Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in leaffan's LiveJournal:

[ << Previous 20 ]

Thursday, July 17th, 2008
1:49 pm	les gens qui sacrent! A unique incident yesterday. A guy at work was telling me about a play, warning me about the swearing. If swearing were to offend me. LOL Si t'aimes pas que les gens sacrent ... c'est pas juste des ass, y'a des fuck pis des fuckin'. LOL Later! (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
7:55 pm	article en français La Presse Actualités, mardi 8 juillet 2008, p. A8 INFANTICIDE RÉCIT D'UN DRAME "Je m'excuse, j'ai sali partout" La mère d'une adolescente infanticide raconte l'histoire de sa fille Ouimet, Michèle Dans la nuit du 5 novembre 2006, Marie, 16 ans, a accouché seule. Paniquée, elle a déposé son bébé dans un bois. Il est mort d'hypothermie. Marie a plaidé coupable à une accusation d'homicide involontaire. Le 30 juin dernier, elle a été condamnée à 18 mois de garde fermée, suivis de neuf mois en liberté surveillée. Notre journaliste Michèle Ouimet a rencontré la mère de Marie. Alors que le ministère de la Santé du Québec dévoile aujourd'hui le contenu d'un rapport très attendu sur les homicides intrafamiliaux, voici le récit troublant d'un infanticide. Lorsque France* est entrée dans la maison au milieu de la nuit, elle s'est doutée que quelque chose clochait. Sa fille de 16 ans, Marie, était enfermée dans la salle de bains, et une tache sombre barbouillait le tapis. Marie est finalement sortie des toilettes et s'est écroulée sur le lit, pâle, épuisée. "Ses jambes étaient couvertes de sang séché, raconte France. Il y avait une tache rouge sur le plancher de la salle de bains. C'était du sang." France était au bord de la panique. "Je me demandais ce qui se passait. J'ai dit à ma fille: "Raconte-moi la vérité, je ne te chicanerai pas." Mais Marie était confuse. Elle ne cessait de répéter: "Je m'excuse, j'ai sali partout." " Marie a fini par avouer. "J'ai accouché dans les toilettes", a-t-elle dit à sa mère. France était bouleversée: elle ignorait que sa fille était enceinte. Le bébé était viable, il avait entre 34 et 36 semaines. Marie a accouché en 10 minutes, à 4h du matin, assise sur le linoléum blanc, le dos appuyé à la baignoire. Elle était seule dans le modeste bungalow du compagnon de sa mère, dans un quartier planté au milieu de la forêt, à quelques kilomètres au nord de Sainte-Sophie. Le bébé, un garçon, était couvert de sang. Il ne pleurait pas. Marie l'a pris dans ses bras, est allée dans la cuisine et a coupé le cordon ombilical avec des ciseaux. Elle a ensuite enveloppé le nouveau-né dans une serviette, puis elle a traversé la rue en courant, à moitié nue. Elle a déposé l'enfant dans le sous-bois en face de la maison. C'était en novembre, et le sol était couvert de frimas. Le bébé est mort d'hypothermie. Il y avait des traces d'ecstasy dans son sang. Marie n'avait qu'une idée en tête: tout nettoyer avant que sa mère et son amoureux reviennent à la maison. "Marie ne veut pas déplaire, précise France. C'était la première fois qu'elle venait chez mon chum." Sa mère a appelé l'ambulance. Marie délirait. "Elle me disait: "J'ai mis ça dehors", raconte France. Je n'ai pas compris qu'elle me parlait du bébé." À l'hôpital, c'est le choc. "Un médecin est venu me voir et il m'a dit: "Il y a un cordon ombilical, donc un bébé. Il faut le trouver."" La nouvelle l'a assommée. Elle s'est écroulée au milieu du couloir. "Je pleurais. Je n'avais rien vu, rien compris. Ma fille avait accouché! Je me suis dit: Ça ne se peut pas!" La veille, elles avaient passé la soirée ensemble. Marie avait mal au ventre. France pensait que c'était une gastro. Elle lui avait donné des Advil. Vers 23h30, France est sortie avec son amoureux. Sa fille somnolait sur le sofa. Elle ne se doutait pas que le ciel lui tomberait sur la tête quelques heures plus tard. Marie a passé deux jours à l'hôpital. À sa sortie, les policiers l'attendaient. "Ils l'ont embarquée et ils lui ont lu ses droits, dit France. Je l'ai suivie jusqu'au quartier général de la Sûreté du Québec. C'est là que j'ai su qu'elle était accusée de meurtre. Je trouvais ça insensé." Marie est menue. Ses cheveux fins flottent sur ses épaules. Le lundi 30 juin, elle a lu une lettre au juge Normand Lafond quelques minutes avant qu'il prononce la peine. "Je veux vous expliquer comment je me sens à l'intérieur. J'avoue que je n'ai pas montré beaucoup de remords, mais il ne se passe pas une journée sans que je voie dans ma tête toute cette tragédie." Marie a pleuré. Doucement. Le juge l'a écoutée. Après lui avoir imposé une peine de 18 mois en garde fermée, il l'a prévenue. "Ça ne sera pas facile, il faut que tu tiennes le coup. On te voit un peu comme une victime de ton milieu familial." Un milieu rock'n'roll Tout allait bien pour Marie jusqu'au jour où ses parents ont divorcé. Un divorce dur, déchirant, rempli de menaces et d'insultes. Marie avait 14 ans. Sa mère l'a envoyée vivre chez sa grand-mère, le temps que la poussière retombe. Marie s'est retrouvée sans encadrement. Libre. À 14 ans. "L'âge des folies", dit sa mère. C'est pendant cette période un peu folle que Marie a rencontré Olivier, le père de son bébé. "Elle était en amour par-dessus la tête", se rappelle France. Marie a séché ses cours à l'école, elle a fumé du pot, pris de l'ec-stasy, fait l'amour. Pendant ce temps, ses parents se déchiraient. France a fait faillite, la maison familiale a été saisie. Le stress était énorme. Elle a fait une dépression. Elle était incapable de voir que sa fille dérapait. Le père de Marie a passé de nombreuses années en prison et il a souvent tenté de se suicider. Le jour où France lui a dit qu'elle le quittait, il a menacé de se tuer avec une arbalète. Ses relations avec sa fille étaient tendues. Après le divorce, il a essayé de reprendre contact avec elle. Il lui a écrit une lettre. "Je suis un rock'n'roll. Je passe pour un dur, un Harley, j'écoute du rock, je me gèle, mais je suis loin d'être une personne méchante et rough and tough. () J'aimais ta mère à la folie. Il ne se passe pas une heure sans que je verse une larme." Marie baignait dans les problèmes de ses parents. Elle leur a caché sa grossesse. "Elle trouvait que j'en avais assez sur les épaules, elle ne voulait pas m'accabler", croit France. Marie a tenté de trouver du réconfort auprès d'Olivier, le père du bébé. Elle s'est heurtée à un mur d'indifférence. Le 4 novembre 2006, 24 heures avant l'accouchement, Marie a senti les premières contractions. Elle était chez Olivier. Elle lui a demandé de l'emmener à l'hôpital. Il a refusé. Pas question non plus de lui payer un taxi. Trop cher. Il lui a dit de prendre des Advil et un bain chaud. Il voulait dormir en paix. La suite de l'histoire est connue: l'accouchement, la solitude, le bébé abandonné, les accusations de meurtre, la condamnation. Olivier, lui, n'a pas été accusé ni traîné en cour. Marie est la seule à payer pour leur erreur. *Tous les noms sont fictifs. Courriel Pour joindre notre journaliste: michele.ouimet@lapresse.ca Catégorie : Actualités Sujet(s) uniforme(s) : Meurtres et homicides involontaires Taille : Long, 811 mots © 2008 La Presse. Tous droits réservés. Doc. : news·20080708·LA·0015 ---------------- (Comment on this)
7:48 pm	Voice Mail is Fucking Dead! Is he right or is he right? Read this blog entry and see why I hate voice mail so! Voicemail is dead. Please tell everyone so they’ll stop using it. When I first started out in the real world in the mid-nineties voicemail was an important productivity tool. I remember people talking about the pros and cons of various enterprise voicemail systems - which had the best forwarding and group messaging, which allowed for archiving, and how many messages could be stored and for how long. Even though email was around, people were still unsure how to use it. Letters went on letterhead and were formal. Voicemail was informal and common. Email etiquette was still being developed. It was good for mass-forwarding jokes and moving Word, Excel, and Powerpoint files around, but it took a while for email to take over as older generations moved out of the workplace or got with the program. But now an increasing number of people are just plain avoiding voicemail (for my impromptu and unscientific survey, see the comments here , which are predominantly anti-voicemail). It takes much longer to listen to a message than read it. And voicemail is usually outside of our typical workflow, making it hard to forward or reply to easily. Typical voicemail messages today include things like “Please don’t leave me a voicemail, I rarely listen to them. Please just email me at xxxx@xxxx.com” Many people don’t bother setting up their voicemail accounts at all. Then there’s my favorite method, the one I use personally - let the message box get full and then don’t empty it. Caller ID still tells me who called, and I can simply call them back. How many times have you called someone back and said “I saw that you called but didn’t listen to the voicemail yet, Is it anything urgent?” Senders often feel guilty for leaving voicemails, too. And to make sure you get the message, quite often people will follow up with a text message - “Just left you a VM, it’s important” - just so you know it’s there. There are startups that are trying to make voicemail more useful. Pinger, GrandCentral and YouMail are among them. The iPhone’s visual voicemail feature helps clean up the clutter, too. But at the end of the day you still need to take time to listen to those voicemails, and that usually comes after other equally urgent but less disruptive tasks. The services that really make voicemail more usable are those that convert voicemail into text and then send it to you via email or SMS ( Spinvox, PhoneTag Yap and Jott , for example). More mobile carriers are offering text conversion for a monthly or per-message fee. It’s my guess this will become more and more common. Voice is here to stay as a data input method, but listening to messages will certainly become an increasing luxury, to be reserved for loved ones or those messages that aren’t transcribed properly (or you need to hear it for tone or emotion). For now most people don’t have voicemail transcription services. So think before you voicemail, more and more people just find it annoying. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, June 25th, 2008
3:22 pm	The Toronto Star (2008-06-21) Sports Au revoir, Capt. Mats; Maybe the Canadiens, maybe not but unless he's a masochist, don't expect Sundin back in Toronto Graphic: RENE JOHNSTON TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO Leaf captain Mats Sundin has likely waved his last goodbye to Toronto fans after being dealt to the Montreal Canadiens on a conditional basis. ; Cliff Fletcher gave birth to the Mats Sundin era, and now he's snuffed it out. Talk about a day of local sports history being turned on its head. With Fletcher in charge of Toronto's NHL entry, Cito Gaston back calling the shots for the Blue Jays and Sundin essentially no longer a member of the Leafs, it really is like 1993 all over again. Well, minus a whole bunch of terrific ball players and smart hockey players. The Sundin decision will be analyzed and interpreted in many different ways, but the fact is that Fletcher and the Leafs, having failed to persuade Sundin to accept a trade in February or to re-sign with the club this week in a final flurry of talks, dealt him sometime in the last 48 hours to the Montreal Canadiens on a conditional basis. "It took you guys a while to find out," said Fletcher last night. "It would have been better if you hadn't found out." That deal may yet fall apart if the Habs can't sign the classy Swede by midnight, June 30, and the Leafs wouldn't get the unidentified compensation upon which the two clubs have agreed. But if Montreal can't convince Sundin to sign, don't expect the romance to be rekindled between No. 13 and the Leafs. The leading member of the soon-to-be-disbanded Muskoka Five would have to be an utter masochist to return to a lousy team that has done all it can to trade him twice in the past four months. "At this point Mats hasn't decided if he wants to play, let alone where," said Sundin's agent, J.B. Barry. Montreal GM Bob Gainey started his pitch to Sundin with a phone conversation Thursday night, undoubtedly suggested the powerful pivot might enjoy playing on the league's best power play and probably added a little extra enticement yesterday by acquiring skilled winger Alex Tanguay from Calgary. With Tanguay, the Kostitsyn brothers, Chris Higgins, Alex Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec, Saku Koivu and Andrei Markov, the Habs can offer the 37-year-old Swede a wide variety of talented attackers to play with that he could never have enjoyed with the Leafs. Adding to the symbolism of the day for the Leafs, meanwhile, was the aggressive move to jump up two slots in last night's entry draft in order to select hardrock Kelowna defenceman Luke Schenn with the fifth overall selection, perhaps a player who will eventually grow into a leadership position with the Leafs. Maybe he's Adam Foote, maybe he's Luke Richardson. We'll see. "When I went and saw him play for Kelowna in the playoffs, he was definitely a take-charge kind of player," said Fletcher of the Saskatoon-born blueliner. With the Detroit Red Wings having won the Stanley Cup early in the month with an appealing level of speed and skill, yesterday was a stirring day of activity on which a variety of talented offensive players were on the move. Olli Jokinen went to Phoenix from Florida for a package revolving around defenceman Keith Ballard. Mike Cammalleri was swapped by the Kings to the Flames. R.J. Umberger, a post-season scoring terror for the Flyers, was dealt to Columbus for draft picks. In the draft itself, brilliant junior pivot Steven Stamkos went first overall to the Tampa Bay Lightning and its bizarre new ownership/management operation under Hollywood movie producer Oren Koules. Then, after four defencemen were grabbed, there was a run on skilled forwards including Russian Nikita Filatov, Danish-born speedster Mikkel Boedker, American collegian Colin Wilson and Canadian juniors Josh Bailey, Cody Hodgson and Kyle Beach. The Leafs, meanwhile, are almost certainly headed in a very different direction. A team without much offensive might well now be losing its best offensive player, and would also dearly love to get rid of winger Darcy Tucker and defenceman Bryan McCabe, both formerly significant offensive threats. Only Russian prospect Nikolai Kulemin, who is expected to join the club by next fall, is a new player likely to add offensive pop. Face it folks, we're heading into a long, dry period here. Jays can't hit, Leafs won't be able to score. Yeah, maybe it's not like 1993 all over again at all. Damien Cox - End of Article - Return to newspaper list | Return to The Toronto Star index | Return to section: Sports (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
8:54 am	Habs Pourquoi ne suis-je pas surpris??? La Presse Nouvelles générales, mardi 22 avril 2008, p. A2 LE CHOC DE LA VICTOIRE De la joie aux débordements Croteau, Martin; Journet, Paul; Duchesne, André La joyeuse manifestation des milliers de partisans du Canadien à la suite de la victoire d'hier soir s'est transformée en casse et en affrontements avec les policiers dans les rues du centre-ville. Elle a atteint son paroxysme peu avant minuit alors que plusieurs voitures de police du SPVM ont été incendiées, dont l'une rue Bishop, à l'intersection de Sainte-Catherine. Dans le même secteur, d'autres voitures de police ont été saccagées. Vers 22h30, les policiers, débordés, ont fait appel à l'escouade antiémeute. Casqués et portant des boucliers, quelques dizaines de policiers ont avancé rue Sainte-Catherine, en direction ouest. À la hauteur de la rue Crescent, ils sont arrivés vis-à-vis des centaines de partisans. Au début, ceux-ci ont reculé sagement. Certains prenaient des photos avec leur téléphone cellulaire. Mais les choses ont dégénéré quand des bouteilles ont été lancées. Ce qui ne faisait pas l'affaire de tous. Plusieurs partisans du Canadien huaient ceux qui lançaient des projectiles. Des personnes ont été arrêtées. On a même vu la trace de gaz lacrymogène. Le bilan de toute cette casse restera à faire aujourd'hui. Mais il reste qu'à minuit, en dépit du calme qui revenait peu à peu, la soirée de travail des policiers était visiblement loin d'être terminée. À l'intersection de Crescent et Sainte-Catherine, des voyous ont saccagé des voitures de police à coups de pied et d'objets de toutes sortes. Au coin de Sainte-Catherine et Drummond, une épaisse fumée noire empêchait les gens de voir à 50 mètres devant eux. Il y avait des pompiers partout. Célébrations Plus tôt, rue De La Gauchetière, des milliers de partisans fous de joie avaient crié, hurlé, chanté à en perdre la voix. Dans les minutes suivant la sirène qui annonçait la fin de la troisième période, un concert de klaxons s'est mis à se faire entendre dans les rues. On agitait les drapeaux, on tirait fièrement sur le CH de son chandail. Boulevard René-Lévesque, quatre amateurs à bord d'une voiture décapotable ont profité d'un feu rouge pour grimper sur le capot et faire quelques pas de danse avant de repartir. Les amateurs des Bruins portant encore leur chandail à ce moment-là l'ont regretté. L'un d'eux, Patrick O'Connor, 18 ans, résidant de Boston et étudiant à l'Université du Massachusetts, a tenté de traverser la foule massée devant le Centre Bell à la fin de la partie. Il a reçu un coup de poing sur le nez. "Je crains qu'il ne soit cassé", a-t-il dit, dépité et la tête basse. Va-t-il conserver un mauvais souvenir de Montréal lui a demandé La Presse. "C'est correct. Nous avons aussi des trous de cul à Boston. Mais ça ne devrait pas être comme ça." Benoit Mondor, un Montréalais qui a toujours pris pour les Bruins, portait lui aussi un chandail jaune et noir avec les mots "Habs Sucks" écrit dans le dos. À sa sortie du Centre Bell, il a été pris en chasse par une horde de 50 amateurs qui l'ont invectivé, lui ont lancé de la bière et lui ont donné des coups de pied. "Je déteste les Canadiens, mais j'aime le hockey. Mais ce que je déteste vraiment, ce sont les fans qui agissent de cette façon et n'ont aucun respect pour les adversaires,", a-t-il dit, frustré de leur comportement. Pendant ce temps, au célèbre club de danseuses Chez Parée, on se préparait à une invasion de clients. "Tout ce monde-là s'en vient ici", a lancé une employée du bar. Durant la partie, une poignée de clients jetaient de temps à autre un regard sur l'écran géant. Le son de la télé avait été coupé au profit d'une musique R'n'B. "Ça va être fou ce soir", a renchéri une serveuse de l'endroit. Près du Centre Bell, le Montréalais Mario Dubé gueulait Go! Habs! Go! avec la foule. "J'ai vécu les victoires de la Coupe Stanley en 1986 et 1993 et ça n'a jamais été malade de même, a-t-il indiqué. Craignant des débordements, il a ajouté: "Après tout, ce n'est que la première ronde." Dans l'immense foule, un pauvre partisans des Bruins a vécu des minutes d'angoisse. Il a réussi à s'extraire des partisans du CH, perdant une chaussure en chemin. Puis, la foule l'a happé à nouveau. Durant le match Dès le milieu de l'après-midi et toute la soirée, une ambiance électrique, folle, étourdissante a enveloppé le Centre Bell et ses abords. Les partisans du Canadien, et quelques-uns des Bruins, ont très tôt envahi les rues et les espaces publics autour de l'amphithéâtre. Les bars des rues Peel, Drummond, Sainte-Catherine et plusieurs autres étaient bondés. Au début de la troisième période, environ 150 fans se pressaient contre les vitres du restaurant La Cage aux Sports du Centre Bell. Incapables d'entrer, ils manifestaient tout de même bruyamment leur présence, criant Carey! Carey! Carey! à chaque arrêt du jeune gardien du Canadien. Moins de cinq minutes avant la fin du match, deux amateurs des Bruins sont sortis du Centre Bell, visiblement convaincus que leur équipe s'en allait en vacances. Ils ont été accueillis par des huées des amateurs. Étudiante à l'Université Concordia, Constantina Exarhos a décidé de quitter la maison avec un de ses amis pour se rendre au Centre Bell à temps pour le début de la troisième période. "Nous voulions absolument venir, a-t-elle dit. On voulait voir les visages des amateurs après la victoire du Canadien." Encadré(s) : Le grabuge 1 Coin McKay et Sainte-Catherine: vitrines fracassées 2 Coin Crescent et Sainte-Catherine: affrontements entre policiers et manifestants. Des bouteilles lancées 3 Coin Bishop-Sainte-Catherine: une voiture de police incendiée 4 Coin McKay-Sainte-Catherine: voitures de police incendiées 5 Coin Drummond-Sainte-Catherine: voitures de police saccagées SUR CYBERPRESSE.CA VIDÉO Visionnez l'analyse de François Gagnon en vidéo sur cyberpresse.ca/sports BLANCHARD La chronique exclusive de Michel Blanchard sur cyberpresse.ca/blanchard SÉRIES Nos photos du match Bruins-Canadien et de l'après-match sur cyberpresse.ca/photoscanadien Illustration(s) : L'ambiance était à la fête après le troisième but du Canadien, à la Cage aux Sports du Centre Bell. Les esprits se sont progressivement échauffés. Les policiers ont procédé à plusieurs arrestations, hier soir. Plusieurs voitures de police du SPVM ont été incendiées. Une véritable marée humaine a déferlé rue Sainte-Catherine. [Image, tableau] Catégorie : Actualités Sujet(s) uniforme(s) : Sports et loisirs Type(s) d'article : Graphique, tableau, etc. Taille : Long, 757 mots © 2008 La Presse. Tous droits réservés. Doc. : news·20080422·LA·0005 Retour à la liste des articles | Retour à la liste des sections Retour à la liste des publications ?VisuNEWS-AIDE? (6 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 27th, 2008
2:51 pm	Here's the article. I quite frankly don't really see the vision or guts in dumping Huet for nothing, but the rest of it is bang on. The Toronto Star (2008-02-27) Sports Leafs need version of Gainey Whatever he does, wherever he goes, Bob Gainey leaves traces of unmistakeable hockey greatness. It's thus worth remembering that twice - once in 1997, once in 2002 - the Maple Leafs under president Ken Dryden came oh-so-close to landing Gainey to run the team's hockey office. The first time, when the Leafs were set to sacrifice defenceman Mathieu Schneider to buy Gainey from Dallas, Gainey said no. The second time, Gainey may have backed out, but it was because Pat Quinn was blocking his way. Yesterday, Gainey showed his greatness again, and in so doing demonstrated what the Leafs missed out on and what they desperately now need. The Montreal Canadiens GM made the surprise deal of trade-deadline day, peddling No. 1 goalie Cristobal Huet to Washington for a second-round draft pick. Given that the Canadiens are a contender for the Eastern Conference crown, and given that Carey Price and Jaroslav Halak are an untested goaltending tandem, this was a very risky move. It may backfire terribly. But the greatness of Gainey was in making the tough choice, not taking the easy way out and keeping Huet around for comfy insurance. He made a hard choice, a difficult, controversial one in a market where the hockey team is scrutinized more closely and harshly than anywhere else in the world. It's called experienced leadership, and while many will question the decision, few will question the guts involved, or the vision and raw sense of direction. From a Toronto perspective, it was particularly meaningful on a day when, as expected, interim GM Cliff Fletcher wasn't able to accomplish very much in terms of advancing the team's rebuilding plans. "I did not think we could do more," said a defeated Fletcher afterwards. This is a Leaf team with five veterans who were all but begged to waive their no-trade clauses to make way for the future, but refused, as clear a case of the tail wagging the dog as can be imagined. One, Pavel Kubina, actually agreed to a move on Monday night, then changed his mind after scoring a goal in a Leaf victory. Meanwhile, the coach, Paul Maurice, is playing the heck out of goalie Vesa Toskala in a bid to win as many games as possible, exactly what the team doesn't need at the moment. A veteran player, Chad Kilger, departed amidst murky rumours involving his personal life, while Fletcher promised bold changes in the future after being unable to make them happen now. If there's a direction here, it's hard to say what it is. If there's leadership, it has many faces and different motivations. So on an eventful day when there were 25 trades, including major acquisitions by Dallas, San Jose and Pittsburgh, the image of Gainey's determined jaw setting the course of Les Habitants was so starkly in contrast with the dysfunctional Leafs that it could not be missed. You can argue whether Brad Richards will make the biggest impact, sliding in behind Mike Ribeiro with the Stars, or how quickly Brian Campbell will adapt to the Sharks or whether the Penguins gave up too much for Marian Hossa. One of those teams might win the Stanley Cup, or none might, and so the value of those deals will be unveiled over time. But the sense that the floundering Leafs must go out and not only find their Gainey, but give that man the power to truly lead, was palpable. For too long, the Leafs have consistently put off making the difficult choices that teams fixated on championships must make. Instead of letting Ed Belfour go several years ago, they signed him to a new deal. Instead of waving goodbye to Bryan McCabe, a player they knew was overrated, they caved in to his demands. Instead of calling it a day on the Quinn regime, they allowed him to coach one more unsuccessful season. Instead of dumping GM John Ferguson last summer when it was clear ownership had no faith in him, they let JFJ navigate the team for another half-season. Instead of realizing in November that their team was seriously flawed, they continued the charade of trying to qualify for post-season play. In recent days, Fletcher was unable to forcefully persuade any of the No- Trade Five that they should exit the Toronto stage gracefully, and now the team has been set back, oh, at least a year in the project to become competitive again. Fletcher spoke yesterday of the June entry draft and the free-agent season, but nobody knows if he'll still be running the Leaf operation then, or who else might be. Sadly, it seems unlikely the Leafs possess even the first clue about how to now find their own version of Gainey after twice missing out on the man himself. Damien Cox - End of Article - Return to newspaper list | Return to The Toronto Star index | Return to section: Sports (7 Comments |Comment on this)
12:38 pm	Ah fuck. There's only so much lunchroom conversation a person can take. So now I am back in the office. Merciful solitude. Why do only the annoying, simple people choose to eat in the lunchroom? It's such a nice room, but little wonder why everyone goes out. Fucky fuck. Later! (8 Comments |Comment on this)
Wednesday, December 5th, 2007
10:25 am	fuck In case anyone missed the email I sent, here is an English lesson courtesy of Carrie! En-fucking-joy. Perhaps one of the most interesting, colorful, and misunderstood words in the English language today is the word "fuck". It is the one magical word which, just by its sound, can describe pain, pleasure, love, and hate. In language, "fuck" falls into many grammatical categories. It can be used as a verb, both transitive (John fucked Mary) and intransitive (Mary was fucked by John). It can be an action verb (John really gives a fuck), a passive verb (Mary really doesn't give a fuck) or an adverb (Mary is fucking interested in John). Fuck is also used as a noun (Mary is a terrific fuck). It can be used as an adjective (Mary is fucking beautiful) or an interjection (Fuck! I'm late for my date with Mary). It can even be used as a conjunction (Mary is easy, fuck she's also stupid). As you can see, there are very few words with the overall versatility of the word "fuck". Aside from its sexual connotations, this incredible word can be used to describe many situations: 1. Greetings "How the fuck are ya?" 2. Fraud "I got fucked by the car dealer." 3. Resignation "Oh, fuck it!" 4. Trouble "I guess I'm fucked now." 5. Aggression "FUCK YOU!" 6. Disgust "Fuck me." 7. Confusion "What the fuck.......?" 8. Difficulty "I don't understand this fucking business!" 9. Despair "Fucked again..." 10. Pleasure "I fucking couldn't be happier." 11. Displeasure "What the fuck is going on here?" 12. Lost "Where the fuck are we." 13. Disbelief "UNFUCKINGBELIEVABLE!" 14. Retaliation "Up your fucking ass!" 15. Denial "I didn't fucking do it." 16. Perplexity "I know fuck all about it." 17. Apathy "Who really gives a fuck, anyhow?" 18. Suspicion "Who the fuck are you?" 19. Panic "Let's get the fuck out of here." 20. Directions "Fuck off." 21. Disbelief "How the fuck did you do that?" 22. Surprise "Fuckin' A!!" 23. Religious "Holy Fuck" It can be used in an anatomical description- "He's a fucking asshole." It can be used to tell time- "It's five fucking thirty." It can be used in business- "How did I wind up with this fucking job?" It can be maternal- "Motherfucker." It can be political- "Fuck Hilleary Clinton!" It has also been used by many notable people throughout history: "What the fuck was that?" Mayor of Hiroshima "Where did all these fucking Indians come from?" General George Custer "Where the fuck is all this water coming from?" Captain of the Titanic "That's not a real fucking gun." John Lennon "Who's gonna fucking find out?" Richard Nixon "Heads are going to fucking roll." Anne Boleyn "Let the fucking woman drive." Commander of Space Shuttle "Challenger," Mark Thatcher "Any fucking idiot could understand that." Albert Einstein "It does so fucking look like her!" Picasso "How the fuck did you work that out?" Pythagoras "You want what on the fucking ceiling?" Michel Angelo "Fuck a duck." Walt Disney "Why?- Because its fucking there!" Edmund Hilary "I don't suppose its gonna fucking rain?" Joan of Arc "Scattered fucking showers my ass." Noah "I need this parade like I need a fucking hole in my head." John F. Kennedy "What fucking map?" Moses "What the fuck is for dinner?" The Jeffrey Dahlmer Party (11 Comments |Comment on this)
Friday, November 16th, 2007
10:44 am	shootouts I realize that the overtime losses and shootouts are the way by which the Leafs have accumulated most of their points this year, having won on only 7 occasions during their first 20 games, but, come on. This article says what needs to be said. Note to NHL: What's wrong with tie? Oh, for the days when the only place you worried a young hockey player might put his tongue was on a frozen pipe somewhere. Speaking of those long-gone days, it would be applauded here if the NHL, one of these seasons, were to go back in time and either reinstate the tie or stop rewarding teams that lose a game this side of the dreaded shootout. Once upon a time, a tie was an honourable result in hockey. Its continued existence certainly hasn't killed soccer, for one example. The NHL introduced overtime to dissolve ties in 1983 and, starting in 1999-2000, began to gift a team losing in overtime with a point for the 60-minute draw, thus inventing the three-point game. Upon completion of the lockout a couple of seasons back, the league went a step farther, eliminating the tie altogether by introducing the shootout and expanding the number of three-point games. We now have the situation whereby a team, possibly even a blue one, that had won seven of its first 19 games - in a no-tie league, mind you - is widely referred to as being "at .500" Makes for some weird-looking standings. Can someone please explain why some games are worth two points, some are worth three and overtime losers are awarded a one-point participation medal? When the Cowboys or Cavaliers lose in overtime, they aren't rewarded in the standings. When the Blue Jays lose in extra innings it's just another L. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, October 12th, 2007
12:44 pm	Cox Article I'll write a proper entry soon. The Toronto Star (2007-10-12) Sports Leafs a picture of perfection (almost) Andrew Raycroft flashed a broad, toothy smile, willing to agree to a limited degree that he had been treated warmly by the home rink audience for a change. "Well, hang on now. They did boo me on the first save I made," he laughed. "I got more boos than the other guy and we won the game 8-1." True enough. So it wasn't quite perfect for the Maple Leafs last night, and yes, the always classy, always gracious Mats Sundin had to get a record-breaking point, then have it taken away, and then bank a shot off a New York Islander defender in the third period to finally, and officially, smash Darryl Sittler's quarter- century-old marks for goals and points by a Leaf player. Poor Andy Frost, the ACC public address announcer, had to giveth, then taketh away, and then be a re-gifter. At least Frost got to award Sundin all three stars at the end of the night, something these eyes have never seen after a Leafs game. A teeny bit hokey. But it worked. So, all in all, not quite perfect. But really, the Leafs weren't looking for perfection on this night. Just something better than they had delivered 48 hours earlier against the Carolina Hurricanes in a horror-show defeat. To their credit, the Leafs and their coach weren't congratulating themselves too heartily for the seven-goal victory, acknowledging that the Islanders had played their arch-rival, the New York Rangers, at home the night before. "And we had been pounded at home," said Leaf head coach Paul Maurice. "So we were going to be ready. "We don't look at this win tonight like everything is perfect, no more than we looked at the game the other night and thought everything was wrong." Rather than the rough-and-tumble Islanders outfit that stole a playoff berth out from under their noses last spring, the Maple Leafs hosted a Ted Nolan squad last night that looked either exhausted or disinterested. Even goalie Wade Dubielewicz, the elf-like journeyman who lifted the Isles into post-season play by winning a shootout against New Jersey on the last day of the season was, ahem, hard to hit last night, to be generous about it. His teammates helped the Leaf cause with accidental deflections and own goals. Beating the Isles and beating Dubielewicz, of course, doesn't even come close to revenge, but it beats the alternative. "You lose 7-1 on home ice the way we did, you have to respond," said centre Matt Stajan, a one-goal, three-assist man on the night and quite possibly the Leafs' best performer in five games this fall. "And when you respond the way we did, there's no better feeling." While the eight-spot and Sundin's history-making effort stole the headlines, the subtext was the way in which the younger Leafs participated in the victory. Along with Stajan's strong night, Alex Steen scored his first of the season, as did defenceman Andy Wozniewski. Defenceman Ian White scored again and even callup Simon Gamache potted his first NHL goal and added an assist. "These younger guys pushing the older guys, well, you need that kind of competition in an elite team," said Sundin, always more comfortable talking about his team or his adopted hometown than himself. So over the course of three days, the Leafs lost a laugher and won a laugher, two games in which you didn't know whether to shower the victor with compliments or send condolences to the coach of the loser after his team didn't show up. Now comes Sid the Kid - still without a goal this season - tomorrow night. Always a conversation to be had around these parts, yes sir. Damien Cox - End of Article - (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 19th, 2007
3:54 pm	"It ain't a crime to be good to yourself. Lick it up, lick it up, Oh, Oh, Oh." (Comment on this)
2:16 pm	Phoenix Let's look at this at the end of the year and see if it holds, as it should. The Toronto Star (2007-09-19) Sports Great One in trouble with terrible Coyotes Wayne Gretzky has been part of bad hockey teams before. It just seems his name has always been linked with success and championships. Of particularly unhappy note were the dreadful 1993-94 Los Angeles Kings, who captured points at a .392 clip and the nightmarish '97-98 New York Rangers club that picked up only 25 victories in Gretzky's second season as a player on Broadway. You could even include the 2006 Canadian Olympic team that lost to Switzerland and finished seventh in Turin, Italy, a team Gretzky organized. But it's safe to say that the upcoming 2007-08 NHL season could well turn out to be the least successful, most defeat-filled season of Gretzky's hockey career. Maybe it won't happen that way. Maybe the Phoenix Coyotes will be the pleasant surprise of the NHL over the next seven months. But - and this isn't a poke at exiled assistant coach Rick Tocchet - it wouldn't be wise to bet on that. The Coyotes team, or a version of it, that takes on the Maple Leafs tonight in a pre-season tilt at Winnipeg, clearly has an excellent shot at finishing 30th out of 30 NHL teams this season, something Phoenix would have pulled off last year if not for the dreadful Philadelphia Flyers. That the Desert Dogs will be awful is probably a good thing, or at least it's something that would have been beneficial if it had happened three or four years ago. This is a franchise that wasted time on worn-out talents in recent years, trying to be moderately competitive and something of a local draw in a market in which ownership claims it lost $30 million (all figures U.S.) last season. This past summer, however, the Coyotes didn't sign any well-known free agents and will apparently ice a club under new general manager Don Maloney that will be at or near the NHL salary cap floor of $34.3 million. They will debut some quality youngsters this season, possibly including Peter Mueller and Martin Hanzal, have high hopes for '07 first-rounder Kyle Turris and might end up with a good shot at a top junior like Steve Stamkos next summer. Or even John Tavares in '09. None of that promise, however, will help Gretzky this season. His goaltending is thin, there's little punch up front and defencemen such as Ed Jovanovski, Nick Boynton and Derek Morris didn't help the club do any better than 31 wins last season. Tocchet is still in limbo and veteran assistant coach Barry Smith bolted town, leaving Gretzky without seasoned help behind the bench. The question, needless to say, is how much failure can Gretzky stand, or withstand. He's in only the second year of a five-year contract, but his buddy Mike Barnett was cashiered as general manager last season and the Coyotes ownership made it clear in hiring Maloney that they were avoiding any and all hockey people with direct ties to Gretzky. Could he be fired if the Coyotes stink? Possible, but unlikely, particularly given that he still has an ownership stake in the team. But it's equally hard to imagine he'll just hang in there if this season turns out to be utterly miserable. Perhaps there will be a resignation, or some other kind of face-saving way out. Then again, it would certainly be a feather in The Great One's cap if he could make this weak-looking Coyotes club better than most believe it can be. Fact is, hockey people will tell you that the jury is still very much out on Gretzky's coaching talent and this season will be a challenging test. Still, it's hard to associate Gretzky with a doormat even though he hasn't even participated in any way in the Stanley Cup playoffs since 1997. No one imagines these Coyotes will help him end that drought this season. Damien Cox - End of Article - (Comment on this)
Wednesday, September 12th, 2007
12:04 pm	typical reaction from the Bloc... Désolé, mais ces bloquistes-là sont ridicules. La Presse Politique, mercredi 12 septembre 2007, p. A11 Reconnaissance de la nation québécoise par Stephen Harper "De la poudre aux yeux", dit le Bloc Toupin, Gilles OTTAWA - Le premier ministre a beau se vanter de la reconnaissance de la nation québécoise sur la scène internationale, comme il l'a fait devant le Parlement australien hier, cela n'est que "de la poudre aux yeux", a réagi hier le Bloc québécois. Le chef bloquiste, Gilles Duceppe, a certes salué à Montréal la déclaration de Canberra de M. Harper, mais il a vite fait de souligner qu'il restait au premier ministre Stephen Harper à passer de la parole aux actes. "Pour que cette reconnaissance ait une application concrète, a expliqué plus tard la porte-parole du Bloc en matière d'affaires internationales, la députée Francine Lalonde, il faut que (le premier ministre) accorde au Québec ce qu'il revendique depuis 1965 en vertu de la doctrine Gérin-Lajoie, soit le droit de parler en son propre nom dans les forums internationaux, de négocier et de conclure des ententes dans les champs de compétences qui sont les siens." Insulte à l'intelligence Mme Lalonde, ainsi que sa collègue Vivian Barbot, porte-parole du Bloc en matière d'affaires intergouvernementales, n'ont guère prisé le discours du premier ministre Harper devant le Parlement australien, le qualifiant "d'insulte à l'intelligence" des Québécois. Le seul endroit où le Québec a une place sur la scène internationale, a souligné Mme Barbot dans un communiqué, c'est à l'Organisation internationale de la francophonie, grâce à l'intervention de la France. Ailleurs, le Québec n'a pas la possibilité d'exprimer son point de vue. "La place accordée au Québec à l'UNESCO en mai 2006 par Stephen Harper, ajoute Mme Barbot, est de la poudre aux yeux. On donne au Québec une voix, à la condition qu'il soit d'accord avec ce que dit le gouvernement fédéral. S'il ne l'est pas, il n'a aucun droit de s'exprimer. C'est une insulte à notre intelligence." "Sois belle et tais-toi", a pour sa part résumé Gilles Duceppe. Francine Lalonde rappelle de son côté que la Constitution canadienne précise que le gouvernement canadien doit négocier avec les provinces le mode d'application des traités internationaux qu'il signe lorsque ces derniers touchent leurs champs de compétences. "Je ne vois pas pourquoi, à cet égard, le Québec ne pourrait pas avoir droit de parole dans les grands forums internationaux lorsqu'il est directement concerné." Catégorie : Politique nationale et internationale Taille : Court, 274 mots © 2007 La Presse. Tous droits réservés. Doc. : news·20070912·LA·0011 (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, September 11th, 2007
1:15 pm	Leafs, Sundin article This will be something to look back on. Hopefully we're a hell of a lot better than the past two seasons. The Toronto Star (2007-09-11) Sports ; Optimistic Leaf captain thinks parts of puzzle are in place to make run at Cup The contrast remains stunning, no matter how often it is repeated. At the end of each season, an ashen Mats Sundin, showing the wear of another campaign at the helm of the perpetually struggling Maple Leafs, cleans out his locker and meets with the media; looking like he is carrying the world rather than readying to fly halfway around it. A few months later, the captain arrives back from Sweden, absolutely beaming. Fit, trim and buoyant, he exudes optimism about how this could be Toronto's year to win it all; displaying a remarkable empathy with the team's long- suffering but ever-hopeful fans. So there he was yesterday at Lakeshore Lions Arena, looking younger than his 36 years, laughing and joking with reporters in a relaxed manner that will likely be forgotten come February. "A couple months rest, I think, that's what does it," Sundin said of his youthful demeanour. The arrival of the captain along with defencemen Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe makes it virtually a full complement at the club's practice facility in advance of Thursday's medicals. "It's a great time of year, everybody meets up. There's excitement; new players, new faces and a new chance to do something good." This is a Leafs team, however, that is running out of mulligans. While the Stanley Cup drought has passed the four-decade mark, the bigger concern for this squad is that it has missed the playoffs in both of its post-lockout seasons. The pressure will be ratcheted up this season, especially with Sundin on a one-year deal and general manager John Ferguson yet to receive an extension beyond this year. Add in the fact that most of the key players are well into their 30s - including off-season free-agent acquisition, 34-year-old Jason Blake - and it's easy to understand that this entire experiment might be blown up if the Leafs don't show immediate and dramatic improvement. "Obviously, we're not getting any younger and neither is Mats. He's back for another kick at the can so we'd like to do something this year," said the 32- year-old McCabe. "The window of opportunity is closing." True to his September form, Sundin feels the pieces are in place to win a Stanley Cup this season. "Just the way the NHL is nowadays, you have a great chance to win. We have as a good a chance to win as any other team starting the season," he said. "Obviously, we have a lot of work ahead of us, but I think we have a good enough team." Also true to form, Sundin refused to say if he wants Blake on his wing. He's savvy enough to know that such a public declaration could blow up into a season- long story. The centre said he'd be content to remain with Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky instead of the team's new 40-goal man if that's what coach Paul Maurice decides. "I don't really care," he said. "I thought me and Alexei and Nikky had a good chemistry for the second half of last season. I'd love to play with Jason, too. He's a veteran guy. We'll see how Paul wants to use us." No matter who Sundin plays with, he is on the verge of some significant milestones as a Leaf, numbers he failed to achieve while scoring just once in his final 20 games last season. Sundin's next goal will be his 389th in a Toronto uniform, tying him with Darryl Sittler for the all-time franchise lead. He is also seven points behind Sittler's 916 points for the most as a Leaf. "We need a good start. I'm not worried about the records. I'm really not. My concern is to be a playoff team," he said. "We're going to have a lot of games on home ice (to start the season) and points and goals are going to come; it will take care of itself. "You miss the playoffs two years in a row and everyone is going to be looked at. We all have the same pressure to perform and make sure we're a playoff team at the end of the season. That should be our only goal." Paul Hunter - End of Article - (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007
10:32 am	Landry These guys are fucking fanatics. Quebec is neither bilingual nor multicultural, former Premier Bernard Landry claimed this weekend, and if you move here you are expected to leave your old culture behind. All home abandon, ye who enter here. Speaking at a Sunday rally in support of the Charter of the French Language, Landry chose to throw another log on the already-blazing debate about Quebec identity. Speculation about why he did it should not obscure the fact he has shown himself to be badly out of touch. Landry walked away from the job of Parti Québécois leader in 2005, and much of his behaviour since has suggested he has regretted his impetuous move. His successor, André Boisclair, having self-destructed, Landry then had to watch Pauline Marois take the job. But former PQ leaders - except Boisclair, so far - have a habit of staying in the public eye, and Landry is no exception. Email to a friendEmail to a friend Printer friendlyPrinter friendly Font: List of 4 items • * • * • * • * list end That's too bad, because neither part of his wistfully atavistic pronouncement survives comparison with the realities of Quebec in 2007. On language, Landry knows Quebec is constitutionally bound to publish its laws in English as well as French; that English may be used in the National Assembly; that English is used in the courts. As a former minister of revenue he knows very well however unilingual other departments of government become, income-tax forms are easily available in English. He knows Quebecers of all language groups share in North American popular culture, in English. He knows some health institutions are allowed to function in both languages. And he knows something like 560,000 Quebecers have English as a first language, another 50,000 claim English and French together as first languages, and that thousands more allophones speak English as well. To be sure, Quebec's official language is French, and that status is entrenched and defended by law. Few anglophones challenge that. But it is alarming Landry feels free to dismiss Quebec's anglophone fact in such a cavalier way. As for multiculturalism, Landry seems tranquilly unaware of how outdated he sounds. Is he running for mayor of Hérouxville? Perhaps he needs to spend a little more time in Montreal, or Laval, or on the South Shore. No doubt Landry does, in fact, know the realities of modern Quebec. It's just that he doesn't like them. Late on the night of the 1995 referendum, he famously harangued an unlucky Hispanic hotel clerk who became the lightning rod for his frustrations: Immigrants like you are to blame! He was echoing his then-boss Jacques Parizeau, who had just blamed "ethnic votes" for blocking the independence of the pur-laine Quebec of his nostalgic imagination. Quebecers - all Quebecers - are currently hypersensitive about group identity. Francophones, anglophones, allophone groups and communities large and small; we are all uneasily aware that difference, for all its richness, can also be a source of friction. And so everyone in society has a responsibility to tread carefully. When the current debate, still gathering momentum, eventually blows itself out, we are all going to have to live together. Landry should have known better. © The Gazette (Montreal) 2007 (Comment on this)
Tuesday, August 14th, 2007
3:31 pm	Nothing to say really. I didn't do much last night, save for a little MSN chatter. AiM and the PAC Mate don't seem to be getting along so well, and I don't know why. Other than that, we had DQ late last night and that was the extent of it. Just got an email purporting to be from Facebook and advertising viagra. the adress was fake but the name was facebook. What will they think of next? Later! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Thursday, July 26th, 2007
1:08 pm	good stuff from today's Toronto Star Staal's stag gets wild in Minnesota Brothers Eric Staal of the Carolina Hurricanes and Jordan Staal of the Pittsburgh Penguins were among 14 people arrested and charged with disorderly conduct after a weekend party. The incident early Saturday morning occurred at the Lutsen (Minn.) Resort and Sea Villas, about 90 minutes south of the Thunder Bay, Ont., hometown of the Staal brothers. They were gathered there for 22-year-old Eric Staal's bachelor party. Jordan is 18. A Lutsen Resort employee, who did not want to be named, said: "It was a bachelor's party gone awry." The group was warned by police around 12: 50 a.m. to quiet down "or they may be removed from the property, issued citations/arrested, and/or deported from the country." Around 3 a.m., according to the Sheriff's release, they were ordered to leave with the help of "Cook County Sheriff deputies, a Minnesota state patrol trooper, and a United States border patrol agent." "After leaving the property, the group gathered on Highway 61 and began harassing passing motorists," the release said. "At approximately 4 a.m. the suspects were placed under arrest for disorderly conduct and obstructing the legal process. Some of the suspects fled into the nearby woods." If Peca stays, Stajan goes; 'They have some cap issues they're trying to resolve,' says centre as Leafs try to make room Graphic: Paul Hunter toronto star Free agent Mike Peca, playing in an NHLPA charity tournament yesterday at The Club at Bond Head, is hoping to return to the Leafs this year. ; They were teammates last season with the Maple Leafs and now, in an odd off-season twist, one might have to leave to make room for the other to return. Mike Peca, the two-time Selke Trophy winning centre, has Toronto among the teams at the top of his list as a potential employer. The Leafs, too, would like to have the 33-year-old back. They called his agent, Don Meehan, last week to again make that point. The two sides are expected to resume talks before the weekend. There's only one problem. With more than $48 million (all figures U.S.) committed in salary to 23 players for the 2007-08 season, Toronto has pushed itself as far up to the $50.3 million cap as it would like. Short of dumping a one-way contract into the minors, there is no room in the vault or on the roster for Peca. "They have some cap issues they're trying to resolve," Peca said yesterday. Enter Matt Stajan. Or perhaps that will be exit Matt Stajan. There are rumours that the Leafs are shopping Stajan, a move that, if accomplished, would open up a centre spot for Toronto and likely free up enough cash to bring Peca back. Although Stajan is only due to make $875,000 this season and Peca earned $2.5 million last year, a campaign truncated by a badly broken leg in December, the finances might work for both sides. Peca knows he won't make what he earned last season and he's not looking to break the bank. So remove Stajan's salary from the books and Toronto, still with some cap space, should be able to make it work. "(Money) is really not an issue with me," Peca said yesterday before participating in the NHL Players' Association charity golf tournament at The Club at Bond Head, north of the city. "It's really about getting back in. Kind of like it was last year. I just want to get in a good situation and then try and prove myself again. I thought I was on track last year until I got hurt but I certainly have to look to do that again." Stajan was also at Bond Head yesterday. He said he too has heard the rumbles that he might be squeezed out of the Leafs' plans. "You live in Toronto all summer, you're going to hear rumours," shrugs the 23-year-old. "I'm living my dream. I'm playing in the NHL. Playing in Toronto is obviously the best situation and where I want to be. But you can't have all that in the back of your head and be worried about it. If I start looking too much into the rumours, it will effect me mentally. You start worrying too much. I'm just keeping a fresh attitude and I'm working hard this summer in order to contribute to the Toronto Maple Leafs next season." Toronto isn't the only team interested in Peca. It was thought that the New York Rangers, in a move similar to what the Leafs might be contemplating with Stajan, were freeing up space for the centre when they recently dealt Matt Cullen to Carolina. But Peca remains unsigned. Buffalo, where Peca lives with his family, may also be investigating the possibility. "But unless the general manager calls you and says he's interested, then there is no interest," said Peca of the Sabres rumours. Toronto GM John Ferguson has called. Peca said the message he's received from Toronto since the season ended is: "We want you back. We want to re-sign you." In a conversation with the Star's Mark Zwolinski, Ferguson praised Peca as "an excellent player and an excellent person" but included the caveat that he has concerns about Toronto's cap space and where Peca would fit on the roster. He added that the only way those two situations could change would be "via a trade." Paul Hunter - End of Article - Return to newspaper list | Return to The Toronto Star index | Return to section: Sports (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, June 7th, 2007
10:54 am	Anaheim Stanley Cup articles The Toronto Star (2007-06-07) Sports Victorious Ducks carve NHL history Graphic: Paul Chiasson cp The Ducks' Chris Pronger takes a beating from Ottawa forwards Antoine Vermette and Chris Neil during first-period action last night in Anaheim. Paul Chiasson cp The Ducks' Chris Pronger takes a beating from Ottawa forwards Antoine Vermette and Chris Neil during first-period action last night in Anaheim. ; In years to come, they'll remember the 2007 Stanley Cup final almost exclusively for its significant place in the NHL history books. Forty years after the NHL planted two franchises in California hoping to one day strike gold, the Anaheim Ducks finally delivered hockey's silver chalice to the West Coast. In doing may, they have signaled a third important era for the sport far from its birthplace. Expanding to Los Angeles and Oakland was the first era. The arrival of Wayne Gretzky to the Kings 21 years later ushered in the second. And now, with a champion to cheer for, enthusiastic fans that seem to truly embrace the game and thousands of children playing the sport, the NHL can hope the game will thrive in a way that seemed unlikely just a few years ago when Disney decided to get out of the business. Ducks general manager Brian Burke did a brilliant job of building this team, which destroyed the Ottawa Senators in five games with a convincing combination of talent and muscle while rolling over three other opponents this spring. But while the Ducks were deserving champions and it was wonderful to see Teemu Selanne win it all in his 1,127th game, the one-sided Cup final was a dud from both an artistic and competitive standpoint. It was symbolic, really, of a disappointing playoff that featured low-scoring games and only one Game 7 in the 15 series played. The blocked shot was the dominating element, the excitement-killing trap is back stronger than ever and NBC dealt the NHL a public humiliation by ducking out of an important overtime game to cover a horse race. Last night's deciding game, a 6-2 Anaheim win, thrilled the screaming locals but was a barely average contest. By the time the Ducks pulled ahead 5-2 in the third, they'd managed 13 shots while the Senators had only eight. The Sens never got going in the final but saved their worst for last. Sens coach Bryan Murray's team couldn't shake off a nine-day, pre-series rest and for the most part played mediocre or terrible hockey afterward. By the end, Daniel Alfredsson was the only one of Ottawa's stars that delivered anything close to quality. Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza were mere rumours and goalie Ray Emery played worse and worse as the series progressed. Chris Phillips' embarrassing own goal in the second period, eerily reminiscent of Steve Smith's infamous moment for the Oilers in the 1986 playoffs, ended up as the winner and turned out to be representative of his team's overall performance, as was Antoine Vermette's fanned attempt to score on a third period penalty shot. It will be difficult for the Senators to live this down, to reflect happily upon all that was achieved this spring after their final performances against the Ducks. Anaheim is a big strong team that has stars in Selanne and Conn Smythe winner Scott Niedermayer and also a horde of affordable young talent, but they may also be steering the game in a troubling direction. They joyfully led the league in penalties and fighting during the regular season and were rewarded richly for that approach. It must be noted they won the Cup after winning two series in which Chris Pronger and Brad May were suspended for using vicious cheapshots to sideline opposing players with concussions. That said, for years it seemed that not only was hockey a difficult sell in California, it was impossible to stay out of the sun long enough to put together a winner. Once Mighty yet mocked, the Ducks have now put that theory to rest forever. For that, they will go down in history. Damien Cox - End of Article - Return to newspaper list | Return to The Toronto Star index | Return to section: Sports The (Mighty) Ducks rule; Dominate Sens from start to finish in first Stanley Cup victory for a California team Graphic: DANNY MOLOSHOK REUTERS Ducks' Rob Niedermayer admires his handiwork after easily beating Senators goalie Ray Emery in first period of last night's decisive Stanley Cup game. Chris Carlson Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, right, has to fend off some heavy crease traffic in the form of Sens' Chris Neil and teammate Joe DiPenta last night. ; Inspired by a cheesy Disney movie and introduced to the hockey world with the help of duck calls, a team that was once mocked has its fairytale ending. The Ducks, no longer called Mighty but dominant just the same, last night hoisted the Stanley Cup, bringing the trophy to California for the first time since the NHL was introduced to LaLa Land in 1967, a date that will surely ring significantly for Leafs fans. In a typically powerful performance, aided by embarrassing Ottawa mistakes and questionable goaltending, the Ducks rolled over the Senators 6-2 last night. That gave Anaheim a four games to one victory in the final in a series that simply wasn't as competitive as anticipated. Ottawa, a team that impressed in upending Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Buffalo en route to its first appearance in a Cup final, was not up to the task. Its top three players, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, simply couldn't match the depth and determination of the Ducks, although Alfredsson did pot both Ottawa goals. Nor did the Sens get the goaltending that Jean-Sebastien Giguere provided the Ducks. Ray Emery was shaky last night and he and defenceman Chris Phillips combined on a disastrous own goal - Emery dragged the puck into the Ottawa net with his right skate after Phillips carried it out from behind his own net - that made it 3-1 and choked off thoughts of a comeback. Ottawa become the third consecutive team based in Canada to reach the Stanley Cup final but come away empty. Edmonton was taken out in seven games by Carolina last season; Calgary was dismissed in seven by Tampa Bay, the season before the lockout. The last Canadian team to win a Cup was Montreal in 1993. The victory was well-deserved by the Ducks and it came with several heart- warming stories, worthy of the Hollywood crowd that has been showing up to watch then in the playoffs. There was Teemu Selanne, one of the game's class acts, finally getting a Cup after 15 years of delighting fans in the league. There were the Niedermayer brothers, united here, winning a Cup together after playing against each other in the 2003 final. Captain Scott Niedermayer was voted MVP, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy. And there was Giguere, who missed the start of the post-season because his newborn child had a damaged eye that required serious medical attention. Plus, the emergence of the kids, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner, who helped give the team admirable depth. Some of the stories, perhaps just as cheesy, are better than the original Mighty Ducks movies. It was a typical Ducks effort right from the start with key contributions from different parts of the lineup without reliance on any one player to carry the team. In the first period, Anaheim got goals from Andy McDonald and Rob Niedermayer, but the most important play was provided by Francois Beauchemin, the solid but overshadowed defenceman. About five minutes into the game with the Ducks already leading 1-0, it appeared Spezza was about to tie the game and give Ottawa some much-needed momentum, but he was robbed by Beauchemin. With Gigueure down at one side of the net, Ottawa's Antoine Vermette sent a perfect pass across the goalmouth to Spezza who was staring at a wide-open net. Just as Spezza shot, Beauchemin reached across with his stick to deflect away what looked like a sure goal. Later, he would get a stick on a Chris Neil chance. While Ottawa was coming close at one end, Emery was struggling at the other. Paul Hunter - End of Article - Return to newspaper list | Return to The Toronto Star index | Return to section: Sports Niedermayer takes MVP; Ducks defender adds Conn Smythe Trophy to collection of honours; hands Cup to brother One of the most decorated players in hockey has added a new piece of impressive hardware to his trophy case. Defenceman Scott Niedermayer, the only player to have won a Memorial Cup, world junior gold, men's world championship gold, Olympic gold, World Cup and, of course, four Stanley Cups now has a Conn Smythe Trophy. Niedermayer, 33, was selected as the most valuable player in the NHL playoffs but that's not what made this Stanley Cup special. It was, instead, the moment after he was presented with the Cup as captain of the Anaheim Ducks. He turned and passed the trophy to his brother Rob, a winger on the team who also had a terrific post-season and was a big part of the Ducks' success. "It's special," said Scott Niedermayer. "You can only dream of passing it to your brother. To be able to do that is definitely a highlight of my career." The Niedermayers are the first set of brothers to win the Stanley Cup together since Brent and Duane Sutter won a championship with the 1983 Islanders. The two faced each other in the 2003 Cup final and Scott, then with New Jersey, emerged victorious. Their mother, Carol, famously said she was cheering for Rob because he'd yet to win. The two brothers, separated every winter since they were teens, began talking about trying to play on the same NHL team when they played together for Canada at the 2005 world championship. They made it happen when Rob re-signed with the Ducks in 2005. Then Scott jumped on board as a free agent. Despite the touching family moment, Scott said the Stanley Cup exhange with his brother wasn't choreographed ahead of time. "I didn't know what I was going to do. You try and concentrate on the game. I wasn't drawing up plans," he said. "But I guess he's one of the assistant captains. Maybe (he didn't have) the seniority, but I figured I could use my rank as captain to make that decision. I thought it would be pretty special." The younger Niedermayer then handed the Cup to Chris Pronger who, in turn, passed it to Teemu Selanne. Even though Scott brought the Cup home to Cranbrook, B.C., on three previous occasions, it was the first time Rob had touched it. Scott, 16 months older than Rob, said he was surprised to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. "I was out there trying to do my thing ... not really thinking about an award like this." Paul Hunter - End of Article - Return to newspaper list | Return to The Toronto Star index | Return to section: Sports (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, April 10th, 2007
3:07 pm	The Toronto Star (2007-04-10) Sports Leafs bask in joy of defeat; No post-season? No worries for team After he inserted himself into the sea of cameras and voice recorders parked on the doorstep of the Leafs dressing room yesterday afternoon, Paul Maurice was asked how his experience behind the Toronto bench compared to his pre-season expectations. Coaching the Leafs, he said, was "so much more" than he thought it would be. "So much better." "If you guys ever get the chance," he said, "it's an honour." It probably wasn't the soundtrack fans were seeking to accompany the annual spring rite of removing the blue and white flag from the car before the playoffs begin. The folks who love this team want to believe their heroes will be hurting this week, when the NHL kicks off its annual Stanley Cup tournament by inviting a whopping 16 teams not named the Maple Leafs. But if you were hanging around the Air Canada Centre yesterday, it was hard to find evidence that anyone was dying inside. There hasn't been an NHL playoff game in Toronto since 2004. And yet there wasn't anybody saying: "This is unacceptable" or "Never again." There was, on the other hand, plenty of delusion in place of truth, much self-satisfaction in lieu of self-blame. "I'm happy, personally," said Andrew Raycroft, the goalie who was yanked from the biggest game of the season. "I got to play a lot of games and win a lot of games ..." It's hard to say whether it was insulting or hilarious to hear Raycroft pat himself on the back repeatedly for winning 37 games. Raycroft, who put up some of the worst statistics of any NHL starter, needed 72 games to rack up his 37 dubyas. J.S. Giguere, to put it in perspective, played 16 fewer games and won 36. But enough quibbling. "The end goal is to get into the playoffs," Raycroft continued, "so it's a bit of a disappointment." The end goal - and only Maurice and captain Mats Sundin correctly answered that skill-testing question yesterday - is supposed to be the Stanley Cup. But you understand Raycroft's forgetting the script. The cheques keep coming either way. In what job do they give you more vacation for achieving less? In the best freaking job on the planet. What Raycroft clearly meant to say was: "See y'all in five months, suckers!" The atmosphere, indeed, was hardly funereal. Sundin, the 36-year-old captain, scored one goal in his final 20 games. But he didn't exactly offer an apology for the end-of-season slump that offered a cautionary advertisement of what's to come in a waning career. "Why is it always about who scores the most goals?" interjected Darcy Tucker. "It's about your team winning." Um, precisely. Said Sundin, to firm up the point: "I'm very proud of, I think, my own performance." He wasn't alone. Said Carlo Colaiacovo: "In the overall look of it, a lot of us accomplished a lot this season." It all sounded a lot like Rob Babcock-era Raptorland, losers unnervingly enthused about losses. Said Tucker, to cap the lunacy: "My personal opinion is I don't think we're far off where we need to be ... to get to a championship." One supposes Mars, in the grand scheme of the cosmos, isn't far off from Cape Canaveral. But one suspects humans will land on the red planet before the Leafs next get their lips on a shiny mug that isn't brought to them by a waitress. The club needs culture change. The fading captain needs to go to bring salary-cap flexibility and fire. The running-scared general manager, in over his head from the start, hasn't shown the acumen to play the required chess. But the status quo is lucrative enough. So meet the new season. Same as the old season. Everybody's happy except the loyalists. "We're not trying to say it's okay not to be the best team in hockey," said Maurice, finally hitting the right note in his post-season address. "Because that's what we're trying to (be) ... I don't want to sit here today and start pumping positives out." Indeed, the coach left the pumping of positives to Happy Raycroft and his suspiciously merry band of millionaire vacationers. Dave Feschuk - End of Article - (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, March 15th, 2007
1:47 pm	The Globe and Mail National News, Thursday, March 15, 2007, p. A3 Judge's cussing called non-issue Students on outing exposed to swearing Rod Mickleburgh Vancouver BC - Swearing to tell the truth is required of all courtroom witnesses. But B.C. Supreme Court Justice Peter Leask did some courtroom swearing of his own this week. And his oaths had nothing to do with swearing on a Bible. "He'd have had to have been out of his fuckin' mind to store [the cocaine] in his own locker," Judge Leask observed, during a series of prolonged, often colourful exchanges with prosecutor Ernie Froess in a cocaine-smuggling case. Later, the plain-talking judge speculated on an associate of the accused this way: "He can minimize the risk of detection and apprehension by just aborting the whole fucking thing, right?" Judge Leask also sprinkled in a "what the hell," an "oh shit" and two "goddamns" during his morning bantering with Mr. Froess. In and out of the court at the time was a class of young high-school students on a class field trip. A judicial source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he had never heard of such language being used by a judge in court. "It's expected that judges are above reproach and vulgar language does not seem to conform to that." Yesterday, a day after his remarks, Judge Leask acquitted Glen Hehn on a charge of possessing 52 kilograms of cocaine, saying there was a reasonable doubt that Mr. Hehn knew the cocaine had been stored in his locker. Outside the court, defence lawyer Neil Cobb called the judge's choice of words a complete non-issue. Mr. Cobb said Judge Leask was merely adopting the vernacular of a cocaine dealer already convicted and sentenced to 16 years for his involvement in the same, high-profile drug case. "It was the judge putting himself in the shoes of a convicted drug dealer who pleaded guilty. . . . I'm told that Judge Leask doesn't even swear outside court. There's absolutely no story here." Judge Leask, appointed to the B.C. Supreme Court in 2005 after a long, successful career as a criminal defence lawyer, was also defended by retired provincial court Judge Wallace Craig. "I like a judge with passion, someone who is not afraid to express himself and bring some real life to the courtroom," said Mr. Craig, who spent 26 years on the bench. "More power to him." He said he himself had let expletives slip out when particularly exasperated by the stances of lawyers before him. "I once told a defence lawyer: 'Your client's an asshole.' And he replied: 'Yeah, I know he is,' " Mr. Craig recounted. He said he hopes Judge Leask doesn't get into trouble over his comments. "He is a very volatile, passionate man. I sympathize with him. He's a human being and these things will happen." Late yesterday, B.C. Attorney-General Wally Oppal, a former Supreme Court judge, agreed that Judge Leask's language was "unusual." But he suggested that sometimes, in a drug trial, "you have to use particular language to put things in context." Mr. Oppal added: "I'm not defending him. I'm not criticizing him, either." Category: National and International Politics Uniform subject(s): Trials and lawsuits; Court and administration of justice Subject(s) - The Globe and Mail : Courts; Justice; Judges; Statements; Legal Profession Geographical location(s) - The Globe and Mail : British Columbia Name(s): Peter Leask; Glen Hehn Length: Medium, 393 words © 2007 The Globe and Mail. All rights reserved. (5 Comments |Comment on this)