislocated left shoulder late in the first quarter of Edmonton's home opening 19-17 victory over Winnipeg on Thursday night, so began yet another twirl on a truly vicious cycle of injury and recovery the star runner cannot seem to run away from.
It is a measure of his determination and his passion that he keeps coming back.
This go-round, Lumsden hurt the same shoulder that was surgically repaired last December, the same shoulder he injured last September when he was playing for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats against the Eskimos at Commonwealth Stadium.
Since 2004, Lumsden's final season as a Canadian college superstar at McMaster University, he has been hitched to the injury-and-recovery treadmill every year, as if paying penance for some unspeakable wrong.
Over the years, he has had to overcome garden-variety football ailments like hip flexor injuries and a partially separated clavicle, and more serious ones.
Twice he has injured his left shoulder seriously enough to require corrective surgery.
Last season, a strained knee and an ankle injury hampered him early in the year before the shoulder damage shut things down for good in September.
Now, the shoulder is injured again, knocked out of commission by a hard, clean tackle by ex-Eskimo Siddeeq Shabazz.
How severe the injury is won't be known until the club's medical staff see the results of an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging scan).
In the meantime, import Arkee Whitlock assumes the No. 1 tailback job as the club prepares to face the Alouettes in Montreal next Thursday.
And with Canadian swingman Calvin McCarty on the roster, as well, the Eskimos believe they have depth and quality at that position.
If Lumsden's injury proves severe enough for management to place him on the nine-game injured list, Eskimos general manager Danny Maciocia may bring back Ciatrick Fason, a late training camp cut, to add still more depth.
Perhaps most important for Lumsden is how he responds emotionally to this latest setback.
Eskimos head coach Richie Hall suggested that for a pro football player it's about using the adversity to fuel one's motivation. Which may be easier said than done when you've been through the cycle as repeatedly as has Lumsden.
"You have an injury and people want to count you out and you say, 'No,' " Hall said.
"Because I still want to play the game, I still have the desire and the athletic ability.
"I'm going to overcome this thing. That's why you see people that have had five or six knee injuries still coming back to play.
"You see baseball pitchers going to the extent of having the Tommy John (reconstructive) surgery on their arms to come back, because supposedly you can't.
"But I also think, whether it's injury (related), whether it's longevity, you always reach a point in time where (you ask), 'Have I had enough?'
"That's something that we all look at, whether you've played for 15 years and you're still healthy or you've played for a few years and you've had some misfortunes."
Hall played nine years as a defensive back in the CFL, missing one solitary game owing to injury and just three games in all.
"I had(arthroscopic surgery)done on one knee and I have a bad shoulder," Hall said.
"But I was extremely fortunate," he said.
Not Lumsden. He has played in 31 games over four seasons and one game into a fifth, his foreshortened debut as an Eskimo on Thursday night.
But pro running backs have notoriously short career-spans. Kenton Keith, Lumsden's supposed replacement in Hamilton, began this season on the nine-game injured list, for example.
"Jesse hasn't been the first one to battle injuries and he won't be the last one," Hall said.
"The thing about Jesse is he has always bounced back.
"It does play tricks on you mentally and it can get you discouraged."
Which is where Lumsden understandably has been since the injury occurred. Undergoing tests on Thursday, he was not available for comment.
"He needs a break at some point in time," Maciocia said.
"This can't be happening to him. I mean, four consecutive years and he hasn't been lucky one bit.
'When you look at his training regimen and all the things that he's done, the people he has seen and the money he has spent to get himself into the shape he got himself into to come to camp--clearly there's no justice, none whatsoever."
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
If this is not a career ending injury, I can’t help but agree with Esks’ General Manager Danny Maciocia that, at some point, Jesse Lumsden just has to get a ‘break.’ Word has it that the MRI shows the injury as a clear dislocation of Lumsden’s left shoulder with no structural damage – so, who knows, he may be back this season after all.
Brady Stockton On Top At Telus Edmonton Open
04/07/2009 17:40
Birdies galore move American up to share first place after Round 2
Listening to Brady Stockton is like talking to one of your weekend golfing pals: Lost balls. Unplayable lies. Wandering through the trees and bushes. Only seven pars all day...
"I go find it and try and hit it again," said the tall Arizona golfer.
Except that when we add up our scores they don't come close to Stockton's, who finds himself tied atop the leaderboard after the second round of the $150,000 Telus Edmonton Open with Saskatchewan's red-hot Graham DeLaet and Victoria's Jim Rutledge--all three at 10-under par.
"I'm making a lot of birdies," said Stockton.
In two days he's had 16 birdies. In Thursday's opening round, Stockton had nine of them en route to a 7-under 65. Friday he had seven more while shooting a 3-under 69.
"I'm in the trees a lot, but I've usually found my way out... (And) there's a lot of trees out here. It's the only way I can hit it around right now.
"I think my caddy(girlfriend Stephanie Denick) is getting stressed. She has to follow around and try to find my balls."
They never did find the one Stockton hit in the trees on the right side of No. 17. That cost him two strokes.
He wishes they didn't find the tee shot he hit on No. 11.
"I should have never looked for it. I should have just hit my provisional. Then I wouldn't have been climbing around in the bushes."
Forced to take an unplayable, Stockton dropped his ball 70 yards back from where he found it. Left with a blind shot, he hit that one so far left it almost landed on the 12th tee box. He ended up with a double bogey.
Pars on Stockton's scorecard are rare. It's either birdies, eagles, bogeys or double bogeys. Last week in Calgary, Stockton had 20 birdies and an eagle, but still only finished 5-under for the tournament.
While Stockton said he would be surprised if his lead held up, it did.
What's no surprise is that the two guys he is tied with are DeLaet and Rutledge.
DeLaet won last week's ATB Financial Classic in Calgary and finished second in the Vancouver Canadian Tour stop. Before that he played the Sunshine Tour in South Africa where he had a pair of seconds as well as a 12th-place finish in the Joburg Open.
Rutledge, who had his PGA card two years ago and now plays on the Nationwide, was second in Victoria, his only previous Canadian Tour stop this year.
Rutledge, 49, has also twice represented Canada in both the World Cup and Dunhill Cup.
DeLaet started fast. He birdied three of his first six holes. Moving to his back nine, he then birdied three more in a row.
"My putter was red hot the first (12) holes," said DeLaet, who made a pair of 20-footers and then a 45-foot bomb on No. 3. "Then it went ice cold the last six. I had good birdie chances on all of them. Maybe that's why I've got a bit of a bitter taste in my mouth. I had a good chance to separate myself."
Rutledge, who still has one of the best swings in all of golf, did it the other way. After missing a little two-foot putt on his second last hole, he finished with an eagle, landing a 6-iron to 15 feet from 206 yards out.
"Nice way to finish, but as far as momentum ... I'm not sure," said Rutledge. "There's a lot of golf left. Maybe if it was on the ninth hole on Sunday and it moved me up from sixth to a share of the lead, then giddy-up. But at this point it's just a nice way to finish."
Meanwhile, California's Josh Habig and Ontario's Scott Hawley had to play with borrowed clubs after they lost their car keys.
Sherwood Park's Danny Sahl walked off the course discouraged after an even-par 72 left him at 5-under in a 13-way tie for 12th place.
Seventy players made the cut at 1 under. David Jackson of Spokane, Wash., was disqualified after failing to sign his score card. He would have been tied for 12th.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I have a friend who volunteers as a Marshal every year at the Telus Edmonton Open. This year, however, he’s at a wedding in Banff this weekend.
I wonder if Brady Stockton is any relation to PGA Champions' Tour legend Dave Stockton?
Heatley Talks Cool Down
04/07/2009 17:39
Tambellini prepared to continue deal with Senators for star winger
Edmonton Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini is not yet ready to close the door on Dany Heatley and the Ottawa Senators.
Still in need of a first-line left-winger, still encumbered by an abundance of contracts, the trade route is still a more viable option than free agency.
"We have a full roster of signed players, so unless you're making a trade and players are going out, it's hard right now to bring people in. That's why a lot of discussion leading up to the draft, leading up to the free agency period, revolved around some sort of movement," said Tambellini, who spoke on Friday for the first time since the deal with Ottawa was scuttled.
The Senators were willing to send with their disgruntled sniper west in exchange for winger Dustin Penner, sophomore Andrew Cogliano and defenceman Ladislav Smid, but the deal fell through when Heatley elected not to waive his no-trade clause.
After the Sens had to fork over a $4-million contractual obligation, which was paid out at midnight on Wednesday, Ottawa general manager Bryan Murray said that he wanted more in return.
"We're trying to better our hockey club and we're trying to find different ways. It's obvious we had shown interest, but where this goes at this point is up to Bryan and Dany Heatley," Tambellini continued.
"Coming into free agency, our No. 1 objective was a goaltender, and we felt being able to attract (Nikolai Khabibulin) was huge. It solidified our goaltending for the next four years.
"It is totally separate from what we were trying to do on the other side."
The Oilers GM would not confirm that Penner, Smid and Cogliano were the players involved in the initial deal, nor did he say whether he has talked to them. He did say he was frustrated that their names were circulating in the media.
Tambellini also made it clear that Heatley's camp never did say no to Edmonton.
"They just haven't made a decision yet. There's a big difference there," he said.
"When players move it's a big decision. No one takes that lightly, so I understand why, if players have a choice, it takes time to come to a decision."
Heatley -- who comes with a $7.5-million cap hit, courtesy of a lucrative contract extension he was willing to sign on Oct. 4,2007--had recently let it be known he wanted a trade. Pointing to his diminished playing time, and his new role under rookie head coach Cory Clouston, Heatley figured he'd have options.
Murray contends the best deal for the Senators was the one on the table with Edmonton--providing it was pushed through before the bonus was paid.
Club owner Eugene Melnyk, meanwhile, said that his GM did all he could to get a palatable deal done and that the Oilers also pulled out all the stops. Tambellini and president Kevin Lowe even flew to Heatley's summer home in Kelowna on Wednesday evening for a face-to-face meeting.
"What's wrong with Edmonton? The organization is putting itself out," Melnyk said. "You can't have your cake and eat it, too."
He added in a radio interview on Friday that Heatley, 28, is a Senator and the team expects to see him at training camp. A grievance had not been filed with the league office, although that does remain an option for the club.
"I have spoken with Bryan, but nothing further with regards to what he wants to do next," Tambellini said. "I think Dany and the Senators have to do what they think is right. We're just trying to make our team better."
OIL DROPS: The Oklahoma City Blazers have suspended operations and won't ice a team in the Central Hockey League next season. The push is on to lure an American Hockey League team to Oklahoma City. The Oilers have visited the area and have one year left on the contract with Springfield...Twenty-three of the Oilers prospects, including Jordan Eberle, their first-round pick in 2008, will take part in a development camp that gets underway Monday in Sherwood Park and runs through July 10.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
To repeat myself, I think the Edmonton Oilers should forget Dany Heatley and move on.
Serena Overpowers Venus, Captures Wimbledon
04/07/2009 17:39
WIMBLEDON, England -- Serena Williams fell to her knees on the grass, eyes closed, arms raised, and threw back her head.
After six years, it was her turn to hold up the Venus Rosewater Dish again.
In the fourth all-Williams final at Wimbledon, Serena beat her sister Venus 7-6 (3), 6-2 on Saturday for her third title and 11th Grand Slam championship.
"It feels so amazing," Serena said. "I'm so blessed. I feel like I shouldn't be holding the trophy. I can't believe I'm holding it. It's named for Venus and she always wins."
Serena came out on top by out-serving her big sister, lifting her game in the tiebreaker and dictating play throughout the second set, finally winning when five-time champion Venus slapped a backhand into the net on the fourth match point.
Serena beat Venus in the 2002 and '03 finals, before Venus prevailed in last year's championship match. Venus was trying to become the first woman since Steffi Graf in 1991-93 to win Wimbledon three years in a row.
Still, the Williams sisters proved their dominance at the All England Club once more, winning their eighth singles title this decade. As always with Williams versus Williams matches, the celebrations were relatively muted. The sisters embraced at the net, with the 29-year-old Venus patting 27-year-old Serena on the back.
"I didn't think about Venus at all today," Serena said. "I just saw her as an opponent. At one point, after the first set, I looked on the side of the court at the stats, and it was like 'Williams, Williams.' I couldn't figure out which was which."
The sisters were due back on Centre Court later for the women's doubles final, where they will face Samantha Stosur and Rennae Stubbs of Australia. They're seeking their fourth Wimbledon doubles title and 10th Grand Slam crown.
Venus had come into the final as the favourite after playing some of the best grass-court tennis of her career. She hadn't dropped a set in 17 straight matches at Wimbledon, but couldn't cope on this day with the fierce competitive drive and relentless power game of her sister.
"This is one of the few times I didn't expect to come out with the win today," Serena said. "I felt like I had nothing to lose. ... When I won that first set, I was like, 'Wow, this is great. No matter what, I'm a set away.' So I was just trying to relax."
The statistics summed up Serena's superiority: She had 12 aces, 25 winners and 12 unforced errors, compared to two aces, 14 winners and 18 unforced mistakes for Venus.
More from Canadian Press.
Serena Williams remains No. 2 despite another major title.
Williams sisters win Wimbledon women's doubles title.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The Williams sisters have so dominated this event for the past decade, I think they should re-name the tournament ‘Williamsdon.’
Canadian Open Loses Its Golf Cachet
04/07/2009 17:38
The good folks at the Royal Canadian Golf Association work hard at what they do, but a comment made by executive director and CEO Scott Simmons this week struck a disturbing note.
Simmons, on the latest additions to the field for the 100th playing of the Canadian Open at Glen Abbey (July 20-26) said: "We now have one of the strongest fields for any regular PGA Tour event."
"Regular" cut like a knife. Is it truly what the third-oldest national open golf championship in the world has become?
Sure the championship has lost a measure of lustre over the years because of its position on the PGA Tour schedule. But has it fallen to status as an also-ran or afterthought because of it?
The championship that just a generation ago was staged between the U.S. Open and British Open and which Lee Trevino captured back-to-back-to-back, the only to do it in that fashion, to complete the Triple Crown of Golf in the summer of 1971?
A championship won by many greats of the game - Walter Hagen, Byron Nelson, Sam Nelson, Bobby Locke, Arnold Palmer, Greg Norman, Nick Price and Tiger Woods - who believed in the significance having another country's national-open title among their lists of achievements?
The most significant title never won by Jack Nicklaus, a runner-up seven times?
Regular?
Most of the big names among players in golf today no doubt view the Canadian Open as such because of an obvious lack of desire to attend despite it being the most accessible of national opens for U.S. players in particular.
The PGA Tour views it in a similar light as well. While it granted the RCGA's wish for a more favourable date by shifting it from September after the last of golf's four major championships, it moved it to mid-to-late July as of 2007 - a week after the British Open, a week before the World Golf Championships Bridgestone Invitational, and two weeks before the PGA Championship, the season's last major.
The schedule was tweaked this year, allowing two weeks before the Bridgestone Invitational, but the impact on the field for the Canadian Open hasn't been minimized. Unlike last year when Jim Furyk, ranked seventh in the world, returned to defend his title, not one top-10 ranked player so far has committed to play this year.
To date, the tournament can only boast three of the top-15 the world rankings in Camilo Villegas (12th), Sean O'Hair (13th) and Anthony Kim (15th). Next best are Retief Goosen (23rd) and Mike Weir (24th).
Regular?
If it's now the case for the Canadian Open, than it just might follow the path of so many regular PGA Tour events before it by eventually becoming extinct.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
With fields the likes of which it’s sporting this year, I can’t help but agree that the Canadian Open is well on its way to extinction.
UFL Will Consider Signing QB Michael Vick
04/07/2009 17:38
NEW YORK - When the United Football League debuts in October, Michael Vick could be one of its players.
Michael Huyghue, the commissioner of the new four-team league, says the UFL is willing to give Vick a place to play -- provided there are no pending legal issues. His rights belong to the Orlando franchise.
"One of the things that is important in our premiere season is to showcase the quality of talent and the coaches, and to be able to show outstanding players who find themselves in this quagmire the NFL creates," Huyghue said. "Michael Vick might be that kind of player because he is ... a phenomenal talent, but he needs transitionining back into the NFL.
"Also gaining as much widespread exposure for the league as possible might be addressed with Michael Vick."
Huyghue said he will monitor the Vick situation closely and "if he is free and clear of legal issues, we will look at the situation."
Vick already has served an 18-month sentence in federal prison for his involvement in a dogfighting ring. He is under home confinement until July 20, after which the NFL is expected to announce whether the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback will be suspended.
Vick, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2001 draft, has not played football since the 2006 season.
The UFL will have teams in Orlando, New York, Las Vegas and San Francisco, playing games mostly on Thursday nights in October and November. The championship game will be Nov. 27, the day after Thanksgiving.
Orlando acquired UFL rights to Vick in an allocation draft of players not under contract in the NFL.
"I don't know if the NFL will suspend Vick," said Dennis Green, coach of the San Francisco team and the chairman of the UFL's competition committee -- a role he also held while coaching in the NFL. "What he did was very wrong, and he paid his debt to society. He was a model inmate, otherwise he never would have made it out from prison early.
"Now he has to show he loves the game and is a responsible citizen. You can't show you love the game if you're not able to play the game. So if Michael Vick were to say, `I will play for not a lot of money,' well, hello. We're here.
"If he is not allowed back into the NFL and he wants to show he is a model citizen and he loves the game, there is not a better situation for him."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league would have no comment. Joel Segal, Vick's agent, did not immediately respond to a message left by The Associated Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The United Football League. Oh, peachy, just what we need – another upstart football league that’s going to fall flat on its face. What a great place for Vick to try to resurrect his career!
Former Ti-Cat QB Timmy Chang Arrested
04/07/2009 17:37
HONOLULU -- Former Hawaii quarterback Timmy Chang, one of the most prolific passers in college football history, has been arrested on suspicion of robbery and released without charges pending further investigation.
The 27-year-old Chang was arrested at his Mililani home Thursday after a woman alleged her camera was taken away from her while she was filming a brawl last month in the Pearlridge area.
Chang started two game for the Hamilton Tiger Cats in the 2007 before being released in August 2008. He was then signed by Winnipeg but was released by the Blue Bombers in February.
He is the NCAA's career leader in passing yards.
A man, whom Honolulu police say was Chang, told the woman to stop filming the fight. A struggle ensued and the suspect allegedly took the camera and threw it on the roof of a nearby building.
Chang could not be reached for comment.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
This is a sad story, indeed. SWIVEL HIPS was at a few Hawaii Bowl games while Chang was the quarterback for the University of Hawaii Warriors and setting all kinds of NCAA passing records. In those days, Chang showed so much promise as a football player. He was actually originally placed on the Edmonton Eskimos’ CFL negotiation list and, now, it looks as if he’s turned into a common street ‘thug.’
AHF: A Waste Of Time And Money?
04/07/2009 05:34
Hi Don,
Council approves $12.6 million “Heritage themed park” and Carol Watamaniuk is delighted.
So there you have it folks, it would appear that councils sole mission in life is that of keeping H.R.H. Watamaniuk and her cronies at the Art and Heritage foundation in a state of perpetual, enraptured, delirium. “It’s been a long time coming” she states, “It’s also important to realize that these soft services, the heritage and the arts, is what gives our city soul”.
I beg to differ, it’s the older generation of St. Albert that give and gave this city soul, and this is the very generation that Watamaniuk and her ilk are driving to the poor house.
It’s high time that priorities were put in order, obviously this council is incapable of doing so.
Regards,
Robert Hartley
St. Albert
SINC SAYS:
Well Robert, your letter got me to wondering just what benefit the Arts & Heritage Foundation folks bring to our city.
So as I went about my business around town the past couple of days, I stopped people in stores and on the street and asked them one simple question:
"What has the Arts & Heritage Foundation done for you, to enhance your life in St. Albert?”
I stopped at 17 persons as I did not get one differing opinion. No one could give me one example of any benefit from the Arts & Heritage Foundation. Not a single benefit. Zero, ziltch, nada and none. 17 times.
But I will bet that council will almost certainly turn a blind eye to taxpayers and give this elite group of spoiled artsy-fartsy types more of our money to waste.
Taxpayers Association Recesses For Summer
04/07/2009 05:34
First, thank you all
for the interest you have shown in SATpA over
the last year. It has been quite a ride,
starting with a few folks last May, and
building up to our current membership and
mail-out base.
We will be recessing
for the summer, beginning our meetings again
in September. The date will depend on the
availability of the SACL hall. Meanwhile, we
will continue to monitor Council actions and
respond in accordance with our strategic plan
and keep you informed.
To wrap up, at our last meeting:
1. We set priorities for our Strategic Plan. I have attached a summary for your information.
Download the file here.
The highest priority set is to encourage better spending by our Council as well as accountability of City managers in creating "value for the money they spend" and the associated tasks. Our second highest priority is to hold Council accountable for decisions, primarily through the election process. Our third highest priority is Communication, particularly in increasing the public's knowledge of tax and spending issues.
2. There is strong interest in forming a liason with the St. Albert Community League, with a decision being tabled to our next meeting.
3. George Valan is our 2nd Vice President and the groups thanks go out to him for agreeing to assume this position.
In addition, our website www.saintcitytaxpayer.org is being revamped, particularly the forum. We encourage you all to participate in the forum issues. Further significant updates to website content will be made over the summer to increase the timeliness and relevancy of the site. Many thanks to Andy for all his hard work.
Also, please keep our vision:
"A St. Albert where all can afford to live because taxes are affordable and Municipal spending is on items we need as a community and in the best interest of the majority of taxpayers rather than special interest groups." in the minds of the taxpayer of St. Albert. Write letters to the editor, let Council know your thoughts, and participate in our forum.
Our Annual General meeting will be held in November. More information later.
I wish you all a pleasant and fun-filled summer.
Lynda Flannery
President
St. Albert Taxpayers Association.
To wrap up, at our last meeting:
1. We set priorities for our Strategic Plan. I have attached a summary for your information.
Download the file here.
The highest priority set is to encourage better spending by our Council as well as accountability of City managers in creating "value for the money they spend" and the associated tasks. Our second highest priority is to hold Council accountable for decisions, primarily through the election process. Our third highest priority is Communication, particularly in increasing the public's knowledge of tax and spending issues.
2. There is strong interest in forming a liason with the St. Albert Community League, with a decision being tabled to our next meeting.
3. George Valan is our 2nd Vice President and the groups thanks go out to him for agreeing to assume this position.
In addition, our website www.saintcitytaxpayer.org is being revamped, particularly the forum. We encourage you all to participate in the forum issues. Further significant updates to website content will be made over the summer to increase the timeliness and relevancy of the site. Many thanks to Andy for all his hard work.
Also, please keep our vision:
"A St. Albert where all can afford to live because taxes are affordable and Municipal spending is on items we need as a community and in the best interest of the majority of taxpayers rather than special interest groups." in the minds of the taxpayer of St. Albert. Write letters to the editor, let Council know your thoughts, and participate in our forum.
Our Annual General meeting will be held in November. More information later.
I wish you all a pleasant and fun-filled summer.
Lynda Flannery
President
St. Albert Taxpayers Association.
Divorce Rate Rises After Calgary Stampede
04/07/2009 05:34
CALGARY, Alberta,
July 3 (UPI) -- Canada's annual Calgary
Stampede got under way Friday as divorce
consultants prepared for their own surge in
unhappy couples after the 10-day
event.Billed as the world's biggest outdoor rodeo event, the Alberta city goes into party mode, which Karen Stewart, founder of Fairway Divorce Solutions, told Sun Media leads to a lot of infidelity.
"It's the sexual undertones, the alcohol, the letting loose," she said. "Thousands of beautiful men and women come out of the woodwork at Stampede and people look incredibly sexy when you put them in a cowboy hat."
She said she sees as much as a 40 percent jump in the number of people filing for divorce in the weeks after the stampede.
Artist Shaun Doiron told the news service there's a saying in the city "it's not cheatin', it's Stampedin'."
"Stampede is like a Las Vegas for a lot of people," he said. "It's not the rodeo anymore, it's a big party."
SINC SAYS:
Yep, the rodeo, once the focus of the Stampede is waning with each passing year. Combine that with the nut cases at PETA and the SPCA protesting the sport and the demise is surely on the way.
Hard As Snails . . .
04/07/2009 05:34
I consider I've been
pretty lucky in the genetic
lottery.
Sure, I'm as near to
ovoid as an erect hominid can physically
manage but, while my parents gifted me with
male pattern baldness, the capacious eyebags
of a dolorous spaniel and a two-inch lateral
scoliosis, I also have a resonant baritone
singing voice and an excellent memory for
trivia. Best of all I seem to have missed out
two traits that trouble normal mortals: I
don't do guilt and I've yet to find a food
that disgusts me. This is good news for a food
writer - pretty much anything from Japanese
natto to recently smothered ortolans are going
to be fair game.
Which is why I was so sanguine when Guardian Films asked me to eat snails. C'mon guys. Try harder. I've done the lot. Mum says I ate them raw in the garden at two; I can hoik down a couple of dozen petits gris without pausing to suck the garlic butter out of my moustache; hell I've even foraged my own garden snails and fed them to my daughter. Ah yes, said the director, but what if they weighed about a kilo each and were as big as two clenched fists? Have you tried Giant African Land Snails?
I suppose the most remarkable thing about African Land Snails is how much they resemble the rest of the family. Physiologically they appear identical, just, frankly, sodding huge. The 'foot', the rubbery appendage with which your average garden snail can cling to a rock or, we are told, slide unharmed along the edge of a razor is at least as big as the palm of your hand. This is important because this is the bit that, according to my expert guide Abiodun Olawunmi of the admirable A2 Delicious restaurant in London's glittering Catford, was the only part we were going to eat. I'd gladly fill you in on the whole process of shell smashing, guts removal, washing with alum rocks and boiling for ages but you'd be better off watching the video above for the full, rather astonishing effect.
So the final and most important question is, how did it taste? Well it didn't, exactly. Like whelks, boulets, garden snails and pretty much the rest of the edible gastropodia, there's not a chance that any evanescent snailish essence could survive the rigmarole of desliming and rendering edible - but that's not the point. The remaining texture was utterly unlike anything else I've ever put in my mouth. Abi's hot pepper sauce was a gently brewed assault of flavours that would have converted a well-worn espadrille into a worthwhile meal. In fact I'll go on record saying that I'm prepared to eat a McDonald's hashbrown thingy if Abi's sauce is to hand, but the snail's foot adds a textural matrix somewhere between an undercooked artichoke heart and the cartilage from a premiership footballer's knee - with just a tad more disquieting crunch.
Did I enjoy it? Hell yes. It's rare to find a totally new combination of flavour and texture and it was privilege to be shown how to prepare it properly. Will I be knocking up land snail at my next dinner party? I'm ashamed to say, no. I'm not sure I could find anyone to share it, but do try Abi's sauce with a less challenging protein - I did chicken thighs last night - and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
Watch the video here.
SNC SAYS:
One word. Yuk!
Which is why I was so sanguine when Guardian Films asked me to eat snails. C'mon guys. Try harder. I've done the lot. Mum says I ate them raw in the garden at two; I can hoik down a couple of dozen petits gris without pausing to suck the garlic butter out of my moustache; hell I've even foraged my own garden snails and fed them to my daughter. Ah yes, said the director, but what if they weighed about a kilo each and were as big as two clenched fists? Have you tried Giant African Land Snails?
I suppose the most remarkable thing about African Land Snails is how much they resemble the rest of the family. Physiologically they appear identical, just, frankly, sodding huge. The 'foot', the rubbery appendage with which your average garden snail can cling to a rock or, we are told, slide unharmed along the edge of a razor is at least as big as the palm of your hand. This is important because this is the bit that, according to my expert guide Abiodun Olawunmi of the admirable A2 Delicious restaurant in London's glittering Catford, was the only part we were going to eat. I'd gladly fill you in on the whole process of shell smashing, guts removal, washing with alum rocks and boiling for ages but you'd be better off watching the video above for the full, rather astonishing effect.
So the final and most important question is, how did it taste? Well it didn't, exactly. Like whelks, boulets, garden snails and pretty much the rest of the edible gastropodia, there's not a chance that any evanescent snailish essence could survive the rigmarole of desliming and rendering edible - but that's not the point. The remaining texture was utterly unlike anything else I've ever put in my mouth. Abi's hot pepper sauce was a gently brewed assault of flavours that would have converted a well-worn espadrille into a worthwhile meal. In fact I'll go on record saying that I'm prepared to eat a McDonald's hashbrown thingy if Abi's sauce is to hand, but the snail's foot adds a textural matrix somewhere between an undercooked artichoke heart and the cartilage from a premiership footballer's knee - with just a tad more disquieting crunch.
Did I enjoy it? Hell yes. It's rare to find a totally new combination of flavour and texture and it was privilege to be shown how to prepare it properly. Will I be knocking up land snail at my next dinner party? I'm ashamed to say, no. I'm not sure I could find anyone to share it, but do try Abi's sauce with a less challenging protein - I did chicken thighs last night - and I guarantee you won't be disappointed.
Watch the video here.
SNC SAYS:
One word. Yuk!
Firefighters Save Elderly Woman From Her Burning TV
04/07/2009 05:34
. . . By changing
the channelZURICH (AP) — It must rank among the easiest fires ever to put out.
Zurich authorities say police and firefighters were called to the house of an elderly woman early Thursday after she reported her television set was burning.
When they arrived, they discovered no signs of fire or smoke.
They found instead that the TV was tuned into a German station that in the early morning hours aired the constant image of a fireplace.
"The fire was extinguished with the press of a button," police said in a statement.
SINC SAYS:
Ah yes, the old fake fireplace channel trick.
When Cars Were Cars . . .
04/07/2009 05:34
Each one was a thing of beauty and a work of art.
1958 Edsel Citation
1956 Chevrolet 210
1958 De Soto
1958 Edsel Citation
1956 Chevrolet 210
1958 De Soto
Eskimos Line Up Replacements For Lumsden
04/07/2009 05:34
EDMONTON — So, with Jesse Lumsden now out of the Edmonton Eskimos lineup, who is left to shoulder the load at running back?
You can expect Arkee Whitlock to make his first start on Thursday in Montreal, and the Esks have already put out a call to the man he beat out for the import running back spot, Ciatrick Fason, for insurance.
Fason was released nine days ago as the Esks trimmed down to their 46-man roster.
Lumsden was injured in Thursday’s 19-17 win over Winnipeg. He left the game with 33 seconds remaining in the opening quarter after taking a solid hit on the shoulder from former Eskimo Siddeeq Shabazz. Lumsden had two rushes for five yards and three catches for 20 yards when he exited and was whisked away to hospital, where it was determined the shoulder was dislocated.
“It was a solid hit. He absorbed all of it. He was the nail, not the hammer,” said Eskimos head coach Richie Hall, who confirmed the dislocation. The severity is still unknown as Lumsden was visiting with doctors on Friday afternoon.
Depending on the severity, the Esks could place Lumsden on the nine-game injured list. They would then likely add Fason.
“We’ll wait and see what the final prognosis is, but right now it’s a dislocation. We’ll know more from there once the tests come back,” said Hall, who also lost the services of Canadian safety Scott Gordon to a leg injury late in the game.
Asked how he would replace Lumsden, Hall replied: “We’re still going to dress 42 come Thursday night. We still have Arkee Whitlock, that’s why he’s around, and we still have Calvin McCarty, that’s why you have depth.”
As for Gordon, the Esks have Canadians Jason Nugent and Elliott Richardson waiting in the wings.
The oft-injured Lumsden played just nine games in Hamilton last season and had surgery on the same shoulder. He dressed for 10 games the year previous and just seven and four respectively in 2005 and ’06 in Steeltown. He came to the Eskimos as a highly sought after free agent signing on Feb. 17.
“If it’s a clean dislocation without any other structural damage you have to give it thought, whether you put him on one-game (and take it on a week-to-week basis) or not,” said Esks general manager and director of football operations Danny Maciocia.
“Leaving the stadium last night, my call went out to Neil (his father, who was at the game). We spoke for awhile. Obviously they are devastated. Jesse feels that he is letting people down, but that’s not the case one bit.
“We’re going to help him and do all the things we need to do and hope that he has a speedy recovery.”
The Esks may have a better indication as to the length of the injury as early as Saturday.
More tests ordered for Eskimos’ Lumsden on injured shoulder.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
When he’s healthy, he’s one heck of a running back. Too bad he’s injury prone, though. This one could spell the end of his career.
Running Room’s 25th Anniversary Approaching
04/07/2009 05:34
John Stanton's running career began secretly before dawn.
"I didn't want the neighbors to see this little chubby guy who could only run from one lamppost to another before having to take a walking break," he says.
He remembers it well because 25 years ago this July 14, he opened his first Running Room store.
Today, his company has 97 stores, with the 98th scheduled to open in Calgary in August.
They have total sales of more than $75 million annually.
"The big question is where the 100th store will be," he says.
"It might be another in Toronto or it could be in the U. S. We have eight stores in the Midwest, with three more in the final stages."
Stanton, who has run as many marathons as his age of 60, chuckles when he tells the story of how he became a runner.
"I smoked up to2½packs of cigarettes daily and weighed 230 pounds when my wife told our son Jason in 1983 that I would run in a three-kilometre race with him," he says.
He ran in Oxford brogues.
Jason sprinted ahead of him with two hundred metres to the finish line.
"I enjoyed the experience and went looking for a pair of real running shoes," says Stanton, formerly a vice-president with a food distributing company.
"I thought the sport a great way to keep my weight in check. But I found store clerks ill-informed when I asked questions about shoes."
Vacationing in Arizona, he visited The Running Den and realized there was a niche market for trendsetting, fitness-conscious baby boomers who like to run.
In 1984, he opened a store in an old house shared with a hairdresser.
"The room measured about eight feet by 10 feet," he says. "Hence the name The Running Room.
"We were the new kids on the block and had to pay c. o. d. for goods. We handed out information about road races and quickly became a focus for the running community."
A Calgary store opened the following year and the family business, perhaps the most successful specialized running store chain in the world, was, well, off and running.
Stores were opened from coast to coast. More than 600,000 people have taken part in its clinics.
"The most popular are our Learn to Run clinics, the five-kilometre race clinic and the half marathon," says Running Room vice-president Mike O'Dell, who has been with Stanton 22 years after being lured away from his civil service job.
Stanton, now the grandfather of three with another on the way, works closely with his sons John Jr., a former national-calibre triathlete, and Jason, who has still to better an impressive time posted by his dad.
Stanton has logged two hours and 48 minutes for a 42.2-kilometre marathon.
He has also competed in both Penticton's Ironman Canada and Hawaii's Ironman World Championship.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
John Stanton . . . from humble beginnings . . .
Whitlock To Help Shoulder The Burden
04/07/2009 05:34
Lumsden injury will change offence
All right, so now it's on to Plan B.
It took less than one quarter of play in the Eskimos' regular-season opener for the club's worst fear about Plan A to be realized.
At the end of a one-yard gain on a dump pass from quarterback Ricky Ray, tailback Jesse Lumsden was drilled by ex-Eskimos defender Siddeeq Shabazz and pop went Lumsden's left shoulder.
Lumsden slouched to the Edmonton sideline in obvious discomfort with what appeared to be a dislocated shoulder.
He was immediately surrounded by Eskimos medical staff.
At one point, it appeared the team physician was trying to pop the shoulder back into place, an awkward moment that drew empathetic groans from many in the Commonwealth Stadium crowd of 30,650.
Shortly after that, Lumsden walked to the Eskimos locker-room, done for the evening. He was later taken to hospital for X-rays.
"I just know his shoulder is pretty bad," said head coach Richie Hall after the Eskimos' 19-17 victory. "I know they're going to look it over in the morning ...whatever the doctors have to do.
"My heart goes out to him. It goes out to him, it goes out to his family, it goes out to this football team.
"But there's still going to be a lot of life in Jesse."
For those keeping score, Lumsden managed two carries for five yards and three receptions for 20 yards, including a 12-yarder, before he departed.
It would be an over-reaction to suggest the Eskimos' high hopes for the season may have walked off the field with the oft-injured Lumsden.
But, at least for now, it is a major blow.
Acquired in the off-season as a free agent, the big, swift, bruising-but-brittle Lumsden was seen as a major piece of the Eskimos offence, the key to a balanced attack that was going to make Ray even more deadly as a passer.
Not now.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It’s a darn good thing the Eskimos had Arkee Whitlock around this year. He’s one of the most exciting running backs I can ever remember in the Eskimo camp, reminding me a lot of John Avery when Avery first came to the CFL. As the old saying goes, one man's bad luck is another man's opportunity.
Ball In Heatley’s Courts, Says Oilers GM Tambo
04/07/2009 05:34
EDMONTON - Edmonton Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini has talked to his counterpart in Ottawa, but says that, for the time being, Dany Heatley is a Senator.
The sniper and the Sens have to make the next move.
“There’s not a lot to say at the point,” said Tambellini during his first public statement in the wake of the scuttled trade.
“It will be up to Bryan and Dany as to what steps they want to take.”
The Oilers and Sens had hammered out a trade that would have seen Edmonton reportedly ship Dustin Penner, Ladislav Smid and Andrew Cogliano for the scorer. Tambellini would not confirm the three players in light of the fact that Heatley had nixed the deal when he refused to waive his no-trade clause. After the Senators paid out a $4-milllion contractual obligation on Wednesday, Murray said the deal was off the table.
“Any type of player movement takes time. It’s expected,” said Tambellini.
“We’re trying to better our hockey club .... Where this goes is up to Bryan and Dany Heatley.”
Heatley had recently requested a trade.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Personally, I think it’s time the Edmonton Oilers moved on.
Tiger Woods Shoots 66 To Lead In Maryland
04/07/2009 05:33
Bethesda, MD (Sports Network) - Tiger Woods nourished his momentum with a handful of scrambling par saves, shooting a four-under 66 on Friday to take the second-round lead at the AT&T National.
Woods finished two trips around Congressional at 10-under 130 and will carry a one-shot advantage into the weekend as he tries to win his tournament for the first time.
Australia's Rod Pampling shot a six-under 64, one off his career record, and climbed into second place behind Woods at nine-under 131.
Defending champion Anthony Kim, after posting a course-record 62 in the first round, fell to third place with a middling 70, remaining at eight-under par.
Jim Furyk had another steady round, carding a 67 to sit fourth at seven-under 133.
Woods started his second round on the back nine and made a bogey at the 11th hole, coming up short of the green. But he collected three birdies during a four-hole stretch beginning at the 13th, including one at the 15th that was set up by an approach shot to tap-in range.
While those birdies set up a day of good scoring for Woods, it was a slew of par saves that had the tournament host happiest with himself.
He got up and down from in front of the green at the 17th, holing a three-foot putt. It was the first of three tough par saves in a span of five holes. He got lucky with a good lie at No. 2 and saved par after hitting his approach way right at No. 3.
During that stretch, Woods spun a bunker shot to within seven feet at No. 1 -- his 10th hole -- and made a birdie.
Not as accurate off the tee or crisp with his irons as he was Thursday, when he opened the tournament with a 64, Woods was still able to coax a good score out of his second round, keeping the momentum going with the par saves.
He knocked a sand-wedge within three feet at No. 8 for his final birdie of the day.
"Either I hit it pretty close to the hole, within 10 feet, or I was missing greens," said Woods. "So it was a little bit of two ends today. It was nice to actually get a score out of it."
Woods has often blamed an inconsistent putter for his sometimes fitful play this season. But he's seemed more confident on the greens at Congressional this week, even as he ranks somewhere near the middle of the pack in putting.
Although he took one more stroke with the putter than he did in the first round, Woods said he felt better with the club in his hand on Friday, when the greens were still soft from rain that fell overnight Wednesday.
"The pins were a little bit more difficult today, so if the greens would have been even firmer, it would have been a pretty good test," he said.
Pampling shared the lead with Woods at minus-nine after a birdie on the 15th, but parred the remainder of his holes to finish a shot behind. The two-time PGA Tour winner has a good history at this event, tying for third place last year and sharing 19th in 2007.
"It's positional golf, and you have to think about what you're doing out there," said Pampling. "Obviously we're hitting the ball well, which allows you to get it into where they can tuck a pin. It's just a thinker's golf course, and I enjoy playing those."
Kim made three bogeys during a six-hole stretch beginning at No. 9, hitting into a bunker each time. He only managed to make three birdies -- this after he collected eight birdies without dropping a shot in the first round.
"I hate the way I hit the ball today," said Kim, who hasn't won since last year's AT&T National. "It was okay for about six or seven holes, but the swing got loose and I couldn't find it out there."
Woods is trying to win his tournament for the first time. It was started in 2007, when Woods tied for sixth, and he missed it last year after having knee surgery.
He is 31-6 on the PGA Tour when holding the 36-hole lead.
"I need to hit the ball better than I did today, just clean up my round, and if I can get hitting the ball like I did yesterday and putt like I did today, we'll be looking all right," said Woods.
The cut line fell at two-over 142 with 76 players moving on to the weekend.
World No. 3 Paul Casey and 2007 AT&T champion K.J. Choi were among those who missed the cut.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I predict Tiger Woods will win his own tournament this weekend. He’s absolute money-in-the-bank when he has the lead after 36 holes.
Federer, Roddick Land In Wimbledon Final
04/07/2009 05:33
Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Five-time champion Roger Federer and two-time runner-up Andy Roddick will do battle in Sunday's men's final at Wimbledon. The iconic Federer will appear in a men's record seventh straight Wimbledon championship match.
The second-seeded former world No. 1 Federer topped 24th-seeded German Tommy Haas 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-3, while a sixth-seeded former top-ranked Roddick upended third-seeded heavy British crowd favorite Andy Murray 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5) at the storied All England Club.
Federer, who would supplant his great rival Rafael Nadal atop the men's rankings with a victory on Sunday, beat Roddick in the 2004 and 2005 finals here.
The Swiss Federer titled here from 2003-2007 and was last year's runner-up to Nadal in arguably the greatest tennis match of all-time.
The great Federer is trying to become the men's all-time leader in Grand Slam singles titles, as he's currently tied with American great Pete Sampras at 14. The super Swiss equaled Sampras and became the sixth man in history to complete a career Grand Slam when he titled at the French Open last month.
Federer will also appear in a men's record 20th Grand Slam final (14-5). He's reached 16 of the last 17 major finals.
With tennis luminaries such as Rod Laver and Bjorn Borg in attendance on Friday, a confident Federer snuck out an ultra-tight first set against Haas by cruising in the tiebreak on Day 11 of the fortnight.
More from TSN.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The march to 15 continues for Roger Federer.
Woods, Weir to Play For Notah Begay Charity
04/07/2009 05:33
BETHESDA, Md. - Tiger Woods is helping out longtime friend Notah Begay III, agreeing to play in his charity Skins Game at Turning Stone Resort next month to support Native American youth.
Begay declined to comment and kept his head down when asked if Woods was playing in his event, then stopped 20 yards later and said with a smile, "I need to win some skins."
Woods' agent at IMG confirmed he would be playing Aug. 24 in the Notah Begay III Foundation Challenge. The world's No. 1 player will join Stanford teammate Begay, Canadian Mike Weir and Camilo Villegas.
A year ago, the event raised US$180,000 for Begay's foundation, which supports youth sports and wellness programs for Native Americans in New Mexico and other states.
Begay, a Navajo, is the only Native American on the PGA Tour. He has four PGA Tour victories, none since 2000, and earned his card for this year by returning to Q-school.
He and Woods have remained closed, however, and Begay received an exemption to the AT&T National, where he opened with rounds of 70-72 at Congressional.
Woods had planned to play in Begay's event a year ago until he was forced to miss the second half of the season with knee surgery.
Turning Stone Resort in upstate New York has held a Fall Series event on the PGA Tour the last two years, and its $6 million purse is larger than some regular-season events.
Woods is not expected to play in the PGA Tour event, as it follows the conclusion of the FedEx Cup. Begay's charity event is the Monday of The Barclays in New Jersey, the start of the PGA Tour Playoffs for the FedEx Cup. Woods has never played The Barclays since it became part of the playoffs.
Mark Steinberg, his agent at IMG, said Woods has not decided on his schedule for the playoffs.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
This is a great gesture by Tiger Woods, Mike Weir and Camilo Villegas. Woods must really think a lot of Notah Begay to do this.
Michael Vick Offers New Bankruptcy Plan
04/07/2009 05:33
Suspended NFL star Michael Vick would keep one vehicle, one home and a large assortment of furniture and personal items if his creditors and the judge who rejected his previous bankruptcy plan approve a revised one filed Thursday.
The new plan also gives creditors a bigger cut of his future earnings, but would still leave enough for Vick to live comfortably if he is able to resume his once-lucrative NFL career.
U. S. Bankruptcy Judge Frank J. Santoro has scheduled a hearing on the new proposal for July 31.Santoro in April dismissed Vick's first plan as unworkable and ordered a new one. He suggested at the time that Vick consider liquidating some of the vehicles and one of his two expensive Virginia homes.
Vick now plans to keep only a 2007 Infiniti SUV and the house in Hampton where he is serving the final two months of his nearly two-year sentence on home confinement. Vick pleaded guilty to operating a dogfighting ring in August 2007 and was suspended indefinitely by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell. He is scheduled to be released from federal custody on July 20.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
This plan is a lot more likely to fly with the judge. The last one certainly didn't.
The Good, The Bad And the Ugly . . .
03/07/2009 05:50
Thanks go out to
reader Kelly Boyd in Entwistle for sending us
this amazing video. It starts out a bit slow
folks,but stay with it through the end. Who
knew that Ukuleles could make such music?
Pictures From My Garden . . .
03/07/2009 05:42
THE AMISH ELEVATOR
03/07/2009 05:37
An Amish boy and his
father were in a mall. They were amazed by
almost everything they saw, but especially by
two shiny, silver walls that could move apart
and then slide back together again.
The boy asked, "What is this Father?"
The father (never having seen an elevator) responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don't know what it is."
While the boy and his father were watching with amazement, a fat, old lady in a wheel chair moved up to the moving walls and pressed a button.
The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room.
The walls closed and the boy and his father watched the small circular numbers above the walls light up sequentially. They continued to watch until it reached the last number and then the numbers began to light in the reverse order.
Finally the walls opened up again and a gorgeous 24-year-old blonde stepped out.
The father said quietly , "Son, go get your mother."
Staff Strip Naked To Improve Morale
03/07/2009 05:33
Staff at a design and
marketing company in Newcastle spent a day
working together naked after being told it
would improve their
morale.Despite some initial reluctance, nearly all the staff took off all their clothes.
David Taylor, a business psychologist, told workers at design and marketing onebestway, in Newcastle upon Tyne, that a Naked Friday idea would boost their team spirit.
He was called in to help the firm after six staff members were forced into taking redundancies at the start of the credit crunch.
Mr Taylor told them that, by stripping off their clothes, staff could also strip away inhibitions and talk to each other more openly and honestly.
He said: "Inviting an organisation to go naked is the most extreme technique I've used. It may seem weird but it works. It's the ultimate expression of trust in yourself and each other."
Despite some initial reluctance, nearly all the staff took off all their clothes – except for one man, who wore a posing pouch, and one of two female workers, who kept on black underwear.
Sam Jackson, 23, the house manager, was the only woman to go fully naked. She said: "It was brilliant. Now that we've seen each other naked, there are no barriers.
"We weren't put under pressure. If we wanted to come in clothed or in our underwear, we could. But I love my body and wasn't ashamed.
"We're all beautiful, whether we've got big bodies or small ones."
Miss Jackson, who suffers from cerebral palsy, said: "It took a week of David being in the office for us to build up courage. The first few steps were very nerve-racking but, once I got to my desk and got used to it, I felt totally comfortable.
"It was emotional but we found we were much more able to talk to each other honestly – and have been since. The company has improved massively."
The experiment in April was filmed for a one-off TV show, Naked Office, to be screened on July 9 on cable channel Virgin 1.
SINC SAYS:
It’s things like this that make me want to come out of retirement.
Roger Ebert’s Journal:
03/07/2009 05:20
Raising Free-Range
KidsI wrote recently about my childhood growing up in Downstate Illinois. I mentioned me and my friends roaming all over town on our bikes, walking to the movies and the swimming pool on our own, and riding our bikes through rain water backed up after thunderstorms. Also, for that matter, through piles of burning leaves. One of my classmates wrote to mention that the Boneyard, the creek running through town, was a drainage canal. "What?" I asked. "Where we caught crawdaddies?"
One of the comments on the entry was from a reader in Florida who said, rather sadly, that his 15-year-old son had just taken his first unsupervised bike ride through the city park. When he was growing up, he said, things were different. But not "today." We use that word today as code for the dangers lurking everywhere in modern society. Another reader sent me a link to a web site advocating the raising of Free Range Children. I learned this has become something of a movement, cheered by a book by Lenore Skenazy. The movement believes we are punishing our kids by over-protecting them.
Certainly today we take for granted things that we never imagined in our own childhoods, like child car seats, bike helmets, bottled water, security guards, sunblock, hand sanitizer and childproof bottles. I mentioned my childhood memory that we boys would pee behind trees, shrubbery, or garages ("If you run home, your mom might grab you and make you do something"). I forgot to mention that one of the reasons we needed to pee is that when we got thirsty we drank out of garden hoses--our own, and anybody else's.
That was in a small town. Over the weekend I attended the reunion of Chaz's class from Crane High School in Chicago. After the banquet and before the band started, they played a game called Remember When? A classmate took a hand-held mike around the room and everybody took turns remembering things like popular hangouts, teachers who were characters, high school romances, and Herb Kent the Cool Gent on the radio.
Free Range girls violating the school insurance policy
Then one alum said: "Remember when...we dressed up neat to go to school? When there were no drugs? No drive-bys? When a neighbor felt free to whoop you if you did wrong, and if your parents found out about it, they'd whoop you again? When there were no serial rapists? No kidnappings? When we got to play outside until the streetlights came on?"
Remember when.
Details here.
SINC SAYS:
This is an excellent read for today’s parents. It also should be required reading for members of council who advocate helmet laws. They smother us with social engineering.
Esks Vets Encouraged By Quality Of Players On Roster
03/07/2009 05:16
Newcomers make positive impressions on Peterson, Romero
It seemed like a fairly easy question posed to Kamau Peterson: What does he see as the strength of the Edmonton Eskimos offence heading into the 2009 season?
By the time he finished naming positions and players, it was abundantly clear that the veteran receiver is stoked about this team.
"You asked me what are the strengths? I think I just named every position, not to mention the coaching staff. I'm pretty excited about this team. We have a lot of leaders, vocal leaders, leaders by example ... guys who have proven themselves in this league."
Peterson is the veteran leader on the offensive side of the ball, one of the premier receivers in the CFL. He likes what he sees as they prepare to open the season tonight against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
"I like who I'm going in with," he said Wednesday. "I'm very comfortable with the team they've selected, and I think everyone is very comfortable around each other. That comfortability is the first step when you have a team as talented as this. How quick can you jell and get comfortable playing together? And I feel like we'll be able to put on a show (tonight)."
Offensively, the Eskimos will be starting three newcomers -- running back Jesse Lumsden, slotback Jamaica Rector and left guard Kyle Koch. Besides Lumsden, the focus on offence, will be on wide receivers Maurice Mann and Kevin Challenger, the guys slotted to replace departed stars Jason Tucker and Kelly Campbell.
"We have some guys who are coming into their own as receivers in Fred Stamps and Mo Mann," said Peterson. "Maybe the league hasn't heard of them as much as I've been touting them, but they will.
"My sleeper is Jamaica Rector. He's a guy who is very well-rounded; he's a hell of a player and I can't see him false-stepping at all. Last year my sleeper was Fred Stamps, and that worked out pretty good. But a guy who's going to step into a bigger role right away is Maurice Mann ... he's going to show up in a lot of people's stat lines."
With quarterback Ricky Ray passing for about 5,000 yards each season, running hasn't had much of impact in the Edmonton offence in recent years. That could change with the addition of Lumsden, a proven, albeit injury-prone, runner with speed and power, along with newcomer Arkee Whitlock and returnee Calvin McCarty.
"I can't give you a number, how many times we will run, but we want to effectively run the football," said head coach Richie Hall.
"We can throw the ball, and if we're able to run that just makes us more potent. We want to utilize all our weapons and one of our weapons is Jesse Lumsden. We want to be able to maximize his ability. At the same time, if you're able to run the football, you're able to control the line of scrimmage, you're able to control the tempo of the game, and that's what we want to be able to do."
The key to that happening, added Peterson, is the play of the offensive line, anchored by veterans Patrick Kabongo and Joe McGrath.
"You can bring in Terrell Owens and LaDanian Tomlinson--if we're not springing holes and protecting Ricky, it's not going to matter," said Peterson. "A team is really reflective of two things-- its O-line and its coach--in terms of the demean-our it takes, and I like both of their demeanors right now. I hope it translates onto the field and I have a feeling it will. If that's the case, solidifying our run game is just going to open things up for us. When we do pass, we'll be more efficient. We won't need as many attempts to achieve the same goals and have the same impact on the game."
As excited as Peterson is about the offence, veteran defensive tackle Dario Romero has the same feeling about the defence, which will start seven newcomers.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
As I have said before, this is the best group of players the Eskimos have had together for a number of years.
Air Canada Union Targets Olympics For Strike
03/07/2009 05:15
The Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics have become a bargaining chip at Air Canada as the country's largest airline tries to overcome labor strife and avoid filing for bankruptcy protection.
Air Canada mechanics and technical staff, worried about losing their jobs to El Salvador, narrowly voted down a tentative 21-month labor pact that had been recommended by union negotiators, throwing the cash-strapped carrier's recovery strategy into jeopardy.
Chuck Atkinson, president of the union's District 140, said his members are hoping that the airline will offer job protection in return for labor peace during the Winter Games in February, 2010.
"It might be a black eye for Canada if there were a strike during the Olympics or if Air Canada went into bankruptcy protection before then," Mr. Atkinson said in an interview.
The surprise rejection of the labor pact thwarts Air Canada's plans to ask Ottawa for pension relief and blocks $600-million in loans required to avoid a filing for bankruptcy protection for the second time in six years. Export Development Canada, a federal Crown corporation, had been expected to lend about $250-million to help the airline survive the recession.
The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers said Wednesday that it will return to the bargaining table later this week, with the aid of federally appointed mediator James Farley, a former Ontario judge.
Members of the IAMAW's largest bargaining unit will be asked to vote again, assuming the mediator is able to persuade management and labor negotiators to agree on a revised collective agreement.
Lorne Hammerberg, president of IAMAW Local 714, said many employees believe Air Canada is ignoring the contentious issue of whether aircraft repairs and maintenance will be shifted to El Salvador, where a sister company of Air Canada operates. Mr. Hammerberg said the union would gain bargaining clout as the Games approach.
"Everybody's focused on the Olympics for a potential strike," he said. "Air Canada is an Olympic sponsor, and our members wonder if it wants the 21-month contract to counter any labor dispute during the Games. It wouldn't be just about Air Canada. All the eyes of the world would be upon us, and a labor disruption would be the last thing both the company and Canadian government would want."
Montreal-based Air Canada declined to comment on a potential walkout, but in a statement, the carrier said that given the voting results, "the company and the IAMAW will meet promptly to discuss next steps in the process."
The "Official Airline" of the 2010 Games needs the support of all of its unions to ask Ottawa for permission to skip a $100-million pension payment due on July 30, another $60-million due on Aug. 14 and suspend further contributions until April 30, 2011. Air Canada faces a $615-million pension bill this year, but wants to defer $355-million of its scheduled contributions.
Vancouver organizers said last night that "it would be inappropriate to comment on internal discussions under way at the airline. Air Canada is a strong partner for the 2010 Winter Games and we have full confidence in their partnership with us."
More from ctvolympics.ca
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
This is the kind of thing that just peeves me right off with unions, folks.
Diversity Key To Success For 2009 Eskimos
03/07/2009 05:14
Rookie head coach Richie Hall strides onto the Edmonton Eskimos practice field with a smile on his face and a shark on his hat.
With him comes the guts of his old Saskatchewan Roughriders defence, and the hope that an Eskimo team that fell just short of the Grey Cup last year will advance to the CFL's title game in 2009.
"There's been a lot of changeover. It's just a matter of us coming together," said Hall, clad in green shorts and shirt along with his bleach-white Gilligan-esque fishing hat — the word "Cancun" and the outline of a shark stitched above the brim.
The hat is a reminder of good times with old friends.
For the Eskimos, good times returned in 2008 after two consecutive years in the non-playoff wilderness.
The Double-E was 10-8 in the regular season and finished last in the West Division, but made the East playoffs as a crossover team.
Edmonton lost 36-26 to the Montreal Alouettes in the division final.
Shortly afterward, then-Eskimo head coach Danny Maciocia kicked himself upstairs fulltime to focus on general managing duties, and in came Hall.
His hiring was the first of a series of moves to overhaul a middling defence and diversify an offence way too dependent on quarterback Ricky Ray's passing arm.
The 48-year-old Hall won a Grey Cup as a player with Saskatchewan in 1989.
He had spent the last 15 years as an assistant coach and defensive co-ordinator with the team, but had long been denied a top job.
When he came on board, Riders middle linebacker Maurice Lloyd and safety Scott Gordon signed on with Edmonton as free agents, and defensive end Kitwana Jones came over in a trade.
"His strength is motivation," said Lloyd of Hall.
Lloyd said Hall was the major reason why he abandoned the watermelon-hatted fans of Rider nation.
"His strength is he played this game," Lloyd said. "And I think that's the biggest thing I respect.
"He played this game. He got a Grey Cup in '89 and he got one with me [as coach] in '07."
More from CBC Sports.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Pitter, patter, let’s get at ‘er!
GM Murray: No Progress In Heatley Trade
03/07/2009 05:13
OTTAWA - The Ottawa Senators appear to be back at Square 1 in the Dany Heatley saga.
A trade proposed earlier this week that would have seen the disgruntled left-winger dealt to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for three players is off the table - at least for now, according to Senators general manager Bryan Murray.
The US$4-million signing bonus the Sens had to pay Heatley has changed the terms of the deal.
"Well, it's different now and I don't know if we will continue or not," Murray said Thursday. "I will, I believe, during the day talk to (Oilers GM) Steve Tambellini again, but very definitely, it's not the same deal as it was yesterday."
The Oilers had proposed sending forwards Andrew Cogliano and Dustin Penner and defenceman Ladislav Smid to Ottawa for Heatley, who refused to waive his no-trade contract.
Murray was blunt when asked where that leaves Heatley now.
"Nowhere, he's an Ottawa Senator," he said.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It’s time the Edmonton Oilers moved on.
Woods Has Extra Incentive To Win AT & T National
03/07/2009 05:13
Tiger Woods said his role as host of this week's $6-million AT&T National provided an added incentive to finish top of the leaderboard at Congressional Country Club.
"It is fun winning your own event," the 33-year-old world No. 1 told reporters. "No doubt. It is awfully fun to do that."
Woods headlines a 120-player field at the pristine Congressional, site of the 2011 U.S. Open. The four-day event at the 7,255-yard, par-70 course outside Washington, D.C., begins today.
Among those also entered are newly crowned U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover, 2008 AT&T winner Anthony Kim, world No. 3 Paul Casey, Canadian Mike Weir and triple major winner Vijay Singh.
Woods, still searching for his first major of the year, sat out the 2008 AT&T while he recuperated from knee surgery.
"Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend last year," he said. "I was at home watching it on the couch and it wasn't a whole lot of fun."
The 14-time major winner said he was thrilled to have his injury behind him, adding that it "feels good to wake up in the morning and not ache, not want to move out of bed."
"I went through all of that," he said. "I don't want to go through that again. It feels great to be back. What my surgeons and trainers did to get me to this point has been great."
Woods is expected to be challenged for the $1-million winner's prize by Kim, who won the AT&T title a year ago in a demonstrative wire-to-wire victory. Kim said the triumph "definitely elevated my confidence."
The native Californian, seen by many as having as much potential as anyone on the tour, said he will remain patient as he improves his game.
"I just turned 24 10 days ago," said Kim, who finished tied for 16th at the U.S. Open at Bethpage two weeks ago. "I have no pressure from anybody. I want to play great golf. I want to win golf tournaments.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
After opening with a 6-under par 64, that could very easily have been a 60, on Thursday in the first round, don’t bet against Woods winning his own event, either.
All-Williams Women's Final At Wimbledon Again
03/07/2009 05:12
Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Second-seeded Serena Williams and third- seeded Venus Williams will square off in Saturday's ladies' final at Wimbledon, where Venus topped Serena in last year's third all-Williams finale at the All England Club.
In one of the best women's matches played here in some time, the two-time champion Serena snuck past Olympic gold medalist Elena Dementieva 6-7 (4-7), 7-5, 8-6 on Thursday, while the other semifinal was one of the most lopsided played here in a while, as the five-time titlist Venus destroyed world No. 1 Russian Dinara Safina 6-1, 6-0 in a laughable 51 minutes.
Venus topped Serena 7-5, 6-4 in last year's final, as Venus nailed down a second straight and fifth overall Wimbledon title. Saturday will mark the fourth all-Williams Wimbledon final, with Serena holding a 2-1 edge thus far.
This marked the first time since 2006 that all four top-seeded women reached the semifinals at a Grand Slam event. Serena and Venus are former world No. 1s, which means three of the four semifinalists held the coveted top ranking.
In Thursday's first semi, Serena outlasted the fourth-seeded Dementieva in a three-set thriller. The reigning Australian Open and U.S. Open titlist Serena also topped Dementieva in a semifinal at the Aussie Open back in January.
Serena and Dementieva traded breaks in the first two games of the match on Day 10 and Serena appeared on the verge of another break in the eighth game with a 40-15 lead. Dementieva, however, dug out of the hole to hold serve and the set eventually went to a tiebreak on yet another hot, sunny day here.
A pair of Serena errors gave Dementieva the advantage in the tiebreak. The American ripped a forehand wide and netted another forehand on consecutive points to give the Russian a 6-3 edge. Dementieva quickly gave one back with a double fault and misfired on her next serve, but Serena blasted a forehand wide on the second serve to give Dementieva the opening set.
In an equally-as-tight second set, Dementieva eventually had opportunities to break Serena to knot the stanza at 6-all, especially on one particular point when the athletic Russian swatted a two-handed backhand out despite having a wide-open court. Serena would wind up with a hold to force a deciding third set.
In the dramatic final set, Dementieva appeared to assume some control when Serena double-faulted and then netted a forehand to give the Russian a break and a 3-1 lead. But Dementieva was unable to consolidate the break, as her American counterpart broke right back and then held her serve to level the third at 3-3.
The two stars then stayed on serve over the next several games, trading monster forehands and backhands from the baselines. Following a Dementieva hold, the Russian got herself to a match point in the 10th game of the stanza, but a gutsy Serena staved it off by following up a net approach with a clutch backhand volley winner.
More from TSN.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Don’t bet against Venus on the grass at Wimbledon.
CFL Fines Bruce For 'Michael Jackson' Celebration
03/07/2009 05:11
TORONTO -- Arland Bruce might have thought it would be a thriller but the CFL decided it was simply bad.
The league fined the Toronto slotback an undisclosed amount Thursday for his touchdown celebration in the Argos' season-opening win over the Hamilton Tiger-Cats on Wednesday.
Bruce said he was paying tribute to Michael Jackson. The CFL called it "excessive."
After scoring on a 21-yard pass from Kerry Joseph to put Toronto ahead 6-0, Bruce removed his helmet, shoulder pads and uniform top, then laid down in the end zone.
Bruce said he was simply honouring Jackson's memory by pretending to be buried. The game's referee saw it differently and gave Bruce two objectionable conduct penalties.
"The commissioner has always said he wants the players to have fun, but you can't go over the line," said a CFL spokesman. "It's not always easy to draw that line, but when you remove your equipment to lay down and delay the game, like he did, that's where we draw the line."
The Argonauts said Thursday they support the league's ruling.
"The issue has been addressed internally by head coach Bart Andrus and his coaching staff and the club is confident that any future touchdown celebrations by Argonauts players will be conducted within the rules of the CFL game," the team said in a release.
"It should be noted that Arland apologized of his own volition to his teammates in today's team meeting."
In an interview after the game, Andrus said he had spoken with Bruce.
"I made the mistake of telling him in camp that once he got to the end zone I didn't care what he did," Andrus said. "But he's straight with it now and I think next time around he will celebrate in an appropriate manner."
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I guess CFL Commissioner Mark Cohon is like me – not much of a Michael Jackson fan.
Tiger Woods Top Earning U.S. Athlete At $100 Million
03/07/2009 05:11
Tiger Woods remains the top-earning U. S. athlete, making almost $100 million in prize money and endorsements during the past year even though knee surgery kept him off the golf course for eight months, according to Sports Illustrated.
Woods, 33, had $7.7 million in winnings and $92 million in endorsement income to top SI.com's"Fortunate 50" list for the sixth time in the six years it's been published by the magazine. The global economic decline caused average earnings of those on the list to decline for the first time, down$1.5 million per athlete to $23.6 million. Woods, whose off-course earnings declined from $105 million a year ago, ended a marketing accord in November with General Motors Corp. after endorsing GM products including Buick for the past nine years.
Fellow golfer Phil Mickelson is again second to Woods at $52.9 million, while basketball player LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers remains third at $42.4 million.
Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees is fourth with$39 million, including $33 million in salary.
Yankees captain Derek Jeter is ninth on the list at $28.5 million, while new teammates Mark Teixeira and CC Sabathia are also in the top 20.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Yup . . . $100 million a year. That would be hard to take, all right.
School Bans Pupils From Wearing Goggles
02/07/2009 05:15
A school has banned
pupils from wearing goggles because they get
slippery when wet and could cause
injury.Authorities at the school say they're following advice from the British Association of Advisors and Lecturers in Physical Education (BAALPE).
The BAALPE advice states: "Head teachers should inform parents and carers that goggles can be a hazard and cause permanent eye injury.
"Wet plastic is very slippery and frequent, incorrect or unnecessary adjustment or removal of them, by pulling them away from the eyes instead of sliding them over the forehead, can lead to them slipping from the pupil's grasp with the hard plastic causing severe injury."
Tracy Brock, a parents with a child at the school, said: "I think it's ridiculous.
"It's health and safety gone too far."
"My children have worn goggles for years and there's never been a problem before.
"Part of growing up is playing taking risks.
"Children are being wrapped up in cotton wool now."
Mrs Brock, whose daughter Tess, 11, uses goggles to keep chlorine out of her eyes, added: "If it carries on like this we are going to be breeding a generation of namby pambies.
"They'll be frightened of their own shadow before too long.
"It's ridiculous, but I think it's the suing culture.
"People in charge of children are afraid of being sued, which is a shame.
"Everyone I have spoken to agrees with me."
The school said in a statement: "In the present culture we need to make sure we are legally covered in the event of a problem or injury.
"We do however try to be flexible and are happy to discuss with parents any concerns they may have."
Steve Kibble, Devon County Council senior education advisor, said the guidance was not new.
He said: "It's been around about 15 years.
"It's about managing risk.
"We're saying goggles should only be worn by children who have an adverse reaction to chemicals in the water."
SINC SAYS:
Managing risk? That’s horse pucky. It’s called social engineering and our local council is an expert at it. Remember the bike helmet law?
Computer Trouble!
02/07/2009 05:15
I was having trouble
with my computer. So I called Richard, the 11
year old next door whose bedroom looks like
Mission Control, and asked him to come over.
Richard clicked a couple of buttons and solved the problem.
As he was walking away, I called after him, 'So, what was wrong?
He replied, 'It was an ID ten T error.'
I didn't want to appear stupid, but nonetheless inquired, 'An, ID ten T error? What's that? In case I need to fix it again.'
Richard grinned. 'Haven't you ever heard of an ID ten T error before?''
No,' I replied.
'Write it down,' he said, 'and I think you'll figure it out.'
So I wrote down: I D 1 0 T
I used to like the little shit . . .
Bottoms Up For Winning Artist
02/07/2009 05:15
Bums artist given
grant
to examine female
behind
A CHEEKY artist has been given a £20,000 National Lottery grant - to look at girls' bums.
Sue Williams was given the cash to "explore cultural attitudes towards female buttocks".
She will create plaster cast moulds of women's behinds to try to understand their place in contemporary culture.
Swansea-based Mrs Williams, 53, will also examine different racial attitudes towards bums in Europe and Africa. She said: "The project is taking on the issues around the bottom."
Emma Geliot from the Arts Council of Wales, which awarded the grant, said: "This produces a tee-hee response but there is a serious point."
Lib Dem MP Adrian Sanders, a member of the all-party Culture Committee, said most Lottery players would "question" the handout.
SINC SAYS:
Outta my way. I gotta apply. See if she needs a volunteer assistant.
A CHEEKY artist has been given a £20,000 National Lottery grant - to look at girls' bums.
Sue Williams was given the cash to "explore cultural attitudes towards female buttocks".
She will create plaster cast moulds of women's behinds to try to understand their place in contemporary culture.
Swansea-based Mrs Williams, 53, will also examine different racial attitudes towards bums in Europe and Africa. She said: "The project is taking on the issues around the bottom."
Emma Geliot from the Arts Council of Wales, which awarded the grant, said: "This produces a tee-hee response but there is a serious point."
Lib Dem MP Adrian Sanders, a member of the all-party Culture Committee, said most Lottery players would "question" the handout.
SINC SAYS:
Outta my way. I gotta apply. See if she needs a volunteer assistant.
Have You Seen This . . . Lizard?
02/07/2009 05:15
CHICAGO (WBBM) -- A
Libertyville family is trying to find the
owners of a two-foot-long Savannah monitor
lizard that's been hanging around the hot
tub.Two feet long. Five inches in diameter.
The Savannah monitor is a lizard that's a native of Africa and apparently likes the cuisine in Libertyville - in the yard of Betty and Jim Moran.
"It went into the area underneath our hot tub and came out with a mouse in its mouth. And according to my wife, it gulped it down in one swallow, without chewing it."
Jim Moran says they really don't have a problem with mice, as a rule, and would prefer it if the lizard went elsewhere. Preferably back to its rightful owner.
Moran says the problem is, the cooler weather has sent the lizard into hiding - so catching him - or her - is not easy.
SINC SAYS:
I sure wouldn’t want that thing in my back yard. Front yard either.
How to Tell the Sex of a Fly
02/07/2009 05:15
A woman walked into
the kitchen to find her husband stalking around
with a fly swatter
'What are you doing?' She asked.
'Hunting Flies' He responded.
'Oh. ! Killing any?' She asked.
'Yep, 3 males, 2 Females,' he replied.
Intrigued, she asked. 'How can you tell them apart?'
He responded, 3 were on a beer can, 2 were on the phone.
Eskimos Rookie Corners Ready To Be Picked On
02/07/2009 05:15
Herron, Keyes expect Bombers QB LeFors to look their way
They are very much a part of the team, but Bobby Keyes and Lamar Herron could be standing alone on Thursday, on their own little island.
As rookie cornerbacks in the Canadian Football League, you can bet your bottom dollar that they will be the objects of quarterback Stefan LeFors and coach Mike Kelly's desire when the Edmonton Eskimos kickoff the 2009 season against the visiting Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Thursday.
Keyes, likely a starter at the position, knows it, and expects it.
"Why wouldn't they pick on us? Two rookies, first time out crossing the border playing this game up here. If I was a quarterback I would pick on us, you know," admitted Keyes, who joins the Eskimos from the Dallas Desperados of the AFL. "But coaches have confidence in us and we have a lot of confidence in ourselves. I'm pretty sure we're going to make the plays and, yeah, they can bring it on."
And they will.
Any coach worth his salt will look at areas of raw recruits for a little exploitation. It's a part of the game. Whether they get to Keyes, or Herron if he sees the field will be the question. But that's football: key matchups, man-to-man scenarios.
"It's going to be a good test for us," said Keyes. "(Stefan) LeFors is a good quarterback. Winnipeg is a well coached team. LeFors can make things happen with his arm and his feet as well. He has happy feet when he plays. He can move quickly. I watched him play at (the University of) Louisville and he's dangerous."
Not that Keyes, considers himself to be a rookie, not after a few years of pro ball south of the border.
"Yeah, I'm a rookie up here, but I'm not a purebred rookie. Sure, Lamar is a purebred rookie, but we've been picking up the nuances of the game and all the different motion the receivers can do.
"The coaches have confidence in us and I believe we're going to do this as a total unit," said Keyes, who also had a brief taste of the NFL with Washington in 2005.
Herron comes in fresh after a college career at Oregon State and Texas Southern.
"It doesn't concern me at all," offered Esks middle linebacker Maurice Lloyd, of having the rookies at the corners.
"I don't care if you're a rookie or a vet, once you step inside the white lines the competition begins. I played with a rookie corner in James Johnson in Saskatchewan and he was our MVP in the Grey Cup, so regardless if you're a rookie or not, once you step on that field, you've become a vet."
But Johnson, who had three interceptions in the Riders' 2007 Grey Cup win, did start seven games at corner in 2006, so he couldn't be truly considered a raw rookie. Lloyd's point is taken, however.
"I'm pretty much staying focused and having fun," offered Herron, who loves the challenge of being out on the corner. "Some people play stronger in certain areas, to be out there by myself is what I want.
"The coaches have prepared us very well. I'm just going to take it practice by practice and stay focused on what's on the field."
Sometimes that's tougher than fans realize, especially for imports getting their first starts.
"It's been an adjustment, but football is football and the biggest adjustment is being 2,000 miles away from home when you've got your wife and kid at home and your wife is expecting. That's been the biggest adjustment," said Keyes, whose wife Zakia is back home with two-year-old Braylon and expecting Sean Cole on Aug 17.
That might just give him that extra motivation, out there on that island.
LeFors eager to pass first test.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The defensive secondary is one area where I still have major concerns about the Eskimo football club this year.
Oilers Get Their No. 1 Goalie In Khabibulin
02/07/2009 05:15
Nikolai Khabibulin is the latest big name off the board in free agency, as the veteran netminder has signed a four-year, $15 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers.
The 36-year-old spent the past four seasons in Chicago, helping lead the Blackhawks to their first Western Conference final since 1995 this past season. He also captured the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004.
The signing marks the end of a tumultuous time in the Windy City for the Russian native. After signing a massive four-year deal with the Hawks in 2005, Khabibulin suffered through various injuries and inconsistent play.
It was thought that his days in Chicago were numbered after the Blackhawks signed free-agent netminder Cristobal Huet prior to the season. The Hawks even went as far as placing the 1992 Olympic gold medalist on waivers in September with rumours circulating of a return to Russia and the KHL. Khabibulin raised the level of his play and took over the No. 1 goaltender role and was a big reason that the Blackhawks reached the post-season for the first time in seven years.
Khabibulin finished the season with a 25-8-7 record with a 2.33 goals against average and .919 save percentage. He also picked up three shutouts.
In 678 career games split between the Jets/Coyotes, Lightning and Blackhawks, Khabibulin has a lifetime record of 299-267-21 with a .908 save percentage, 2.67 goals against average and 41 career shutouts. He has also played in four NHL All-Star games.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I really have to question this move, folks. It would appear the Oilers new General Manager, Steve Tambellini, is about as bright as their old GM, Kevin Lowe.
Retro: Eskimo Great John LaGrone
02/07/2009 05:15
By Terry Jones
Special to CFL.ca
It was a call Judge John LaGrone of Borger, Texas never expected to receive.
“Hello, this is Dave Jamieson of the Edmonton Eskimos and we're celebrating the 1960s up here this year and we were wondering if ...”
LaGrone laughs.
“No, I didn't see that one coming.”
The 60s represented the only decade in which the Eskimos had nothing to celebrate.
The team won three Grey Cups in the 50s, three more in the '70s, four in the '80s, two in the '90s and two more this decade. But none in the '60s. Zero.
In 1968 the Eskimos had one All-Star. One. John LaGrone.
His name is associated more with losing than winning. But John LaGrone was the player who proved to be the missing link to the title teams which would follow.
So when the Canadian Football League decides to make last year's retro game experiment a league-wide promotion this year, who do you bring in?
John LaGrone. No contest.
LaGrone will be in Edmonton for the first and main retro game July 16 against the B.C. Lions with the Eskimos wearing the uniform from back when they were the worst team in the league.
If you were to pick one player who stood above the rest during that sad sack era, it would be John LaGrone.
He was the player most responsible for the team which crawled through the 60s learning to walk and go on to greatness a decade later.
“He turned us from being a terrible team into being a respectable one,” remembered former G.M. Norm Kimball. “And he did that the first day he came to us. Jerry Griffin and Dave Gasser helped. But John LaGrone was the main reason. I can't say enough about him.
“I always viewed John as being from another era. After his second year he told me it was kind of a joke being paid to play, that he'd have played for nothing. After that he became a determined negotiator because he felt it was his due.
But the essence of the guy who would have played for nothing remained.
“He was never a rah-rah guy. But he was a real leader in a silent way. He kept us respectable when the offensive talent was lacking, when we had inconsistent quarterbacking and the rest of it,” said Kimball.
“He was the only truly great player we had.”
LaGrone had been a CFL All-Star five of eight years in the league, a Western All-Star six of those eight years. He was a Schenley Award winner, made it into the Canadian Football League Hall of Fame and the Eskimos Wall of Honour. But he was the one Eskimo great who never won a Grey Cup.
It would have been the perfect ending to his story if, like '60s survivors Bayne Norrie and Dick Dupuis, LaGrone ended up winning a Grey Cup.
He finally got there in 1973 and might have been the most compelling story in the dressing room when the Eskimos lost.
“I'd been up there all those years trying to get to that game and win a Grey Cup and that's the worst I ever felt,” he said.
He'd feel even worse the next year when the Eskimos got back and lost the Grey Cup game again. He'd retire the next year ... the year the Eskimos finally won.
LaGrone hasn't been back to Edmonton since 1988, the same year he was inducted to the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and he was put on the Eskimos Wall of Honor.
“It doesn't seem that long,” he said.
While his name and No. 66 are on the facade at Commonwealth Stadium, LaGrone never played in the big park.
“No, it was a little more intimate in Clarke Stadium. I miss all those people yelling at you at Clarke Stadium.
“I remember my first game. We got beat by Winnipeg and I was standing by coach Neil Armstrong when an empty whiskey bottle missed his head. I learned to keep my helmet on.”
He said he heard Armstrong give what he believes was the greatest coaches speech of his career that year.
“We lost five of our first seven games and he told us there was a lot of talk that he was going to get fired at the end of the season and added 'If that happens, a lot of you guys will be gone before they fire me.' We won seven of our last eight and made the playoffs.”
It was a team with a great defence and no offence which went through quarterbacks at a record rate.
“Our offensive line was a little porous, too,” LaGrone remembers. “I remember a game against Calgary in my second or third year. Wayne Harris knocked Jim Thomas’ teeth out he hit him so hard,” he said of The Thumper getting to the running back better known as Long Gone Thomas from the only two plays that ever worked, sweep left and sweep right.
“Nobody blocked him the whole night. It was almost criminal.”
LaGrone says he still follows the Eskimos to this day on the internet.
While 34 consecutive years of making the playoffs didn't compute with his time with the team in the 60's, he said it sounded a little more familiar lately.
“A couple years sounded pretty tough. But for some of those guys, they were probably like me. I was young enough I didn't think about it.
“We had pretty good team unity,” he said of the group which used to populate the seedy bar at the Grand Hotel.
“I remember we had a player by the name of E.A. Sims who went in there for a beer before practice and was sitting in a stall in the washroom when a guy was knifed to death in the next stall and he ended up on the front page of the paper as a witness, saying how the man with the knife looked at him as he wiped the blood off the knife and said 'It was personal.' They never caught that guy.”
LaGrone says he was a witness not a participant when a group of players shaved the head of then Journal sports columnist Wayne Overland when the not-to-popular-with-the-players scribe decided to go to training camp to do a George Plimpton try-out-for-the-team series of articles.
A future judge has to be careful about stuff like that.
“I became a judge 19 years ago,” said the 64-year-old of his seat on the bench in Hutchison County in the Texas Panhandle.
“That's a long time. But the '60s that's a really long time ago.”
It was a decade in Edmonton, he figured, that time had forgot.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
John LaGrone was truly one of the Eskimos’ all-time greats. Between him and running back Jim (Long Gone) Thomas, they were all the Eskimos had during the 1960s.
Family Adds Icing To Cake For Richie Hall
02/07/2009 05:15
There's only one first time for anything and for the Eskimos Richie Hall his head coaching debut came on June 17 at Commonwealth Stadium in a pre-season victory over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, his former team.
On Thursday night, Hall kicks it up a notch, and not just because he will trot out with his team for his regular-season debut.
"The thing that's going to add icing to the cake is that my family is going to be here," Hall said Tuesday. "My mom (Jean) and dad (Richie Sr.) are going to be here, so, all of a sudden, they get to see their son coach a football game.
"I'm really excited about that because as kids we're an extension of our parents and for me to be able to accomplish a goal, you always want to share it with people that you care about."
Hall's parents will be joined by his sister, Janice, brother, Michael, a group from Winnipeg he describes as his adopted family and some friends from Regina, where he was an assistant coach for 15 years, including eight as defensive co-ordinator.
So, he'll have a personal cheering section of 15-20 people seeing him realize a long-held dream.
"I think they're ecstatic," Hall said. "I think to (see me) play pro ball, they were very excited.
"Now, to be a head coach, I know they're very proud, they're very excited. I know my sister, two weeks ago, she said she was already nervous.
"To some degree, I think they may get more of a charge out of it than I do."
Which is saying something, actually.
Now those really are fighting words.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It’s nice that Richie Hall is going to have his family in the stands for his first CFL head coaching gig.
Dany Heatley Snubs Edmonton Oilers
02/07/2009 05:15
The first thing you should know is that the Dany Heatley trade to Edmonton is not officially dead. At least not yet.
It's true that Dany Heatley did not waive his no-movement clause when requested by the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night, but that isn't to say it's not still possible for him to waive it on Wednesday. He has, technically speaking, not issued an outright refusal to move.
The confusion on all of this surrounded a perceived deadline of midnight Tuesday night for the Senators to move Heatley.
The Senators owe Heatley a $4 million signing bonus, to be paid on July 1 (today). The widely-held belief was that if the Senators didn't trade Heatley by July 1, or at midnight Tuesday night, they would be stuck paying it and the expenditure would drastically alter the dynamic of any Heatley trade and what the Senators expect to get in return.
Ottawa had agreed to a deal with the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night that would have sent Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid to the Senators in exchange for Heatley. Heatley was asked to waive his no-movement clause by the Senators but he didn't oblige. Which is not the same thing as an outright or unequivocal rejection.
The Senators are still on the clock in their window to trade Heatley without absorbing the cost of the $4 million signing bonus and will be until 11:59 p.m. eastern time on Wednesday night.
So while the Senators are painfully aware now that Heatley would in all likelihood prefer not to go to Edmonton, and might look more favorably on a deal to, say, the New York Rangers, another team that was engaged in serious talks with the Senators on Tuesday night, nothing has been settled with any degree of certainty.
No one should suggest Heatley is prepared to waive his no-movement clause to go to Edmonton any more than it should be suggested he absolutely won't.
That final decision has not been made because Heatley's agent, J.P. Barry, believed the actual deadline was at 11:59 p.m. eastern on Wednesday night, not 11:59 p.m. eastern on Tuesday night.
So the soap opera continues, and likely will for the better part of Canada Day and the NHL's annual free-agent frenzy.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The Oilers don’t need a spoiled, selfish, prima donna like Heatley on this team. Not only would Heatley be a disruptive force, but he may end up to be a full-blown cancer on the team.
Islanders Sign Dwayne Roloson To Two-Year Deal
02/07/2009 05:14
After four memorable seasons in Edmonton, goaltender Dwayne Roloson has a new home.
The 39-year-old has signed a two-year deal with the New York Islanders for $5-million.
Roloson, who wasn't the starter in Edmonton at the beginning of the 2008-2009 season, but took control of the starting job and appeared in 63 games for the Oilers, posting a 28-24-9 record with a 2.77 goals-against average and one shutout.
Roloson, who the Oilers acquired at the trade deadline in 2006, made an immediate impact when he arrived, leading the club all the way to Stanley Cup final, which they lost in Game 7 to the Carolina Hurricanes.
After that Cup run, the team locked him up to a three-year deal that recently expired.
In 462 NHL games with the Calgary Flames, Buffalo Sabres, Minnesota Wild and the Oilers, Roloson has a 167 wins. He has recorded 23 shutouts in his career.
More from TSN.
SWIVEL HIP SAYS:
I guess the good part about this story is the Oilers are never going to find out how good their young netminders Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers or Devan Dubnyk are if they don’t play them. So, I say – let them play.
'Twins' Sign Five-Year, $6.1 Million Deals With Canucks
02/07/2009 05:14
After being drafted together in 1999 and playing their entire careers on the same club, Daniel and Henrik Sedin will continue that trend with the Vancouver Canucks.
The brothers have signed a pair of five-year contacts worth $6.1 million a season with no-movement clauses included.
"Daniel and Henrik Sedin are this club's offensive leaders and players we want to build around," said general manager Mike Gillis in a statement. "Their level of performance in every area of the game is exceptional; both Daniel and Henrik are committed to winning and we want them to succeed as Vancouver Canucks."
Playing side by side for the Canucks, the duo has amassed 288 goals, 634 assists, and 922 points in 1,288 games combined.
The 2008-2009 season was arguably their best year yet, with Daniel leading the Canucks in goal scoring with 31 - the second highest output of his career - while Henrik had a career-high 22 goals. Both finished with 82 points on the season.
"We spent the last 24 hours with Daniel and Henrik going over all the options that they have," their agent JP Barry told Vancouver's CKNW on Wednesday. "The more they analyzed things, the more they truly wanted to remain in Vancouver. They're happy that this deal got to the range that it was fair."
The deals are a stark contrast from the twins' original asking price, which - according to reports - were identical 12-year contracts worth $63 million each. The brothers expressed an interest in remaining in Vancouver, while the Canucks always stated that it was a priority to re-sign the tandem.
"We analyzed how much less we were taking in Vancouver," said Barry. "But for Daniel and Henrik it was always about getting this deal and fairness and Vancouver being the choice if it was fair. As of yesterday, they thought the deal got in the range where they thought it was a fair deal and they wanted to stay."
Daniel and Henrik each earned $3.75 million last season and were scheduled to become unrestricted free agents at noon on Wednesday. Daniel and Henrik entered the league as the second and third overall selections by the Canucks in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I really would have liked to have seen the twins split up for once in their pampered lives.
Williams Sisters Making Tourney A Family Affair
02/07/2009 05:14
Venus and Serena Williams are one match away from repeating last year's women's final at Wimbledon. Standing in the way are two Russians.
Dinara Safina, the women's top seed, faces defending champion Venus Williams in one semifinal tomorrow, while Olympic gold medallist Elena Dementieva plays second seed Serena Williams in the other.
Both sisters and Dementieva eased into the next-to-last round yesterday while Safina struggled.
In men's quarter-finals action today at Wimbledon, five-time champion Roger Federer plays Croatia's Ivo Karlovic and Britain's Andy Murray faces Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain on Centre Court. On Court No. 1, Germany's Tommy Haas meets Novak Djokovic of Serbia and Lleyton Hewitt plays Andy Roddick of the U. S.
Serena Williams, the 2002 and 2003 champion, eased past Victoria Azarenka of Belarus 6-2, 6-3 on Centre Court yesterday. The American fired 26 winners, including nine aces, past the No. 8 seed.
Her older sister defeated Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska in straight sets to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the eighth time in 10 years. Venus Williams, who won the first of seven Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon in 2000, produced 29 winners, including five aces.
While Safina, 23, may be the top seed in the women's draw thanks to her No. 1 ranking on the WTA Tour, the 29-year-old Williams, a five-time Wimbledon champion, brings a record of playing in big matches.
"She has the top ranking, but I have more the experience in this tournament and more success," said Venus Williams, who leads the Russian 2-1. "I've been playing a little longer. So if she keeps playing longer, too, then maybe she has the opportunity to have lots of success here, too."
Safina, who struggled in her quarter-final, sees herself as the underdog.
"This is her best surface," the Russian told reporters. "She loves playing here in Wimbledon. I just want to go out there. I have nothing to lose."
Dementieva, 27, also is counting on experience to get past Serena Williams. The Russian has lost five of the eight times she's played the 27-year-old American.
Their one meeting on grass was in 2003, when Williams won in straight sets and went on to win the title. Things have changed since then.
"I think I improved as a player," Dementieva told reporters after she dispatched Italy's Francesca Schiavone in straight sets in the quarter-final.
The Russian, who has conceded only 20 games in her previous rounds, is expecting a tough match.
"I think it was good to win all these matches in two sets and save some energy for the big moment, a semifinal," she said. "But I'm sure it's going to be a difficult match. It's going to be a fight for every point, every game."
Serena Williams isn't thinking about playing her sister in the final. "Right now I am focused on my next match," she said. "Elena gets a lot of balls back, she's playing really well on grass."
Federer downs Karlovic to advance to Wimbledon semis.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Could it be another Williams vs. Williams final again this year at Wimbledon, folks? Don’t bet against it. And, don’t bet against Venus Williams winning on the grass centre court of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, either.
Thai Elephants Painted To Look Like Pandas
01/07/2009 04:08
After the black and white bears steal their fans
It is a desperate cry - or rather a very loud trumpet - for attention.
These elephants were painted black and white to look like the pandas who have stolen all their fans.
The elephant is Thailand's national symbol, but the country has gone panda-crazy since the birth of a female panda cub to pandas Lin Hui and Xuang Xuang at Chiang Mai zoo in Bangkok.
They'll never forget this: The elephants parade their new look in a bid to lure visitors from the panda enclosure
The Bangkok Post also reported that a 20 million baht (£355,800) snow house was being built for the panda family at the zoo.
Sick of all the fuss, keepers at the Ayutthaya-Elephant Kraal decided to take drastic-action, painting five of their neglected giants in watercolour paint, then parading them before schoolchildren.
The stunt has resulted in panda-monium as the zookeepers try to draw the country's attention back to its neglected giants.
Grin and bear it: Elephants painted as pandas are seen at the Royal Elephant Kraal in Ayutthaya province, 80 km (50 miles) north of Bangkok yesterday
The animals are paraded before schoolchildren in the battle of the beasts
Some told the Bangkok Post website that the keepers had gone 'a bit overboard', but others applauded their action.
'Right on! It's time the Government took care of its national symbol... the elephant!' one reader wrote.
'The Chinese have taken care of theirs so why not Thailand?'
Slathering them in white watercolour paint, the keepers at the Ayutthaya Elephant Kraal then paraded the five elephants before schoolchildren in an effort to remind Thailand that its elephants have needs, too.
The five elephants are led on their walkabout.
It is a desperate cry - or rather a very loud trumpet - for attention.
These elephants were painted black and white to look like the pandas who have stolen all their fans.
The elephant is Thailand's national symbol, but the country has gone panda-crazy since the birth of a female panda cub to pandas Lin Hui and Xuang Xuang at Chiang Mai zoo in Bangkok.
They'll never forget this: The elephants parade their new look in a bid to lure visitors from the panda enclosure
The Bangkok Post also reported that a 20 million baht (£355,800) snow house was being built for the panda family at the zoo.
Sick of all the fuss, keepers at the Ayutthaya-Elephant Kraal decided to take drastic-action, painting five of their neglected giants in watercolour paint, then parading them before schoolchildren.
The stunt has resulted in panda-monium as the zookeepers try to draw the country's attention back to its neglected giants.
Grin and bear it: Elephants painted as pandas are seen at the Royal Elephant Kraal in Ayutthaya province, 80 km (50 miles) north of Bangkok yesterday
The animals are paraded before schoolchildren in the battle of the beasts
Some told the Bangkok Post website that the keepers had gone 'a bit overboard', but others applauded their action.
'Right on! It's time the Government took care of its national symbol... the elephant!' one reader wrote.
'The Chinese have taken care of theirs so why not Thailand?'
Slathering them in white watercolour paint, the keepers at the Ayutthaya Elephant Kraal then paraded the five elephants before schoolchildren in an effort to remind Thailand that its elephants have needs, too.
The five elephants are led on their walkabout.
$50 For The Homeless
01/07/2009 04:08
I recently asked my
friend's little girl what she wanted to be when
she grows up. She said she wanted to be Prime
Minister some day.
Both of her parents, Liberals, were standing there, so I asked her, "If you were Prime Minister what would be the first thing you would do?"
She replied, "I'd give food and houses to all the homeless people." Her parents beamed.
"Wow... what a worthy goal." I told her, "But you don't have to wait until you're Prime Minister to do that. You can come over to my house and mow the lawn, pull weeds, and sweep my yard, and I'll pay you $50. Then I'll take you over to the grocery store where homeless guys hang out, and you can give them the $50, you earned, to use toward food and a new house."
She thought that over for a few seconds, then she looked me straight in the eye and asked, "Why doesn't the homeless guys come over and do the work, and you can just pay them the $50?"
I said, "Welcome to the Conserative Party."
Her parents still aren't speaking to me.
Man's Wallet Returned After 63 Years
01/07/2009 04:08
BAKER CITY, Ore. –
Bill Fulton doesn't remember losing his wallet,
but its return helped him remember the
past.
The leather stayed
smooth and the cowboy design unblemished. The
zipper moved with ease. And when he looked
inside, the contents brought back memories
from 1946, when he apparently dropped the
wallet behind the balcony bleachers in the
Baker Middle School gym.
Fulton's Social Security card and bicycle license, bearing the address where he lived during his teenage years, were positioned in their respective compartments, apparently untouched since the year after World War II ended.
"After that long, my gosh, it stayed in good shape," Fulton told the Baker City Herald. "It's hard to believe."
Worker Nathan Osborne found the wallet — along with old homework, lost library books and a 1964 talent show program — while removing the bleachers for renovations on June 17. It was brought to Fulton's door the following day by Melanie Trindle, the Baker Middle School secretary.
"He was pretty much amazed," Trindle said. "He just kept saying, 'Thank you. Thank you so much.' "
Middle School Principal Mindi Vaughan said the brown pine bleachers were connected to the gym balcony's brick wall and had remained in the same place since the school, known as the Helen M. Stack Building, opened in 1936.
Fulton, 78, said he probably lost the wallet while cheering for the Baker High basketball team with a group of friends. Though a high school team, the Bulldogs played at the middle school gym back then.
Fulton said he returned to the gym in the 1960s to watch a basketball game. It's likely he was within a dozen or so feet from his old billfold that night. Both of his children attended the school, so they also must have come near it.
SINC SAYS:
I guess they didn’t carry money in wallets back then.
Fulton's Social Security card and bicycle license, bearing the address where he lived during his teenage years, were positioned in their respective compartments, apparently untouched since the year after World War II ended.
"After that long, my gosh, it stayed in good shape," Fulton told the Baker City Herald. "It's hard to believe."
Worker Nathan Osborne found the wallet — along with old homework, lost library books and a 1964 talent show program — while removing the bleachers for renovations on June 17. It was brought to Fulton's door the following day by Melanie Trindle, the Baker Middle School secretary.
"He was pretty much amazed," Trindle said. "He just kept saying, 'Thank you. Thank you so much.' "
Middle School Principal Mindi Vaughan said the brown pine bleachers were connected to the gym balcony's brick wall and had remained in the same place since the school, known as the Helen M. Stack Building, opened in 1936.
Fulton, 78, said he probably lost the wallet while cheering for the Baker High basketball team with a group of friends. Though a high school team, the Bulldogs played at the middle school gym back then.
Fulton said he returned to the gym in the 1960s to watch a basketball game. It's likely he was within a dozen or so feet from his old billfold that night. Both of his children attended the school, so they also must have come near it.
SINC SAYS:
I guess they didn’t carry money in wallets back then.
Indian Frog 'Marriage' To Bring On Monsoon
01/07/2009 04:08
MUMBAI (AFP) — Two
frogs have been "married" in a ceremony in the
western Indian state of Maharashtra to usher in
the delayed monsoon rains, a report said
Wednesday.Residents in a suburb of Nagpur, 860 kilometres (530 miles) east of the state capital Mumbai, looked on as the groom, Raja, and bride, Rani, were joined in union in a solemn ritual at the weekend, the Times of India said.
Tradition dictates that if frogs are married off with full Vedic or Hindu rituals, the rain god is pleased and the heavens will open within days. Similar ceremonies have been held across the country.
Indians have been watching the skies anxiously after the monsoon failed to appear two weeks ago, prompting concerns about the impact on agriculture and water supplies as lakes run dry after a long, hot summer.
SINC SAYS:
Quick, someboday nip out to Big Lake and catch a couple of frogs. We could hold a quickie hitch-up. Lord knows we sure could use the rain.
90-Year-Old Becomes 25-Gallon Giver
01/07/2009 04:07
Margaret Delfino may
be a 90-year-old great-grandmother, but that
doesn't stop her from hauling out the big guns
when it comes to blood
donations.Even as the Bakersfield woman gave up her 200th pint of blood Thursday at Houchin Blood Bank, she brought along -- some might say dragged along -- several family members who know when they've been made an offer they can't refuse.
"If you don't donate regularly, she calls you," laughed Marie Batey, Delfino's niece.
She has a way of getting people to do what she wants, nephew Randy Jelmini suggested with a grin.
So there they were: Batey, Jelmini and other family members flanking Delfino on a row of recliners as the life-giving fluid flowed from their arms through tubes -- to become simple yet powerful gifts to their community.
Thursday's donation brought Delfino's total to 25 gallons, about 20 times the amount of blood in the average human body.
Why does she do it?
"It can mean the difference between life and death for some people," Delfino said. "But we need more donors."
Houchin Chief Executive Greg Gallion said Delfino was diagnosed with cancer several years ago. As a result of that illness, she had to put a halt to her donations for five years.
Gallion said Delfino was more put out about stopping her donations than she was about the cancer. And she started giving again as soon as she could.
"It's a testament to her commitment to this community," he said. "It's a testament to a remarkable woman."
SINC SAYS:
I guess it’s just in her to give.
Eskimos Quartet Not Focused On Former Team
01/07/2009 04:07
Ex-Bombers indifferent to opposition
It just doesn't matter.
Ask Kyle Koch, Kelly Malveaux, Kai Ellis and Jason Nugent if they'll be fired up to meet their former team, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, as members of the Edmonton Eskimos on Thursday night and the answers are all the same--they couldn't care less that it's the Blue and Gold.
"It just doesn't make any difference to me. It might to some, but not to me," said Koch, who is battling for a starting role on Edmonton's offensive line.
All four were traded to Edmonton in the off-season and they're far more concerned with making a good impression on their new coaches and teammates than they are about their former club.
"For me personally, there's no significance; it's just another team" added Nugent, who was drafted by the Eskimos in 2006. "So you prepare...one step at a time, focus on the progress, not the result, and that's all we can do. It doesn't matter who it is...I know a lot of guys on that team. After the game we'll probably hang out, but on the field we're enemies."
That's what Eskimos head coach Richie Hall expects from them.
"Because they're veterans, it's just another game," he said. "You line up, you play; you have a job you have to do; it just happens to be against the Blue and Gold, but you line up and go at it."
Malveaux, expected to be an impact player for the Eskimos on defence, said he has no ill feelings towards the Bombers, or the other CFL teams he's played for.
"I still prepare myself in the same fashion, there's nothing vindictive. The most exciting part is seeing some of the guys I played with. But at the end of the day, I'm Green and Gold now."
Players admit they do think about their former team, but the reality is, as Ellis noted, both Winnipeg and Edmonton have new head coaches and the big question for the players is who those coaches trust and who they believe can help them win games. That's why their focus Thursday won't be on trying to prove anything to the Bombers but, rather, establishing themselves with the Eskimos.
"Football is football," added the six-foot-four, 255-pound defensive end. "You're still hitting somebody but you just have new teammates. When you're the new guy, you have to come in and show them that this is what you do on every play and what they can expect from you.
"Every play, every game you're going to be judged on how you are as a player and what you bring to the table, so it's key that you make sure you make the most of it."
All four have adjusted to the Eskimos game style and nuances of the team's practice and dressing room routines. They head into the season optimistic and confident.
"I feel comfortable in the system now," said Malveaux. "I'm still learning little nuances, but I feel comfortable surrounded by a great group of guys. There's some great leadership out here."
Malveaux has often been mentioned through training camp as one of the key Eskimo acquisitions and he's been impressing the coaches and teammates since his arrival here.
"It's a great feeling to come into a new situation and gain the respect of your peers is an awesome feeling," he explained. "At the same time the spotlight is on you. I take on the challenge and try to look at myself as a quality guy."
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
That’s one of the things I like best about this year’s edition of the Edmonton Eskimos – there’s only one goal and that’s winning.
Oilers Make Pitch To Roli, No Deal Yet
01/07/2009 04:07
According to the Edmonton Sun, the Oilers have made a contract offer to goaltender Dwayne Roloson. It is reported to be a one-year deal for about $3 million.
Roloson, the team's MVP last season, will become an unrestricted free agent at Noon ET on July 1 if he does not re-sign with Edmonton.
Roloson was 28-24-9 with a 2.77 goals against average last season.
Oilers general manager Steve Tambellini told the Sun he would seek a goalie on the free agent market if Roloson decides not to sign before the deadline.
Meanwhile, forward Ales Kotalik has not received an offer from Tambellini and it looks like he will become an unrestricted free agent.
"He's never received an offer, so it's pretty straightforward," Kotalik's agent, Larry Kelly, told the Sun.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I would suggest that it probably would be in the Oilers’ best interests to sign Dwayne Roloson for the upcoming season.
Lumsden Practicing Again After Food Poisoning
01/07/2009 04:07
Goss, Williams, Robinson hope to play Thursday against Winnipeg
There was a lot of good news on the injury/illness front for the Edmonton Eskimos Monday. Running back Jesse Lumsden and defensive halfbacks Jason Goss, Lenny Williams and Bradley Robinson were all involved in practice.
"It's been a rough couple of days but I'm fine," said Lumsden, who missed the last couple of days of workouts. "I had some bad food. Food poisoning is not a fun thing."
Lumsden was unhappy at having to miss the team's first regular-season practices after player cutdown day on Thursday, but figured he had to play it safe.
"I had some blood work done to make sure it wasn't a vir us or anything else, because the last thing I would want to do is come here and get other guys sick. It's out of my system now. I got some work in (Monday) and I feel good, I'll be ready for the game (Thursday).That's not an issue at all, it's just a matter of getting some food and rehydrating."
Eskimos head coach Richie Hall was glad to see Lumsden back, even though he only took limited reps.
"He's a little sluggish just because he hasn't had much in his system the last couple of days," said Hall. "The good thing is we saw him out here, he ran around, was able to go through some part of practice, and he felt good about being out here."
Williams and Robinson had missed much of camp with injuries, but both were active and hitting on Monday. Goss was shaken up by a hit in practice on Saturday and sat out Sunday. He was back Monday and said he tested his sore shoulder and it's fine. All three could play in the Eskimos' season opener Thursday at home to the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
"It's not bothering me," Goss said after practice. "I woke up this morning, I wasn't stiff, just a little banged up. I tested it out a few times (Monday). I wanted to make sure it's good and it felt good. Come game time Thursday, I'll be even better."
Hall said he's hoping Williams is also ready for Thursday.
"The biggest thing before you put someone in the lineup is, are they healthy to play? You have to feel good about their physical condition, because you don't want to put someone who's hurt on the roster.
"The biggest thing (about Williams) is how could he hold up through practice. I'll tell you, he's holding up well, doing a real good job and now it's just a matter of getting his timing and his wind back."
The Eskimos announced the addition of six players to the practice roster: import LB Tumbo Abanikanda, import WR Jason Barnes, import DL Xzavie Jackson, non-import OL Adam Rogers, import DE Shaun Richardson and non-import LB Greg Whalen.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Jesse Lumsden is one tough son-of-a-gun to hold down – just about as tough as he’s going to be for defences to bring down this year.
CFL To Unveil New Challenge ‘Command Centre’
01/07/2009 04:07
TORONTO - The CFL's new instant replay process this season will look very familiar to hockey fans.
The league has completely revamped its system for reviewing on-field officials' calls. When the CFL kicks off its regular season Wednesday, officials in a command centre at the league's Toronto head office will examine and decide on all on-field coaching challenges instead of the referee.
"The biggest change for fans is the replay boxes on the sidelines will be gone," said Tom Higgins, the former CFL head coach who is now the league's director of officials. "But I think our fans will truly notice the difference because the moment a referee does put on the headset, when we went through our trial runs we had the decisions made already.
"That's where we're hoping we'll be able to tighten our belts somewhat to get the play going a little bit quicker than they have the last couple of years."
The new process - which is identical to the one used by the NHL - will be in place for the league's season-opening games Wednesday night. The Toronto Argonauts visit the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (TSN, 7 p.m. ET) to kick off the '09 season before the Calgary Stampeders host the Montreal Alouettes (TSN, 10 p.m., ET) in a Grey Cup rematch.
On Thursday night, the Winnipeg Blue Bombers are in Edmonton to face the Eskimos (TSN, 9 p.m., ET), with the Saskatchewan Roughriders hosting the B.C. Lions on Friday night (TSN, 9 p.m., ET) to round out the opening week.
In past years, when an on-field challenge was made the referee would go to an on-field monitor and examine the replays himself before rendering a decision. But the process could sometimes be timely with the video quality differing from stadium to stadium.
Now, the replay official - who will be none other than Jake Ireland, a 30-year CFL veteran referee who retired this off-season - will have high-definition monitors at his disposal. He will have access to the same TV replays fans can watch from home but be able to slow them down and isolate images to ensure the right call is made.
John Hufnagel, the head coach and GM of the Grey Cup-champion Stampeders, likes the new system.
"I'm in favour of anything that helps officials do their jobs as effectively as possible," he said. "The league obviously put a lot of thought into this and I'm confident it will work very well."
And the new process is expected to be quick. That's because staff at the command centre can immediately start reviewing a play from various angles and have a decision in the time it would usually take for the on-field referee to confer with a coach then reach the sideline video booth.
"The moment that challenge flag is thrown, now our fans know there is a process in place," Higgins said.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
So, let me see if I’ve got this correct . . . ex-referee Jake Ireland is going to make all of the decisions on disputed calls from a command centre in Toronto? Good luck! This is going to really be a lot of fun folks!
Canucks Gillis Chases ‘Twins’ To Sweden With Offer
01/07/2009 04:07
The fate of Daniel and Henrik Sedin in Vancouver took another turn on Tuesday as Canucks general manager Mike Gillis has left the twins' home country of Sweden after speaking to them in person.
The brothers are with their agents JP Barry and Claes Elefalk in Stockholm discussing the team's offer to extend the twins' contracts.
"It's a significant move, but we still have to give it some thought," Barry told TSN's Darren Dreger on Talk 640 radio on Tuesday. "This negotiation has been going on for almost a year. We're going to have to talk about all their options at this stage and we'll take this offer very seriously."
The two sides, Sedins included, met with Gillis for two hours. Gillis presented his team's offer before flying back to Vancouver.
"It was great that they flew over just to meet us," Henrik told Aftonbladet on Tuesday. "We sat down and talked for a while. They wanted to let us know how they feel about the situation. We have to wait and see what happens. We have told them what we want, but we don't agree on all the details."
Barry, Elefalk and the Sedins are now analyzing and considering the offer, but won't comment on either the term or money Vancouver has offered.
If the Sedins decide to test the free agent waters on Wednesday, Barry is confident that there's a marketplace for his clients - even if splitting them up isn't an option.
"It still seems to me that there's a number of teams out there that are missing an entire first line - a number of good teams," he explained. "That hasn't changed so far, I know there were a couple of possibilities for trades last week that didn't go through, but there are teams out there looking for a couple of Top 10 players. That's out there for them, but they love Vancouver and they want to sit down and talk about this."
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Whatever the Vancouver Canucks are offering the ‘Twins’, you can bet it’s too much.
Vancouver 2010 Olympic Poster Unveiled
01/07/2009 04:07
He has played on the same Olympic ice as his hockey heroes, and won more than his share of international glory.
But sledge-hockey champion Jean Labonté knows that the Paralympics he participates in sometimes play second fiddle in profile to the older and bigger version of the Games.
Until now, that is.
Mr. Labonté, captain of the Canadian sledge-hockey team, helped lift the tarp Monday from the official new posters for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. For the first time, the Paralympics will be depicted equally with the Olympics on posters commemorating the Games.
"I guess the poster says it all," Mr. Labonté, 42, said of the stylized maple leaf that dominates the new placard. "I think it's a very powerful message to the rest of the world. It sets the bar very high."
The new image is actually two posters, each depicting one half of the same maple leaf. When the two are put side by side, the halves join to create a whole, symbolizing the unity of the two sides of the Games. The color schemes and lines also run together in an unbroken fashion, demonstrating continuity.
Finally, each side of the poster portrays various icons of the region, from Haida canoes and local mountain ranges to Vancouver's skyline and the softwood trees that are so integral to the B.C. economy.
"They complement each other," Mr. Labonté said.
A software designer from Gatineau, Que., Mr. Labonté got his start in sledge hockey 18 years ago, four years after cancer forced the amputation of his left leg above the knee.
After picking up the game with some local friends - some of whom played on the national team - Mr. Labonté made the squad for the 1998 Nagano Olympics, where the team won silver. In 2002 in Salt Lake City, the team came fourth, but three years ago in Turin, while the team of NHL stars finished out of the medals, the sledgers came home with gold.
Mr. Labonté - a defenceman who will occasionally join the rush - says general appreciation for sledge hockey has increased over time.
But the Vancouver commitment to the Paralympics is unprecedented.
"I feel proud as a Canadian," he said.
John Furlong, chief executive officer of the Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, says Paralympic organizers have often felt a "little bit left out."
"I think they're counting on us," he said.
He noted, for example, that there are 50 hours of television coverage planned for the Paralympics on CTV, compared with no live coverage last Games.
"The more the Paralympics is seen on television, the more it will matter and the more it will inspire and tell the stories it needs to tell," Mr. Furlong said.
"We want it to be known that each of these projects are very important, and really, they were to say something about the country."
He added that VANOC seeks to ensure that venues for the Paralympics are just as jammed as they are for the Olympics.
The posters, designed by Ben Hulse, will sell for $15 for an 18-by-27-inch offset lithography print, and $150 for a limited-edition, 20-by-28-inch print.
The posters were unveiled in time for Canada Day celebrations Wednesday.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I guess it’s an okay poster, if you like those kinds of things.
Williams Sisters, Safina Roll Into Wimbledon Semis
01/07/2009 04:07
Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Top-ranked Dinara Safina, two-time champion Serena Williams and five-time titlist Venus Williams were quarterfinal winners Tuesday at Wimbledon. Fourth-seeded Russian Elena Dementieva also won on Tuesday, as the top-four seeds all made it into the semifinals here.
Thursday's semis at the All England Club, which will both pit an American against a Russian, will have Safina facing the third-seeded Venus and a second-seeded Serena taking on Dementieva. Serena and Venus are former world No. 1s, which means three of the four semifinalists have held the top ranking.
Venus has won the last two titles here, including a victory over her younger sister in last year's finale.
The French Open and Australian Open runner-up Safina was tested by rising German Sabine Lisicki on a hot day at the AEC, as the big Russian prevailed 6-7 (5-7), 6-4, 6-1 on Centre Court.
More from TSN.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Do you suppose it could be another Williams vs. Williams Wimbledon final folks?
Weak Field For Canadian Open Golf Tourney
01/07/2009 04:07
OAKVILLE, Ont. - A number of players have commited to the RBC Canadian Open.
Sean O'Hair, Retief Goosen, Hunter Mahan, Ricky Barnes and defending champion Chez Reavie are among a batch of entrants that have been released by the Royal Canadian Golf Association.
Canadians Mike Weir and Stephen Ames will also be part of the tournament, which will be played July 23-26 at Glen Abbey Golf Club.
Anthony Kim, Trevor Immelman, Camilo Villegas, Mark Calcavecchia, Fred Couples and Luke Donald have already announced their intention to play.
The latest list of commitments also includes Canada's top two amateur players. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Matt Hill of Bright's Grove, Ont., each received a sponsor's exemption.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Once again, it doesn't look like a very strong field for the Canadian Open, does it folks? They've only got three of the world top 20 entered in the tournament, and five of the world top 25. In order to have a truly great event, you have to do better than that.
Bearly Hanging On . . .
30/06/2009 01:16
This
bridge is on the Old Donner Pass Highway.
It has a spectacular view of Donner
Lake and Donner Pass on Route
80.
A bear was walking across Rainbow Bridge (Old Hwy 40) at Donner Summit, Truckee) when two cars also crossing the bridge scared the bear into jumping over the edge of the bridge. Somehow the bear caught the ledge (see unbelievable photo, above) and pulled itself to safety. Authorities decided that nothing could be done to help that night so they returned the next morning to find the bear sound asleep on the ledge.
After securing a net under the bridge the bear was tranquilized, fell nto the net, lowered, then woke up and walked out of the net.
There is a moral to this story you know. This old bear made a wrong move and found he was hanging by his nails. Somehow he was able to pull himself up onto the ledge where he saw he was in a very bad, impossible situation and what did he do?
Yep, he took a nap and sure enough the situation took care of itself while he was asleep. The moral is that when confronted with a bad situation sometimes the best solution is . . . take a nap.
A bear was walking across Rainbow Bridge (Old Hwy 40) at Donner Summit, Truckee) when two cars also crossing the bridge scared the bear into jumping over the edge of the bridge. Somehow the bear caught the ledge (see unbelievable photo, above) and pulled itself to safety. Authorities decided that nothing could be done to help that night so they returned the next morning to find the bear sound asleep on the ledge.
After securing a net under the bridge the bear was tranquilized, fell nto the net, lowered, then woke up and walked out of the net.
There is a moral to this story you know. This old bear made a wrong move and found he was hanging by his nails. Somehow he was able to pull himself up onto the ledge where he saw he was in a very bad, impossible situation and what did he do?
Yep, he took a nap and sure enough the situation took care of itself while he was asleep. The moral is that when confronted with a bad situation sometimes the best solution is . . . take a nap.
NASA FINDS MISSING MOON LANDING TAPES
30/06/2009 01:16
ECSTATIC space officials at Nasa could be about to unveil one of their most stunning discoveries for 40 years — new and amazingly clear footage of the first moon landing.
The release of the new images next month could be one of the most talked about events of the summer.
The television images the world has been used to seeing of the historic moment when Neil Armstrong descended down a ladder onto the moon’s surface in 1969 is grainy, blurry and dark.
The following scenes, in which the astronauts move around the lunar lander, are so murky it is difficult to make out exactly what is going on, causing conspiracy theorists to claim the entire Apollo 11 mission was an elaborate fraud.
However, viewers have only ever seen such poor quality footage because the original analogue tapes containing the pictures beamed direct from the lunar surface were lost almost as soon as they were recorded.
Instead, a poor quality copy made from a 16mm camera pointing at a heavily compressed image on a black and white TV screen has been the only record of the event.
The Sunday Express can now reveal that the missing tapes containing the original high quality images have been found.
If the visual data can be retrieved, Nasa is set to reveal them to the world as a key plank of celebrations to mark the 40th anniversary of the landings next month.
The tapes show in much more detail than almost anyone has previously seen the surface of the moon beneath the patriotic symbol of the US flag.
Crucially, they could once and for all dispel 40 years of wild conspiracy theories.
The low grade, dark and grainy television pictures that were beamed around the world on July 21 1969 were intended to give Americans just a glimpse of their country’s greatest exploratory achievement.
SINC SAYS:
I saw the live broadcast, so I look forward to these new pcitures.
One-Legged Hen's Horseback Return
30/06/2009 01:16
Peggy is recovering
wellA one-legged hen rescued from the clutches of a fox is being helped on the road to recovery by the horses at a Northumberland stables.
Before being mauled and left with one leg, Peggy used to enjoy jumping on to the backs of horses at Slate Hall Riding Centre, Seahouses.
Now she cannot get up herself but owner Marian Nicol said she enjoys being lifted up for a ride.
She said she was traumatised by the attack but was recovering well.
Mrs Nicol said her son Adam found the injured hen lying on her back after hearing a noise where the chickens were kept. Her leg had been chewed by the fox.
They treated her and now she is making a good recovery.
Mrs Nicol said: "She used to land on the backs of the horses and sit there. She seems to like the horses and is not scared of them at all.
"Since her leg was damaged she hasn't been able to jump up there but we sometimes lift her up and she will sit there. She seems to like the company."
SINC SAYS:
That fox obviously loved drumsticks.
Seniors Gotta Have Some Fun . . .
30/06/2009 01:16
Working people
frequently ask retired people what they do to
make their days
interesting.
Well, for example,
the other day, my wife and I went into town
and went into a shop. We were only in there
for about 5 minutes. When we came out, there
was a cop writing out a parking ticket.
We went up to him and I said, 'Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?' He ignored us and continued writing the ticket.. I called him a Dumb ass. He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tires. So Mary called him a shit head. He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first.
Then he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote. Just then our bus arrived and we got on it and went home. We try to have a little fun each day now that we're retired. It's important at our age!
We went up to him and I said, 'Come on man, how about giving a senior citizen a break?' He ignored us and continued writing the ticket.. I called him a Dumb ass. He glared at me and started writing another ticket for having worn tires. So Mary called him a shit head. He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first.
Then he started writing a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more we abused him, the more tickets he wrote. Just then our bus arrived and we got on it and went home. We try to have a little fun each day now that we're retired. It's important at our age!
Top Ten Country And Western Songs
30/06/2009 01:16
10. I Hate Every Bone
In Her Body But Mine
9. Never Gone To Bed With an Ugly Woman But I Woke Up With a Few
8. If The Phone Don't Ring ... You'll Know It's Me
7. I've Missed You ... But My Aim's Improvin'
6. Wouldn't Take Her To A Dogfight 'Cause I'm Scared She'd Win
5. I'm So Miserable Without You It's Like You're Still Here
4. My Wife Ran Off With My Best Friend And I Miss Him
3. She Took My Ring and Gave Me the Finger
2. She's Lookin' Better with Every Beer
And The Number One Country & Western Song Is ...
1. It's Hard To Kiss The Lips At Night That Chewed My Ass Out All Day
Duane Forde’s Top 25 Canadians In The CFL
30/06/2009 01:16
By Duane Forde
TSN Football Analyst
The value of a non-import player in the CFL is determined by two factors. The first, and most obvious, is what he gives his team as far as his on-field performance and production. The second is what he gives his team in terms of roster or ratio flexibility.
Ratio (or roster) Flexibility: Describes a situation that makes it easier for coaches and GMs to manage their roster with regards to the CFL's import/non-import quota
Ratio Buster: A non-import player who plays a position traditionally played by imports (e.g. running back)
In other words, ratio busters provide their teams with greater ratio flexibility by enabling the coaching staff to insert an ''extra'' import elsewhere in the lineup. Fans will understand that the laws of supply and demand mean it is much easier to find a qualified American football player to play any position than it is to find a similarly qualified Canadian to fill the same role.
To reiterate, American players aren't necessarily better than Canadians, as the list below will demonstrate, but good ones are obviously more plentiful and, therefore, easier to find.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
To see Duane Forde’s top 25 Canadians in the CFL, click here.
Eskimos’ Game Plan: Attack The Quarterback
30/06/2009 01:16
The Edmonton Eskimos want to get after it defensively.
General manager and director of football operations Danny Maciocia made it crystal clear to his scouting staff that the No. 1 priority during the off-season was to find some talent coming off the edge.
"Danny put a challenge out to us to find guys who can get to the quarterback and, so far, I think we've addressed that," Eskimos head scout Ed Hervey said about the 2009 version of the Green and Gold.
They've addressed it with the addition of Greg Peach and solidified it with the acquisition of Kai Ellis.
"When Danny said we need to find some natural defensive ends, I thought Peach fits that mould," added Hervey, who is credited with finding the Eastern Washington product, thanks to some help from former Eskimo Torey Hunter.
"We had talked about him a little bit, but didn't have enough film. I kept tabs with Torey, and kept asking, 'How did he do this week?'
"I asked Torey to package up a highlight tape because I wanted him to have a good presentation for Danny and the staff to watch. I felt like he could play, but you have to convince. I didn't want to sell him on hearsay and notes. We wanted to make sure, that if we were going to offer him a contract, at least we have a good feel for his abilities."
Peach's stats jumped off the pages. In three years, he had 35-1/2 sacks, including 18 this past season as the six-foot-three, 255-pounder was named the Buck Buchanan award winner as the Division I football championship subdivision's top defensive player of the year.
In 2008, he finished with 72 defensive tackles (35 solo),23-1/2 tackles for a loss and one fumble recovery in 11 starts.
"Some people always talk about the division, that it's a subdivision of the BCS guys. But football players are football players. You're going to find good football players at all levels," said Hervey.
"The key is, look for the top-tiered guys at that level and see how they fit in. Do they fit into the CFL game? Yeah, the NFL is going to look at them, but how soon can you get them if the NFL isn't interested? I'm not sure if Greg Peach will ever play defensive end in the NFL, but for the CFL, he is the perfect size."
He's also a pretty nice fit.
"Greg Peach, I give full credit to Ed Hervey for this one," said Maciocia. "He plays like his hair is on fire and we offered him a contract a short period after we watched his film.
"He had some opportunities as far as a priority free agent after the NFL draft. I know that Denver had shown some interest, but he chose to come up here and, hopefully, make a name for himself. He had an outstanding camp and those two pre-season games. He's a force to be reckoned with on the boundaries."
With Ellis in the mix, after a trade with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for Siddeeq Shabazz, the Esks have a nice set of bookends.
"Kai Ellis is the real deal coming off the edge. That front four is going to create a lot of havoc for us," said Maciocia.
"To some degree, it's a revamped defensive line. But one major emphasis for us was increasing our speed and productivity off the edges and we feel we have that with Ellis and Peach," added head coach Richie Hall. "And with (Dario) Romero inside and Eric Taylor, we have some big loads. Your football team starts on the lines, both offensive and defensive and we feel very good in our ground attack, both offensively and defensively."
The proof begins Thursday in the season opener against Winnipeg at Commonwealth Stadium
"I think, in Peach, there is a lot of upside," said Hervey. "We have a pretty good opponent coming up against Winnipeg, but I think that with our front pressure, we can relieve a lot of inexperiences that you can have in the secondary. It's been proven in this league that if you can get to the quarterback, you can disrupt a lot of things.
"We're expecting a lot of things out of Peach, Ellis, Romero and Taylor up front. We're expecting big things out of coach Hall's and Jim Daley's defence this year, period."
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The Eskimos’ defensive line was an area of real weakness for the team last year. I expect this year’s defensive line to be much improved with the additions of Peach, Ellis and Sterling, among others.
CFL West Division Preview
30/06/2009 01:16
Calgary Stampeders
2008 record: 13-5 (Won Grey Cup)
Searching for some way to explain the defending Grey Cup champions as they come into the new season, we fall upon Brett Ralph.
The five-foot-10 receiver, who reminds this old guy of Hall of Famer Brian Kelly, caught 49 balls last year for 683 yards — an average of 13.9 a grab. He also contributed five touchdowns in a solid season.
But Ralph is only the fourth best receiver by the numbers on Calgary's roster, behind Ken-Yon Rambo (1,473 — tops in the CFL), Nik Lewis (1,109) and Jeremaine Copeland (784).
Ralph's quarterback is Henry Burris, who had career highs in four key passing stats last year on the way to earning most outstanding player honours in Calgary's Grey Cup win over the Montreal Alouettes.
Calgary has the best running back in Joffrey Reynolds (1,310 yards) and he's scampering behind a solid offensive line whose four backups, for gosh sakes, total 16 years of experience. Injuries, such as those nagging the starters at the moment, shouldn't be a problem.
Kicker Sandro DeAngelis contributed 217 points and missed just eight of 119 field goals and extra points.
On defence, the big news last week was the release of starting linebacker JoJuan Armour for on-field discipline problems. That opened up the middle spot for Lemarcus Rowell, a second-year import who will have to stand for now as Calgary's "weakness" coming into the new season.
This was the best defence in Canada last year, however, so one suspects they'll make do.
Along the defensive line are experienced Canadians Mike Labinjo and Miguel Robeda, along with Juwan Simpson and rookie Justin Brown, who comes in from arena football and replaces NFL-bound Charleston Hughes.
Calgary has one of those classic bendable pass defences that was middle of the pack statistically but allowed the fewest touchdowns through the air and on the ground, and the fewest points. Four of last year's defensive backs are gone, so there will some pressure here to perform.
Perhaps a Grey Cup letdown? Don't count on it. If this group looks like it's dining out on past laurels, head coach John Hufnagel will simply growl and slap them.
Outlook: Week by week, fans in other cities will be crossing their fingers and hoping for lots of Calgary injuries. With this depth, there will have to be a lot to make a dent.
Edmonton Eskimos
2008 record: 10-8 (Lost Eastern final)
It became painfully obvious last year this club could not make the big jump back to the big dance without a big-time running game.
So in the off-season, general manager Danny Maciocia signed a big-time runner who spends more time in pain than anyone else in the league — Jesse Lumsden.
Seeing that name on the back of an Eskimos uniform again is kind of cool, considering Jesse's dad, Neil, was an icon in northern Alberta. But how many games is the easily breakable son going to hang in there before the injury bug bites again?
In Lumsden's career, he's had a strained hip, a hip flexor injury, a separated clavicle, a bad ankle sprain, a banged-up knee and two shoulder problems.
Still, a little optimism here for a club that ranked last in most rushing categories in 2008, because the Eskimos looked good on the ground in the pre-season. Plus they have this guy named Ricky Ray at quarterback who can pull yardage out of his hat.
It was the veteran slinger's ability, combined with good pass catchers in Kamau Peterson (1,317 yards, third in the CFL), Kelly Campbell (fifth overall) and Fred Stamps that allowed the Eskimos to have one of the league's best passing attacks last season.
With Campbell off to the NFL, Maurice Mann will be expected to step up.
Rookie head coach Richie Hall, coming over from eight years as Saskatchewan's defensive coordinator, took one look at his new defence (third worst in the CFL last season) and immediately ordered changes. Eight guys are out.
The list of newcomers is headed by defensive end Kitwana Jones and middle linebacker Maurice Lloyd, both Hall stalwarts in Regina.
It's going to take a while for the defence to learn how to play together, but when it does — not if 'cause we love Hall at this column — the Eskimos could make some noise.
Outlook: If Lumsden can combine with Calvin McCarty and fullback Mathieu Bertrand to give the Green and Gold a real running attack, this club finishes second.
British Columbia Lions
2008 record: 11-7 (Lost Western Final)
Wally Buono is an honest man.
Asked how he saw his team heading for this season, the almost-20-year veteran coach and administrator said, "We're no longer on top of the mountain."
He's right. Calgary is. And with all the changes to the Lions coming into this season, it could be a while before they climb back up.
Let's see: All-everything defensive end Cameron Wake is off to the NFL; top offensive lineman Rob Murphy signed with Toronto; and slotback Jason Clermont was released and resurfaced in Regina.
Linebacker Otis Floyd is in Hamilton and Jamall Johnson signed in the NFL, but he was released this week (has his agent called yet?), and special teams whiz Jason Pottinger was traded to Toronto.
Paraphrasing a line from Apollo 13, "What do we have on the team that's good?"
Quarterbacks Buck Pierce and Jarious Jackson are good. Veteran receivers Geroy Simon (1,418 yards, second in the CFL) and Paris Jackson (1,180 yards) are really, really good. Running back Ian (Stone Hands) Smart was second in combined yards last year and is terrific when he doesn't drop the ball.
Still, that group was very inconsistent in 2008 and it actually punted only slightly less than the Toronto Argonauts, whose offence was the worst in the league.
On the other side, the defensive backfield is excellent, led by safety Barron Miles, Korey Banks and non-import Tad Crawford. And a defensive line that will look something like Brent Johnson, Aaron Hunt, Jeremy Gibbs and Rick Foley, with Nautyn McKay-Loescher in there too, should be fine.
That linebacking corps needs to be rebuilt, however, and the whole team has to play with more urgency. Not starting 4-4 like last year would be nice.
Outlook: Wally might be right about the mountain, but watch for the Lions to be lurking around one of the ledges at the end.
Saskatchewan Roughriders
2008 record: 12-6 (Lost Western semifinal)
Here's something to look for in the early season. Young quarterback Darian Durant fades back, spots receiver Andy Fantuz downfield and overthrows him by a mile.
On the sidelines, head coach Ken Miller tells Steven Jyles to start warming up. At that point, everyone should run for their cars because the nightmare might be starting again.
Last year, the then-defending Grey Cup champs set some kind of modern record by trading Kerry Joseph to Toronto and then blowing through Marcus Crandell, Michael Bishop, Durant, Jyles and then Bishop again on the way to a 6-0 start, a 6-6 finish and a rotten early exit from the playoffs.
This time around Miller says he'll stick with Durant and let him learn. We'll see how long that lasts.
Durant has superb inside receivers to throw to in Jason Clermont (came home from B.C.), Weston Dressler (1,128 yards) and Fantuz. Outside speed is a bit of a mystery because Matt Dominguez and DJ Flick are no longer here.
The QB also has to start the season without superb running back Wes Cates (shoulder) behind him, but he may be back sooner than later. And the offensive line is missing two keys in the injured Wayne Smith, out until Week 10, and Gene Makowsky.
Defensively, there's a problem for a club that was best on the total yards list last year.
With Hall now coaching the Eskimos and taking a trio of starters with him, the Riders have lost two of three linebackers and two of five defensive backs, leaving new defensive co-ordinator Gary Etcheverry with a lot of work to do.
Scott Schultz will be great up on the line and he'll have Luc Mullinder, John Chick and Marcus Adams in some combination there with him. That will help.
Outlook: This club could finish anywhere from right behind the Stampeders to last and out of the playoffs. May start slow and make a strong run at the end, if the roster stays healthy.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
For CBC Sports’ CFL East Division preview, click here.
Rod Phillips To Broadcast Oilers' Games Again
30/06/2009 01:16
EDMONTON - The voice of the Oilers will be in full throat for at least another season.
Hall of Fame broadcaster Rod Phillips confirmed on Monday that he will be back behind the 630 CHED microphone to call Edmonton Oilers games again for the 2009-10 National Hockey League season.
Phillips has been the radio voice of the Oilers since Day 1 of the franchise in 1972 when the team played in the World Hockey Association.
For seven WHA seasons, and then 30 more in the NHL, Phillips has called more than 3,400 Oilers games. During the past season, however, rumours had circulated that Phillips would retire.
“I honestly thought I might call it a day after last season,” Phillips said on Monday when announcing his return to the 630 CHED broadcast booth.
“In fact, I had my seat cushion under my arm and was headed for the hockey sunset but, as usual, a few weeks off have rejuvenated me and in fact right about now I can’t wait for it all to begin again.”
Phillips was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the broadcaster category in 2003.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It’s going to be nice to have Rod back. What would an Oilers’ radio broadcast be like without ‘Rodney Roadtrip’ calling the action? Rod’s got to be good for at least one more Oilers’ Stanley Cup yet.
Pre-Season Wins Hold Little Value For Mo Lloyd
30/06/2009 01:15
Esks linebacker believes team still has plenty of work to do
Maurice Lloyd isn't happy and when Mo Lloyd isn't happy, well, he's going to do everything in his power to turn that frown upside down.
Or turn the opponent upside down.
After a 2-0 pre-season, one might think the Edmonton Eskimos middle linebacker might be a tad more enthused with the start.
Think again.
"That's pre-season, everybody right now is 0-0. I think our biggest thing is come out here and work on the things we messed up and clean that up," Lloyd said after Day 1 of practice on Sunday.
"You know what, it wasn't really a mess up. I'm not one to talk about the team messing up, but for Mo Lloyd it was a little messy--three missed tackles and five missed assignments," he said, shaking his head.
"I'll come down on myself. The rest of the guys are picking up the defence and moving fast. It's just something I need to work on."
GETTING BUGS OUT
Jesse Lumsden missed practice for the second straight day and the Esks are holding to their story that it's the flu that ails their newest star running back.
"Is there a concern? I just know he's not feeling very well," said head coach Richie Hall. "I'm not concerned. I guess I would be concerned if we didn't know what we were going to do and we didn't have options."
Hall has plenty of options, especially with non-import Arkee Whitlock looking so good. But Lumsden's dad, Neil--the former Eskimos fullback from the glory years--is expected in town for Thursday's season-opener against the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and No. 28 is going to do everything in his power to be ready, unless it's a physical ailment. In that case, would Neil be coming?
"I suspect he will play, but if he's not going to play because he's not physically fit to play, then we adjust and keep going," said Hall.
Fullback Mathieu Bertrand, who went through practice on Saturday, had pads off and was not involved on Sunday. It was the same thing with DB Willie Amos(shoulder).DB Bradley Robinson had pads on and participated, which is also welcomed news, but fellow DB Jason Goss was taken off the field for precautionary reasons late in the day.
TICKETS ON THE MOVE?
There is no official word on season-ticket numbers, but sales have been good, says Dave Jamieson, Esks director of communications and marketing.
"We've exceeded the targets we've set, but we're still selling a prorated ticket right through to the third game," said Jamieson. "I can't give you a specific number yet, but we were having days where we were selling 25 to 30 a day. In the years that I have been here, that's robust."
The club will likely draw between 36,000 and 37,000 for Thursday's game. They are up against, of all things, the Jonas Brothers world tour and the Lion King, which premieres Thursday at the Jubilee Auditorium.
INSIGHT INTO RICHIE
There's an interesting perspective on Hall and his attitude before a game. It can be seen on a website clip at: http://blip.tv/file/2285555and was shot prior to the last pre-season game in B. C. It's worth a look.
PRACTICE ROSTER
The Esks are expected to announce their seven-man practice roster today. Judging by what's happening on the field it will likely include defensive back Elliott Richardson, receivers Kevin Wuthrich and Efrem Hill, linebacker Greg Whelan, and possibly linebacker Tumbo Abanikanda. Kicker Derek Schiavone and defensive lineman Dee Sterling are possibilities as well, but sources say they may have been place on the injured list--nine games and one game, respectively.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
That’s what I like to see – a middle linebacker who strives for perfection. Sort of reminds you of Danny Ray Kepley, doesn’t it folks?
Twins Face Reality – May Be Done In Vancouver
30/06/2009 01:15
Henrik and Daniel Sedin are facing the reality they may have to leave the only NHL city they have ever called home.
The Sedins' agent, JP Barry, will spend the next few days in Sweden preparing the 28-year old twins for their next step, unrestricted free agency.
Barry says there has been no progress in contract discussions, including a meeting this week in Montreal with Canucks general manager Mike Gillis that failed to encourage a counter offer to keep the Sedins in Vancouver.
On the open market, the brothers will command upwards of $7 million and will draw interest from a number of teams, including Toronto, Montreal, Minnesota and Los Angeles.
Over the past three years, the Sedins have averaged 80 points per season.
Only 12 forwards have scored 70 points or more in each season since the lockout. Joe Thornton, Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Pavel Datsyuk, Dany Heatley, and Ilya Kovalchuk are among this dynamic dozen and with the exception of the Sedins, the average salary of every player in this group is just above $7.5 million.
Henrik and Daniel Sedin are in for a significant raise, but they're likely going to have to leave Vancouver to collect it.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Good riddance. It’s about time the twins were split up.
Federer Downs Soderling To Reach Quarters
30/06/2009 01:15
Wimbledon, England (Sports Network) - Five-time champion Roger Federer won his fourth-round match Monday at The Champion-
ships, Wimbledon.
For the second time this month, the former world No. 1 Federer defeated free- swinging Swede Robin Soderling, this time in 6-4, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-5) fashion at the storied All England Club. Federer also topped Soderling, seeded 13th here, in straight sets in the French Open final 22 days ago, as the super Swiss became the sixth man in history to corral a career Grand Slam and equal Pete Sampras with a record-tying 14th major singles title.
Federer won the first set against Soderling on Day 7 by breaking the Swede in the 10th game of the stanza. The two players then held serve throughout the second set, which the Swiss snuck out via tiebreak.
At 4-4 in the third set, Soderling got his first break-point chance of the match, but netted a backhand on a second serve, as Federer went on to hold for a 5-4 edge. The Swiss went on to claim another tiebreak and reach a seventh straight Wimbledon quarterfinal.
The reigning French Open and U.S. Open champion Federer, seeded second at this year's fortnight, was last year's Wimbledon runner-up to Rafael Nadal, as the Swiss lost a 40-match winning streak on these hallowed lawns.
The amazing Federer is 69-1 in his last 70 matches on grass overall.
Fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic joined Federer in the quarters with a 6-2, 6-4, 6-1 beating of Israeli Dudi Sela. The former Aussie Open champion Djokovic was a semifinalist here two years ago.
Djokovic's quarterfinal opponent will be resurgent 24th-seeded German Tommy Haas, who got past 29th-seeded Russian Igor Andreev 7-6 (10-8), 6-4, 6-4. Haas will play in his first-ever Wimbledon quarterfinal this week, in this his 11th trip to the All England Club.
The 31-year-old Haas is currently riding a nine-match winning streak, all on grass. He captured his first-ever grass-court title in his native Germany three weeks ago.
Venus advances; Oudin eliminated at All-England Club.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The march to 15 continues for Roger Federer.
Barnett Doubles His Gold In Sprints
30/06/2009 01:15
Edmonton runner wins 100-and 200-metres at nationals
Brian Barnett has never received any advice from the legends of Canadian sprinting. They are his friends, though, in a matter of speaking.
"I have Bruny Surin and Donovan Bailey on Facebook, actually," Barnett said Sunday.
Perhaps now he has earned a sit-down. The 22-year-old Edmonton native won the men's 100-and 200-metre races this weekend at the Canadian Track and Field Championships, becoming the first sprinter since Nicolas Macrozonaris in 2003 to win both events.
The 2006 world junior silver medallist in the 200 metres won the 100 metres in 10.28 seconds on Saturday. But Sunday's triumph in the 200 metres was likely the more satisfying win, as it was something of a surprise.
Barnett edged Charlottetown's Jared Connaughton, who finished 14th in the Olympics last summer. Barnett clocked in at 20.71 seconds, .07 seconds ahead of Connaughton.
"That was my goal at the beginning of the year, to run the(100 and 200 metres) here and win them both," Barnett said. "I came and did it. I'm pretty happy with myself."
Still, neither of his times was good enough to meet the qualifying standards for the world championships, which go in mid-August in Berlin --although, by virtue of being on the 100-metre relay team, he will be able to race.
That team, which will feature Barnett, Connaughton, and likely Toronto's Anson Henry and Montreal's Hank Palmer, might be one of Canada's better chances for a medal at the event.
"I say that even this year if we all bring our best in Berlin, there's no reason why we don't medal," Barnett said. "Some of the past teams that have medalled, a come-third kind of thing, were some guys running 10.1 and a bunch of 10.3 guys. It's all about the handoffs. We have the leg speed already. It's just about getting those handoffs bang-on during the day."
It could be quite the humble Canadian contingent, however, in Berlin. Only hurdlers Perdita Felicien and Priscilla Lopes-Schliep, who finished first and second, respectively, in the women's 100-metre hurdles on Saturday, and shot putter Dylan Armstrong and hammer thrower Sultana Frizell have reached the standards needed to qualify for the event.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I wonder what’s next for Edmonton sprinter Brian Barnett? I don’t think Vancouver 2010 is in the cards.
The Ten Weirdest Things Lost In The Mail
29/06/2009 04:44
Every week about
600,000 pieces of mail are unable to be
delivered because they are so badly addressed
or packaged, while 25,000 letters posted have
only the recipient's name printed on
them.Anything that cannot find its way to the recipient goes to the Royal Mail's National Return Centre in Belfast, where 'address detectives' investigate the origins of the mail and try to track down who the package is for. Unclaimed items of any value are eventually auctioned off.
This is the only place in the country where it is legal to open someone else's mail. And some pretty strange things end up there..
1. Milk
A woman posts two two litre bottles of milk to her grandson each week, but unfortunately the address is incomplete so they are never delivered - arriving in Belfast without fail, and always slightly curdled. Despite numerous attempts to track down the granny's identity she remains elusive.
2. Dead animals
Apparently the centre receives an alarming number of dead animals arriving unaddressed, some of which are stuffed and, after a bit of sleuthing, have been successfully reunited with their taxidermist.
3. Film props
On one particular occasion a box with no address arrived containing props from the film Saving Private Ryan, including a bloodied prosthetic hand.
4. Car parts
Someone sent a car door in the post - it arrived at the centre with no address and no evidence as to its origin.
5. False teeth
The Royal Mail get stuck with plenty of false teeth, which are generally sent back to a dentist if the origin can be traced.
6. 1966 World Cup bottle of champagne
Signed by the whole team, this bottle of bubbly had been a prize in a competition but the winner was never informed so had no idea to keep an eye out for its arrival. After a very long time the surprised owner was traced and received their prize. Better late than never.
7. Kiss statue
A cardboard cut-out of heavy metal group Kiss wound up at the centre and is still propped up in Belfast, owner unknown.
8. Traffic lights
It is anybody's guess who would go to the effort of posting some enormous traffic lights, and then forget to address the package. The post office ran a campaign to trace the owner but no one came forward.
9. False legs
Like false teeth, prosthetic limbs often get lost in the post. Most are never reunited with their owners but some are sent back to the correct health authority.
10. Digeridoo
Luckily, once the package was opened address details were found inside the instrument and it was forwarded on to its rightful owner.
Miss Ellie Wins Title Of World's Ugliest Pedigree Dog
29/06/2009 04:44
There
was shampoo, backcombing and enough diva antics to
scare the steeliest of postmen but as beauty pageants
go not every canine would have been quite so happy to
participate.
But for those who did take part in the World's
Ugliest Dog Competition at Sonoma-Marin Fair in
California it was a question of ugly being the new
beautiful.
In the dog-eat-dog, claw-biting contest a truly
'unique' looking creature beat off other hideous
hounds to claim the crown for being the world's
ugliest pedigree dog.
Miss Ellie, a pure breed Chinese crested hairless
from Tennessee, is reported to be around 15 years
old, has only a couple of back teeth, cataracts in
both her eyes, several moles and pimples and limited
hair - with such credentials the other mutts surely
could not have stood a chance.
And like every good beauty queen Miss Ellie also had
a heartfelt message for her adoring fans. According
to her owner come spokesperson, Dawn Goehring, Miss
Ellie really hopes to be a 'spokesmodel for rescue
dogs of the 'not so cute' kind''.
'Her dream is to travel around to prove that ugly is
just a word, and says nothing about how wonderful she
is,' she said.
Ellie
has come a long way from being kept in a kennel area
for much of her life with an owner that saw no
purpose for her.
When she was rescued she knew no commands and was not
house trained but now rules the roost among her other
rescue pals and even attended her owner's wedding in
rival white dress and veil.
'Miss Ellie hopes that people get the message that
there are plenty of wonderful rescue dogs out there
just waiting for a chance,' added her proud owner.
SINC
SAYS:
That mutt is so ugly it’s kinda cute, isn’t it?
