01 March 2009
Ill-Fated Rest Stop Retrieval
07/03/2009 05:09
Crews pull man from
Filer rest area
toilet
after he tried to
retrieve his
keys
You could call it a new version of "the road less traveled."
Filer emergency crews retrieved an unidentified Ada County man from a rest area toilet Thursday afternoon, after he climbed into a waste tank and became stuck.
The man was found just before noon by another driver that stopped at the U.S. Highway 30 rest area west of town, according to Filer Police Chief Cliff Johnson. Filer police responded to a 911 call, along with the Filer Fire Department, Filer Quick Response and a paramedic from St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center.
Johnson said the man, who asked police not to be identified, was unable to find his car keys after using the lavatory. Thinking his keys had fallen in the tank, the man removed a round plastic cover at the base of the toilet and climbed in to find them. Once inside he was unable to pull himself out, and waited until someone else arrived.
"He hadn't been there too long, only 10 or 15 minutes," Johnson said.
At least 10 emergency response personnel responded to the 911 call, according to Johnson and a dispatch supervisor at Southern Idaho Regional Communication Center.
Eventually the man was retrieved through an access hole used to pump the waste out of the tank.
"It took some lifting to get him out, and he had cut himself pretty good trying to get himself out," Johnson said.
The man was allowed to wash off with the fire truck hose at the scene, where he made another painful discovery.
"That's when he discovered the keys were still in his back pocket," Johnson said.
Both the SIRCOMM supervisor and Johnson said crews didn't ask the man for his name, which wasn't required since no charges or citation were issued.
"He didn't want to give it to us, and that was fine with us," said Taylor Hunsaker, a dispatch supervisor at SIRCOMM. "We didn't want to embarrass him any more than that."
"It was recommended that he seek some medical treatment and get himself cleaned up," Johnson said.
SINC SAYS:
Would someone take over for a couple of minutes here please? I’m still peeing myself laughing at the video of the police chief trying not to break up while telling reporters about the incident. See it here.
You could call it a new version of "the road less traveled."
Filer emergency crews retrieved an unidentified Ada County man from a rest area toilet Thursday afternoon, after he climbed into a waste tank and became stuck.
The man was found just before noon by another driver that stopped at the U.S. Highway 30 rest area west of town, according to Filer Police Chief Cliff Johnson. Filer police responded to a 911 call, along with the Filer Fire Department, Filer Quick Response and a paramedic from St. Luke's Magic Valley Medical Center.
Johnson said the man, who asked police not to be identified, was unable to find his car keys after using the lavatory. Thinking his keys had fallen in the tank, the man removed a round plastic cover at the base of the toilet and climbed in to find them. Once inside he was unable to pull himself out, and waited until someone else arrived.
"He hadn't been there too long, only 10 or 15 minutes," Johnson said.
At least 10 emergency response personnel responded to the 911 call, according to Johnson and a dispatch supervisor at Southern Idaho Regional Communication Center.
Eventually the man was retrieved through an access hole used to pump the waste out of the tank.
"It took some lifting to get him out, and he had cut himself pretty good trying to get himself out," Johnson said.
The man was allowed to wash off with the fire truck hose at the scene, where he made another painful discovery.
"That's when he discovered the keys were still in his back pocket," Johnson said.
Both the SIRCOMM supervisor and Johnson said crews didn't ask the man for his name, which wasn't required since no charges or citation were issued.
"He didn't want to give it to us, and that was fine with us," said Taylor Hunsaker, a dispatch supervisor at SIRCOMM. "We didn't want to embarrass him any more than that."
"It was recommended that he seek some medical treatment and get himself cleaned up," Johnson said.
SINC SAYS:
Would someone take over for a couple of minutes here please? I’m still peeing myself laughing at the video of the police chief trying not to break up while telling reporters about the incident. See it here.
'Exotic' Maids Naughty And Neat
07/03/2009 05:07
EDMONTON -- Sit back
and enjoy the show, but don't expect these
maids to touch your
toilet.A fledgling city cleaning service features young women clad in French maid outfits, red stilettos and fishnet stockings.
"They do the same job as regular cleaners, but they look fantastic doing it," said Elise Skoglund, owner of Good Clean Fun exotic maid service, which opened up shop in Edmonton last fall.
For $125 an hour, a sexy maid will do everything from dusting the TV to wiping the counters, but toilets are a no-go zone.
Skoglund explained that since the maid is already dressed in skimpy clothes and high heels, getting down on her hands and knees to clean the toilet would cross the line into degrading territory.
She stresses the company is not an escort service: the maids are professional cleaners and don't take off their clothes.
"My goal is to keep it clean and keep it classy."
Clients are typically working men who don't feel like cleaning and seek companionship.
But, not just men call for the service. Women call too, according to Skoglund.
"They are sick of cleaning, but it's a treat for their husbands. They know that it's clean."
Each maid has a personal alarm and a security driver. Clients are also screened to ensure they're aware it's an exotic cleaning service and nothing more.
One of the maids said she loves her job and doesn't mind pushing a vacuum around in stilettos, though she goes by an alias, Devika.
"I wear heels all the time so it's no worries," said the 24-year-old, as she worked with a pink feather duster Thursday.
"I enjoy what I do and I get to meet all sorts of people."
SINC SAYS:
I was gonna try this out until I figured out the wife might just frown upon such an activity. Would have been fun though. don’tcha think?
Pancake Winner Dies In All-You-Can-Eat Contest
07/03/2009 05:02
The winner of a
pancake-eating contest dropped dead after
gorging himself on 43 of the cream and banana
stuffed
desserts.Boris Isayev, 48, from west Russia, collapsed to his knees and died on stage after stuffing himself with pancakes in a competition to mark the end of the region’s ‘Pancake Week’.
"He had really enjoyed the pancakes but then he started foaming at the mouth and went down like a sack of stones," one witness said.
"We have seen people fainting [during such contests] before," she added.
Onlookers tried to revive the man, but he died on the stage.
Witnesses apparently described Isayev as “the most active participant in the contest" adding that he "ate all the types of pancakes on offer and won fairly.”
The exact cause of death is not clear but doctors believe he choked after a piece of pancake got lodged in his throat.
SINC SAYS:
I always find pancakes to be a bit heavy myself, although I’ve never died on stage eating them. No laughing matter, but how does one “froth” pancakes?
Bus Driver's Alleged Attempt To Quiet Pupils Snowballs
07/03/2009 04:55
Two students were
arguing on the ride home. The frazzled bus
driver tried to
intervene.
Then came, according
to authorities, the driver's offer to the
entire bus: $20 to anyone who would bombard
one of the boys with a snowball.
Seven took her up on the offer, and now Loudoun County school bus driver Katina M. Mitchell, 34, of Sterling has been charged with seven misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. And she's the talk of the county.
Authorities said the row Tuesday was between students from River Bend Middle School in Sterling. Afterward, authorities said, Mitchell grabbed the bus's microphone to offer riders a bounty to throw snowballs at one of the students, a 13-year-old, and push snow down his shirt.
When the boy was dropped off at the usually placid Bentley Drive and Algonkian Parkway, students who also got off pelted him, authorities said. Sheriff's Office spokesman Kraig Troxell said yesterday that the boy was not seriously injured but that his parents reported the pelting.
Mitchell, a bus driver for Loudoun schools since 2004, was placed on administrative leave with pay while the school system investigates the incident, said spokesman Wayde B. Byard. A woman who answered the phone at Mitchell's home declined to comment yesterday.
Troxell said the snowball-throwers face no charges -- but they didn't get paid, either.
SINC SAYS:
They shoulda given her a medal for keeping the little buggers under control.
Seven took her up on the offer, and now Loudoun County school bus driver Katina M. Mitchell, 34, of Sterling has been charged with seven misdemeanor counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. And she's the talk of the county.
Authorities said the row Tuesday was between students from River Bend Middle School in Sterling. Afterward, authorities said, Mitchell grabbed the bus's microphone to offer riders a bounty to throw snowballs at one of the students, a 13-year-old, and push snow down his shirt.
When the boy was dropped off at the usually placid Bentley Drive and Algonkian Parkway, students who also got off pelted him, authorities said. Sheriff's Office spokesman Kraig Troxell said yesterday that the boy was not seriously injured but that his parents reported the pelting.
Mitchell, a bus driver for Loudoun schools since 2004, was placed on administrative leave with pay while the school system investigates the incident, said spokesman Wayde B. Byard. A woman who answered the phone at Mitchell's home declined to comment yesterday.
Troxell said the snowball-throwers face no charges -- but they didn't get paid, either.
SINC SAYS:
They shoulda given her a medal for keeping the little buggers under control.
'Mrs. Hockey' Colleen Howe Passes Away
07/03/2009 04:49
With a keen business mind and the interests of her husband and sons at heart, Colleen Howe was the glue that held the Howe family together.
She was such an integral part of her husband Gordie Howe's hockey career that her nickname was Mrs. Hockey.
Gordie was Mr. Hockey, reflecting his status as the NHL's all-time leading scorer before Wayne Gretzky broke his records, so it seemed right the woman who worked so hard for him behind the scenes should get a similar title.
Colleen Howe died Friday at the age of 76 in the family home in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., following a long battle with Pick's disease, an incurable neurological form of dementia.
She was the outspoken business manager of one of the most prominent families in the history of the sport. As the first female hockey player agent she was as forceful in the boardroom as her husband was in rink corners for the Detroit Red Wings.
"The National Hockey League grieves the passing of Colleen Howe - a formidable woman, the wife and partner of our iconic player, the matriarch of a remarkable hockey family," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement.
There is no known cure for Pick's disease. Colleen was diagnosed with it in 2002. Her judgment and behaviour became impaired and her speech and memory more scrambled as the condition worsened.
"I thank God for the years we had," Gordie Howe said upon their 50th wedding anniversary in 2005.
Colleen was an only child raised by her divorced mother, with the help of an aunt and uncle, until her mother remarried. Colleen grew up on a farm outside Sandusky, Mich., where an arena was eventually named after her, and in Detroit.
Gordie Howe met Colleen Joffa at the Detroit bowling alley Lucky Strike Lanes during the 1951-52 Red Wings hockey season. She was a gregarious teen and he was a bashful but star player. They were married on April 15, 1953.
The couple had four children: Marty, Mark, Cathleen and Murray. The latter became a doctor who was involved in treating his mother in her final years.
As her children grew up, Colleen became involved in youth hockey. She drove her three sons to their games and, including her husband's NHL games, she might have attended as many as 200 games a year.
When there was no local junior team for which highly touted prospects Marty and Mark, she helped found the Detroit Junior Red Wings. She was general manager for three years.
She became heavily involved the business aspect of the careers of her husband and sons. It was an aspect of hockey in which Gordie had little interest.
"He just hates paperwork and stuff like that," she once explained. "Over the years, I've just naturally taken on more and more of it."
Gordie was happy to have her do it.
"People say I'm henpecked," Howe once said. "Well, let them say it.
"Colleen likes doing things and she does them pretty well so I say let her carry on. She's done a great job raising the kids and keeping me going."
She headed up Power Play International, Inc. (formerly Howe Enterprises,) which controlled all business aspects of her husband's hockey career, and that of her sons through their early pro seasons.
"She did so much for Gordie," former Montreal Canadien Dickie Moore said Friday. "Gordie did a lot in hockey and she did a lot for him."
Gordie retired in 1971 after playing 25 years in Detroit. He expected to work with the Red Wings at the management level but that didn't pan out.
Colleen was named Sportswoman of the Year in Detroit in 1972.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
This is truly a very sad day for hockey. Condolences and deepest sympathies to Gordie Howe and family.
Ferbey Considers Martin Clear-Cut Favorite
07/03/2009 04:48
Glenn Howard, Stoughton, Gushue legitimate contenders
The way Randy Ferbey sees it, Kevin Martin and company should be drinking champagne from the Brier tankard nine days from now.
"Clear-cut favourite, without a doubt," says Ferbey, himself a six-time winner of the Canadian men's curling championship, four as a skip and two more as a third with Pat Ryan. "Glenn Howard comes close, but Kevin Martin, right now, is clearly the best."
Ferbey knows whereof he speaks. The veteran skip, whose rink was defeated three times by Martin -- including a 7-3 trouncing in the final -- at the Alberta championship last month in Wainwright, has carefully combed the field.
"We've played almost every team there, at least a couple of times this year, and when Kevin Martin plays well, he is dominant. Anyone who handled us that easy should be the favourite," chuckles Ferbey.
The always-opinionated Ferbey didn't hesitate to handicap the field at the 2009 Brier, which starts Saturday at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary. Martin, of Edmonton, will be looking for his fourth championship and second straight.
"I think it's a good field," Ferbey said. "I don't know if you can improve on it. What's funny is now local organizers always suggest it's the best field ever. Is it any different than the last 10 years? I don't think so."
Ferbey lists Martin as the favourite, ahead of Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont., then throws Manitoba's Jeff Stoughton and Newfoundland's Brad Gushue into the mix.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
Martin and Howard headline strong Brier field.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I think Randy Ferbey got this one absolutely right.
Marriage Won’t Stop Me, Says World No. 1 Ochoa
07/03/2009 04:47
Mexican star will continue to play for years
Lorena Ochoa has pledged that her recently announced engagement to AeroMexico chief executive Andres Conesa will not lead to her quitting the sport.
The 27-year-old Mexican plans to marry Conesa in December, becoming a stepmother to his three children aged six to 13 from a previous marriage.
"I think I'm going to be playing golf for the next four or five years. I'm not going to retire any time soon. I promise that," said Ochoa, who has made no secret of her desire to start her own family.
"He's very supportive and I promise I'm going to keep playing."
Paula Creamer shared a three-way lead with Angela Park and Jane Park at the HSBC Women's Champions on Thursday, as Ochoa lurked dangerously two strokes behind.
On a lightning-interrupted opening day, ailing world No. 3 Creamer gritted her teeth to stroke a 67 despite feeling sick and achy as she attempts to go better than her third-place finish last year.
Joining her at 5-under was fellow American Jane Park and Brazil's Angela Park.
Hamilton's Alena Sharp is tied for 25th after shooting a 72, five shots behind the leaders.
Ochoa claimed her first victory of the season in Thailand last week, but the two events are her only ones in Asia this year. She has opted to skip tournaments in October and November when the LPGA Tour returns to the region.
Instead, she wants to take time to prepare for her own tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico, and the impending nuptials, despite dumping that responsibility on her sister Daniela, who is a professional wedding planner.
"I've told her, 'Make sure you do something nice and I promise I will arrive on the day!'" said Ochoa.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It’s great to know that we will have the pleasure of watching Lorena Ochoa continue to play golf for at least the next four or five years.
TSN To Air More Than 60 Hours Of Brier Coverage
07/03/2009 04:47
All the best Curlers that Canada has to offer will take to the ice in Calgary on Saturday and TSN is the only place to be as the 2009 Tim Horton Brier gets underway.
TSN will broadcast more than 60 hours of exclusive coverage, including for the first time, all morning, afternoon and evening draws, as well as the playoffs and the final.
If you miss any of the live coverage you can also catch encore presentations on TSN2 on a three-hour delay.
In addition to live coverage on TSN, all weekday morning draws will be available live on TSN.ca broadband. As well TSN.ca will have on-demand coverage of all matches on TSN following the conclusion of each live broadcast.
The field for the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier is absolutely stacked. Defending Brier and World Champion Kevin Martin and his Alberta rink will be in search of their fourth Brier title. Standing in their way are past Brier Champions Glenn Howard and his Ontario rink, New Brunswick's Russ Howard, Quebec's Jean-Michel Menard, Nova Scotia's Mark Dacey and Manitoba's Jeff Stoughton. 2006 Olympic gold medallist Brad Gushue and his Newfoundland/Labrador rink are also in the mix.
TSN will also get you ready for the final with the Tim Hortons Championship Special on Sunday, March 15th at 7:30pm et, prior to the championship draw of the tournament at 8pm et.
TSN's acclaimed curling broadcast team is on-site with Vic Rauter calling the action alongside analyst and Olympic gold medallist Linda Moore and analyst and BRIER champion Ray Turnbull. Three-time Tournament of Hearts winner, Cathy Gauthier, serves as analyst for the morning draws alongside Sportscentre's Bryan Mudryk, who makes his Brier debut in the broadcast booth handling the play-by-play duties. Gauthier also provides rinkside updates during the tournament's evening draws.
2009 Brier Draw Schedule.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Indeed, Canada’s most comprehensive curling coverage is on TSN. Catch Draw 1 of the Brier as Alberta’s Kevin Martin takes on Russ Howard of New Brunswick this afternoon at 1:00 p.m. local time on TSN and TSN-HD.
Canadian Women, Men Take Opening-Round Games
07/03/2009 04:46
The Canadian women's team opened play at the 2009 world junior curling championships Thursday with two victories.
Canada, skipped by Kaitlyn Lawes of Winnipeg, first defeated Denmark, skipped by Mette de Neergaard, 10-2, then downed Eve Muirhead of Scotland 8-3 in a battle of projected frontrunners.
The eighth end of the Canada-Scotland game proved decisive as Lawes, leading 3-2, made a draw for four after Muirhead missed a takeout.
Against Denmark, Lawestook the advantage early with a single on the first end, a steal of three on the second, and a four-bagger in the fourth to take firm control with a 7-1 lead.
"I was very happy with our first game," said Lawes, who skipped Canada to a bronze medal in last year's world juniors in Sweden.
"It was a nice way to open up. Everybody played well."
In other Draw 1 women's results, the United States edged Japan 9-8 and Switzerland crushed the Czech Republic 10-2.
In men's opening-round play, Canada, skipped by Brett Gallant of Charlottetown, also opened with a victory, edging Norway 6-5 in an extra end.
"They (Norway) are a great team. They played well, we both did," said Gallant. "It's nice to get right into it against one of the top teams."
The event, which is a test competition for next year's Olympic curling competition, continues until March 15 at the Vancouver Olympic/Paralympic Centre.
Gallant wins second in-a-row at World Junior Curling Championships.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Good luck to Kaitlyn Lawes and Brett Gallant, representing Canada. It would be really nice if they could bring home two World Junior Curling titles to Canada, wouldn’t it?
CFL Considers Four Rule Changes Suggested By Fans
07/03/2009 04:46
Committee could decide to move back kickoffs after safety touches
After asking fans for input on possible new rule changes, the Canadian Football League has chosen four areas for further study.
"We tend to look at our game like a precious stone that has been in the family for generations: we're willing to put a new shine on it, but we strive to be very careful not to damage it," Tom Higgins, the CFL's director of officiating and a member of the rules committee, said in a news release.
"We feel the rule changes we've discussed today can improve an already great product, and now the final say rests with our board."
After sifting through about 2,000 suggestions, the league's rules committee is suggesting moving back kickoffs after safety touches, which would make it less appealing for teams to simply concede two points when trapped in their own end.
Also, in order to generate more kickoff returns, the league wants to mandate kickoffs after successful field goals. In the past, teams have been given the choice to receive a kick, or take the ball at their own 35-yard line.
The league is also proposing giving a team a third opportunity to request a video review of a call, if their first two challenges were successful.
Finally, the league might also eliminate the rule that requires the quarterback to stand behind the centre. That would allow the implementation of the "wildcat" formation popular in the NFL and American college football.
The rules must still be approved by the league's board of governors later this spring, but they could still be implemented in time for the 2009 season.
"While there wasn't always unanimity on exactly what should be done, there was lots of spirited debate on our fan forums and in the media, and virtually everyone agreed our process was stronger for our fans' input and insight, and it's something we hope to continue," Higgins said.
"Over the years, many significant rules changes have been discussed by the committee or our board more than once before they have moved forward.
"So it's likely that in addition to the changes brought forward today, others submitted by fans will be considered in the years ahead."
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I like the idea of moving back the kickoff following a safety touch. As far as the other three suggestions – meh . . . especially the one about rewarding the officials’ incompetence by awarding a team a third challenge if they are successful on their first two. If teams successfully challenge four calls per game (two correct challenges by each side) the entire officiating crew should be fired, never mind giving the successful team another challenge.
McIlroy ‘A Step Ahead Of Tiger’ – O’Meara
07/03/2009 04:45
Irish phenom strikes ball better at 19 than Woods did starting out
Rory McIlroy's golf cap barely contains his wild mop of curly black hair.
That made the rising young star from Northern Ireland easy for Sergio Garcia to find from afar amid pros on the practice putting green Tuesday at the Honda Classic.
"He's me 10 years ago," Garcia said.
If two-time major championship winner Mark O'Meara is right, Garcia may be underestimating McIlroy's potential.
Garcia is No. 2 in the world rankings, making him the highest-ranked player in the field at the PGA National Resort & Spa course this week, but it's the player ranked above Garcia whom O'Meara thinks McIlroy favourably compares.
If you missed O'Meara's rave reviews after he played the first two rounds with McIlroy at the Dubai Desert Classic last month, here are the highlights: "Ball-striking wise, at 19, (McIlroy) is probably better than what Tiger (Woods) was at 19.
"His technique, I think, is better. Certainly, Tiger has developed his game and swing over the years and made modifications to be able to hit the ball pin-high, but Rory is already doing that, and he's 19, so he's already a step ahead."
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
As far as Mark O’Meara is concerned, I guess your golf skills are the first to evaporate with age, quickly followed by your mind. O’Meara has definitely been spending too much time in the sun lately.
Final Vote Pending On Future Of Pro Bowl In Hawaii
07/03/2009 04:45
HONOLULU - The Pro Bowl's future in Hawaii will be decided Friday in one last vote that could reunite the NFL's all-star game with the state, or end the decades-long relationship in an ugly divorce.
It's the third time the Hawaii Tourism Authority board is voting on the NFL's offer to return to the islands.
The board rejected two previous proposals but, under mounting pressure, will reconsider its latest refusal to have the all-star game played at Aloha Stadium in 2011 and '12 for US$4 million a year.
"We'll see tomorrow, but I'm hopeful we will have the seven requisite votes," board chairman Kelvin Bloom said Thursday.
Earlier this week, Bloom virtually assured state lawmakers that the all-star game would return, saying: "The odds are in our favour," with just one vote shy of gaining approval.
However, there's still some uncertainty and confusion.
The NFL actually needs a minimum three board members to switch their "no" votes from last week. The 10-member board voted 6-4 against the proposal, three "yes" votes shy of the required seven.
But several media outlets erroneously reported that six board members in were favour, four opposed. Bloom added to the confusion telling lawmakers the board was just one vote shy.
On Thursday, he explained the discrepancy.
"Post-meeting, there's a sense there was at least six solid supporters of accepting the original offer by the NFL. That was the sense," Bloom said.
"That's where I was calibrating that we're actually one shy of getting the necessary votes."
Last week's rejection was sharply criticized by Lt. Gov. James (Duke) Aiona and Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann. With its patience wearing thin, the NFL has turned down the state's offer to renegotiate another deal.
It now seems tourism-dependent Hawaii needs the Pro Bowl as much, or more, than the NFL needs Hawaii. Last month's Pro Bowl generated US$28.6 million in spending and US$2.9 million in taxes.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
As you know, SWIVEL HIPS has attended six Pro Bowls in Hawaii and is a big proponent of keeping the Pro Bowl permanently in Hawaii. Let’s hope the NFL, the State of Hawaii and the city of Honolulu can get a deal done.
Workers Hit £4m Lotto Jackpot . . .
06/03/2009 12:39
And vow to invest
winnings
in
boss's struggling
business
When a 13-strong works syndicate won nearly £4million on the lottery, boss Andy Whitaker feared that his staff would all leave.
But he was delighted and relieved when they promised to invest some of their £300,000 shares in the company and secure their futures.
Mr Whitaker’s motor repair firm in Accrington, Lancashire, has kept going through the recession despite other firms going bust all around him.
Andy Whitaker (second from left) with his workforce after they scooped £4m on the lotto, then vowed to plough the money back into his company
The father-of-three, whose wife Jayne was also part of the syndicate, said: 'Everybody is obviously really delighted to scoop such a big win but it's also a great feeling that a lot of the lads have got the firm so close to their hearts and want to be a part of it.
'Normally you hear about people wanting to spend their Lotto winnings on themselves and high living but it's great the workforce are thinking about their futures too - despite it not being a good time for savers.
'We're going to have a staff party to celebrate and I think everyone will be enjoying the win with their families.
'We are planning to inject cash into the company and it's nice to know we have a safeguard. The money has come at such a great time for us as we can all breathe a sigh of relief financially. Everybody is absolutely over the moon, it's a dream come true.'
The firm, ASK Rewinds, was established in 1978 and specialises in repairing all manner of motors.
The syndicate held one of two tickets which each won £3.9million on Saturday with numbers 6, 25, 33, 37, 42 and 43. The firm has run the syndicate for ten years.
Works director Peter Lewis also plans to put some of his winnings into the firm.
Mr Lewis, 50, said: ‘I was a little bit worried that everybody was going to leave now they’d won this, but the good news is that nobody wants to leave and the company is going to be very strong.’
The ticket was bought by Mr Whitaker’s 70-year-old father Arthur, who helps out at the firm.
Arthur said: ‘On Saturday night I was lying on the bed watching TV. When I saw the numbers, I jumped off the bed and ran into the other room to tell my wife but I was only wearing my string vest and I banged my knee off the table. I couldn’t believe we’d won.’
Mr Whitaker added: 'Last Saturday, I was sat in a pub in Lancaster with my wife and I got a phone call from dad saying we'd won the lottery.
'At first I didn't believe him, but then I realised that my father didn't tell lies. I was in total shock, but it's the best feeling in the world.'
SINC SAYS:
I bet the boss heaved a sigh of relief. I keep wondering when it's gonna be my turn to win. Keep the faith folks, it will so happen.
When a 13-strong works syndicate won nearly £4million on the lottery, boss Andy Whitaker feared that his staff would all leave.
But he was delighted and relieved when they promised to invest some of their £300,000 shares in the company and secure their futures.
Mr Whitaker’s motor repair firm in Accrington, Lancashire, has kept going through the recession despite other firms going bust all around him.
Andy Whitaker (second from left) with his workforce after they scooped £4m on the lotto, then vowed to plough the money back into his company
The father-of-three, whose wife Jayne was also part of the syndicate, said: 'Everybody is obviously really delighted to scoop such a big win but it's also a great feeling that a lot of the lads have got the firm so close to their hearts and want to be a part of it.
'Normally you hear about people wanting to spend their Lotto winnings on themselves and high living but it's great the workforce are thinking about their futures too - despite it not being a good time for savers.
'We're going to have a staff party to celebrate and I think everyone will be enjoying the win with their families.
'We are planning to inject cash into the company and it's nice to know we have a safeguard. The money has come at such a great time for us as we can all breathe a sigh of relief financially. Everybody is absolutely over the moon, it's a dream come true.'
The firm, ASK Rewinds, was established in 1978 and specialises in repairing all manner of motors.
The syndicate held one of two tickets which each won £3.9million on Saturday with numbers 6, 25, 33, 37, 42 and 43. The firm has run the syndicate for ten years.
Works director Peter Lewis also plans to put some of his winnings into the firm.
Mr Lewis, 50, said: ‘I was a little bit worried that everybody was going to leave now they’d won this, but the good news is that nobody wants to leave and the company is going to be very strong.’
The ticket was bought by Mr Whitaker’s 70-year-old father Arthur, who helps out at the firm.
Arthur said: ‘On Saturday night I was lying on the bed watching TV. When I saw the numbers, I jumped off the bed and ran into the other room to tell my wife but I was only wearing my string vest and I banged my knee off the table. I couldn’t believe we’d won.’
Mr Whitaker added: 'Last Saturday, I was sat in a pub in Lancaster with my wife and I got a phone call from dad saying we'd won the lottery.
'At first I didn't believe him, but then I realised that my father didn't tell lies. I was in total shock, but it's the best feeling in the world.'
SINC SAYS:
I bet the boss heaved a sigh of relief. I keep wondering when it's gonna be my turn to win. Keep the faith folks, it will so happen.
Boy Wins Rights To Tropical Island In Lottery
06/03/2009 07:04
TAIPEI (Reuters) - A
4-year-old boy has won the use of an
uninhabited tropical island, with white sand
beaches and clear turquoise waters, in a Taiwan
lottery aimed at boosting spending during an
economic
downturn.Officials said Yeh Chien-wei, who won the prize at Thursday's draw, will get exclusive rights to the tiny plot in the Taiwan Strait from May through September.
Penghu County, an offshore archipelago, will provide food, drinks, water and electricity to the boy. He has been quoted in local media saying he wants to play in the sea.
"Penghu has a lot of islands, and that one has water and electricity, so someone can really enjoy it," said county economic promotion official Lu Yan-chang, explaining why use of the island, which also has a cabin, was offered as a prize.
Counties elsewhere in Taiwan have offered cars, houses and other prizes to encourage locals to spend consumer vouchers worth T$3,600 ($103) that the government gave to every citizen in January to encourage spending to help boost the sagging economy.
Penghu, which comprises 64 islands, is known for its beautiful beaches and water sports.
According to the terms of the prize, the boy and up to seven family members can visit the island five times, for trips that last a maximum of three days.
SINC SAYS:
I once stayed on an island on Lake Of The Woods. The guy who owned it, offered it to me for a weekend. There was no lottery involved though. And it wasn't tropical. Come to think of it, it didn't have electricity either. Or a cabin.
'Guard' Gets Away With $144K Church Deposit
06/03/2009 06:40
Police are looking
for a brazen thief who went to Lincoln’s Berean
Church dressed as an armored service guard —
and walked away with nearly
$145,000.A man who appeared to be a guard with an armored car service walked into the church’s financial office Tuesday morning and told a woman he was there to pick up the deposit, said Lincoln Police Officer Katie Flood.
When the woman said he was a little early, his response sounded plausible enough, Flood said.
According to executive pastor Jeff Petersen, the Lincoln Berean Church north entrance was used during the robbery.
“‘Carl’ was handed the weekend offering of around $145,000, initialed the receipt and waltzed out,” said Police Chief Tom Casady.
All but about $4,000 of the money was in checks.
The plot became clear 15 minutes later — when the real guard showed up to the church at 6400 S. 70th St.
The woman at the church told police the man who left with the deposit was white, in his late 20s, 5-foot-7 or 5-foot-8, around 150 pounds with short light brown hair, glasses and a couple of days’ growth of facial hair. He was wearing a dark baseball cap, dark pants and a shirt with an emblem that looked just like a security uniform.
She didn’t see what he was driving.
“It sounds like he knew exactly what he was doing,” Flood said.
Casady said the heist likely will go down as one of the most interesting of the year in Lincoln.
And, he said, he wouldn’t be surprised if the same scheme doesn’t show up elsewhere.
SINC SAYS:
That's gotta be one rich congregation to have taken in that much loot in the old collection plate, don'tcha think?
'I'm Not Dead,' Quebec Woman Tells CRA
06/03/2009 06:30
Marie-Therese
Coulombe is a spry 67-year-old with stylish red
hair and a knowing sense of humour. And
according to the Canada Revenue Agency, she's
dead.Coulombe has spent the past week trying to remedy the situation.
"Easter is coming. It will be my resurrection," she told CTV Montreal with a grin.
Coulombe, who -- despite her tax status -- lives and breathes in Repentigny, northeast of Montreal, received a letter from the CRA that was addressed to her "estate."
The notice explained that she would stop receiving her GST credit cheques because of her death.
Worried that she was also at risk of losing her Canada Pension Plan, she tried to contact the CRA. Thirty-one calls later, she reached a bureaucrat in Newfoundland.
"I told her, 'I'm not dead, I'm on the other end of the line talking to you,'" Coulombe recalled in French. "She said, 'Madame, I can't talk to you, I have to talk to the executor of the estate.' I said, 'There is no estate! I'm on the phone with you!'"
Coulombe went to the press, and her story was put on the front page of a Quebec newspaper. After that, the CRA told her the matter would be settled within a few weeks.
A spokesperson also explained what may have happened: someone with a similar Social Insurance Number passed away, and an employee updated Coulombe's file instead.
A similar mistake was made in 2001, when Toronto resident Kaye McIsaac received a CRA letter saying her estate would be billed for a tax return -- because she was deceased.
"This is something you read about in the newspapers," McIsaac told CTV News at the time.
Like Coulombe, it took more than a few phone calls to rise from the dead.
"It's just a battle to try to straighten things out," she said.
SINC SAYS:
If I was her, I'd stay dead and quit paying taxes.
Distance May Be Key In Benefits Of Running
06/03/2009 06:20
Concerned about high blood pressure, raised cholesterol or diabetes? Start running.
A study of more than 100,000 male and female runners found that those who ran marathons were less likely to be on medication for those ailments.
The odds of needing those drugs to control the conditions were related to the number of marathons a runner did each year -- rather than the total number of kilometres run per year. Even among non-marathoners, people who included longer-distance runs in their routine were less likely to be on medication, according to findings published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.
"The key advantage to marathon training may be the inclusion of longer runs as part of regular training," Dr Paul T. Williams, of the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif., said.
"Even among non-marathon runners, we found that runners who included longer runs each week had additional health benefits over those that didn't," he added.
Williams used data from a national health study of more than 107,000 runners. About 30 per cent of men and women in the study said they'd run a marathon in the past five years.
Most people in the study were not on any medication for diabetes or elevated cholesterol or blood pressure.
Among men, Williams found, the odds of needing drugs for high blood pressure or cholesterol declined by about 15 per cent for each marathon run per year -- even with factors such as age, weight and diet considered.
The chances of needing diabetes medication dropped by half with each yearly marathon, according to the researchers. Among marathoners and non-marathoners alike, the odds of needing these medications declined as a runner's longest usual distance increased.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I can vouch for this story, folks. I know when I was running and training for marathons, I didn’t need any medications, either.
Recession May Trim Economic Windfall Of 2010 Olympics
06/03/2009 06:19
The B.C. government is reviewing earlier estimates that the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver and Whistler will create an economic impact in British Columbia worth $10.7 billion, Finance Minister Colin Hansen said Wednesday.
The worldwide recession will hit the Olympics, Hansen said, but just how hard has yet to be determined.
The results of the review will be made public, but until then Hansen said he is taking a positive outlook. The Opposition New Democrats, however, are saying he should face reality and accept that the world and British Columbia are caught in an economic downturn.
Last month, the provincial government trumpeted the benefits of the Olympics in its throne speech and budget.
The Games were expected to create a multibillion-dollar windfall for British Columbia, generating enough financial muscle to propel the province into becoming one of the strongest economies in Canada.
High ticket demand seen
"The $10 billion that is used is based on a study that was done a couple of years ago by RBC [Royal Bank of Canada]," said Hansen. "Given the demand for tickets that is obviously out [there], there's no reason that number should be diminished."
But Hansen did not say the $10.7 billion estimate originally came from a 2002 study by Intervistas Consulting, which was commissioned by the B.C. government to explore the Games' possible economic benefits.
Hansen said the current economic impact study is still underway.
"I'm not exactly sure of the timeline, but there is a new study that's being done to try to update some of the economic impact of the Olympic and Paralympic Games," he said.
Hansen admitted the recession "will obviously have some impact."
NDP Olympics critic Harry Bains said the time has come for a re-evaluation of the economic estimates associated with the Olympics.
"All the experts in the world will tell you that we are in recession," he said. "The numbers that he [Hansen] floats around, $10.7 billion, were put together before they [the government] admit that we were in a recession, so I think there is a serious need to update those numbers."
The Liberal government has forecast deficit budgets for 2009 and 2010, but expects the province will be back in the black by 2011.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It never ceases to amaze me how politicians and others can pull these economic impact forecasts for these “major events” out of thin air. Where do these numbers come from? And, more importantly, can they ever be proven and/or verified?
Obama Invited To Throw First Pitch
06/03/2009 06:19
The Cincinnati Reds have invited President Barack Obama to throw out the first pitch at the Civil Rights Game on June 20 at Great American Ballpark.
The hook the Reds hope will lure Obama is that they are facing his favourite team, the Chicago White Sox.
"We sent a letter signed by (Commissioner) Bud Selig and myself," Reds CEO Bob Castellini told the Cincinnati Enquirer on Wednesday. "We're hopeful. We haven't heard yet."
Reds manager Dusty Baker knows Obama personally, campaigned on his behalf and attended the inauguration.
The Civil Rights Game has been played since 2007. It was previously an exhibition game played in Memphis.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I can’t see the President not accepting this invitation, can you?
Doctor: Boater’s Survival ‘A Miracle’
06/03/2009 06:18
The attending physician for the lone survivor of a boating mishap off Florida's Gulf Coast said it was a "miracle" that his patient withstood the 46-hour ordeal.
Nick Schuyler, a former football player at South Florida, was in "good condition" Wednesday, two days after he was plucked from the sea while clinging to an overturned fishing boat.
"To stay in the water for 46 hours, to be alive, I think is a miracle," Dr. Mark Rumbak said Wednesday.
Three men, including two NFL players, were presumed dead after the Coast Guard announced it was suspending its rescue efforts on Tuesday.
Free agent defensive end Corey Smith, Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and former South Florida football player Will Bleakley also were aboard the boat that capsized in rough seas on Saturday night.
The Coast Guard ended its search approximately 30 hours after Schuyler was rescued on Monday.
Search for missing NFL players, other man called 'subdued.'
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
This really is a very tragic story. Schuyler is a very lucky man.
Cowboys Release Wide Receiver Terrell Owens
06/03/2009 06:16
IRVING, Texas - Terrell Owens' days in Dallas are done, according to ESPN.
ESPN cited anonymous sources Wednesday night in saying that the Cowboys have decided to cut the receiver, ridding them of a big locker-room distraction but also absorbing a big hit on their salary cap.
The team did not immediately have a comment. A spokesman for Owens said he hadn't heard the news, and that Owens was travelling and could not immediately be reached. His agent, Drew Rosenhaus, also did not immediately return a call.
Just a few weeks ago, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones indicated that T.O. was staying when he said, "You and I both know that the one that you're asking about all the time, if I gave you the answer that you want to hear, then you would've already had it. So the fact you don't have it ought to tell you something. It really should."
Jones seemed to enjoy the publicity Owens stirred up as much as the touchdowns he scored. However, there were several in-house issues involving Owens that may have ultimately prompted Jones to decide the receiver wasn't worth the trouble he caused.
Owens will count about US$9 million against the cap. His absence means one less high-profile player to open the Cowboys' new, $1.1 billion stadium, and fewer No. 81 jerseys to sell.
While Tony Romo also will be without the recipient of most his touchdown passes, he also will no longer have to make sure T.O. has enough passes his way to make him happy. Whether that was perception or reality will no longer matter either.
The Cowboys went 31-17 in Owens' three seasons, but 0-2 in the playoffs.
Jones essentially forced Owens on then-coach Bill Parcells, a relationship underscored by Parcells referring to Owens as "the player." Owens drew attention to himself during training camp by dressing up as a pro cyclist while riding a stationary bike, then had an accidental overdose early that season.
Yet when Parcells turned to unproven Romo midway through that season, Owens sparkled. They kept it up the next season, leading the Cowboys to all sorts of club records on their way to a 13-3 season and a division title. The Cowboys lost their first playoff game, days after Romo and others went on a trip to Mexico, and Owens tearfully defended Romo, saying, "That's my quarterback."
Owens got a new contract last summer, a four-year, $34 million deal that included a $12 million bonus.
The best news for Owens would be if the cameras were rolling for the new reality TV show he has in the works when he got the news from the Cowboys.
Where might he end up next? That's sure to be the next drama, and perhaps more great fodder for his TV show.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Good riddance.
Umpires Slam Pakistan Security After Cricket Attack
06/03/2009 06:14
LAHORE, Pakistan, March 5, 2009 (AFP) – Pakistan on Thursday faced fresh criticism over security lapses after the deadly attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team, as police hunted for the gunmen behind the ambush.
Tuesday's attack in Lahore -- which left six police and two civilians dead, and several Sri Lankan cricketers wounded -- has raised questions about the effectiveness of Pakistan's war on Islamic militants.
The government in Islamabad has set up a special investigation committee to track down the culprits, and police have so far detained about two dozen people over the attack, but match officials said not enough was done to protect them.
"There's a bit of anger there that we were let down -- we had all sorts of assurances before and I'm sure the (Sri Lankan) team feels that way too," Australian umpire Steve Davis told reporters Thursday at Melbourne airport.
"Despite all that, this was still able to happen and we were put in a very vulnerable position and felt very helpless."
Davis and other umpires were travelling in a convoy with the Sri Lankan team towards Gaddafi stadium for the third day of the second Test with Pakistan when up to 12 men opened fire with automatic weapons and grenades.
Simon Taufel, another Australian umpire caught in the attack, also vented his fury at Pakistan, questioning how their bus had been left unprotected as the gunmen launched their assault.
We were promised a nine (out of 10 on security) and got delivered a two," Taufel said upon his arrival home.
More from news.yahoo.com
Pakistanis question how cricket ambush could occur.
Seven dead as Sri Lanka’s national cricket team attacked.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
In a country like Pakistan, unfortunately anything is possible. I have a solution for those types of countries – everyone else should stay home and let them go at each other.
The Wisdom Of Will Rogers . . .
06/03/2009 06:10
I'm not a real movie star. I've still got the same wife I started out with twenty-eight years ago.
If advertisers spent the same amount of money on improving their products as they do on advertising then they wouldn't have to advertise them.
If I studied all my life, I couldn't think up half the number of funny things passed in one session of congress.
If Stupidity got us into this mess, then why can't it get us out?
If the other fellow sells cheaper than you, it is called dumping. 'Course, if you sell cheaper than him, that's mass production.
If the world comes to an end, I want to be in Cincinnati. Everything comes there ten years later.
He Didn't Mean To Offend
06/03/2009 05:57
ST. GEORGE — A
historian said he didn't mean to offend anybody
when he said Dorchester County's flag looks
like it was designed by third-graders.
Dorchester County displays the flag just inside the old courthouse, but it's never been flown.
Heyward Hutson, a former state representative and president of the Summerville Preservation Society, recently told council that the flag was created by third-graders, and it looks like it, and it's not historically accurate.
Hutson said the county needs another flag to fly outside the new courthouse complex that's set to open this summer, as well as other county buildings, to boost the county's efforts to draw tourists and businesses. He is working with the Upper Dorchester County Historical Society to design a new one.
As it turned out, the current flag was not designed by third-graders but by teachers, friends of Jean Behling, a former teacher and longtime member of the Upper Dorchester Historical Society.
"It was never our intention to disrespect the old flag in any way,"
Behling said. "The county flag idea is meant to foster unity and pride in the county."
She said two St. George teachers designed the flag, and a group of third-graders presented it to council in 1977. She said she plans to make a placard to put under the flag to explain its history, and she hopes the county continues to display it.
Hutson said he didn't mean to knock the old flag when he said a new one is needed.
"I didn't intend it to sound critical of the early efforts," he said. "I agree that it did come out sounding a bit harsh."
Most counties have their own seals, but Dillon County may be the only one that flies its own flag, according to the local historians.
Dorchester County Council recently endorsed the effort to design a new flag.
The old flag, which resembles a hand-made quilt, has three symbols on a background shaped like the county: a blue tent and cabins from one of the county's camp meeting sites, a yellow strip of railroad tracks and three red flowers.
Hutson said he was referring to the 1686 date on the flag when he said it was inaccurate. The first settlers arrived at Old Fort Dorchester in 1695, he said.
Hutson said local artists would donate their work to come up with some designs. Then council can decide what to go with.
SINC SAYS:
By the look of that thing, I’d say his first description was indeed accurate.
Lac La Biche Gung-Ho On New Rec Multiplex
06/03/2009 05:51
Voters in Lac La Biche County have strongly supported plans to borrow $48 million to help build a recreation multiplex.
The facility, which includes two hockey rinks, two field houses, a four-sheet curling rink, a fitness centre and a community hall, is intended to replace an aging arena, curling rink and hall built more than 40 years ago.
County councillors gave first reading last year to a borrowing bylaw, but residents collected enough signatures on a petition to force a plebiscite on the issue, arguing such a "grandiose" scheme costing $55 million shouldn't go ahead without a public vote.
"We're ecstatic with the results," said Peter Kirylchuk, mayor of Lac La Biche County. "It gives a strong mandate to council to go ahead with the project." About 70 per cent of the people who cast ballots Monday backed the development, which also includes a proposal for an attached elementary, high school and possibly a library in partnership with the Northern Lights School Division, county clerk Lucien Cloutier said Tuesday.
There were 1,884 votes in favor and 779 opposed, he said. About 6,000 people were eligible to vote.
County council is scheduled to approve the borrowing for the multiplex at a meeting next week, with construction set to start this spring and a completion target of September 2010, Cloutier said.
The provincial government is expected to decide by this summer whether to fund the $74-million school project.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Just a word of caution to the fine taxpayers of Lac La Biche County. Take it from a municipality that learned the hard way – most of the time these multi-purpose recreation centres evolve into big, black, money-sucking sinkholes. It would seem to me that if the county has to borrow $48 million of the $55 million capital cost of the project, they can’t afford it in the first place.
Two other points – what happens if the $74 million school project falls through? And, take note that only 31.4 per cent of the eligible voters cast ballots in favor of borrowing the $48 million. I guess that’s better than the roughly 18 per cent of the eligible electorate that voted in favor of St. Albert’s $ervu$ Place, though. The point is, there is still not a majority of voters in favor of borrowing the money to finance the project.
2009 Brier Preview: The Superpowers
06/03/2009 05:50
Kevin Martin and Glenn Howard are again fixing to crush the competition at this year's Canadian men's championship in Calgary. Who will win the latest battle in curling's answer to the Cold War?
Martin and Howard. Howard and Martin. If you're an elite men's curler in Canada these days, you're living under a bipolar power structure.
Between them, superlative skips Kevin Martin of Edmonton and Glenn Howard of Coldwater, Ont., have utterly dominated the game over the last few years, accounting for the last two Brier champions and four of the last six finalists.
These friendly rivals have also laid waste to the World Curling Tour, where Howard leads the money list with $123,900 in winnings this season and Martin is in hot pursuit at $121,553. The third-place skip, Brad Gushue, has earned barely half that: $62,624.
Martin and Howard have played their best at the toughest events, combining to win 10 of the last 11 Grand Slam events — lucrative, invitation-only spiels reserved for curling's top teams.
"When you look at their teams from top to bottom, each guy can say he's better than his counterpart in pretty much every game except when they play each other," says CBC curling analyst Mike Harris.
"And both rinks are highly driven. There are a lot of teams out there like that, but combine that with talent and teamwork and dedication and that's a tough combination to beat."
The latest flashpoint in curling's most heated battle will be in Martin's sphere of influence as he defends his Brier title at the Saddledome in Calgary starting Saturday.
But while the reigning national and world champion and his team may enjoy some home-ice advantage — third John Morris and lead Ben Hebert come from Calgary, while second Marc Kennedy is from St. Albert, Alberta — their chief competitors have momentum on their side.
Howard, third Richard Hart, second Brent Laing and lead Craig Savill have captured two Slam titles this season, while Martin and his boys have none. To boot, Howard won the most recent battle, pulling off a triple with his final stone to beat Martin in the final of the Canadian Open in January.
Still, Harris says, you can throw previous matchups out the window when these teams face off, as they'll do in the final draw of the round robin in Calgary.
Though Martin's squad likes to batter opponents into submission with its vaunted big-weight deliveries, and Howard's team prefers more of a finesse game, both will play aggressively.
"It's 50-50," Harris says. "If you said you wanted to bet, I'd let you pick who you want and I'd happily take the other guy. There's no real edge one way or the other."
Believe it or not, there are 10 other teams in the tournament. Here's a look at how the field stacks up, along with each skip's Brier experience level and Harris's quick take on all 12 rinks:
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
For CBC Curling Analyst Mike Harris’ take on how the 2009 Brier field stacks up, click here.
Crusaders Win Series
06/03/2009 05:49
Oust St. Albert Steel with three wins in four games
Beauty doesn't always win the contest. The Sherwood Park Crusaders demonstrated that Tuesday night in beating the St. Albert Steel 5-2 to win their first-round Alberta Junior Hockey League playoff series.
Cody Kunyk scored two power-play goals for the Crusaders and Rob Kleebaum got the backbreaker midway through the third period to give Sherwood Park the best-of-five series 3-1.
"We battled hard, harder tonight than we did (Monday) night," Kunyk said of his team's effort. "(Monday) night was a learning experience for us. Once we felt what it felt like to lose we readied ourselves for tonight."
Kunyk's second goal 7:45 into the third had given Sherwood Park a 4-2 lead that lasted two minutes before Daniel Carr's second power-play goal at 9:44 pulled the Steel within a goal.
But just as the Steel might have thought they had another comeback win in them after prolonging the series with a 4-3 win on Monday, Kleebaum broke their backs with his sixth goal of the series.
"That was huge," said Crusaders coach Ross Kenny. "It was a real simple play by a guy (Reese Rolheiser) who led our league in scoring. That is not a patented lead-the-league-in-scoring play. He drove the guy wide and put it to the net and Rob was there. That's a pretty standard play that we ask the guys to do and he did it. It was so ugly it was beautiful."
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The curtain falls on another St. Albert Steel season.
Oilers Acquire O’Sullivan, Kotalik In Four-Way Deal
06/03/2009 05:49
The Edmonton Oilers got busy late in the proceedings on NHL trade deadline day as they have acquired forward Patrick O'Sullivan in a pair of deals involving four teams.
The 24-year old O'Sullivan was originally shipped along with a second round draft pick from the Los Angeles Kings to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for forward Justin Williams.
The ‘Canes then turned around and dealt O'Sullivan and the draft pick they received from the King to the Oilers in exchange for Erik Cole, sending the Oswego, New York native back to the team where he won the Stanley Cup in 2006.
The Oilers were not done there as they sent a second round draft pick to the Buffalo Sabres for forward Ales Kotalik.
O'Sullivan, who is signed through the 2010-11 season, has 14 goals and 23 assists in 62 games with the Kings this season. He was originally a second round pick of the Minnesota Wild in 2003.
Meanwhile Cole's time in Edmonton lasted only 63 games after the Oilers acquired him this past summer from the Hurricanes in exchange for defenceman Joni Pitkanen. Cole has 16 goals and 11 assists this season. The 30-year old Cole is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The 30-year old Kotalik has 13 goals and 19 assists in 56 games with the Sabres this season. He will also become an unrestricted free agent July 1st.
Finally Williams, who is currently on injured reserve with a broken hand, has three goals and seven assists in 32 games. He also missed time this season with an Achilles injury.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
The Oilers improved their team marginally at the trade deadline yesterday.
Ames Gets Help For Charitable Foundation From RBC
06/03/2009 05:48
Stephen Ames is getting some corporate support for his charitable venture.
The Calgary golfer has forged a partnership with RBC to help support the Stephen Ames Cup, a match-play event he hosts each summer for teenagers from Canada and his native Trinidad and Tobago.
For the past four years, Ames has funded the Ryder Cup-style tournament that is moved annually between the two countries. This year's event will be held in Calgary from Aug. 17-20.
"It's something I've been very proud of," Ames said Tuesday of his tournament. "It has been a way that I've been giving back to junior golf in both the countries that I live in."
The four-year sponsorship deal will see RBC become the presenting sponsor and official bank of the Stephen Ames Cup.
It provides another way for the bank to further its commitment to golf. RBC assumed title sponsorship of the Canadian Open in November 2007.
The company is happy with the return its been getting on an investment in the PGA Tour event.
"Our expectations were actually low going into it because we knew we had some work to do to dust off the operation,' said Jim Little, RBC's marketing chief. "But it's become our premier hosting for a range of clients in all of our business platforms."
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Congrats to Ames and RBC. This is a very worthwhile venture.
Brier Tickets Going Fast
06/03/2009 05:48
Ticket sales for the 2009 Tim Hortons Brier are roughly at the same level of the 2002 Brier at the Pengrowth Saddledome.
And considering the economic doom and gloom of the past few months, that's already a victory as far as organizers are concerned.
As of Tuesday morning, roughly 208,000 tickets had been sold without a rock being thrown in the Canadian men's curling championship, which kicks off Saturday at the Saddledome.
The 2002 Brier attracted 245,296 fans, averaging between 1,500 to 2,000 in walk-up sales for each draw, which is typical for a Brier. That figure stands as the third-highest in event history, behind only Edmonton in 2005 (281,985) and Saskatoon in 2000 (248,793).
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
They’ll have a good crowd for the Brier that starts in Calgary on Saturday – not as good as if it were in Edmonton, but a good crowd, nevertheless.
Obama Beer Sparks Controversy
04/03/2009 00:48
President Barack
Obama is getting some flack and some praise
after enjoying a
beer.He was at an NBA basketball game and ordered a brew. Images of Mr. Obama enjoying a beer have angered some people.
One caller to WWL complained, "People are losing 5, 10, 20 thousand dollars a day in the stock market, and he's sitting there drinking a beer!" She also said, "It's insulting... there's a lot of people suffering." She insisted President Obama should not publicly have fun during a time of so much pain.
"That's the craziest thing I've ever heard in my life," one man called in to reply. "He didn't mess up the country, first of all... let's be real now. A man's gotta take some down time."
"She needs to get a life," another called responded. "We all need to lighten up."
Another man said, "Aww heck, you know, ain't nothin' wrong with it. He's takin' a little break, knockin' him down a cold one."
However, another woman was upset about the courtside presidential beer. "The president is the president 24 hours a day. I don't think he should drink on the job."
SINC SAYS:
I would trust a man who has an occasional beer over any old biddy who thinks he shouldn’t drink on the job. He may be the pres 24/7, but he has to sleep too. Does that piss her off too?
Do Not Hide An Engagement Ring . . .
04/03/2009 00:48
In A Frosty And Then
Hold An Eating
ContestReed Harris wanted a memorable proposal — but he probably should have thought his plan through a little better. He hid an engagement ring in his girlfriend's Wendy's Frosty — and then he and his friends challenged her to a race to see who could eat their Frosty first. What could go wrong?
"I mean, I was taking huge bites and swallowing," Kaitlin wrote. "There was no tasting at all. I get to the end and everyone starts staring at me with this weird, worried look on their face, and I have no clue what is going on around me."
Yeah, she ate the ring. This is the exact thing that I picture happening whenever people try to replicate jewelry commercial proposals. If anyone ever wants to marry me, they should just ask. Don't hide anything in my food.
For those of you who are worried, the ring "arrived" safe and sound after a little prune juice and fiber.
SINC SAYS:
Strikes me as a very weird way to play a game of “Ring Around The Rosie”.
04/03/2009 00:48
Why are the little
styrofoam pieces called peanuts?
Why does the Easter bunny carry eggs? Rabbits don't lay eggs.
Do siamese twins pay for one ticket or two tickets when they go to movies and concerts?
Why does caregiver and caretaker mean the same thing?
Can a short person "talk down" to a taller person?
If a bald person works as a chef at a restaurant, do they have to wear a hairnet?
If milk goes bad if not refrigerated, does it go bad if the cow isn’t refrigerated?
Store Refuses Wine To Mom . . .
04/03/2009 00:48
Shopping with
14-year-old
daughterStaff at supermarket giant Tesco refused to sell wine to a mother - in case she gave it to her 14-year-old daughter.
Fraud investigator Karen Dumelow, 46, and her daughter Emily were at the check-out when a cashier said she could not serve her in case the wine was given to the youngster.
She had been about to pay for two bottles of white wine at the Portsmouth store while doing her weekly shopping with her daughter.
Mrs Dumelow said she spoke to three senior members of staff who agreed with the cashier who had wanted to see identification for the teenager.
But because Emily was unable to do so Mrs Dumelow was told she could not buy the wine.
She said today: 'The checkout assistant asked Emily for ID and I just told her that obviously she didn't have any because she is only 14 years old.
'I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was crazy. Do you have to leave your children at home if you want to buy alcohol now?
She was then forced to put aside the wine, pay for the rest of the shopping and then send off her daughter to the car before she could pay for the alcohol separately at the same till.
'I was paying for the shopping, not her, how extreme can something get?" Mrs Dumelow told the Portsmouth News.
'I would never purchase alcohol for an under-age person.
The supermarket giant tries to stop adults buying alcohol for minors as part of its efforts to curb under-age drinking.
Mrs Dumelow, from Milton near Portsmouth, said today: 'The part that incensed me the most was that literally one minute later I bought the wine from the same till - it was unbelievable.
'All I had to do was send my daughter to the car and all of a sudden everything was OK.'
Emily said she was embarrassed by the incident in the crowded store, adding: 'I don't understand why they wanted ID for me because the wine wasn't for me and I wasn't paying.'
Her mother has sent Tesco a written complaint.
Mrs Dumelow, a fraud investigator, said: 'In my job I have to be squeaky clean and that's how I am outside the office too.
'I would never try and buy my daughter or any other under-age person alcohol and I find it extremely distressing to have been treated this way.
'I have sent Tesco a two-page letter explaining how angry I am. And I have shown them that my till receipts prove how crazy the whole thing was.'
Tesco today apologised for the incident and the embarrassment it caused.
'We work hard to prevent under-age sales, including proxy sales where adults purchase alcohol for under-18s. However in this instance we got it wrong and sincerely apologise.'
SINC SAYS:
The lengths some do gooders will go to never cease to amaze me.
Repeating As Brier Champ Rare
04/03/2009 00:48
Only nine teams have successfully defended their title, but five were from Alberta
Make Kevin Martin's a double? The reigning Tim Hortons Brier champion would love nothing more than to defend his 2008 Canadian men's curling championship.
Martin, along with third John Morris, second Marc Kennedy, lead Ben Hebert, fifth-man Terry Meek and coach Jules Owchar, have their eyes firmly set on the prize when the Brier begins Saturday in Calgary. But doing the double, as it were, is easier said than done.
Only nine championship teams have ever successfully repeated the feat in back-to-back years since 1927 -- amazingly five of those represented Alberta as Randy Ferbey rattled off three straight titles from 2001-03, and Pat Ryan won in 1988-89, Ron Northcott turned the trick in 1968-69, and Matt Baldwin blazed the trail in 1957-58.
"I'm surprised. That's actually more than I thought," said Martin, of the list of two-straight victors.
"That's a hard thing to do, just because you have to be that consistent for that long. But I don't know, the guys are throwing it pretty good right now. The only downfall to it all is the field is so tough." He's got a point there. This year's field features a half-dozen previous Canadian champions and world titleholders, and an Olympic gold-medallist in Newfoundland's Brad Gushue.
But what Martin has going for him is a red-hot team that not only went undefeated in last year's Brier, but also the last two Alberta championships.
"That doesn't happen very often," said Martin, of the perfect Brier at Winnipeg in '08, which he capped with a 5-4 win over Glenn Howard of Ontario in the final.
"That's good consistent play. Mind you, (Pat) Simmons should have probably beat us in that 1-2 (playoff) game last year.
"It does bode well for consistency, though," he said of his crew's run. "That's important. If you want to take some confidence out of something, yeah, that would be it." The Martin rink is not openly talking about claiming two straight titles.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Don’t bet against these guys repeating as Brier champions either, folks.
Late Goal Keeps Steel Alive In First-Round Series
04/03/2009 00:48
Bryce Williamson banged in a waist-high rebound with 29 seconds remaining to give the St. Albert Steel a 4-3 victory over Sherwood Park Crusaders on Monday night to extend their Alberta Junior Hockey League playoff series.
The win left Sherwood Park leading the best-of-five, first-round series 2-1, with Game 4 being played tonight in St. Albert.
"The draw went forward ... we got a low shot, the rebound bounced up in the air. I took one swing and batted it in," Williamson said about the game-winning goal scored before 654 fans.
The goal ended a tight, physical game from start to finish. The teams battled through a scoreless first period and St. Albert used its power play to take a 3-2 lead into the third period, thanks largely to the play of surprise starting goaltender Mark Kotylak.
"It was a little shocking, especially after being backup the whole season," he said about getting the start after Scott MacInnis gave up 11 goals in the first two games -- 6-5 and 6-1 losses.
"It's not something you expect, to start in the playoffs, especially when your backs are against the wall." Kotylak made several key saves early and two huge stops near the 16-minute mark of the third period when the Crusaders pressed for the go-ahead goal.
"Mark was inspiring," Williamson said of his goaltender. "When he made those saves early, it got everyone fired up." Sherwood Park grabbed a 1-0 lead 5:52 into the second period when Nick Blair's long, screened shot eluded Kotylak. Taylor Fraser tied it at 8:35 on a sharp-angled shot that went in off the shoulder of goaltender Matt Esposito.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Good for the Steel, at least they’re making a series of it. Game 4 of the best of 5 series was slated for last night at $ervu$ Place. The score was not available at press time.
Stamps’ Hufnagel Named CFL Coach Of The Year
04/03/2009 00:48
HAMILTON - John Hufnagel, who guided the Calgary Stampeders to the 2008 Grey Cup title, is the CFL's coach of the year.
Hufnagel received the award at a luncheon Tuesday after finishing first in voting conducted by the Football Reporters of Canada.
Marc Trestman of the Montreal Alouettes - whose team lost to Calgary in the Grey Cup - and Ken Miller of the Saskatchewan Roughriders were also nominated for the award. All three finalists were first-year head coaches in the league
''It's a very nice award for our organization,'' said Hufnagel. ''That's how I view it, it's a team award. I'm very honoured and I'm hoping the job I did this year, and I'm not counting wins and losses I'm talking about the relationships I established with the players, staff and within the organization, can improve.''
Under Hufnagel, Calgary posted a CFL-best 13-5 record to finish first in the West Division. After dispatching B.C. 22-18 in the conference final, the Stampeders capped their season by downing Montreal 22-14 in the Grey Cup before 66,308 spectators at Olympic Stadium.
The CFL title was Calgary's first since 2001.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Well, that was kind of a no-brainer, wasn’t it folks?
Hearts Champion Looks Ahead To Curling Worlds
04/03/2009 00:48
Jennifer Jones isn't resting on her laurels.
Fresh off her victory in Sunday's final of the Tournament of Hearts, Jones is now looking forward to defending her title later this month at the World Women's Curling Championship in Gangneung, South Korea.
The Winnipeg skip claimed her second consecutive Hearts title with an 8-5 victory over Marla Mallett of B.C. in Victoria Sunday night, winning the championship for the third time in five years.
As a result, Jones and her teammates — third Cathy Overton-Clapham, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn Askin — will represent Canada in South Korea from March 21 to 29.
Jones won the world championship last year in Vernon, B.C.
"We're pretty excited to wear the Maple Leaf on our backs; it's the most special feeling in the world. To go to South Korea and try to defend a world title is something I can't even imagine doing," Jones told CBC Newsworld on Monday morning.
Jones defeated Mallett in dramatic fashion on Sunday.
Jones removed a B.C. stone with her last shot of the final end to lie two, and Mallett's draw to the four-foot was short, leading to a game-winning steal for the Winnipeg native.
"Most finals come down to the final shot and it was a breathtaking moment," Jones said. "We felt good when we woke up in the morning and got on the ice, and I think we played great from the first end to the last end. It was a great feeling to be a part of that."
Sunday's victory capped off an amazing week for Jones.
Things looked bleak for her on Friday, but the Winnipeg skip stole a point in the 10th end and another in the extra to stun Prince Edward Island's Rebecca Jean MacPhee 6-5 in tiebreaker to advance to the playoffs.
Even when she was on the verge of elimination against MacPhee, Jones never doubted she would prevail in the tiebreaker.
"When you're out there you never doubt it," Jones said.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Don’t bet against Team Jones defending their world championship in Korea, either. Although, many funny things have happened to Canadian Champions at the Worlds – especially ones like this year that are held outside of Canada. One only has to look back to 2005 at this same team in Paisley, Scotland.
Coast Guard Suspends Search For Missing NFL Players
04/03/2009 00:48
CLEARWATER, Fla. - The U.S. Coast Guard called off the search Tuesday for two NFL players and a third man lost at sea off the Florida coast after their boat capsized during a fishing trip.
Officials said the search would end at sundown, with Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith, who played with the Detroit Lions last season, and former South Florida player William Bleakley still missing in the rough, chilly seas.
"We're extremely confident that if there are any survivors on the surface of the water that we would have found them," said Coast Guard Capt. Timothy Close, who added that searchers scoured the equivalent of 38,000 square kilometres over more than 60 hours.
Hopes were raised Monday when crews found a fourth man who was aboard, 24-year-old former South Florida player Nick Schuyler, who managed to stay with the boat after it overturned Saturday evening.
William Bleakley's father said he felt comfortable with the Coast Guard's decision and that his expectations lowered after only one survivor was found.
"I think they did everything that they could," Robert Bleakley said of the Coast Guard. "I think they were not to be found."
Close said searchers found a cooler and a life jacket 26 kilometres southeast of the boat, but no other signs of the men.
Prospects for survival became more grim throughout the day, with Cooper's father saying the Coast Guard told him privately officials were losing hope because so much time had passed and hypothermia risks were high. Coast Guard officials said publicly that they were still hopeful.
"I think the families understood that we put in a tremendous effort," Close said. "Any search and rescue case we have to stop is disappointing."
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
This is truly a tragedy, folks.
Football Flash Rudy Still Drawing Them In
04/03/2009 00:47
Pint-sized player with more heart than ability continues to inspire as motivational speaker
His 15 minutes of fame actually lasted just 27 seconds.
Never mind. It's what Hollywood did with his half-minute at Notre Dame Stadium and its backstory that destined Daniel Eugene "Rudy" Ruettiger for celluloid immortality.
Actor Sean Astin, who went on to greater fame playing a hobbit, stood in for the stumpy Ruettiger in the 1993 film Rudy. It's the now-familiar tale of a "five-foot nothing ... with hardly a spec of athletic ability" overachiever who wanted to play college football for the Fighting Irish so badly that no amount of cynicism could stop him. And he finally did -- for two plays, at the end of his first and only game.
For the working-class young man who seemed destined for the glow of the steel mill rather than the bright lights, the cinematic legacy of Rudy has led to an enduring career as a motivational speaker.
"How many speeches have I given in the past 14 years?" Ruettiger, now 60, says over the phone from Las Vegas.
"Oh, my God -- I can't put a number to it. Millions have seen the movie. Thousands have heard me speak. When you say the name 'Rudy,' the acknowledgment is universal and worldwide."
The man known as Rudy will be in Vancouver next week as part of a very busy speaking schedule.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
I just saw the movie a couple of weeks ago. What an awesome, inspirational movie it is.
Johnny Bower . . . I Was Shaking In My Boots
04/03/2009 00:47
Johnny Bower grew up in rural Saskatchewan in a poor family of nine children. He made his goalie pads from an old mattress, and for a stick, his dad found crooked tree branches and shaved them down for him to use. Despite these circumstances, he became one of the best goalies of all time.
Throughout his career, which took off with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1958, he was twice awarded the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender, was a First Team All-Star, was picked by fans in 1995 as goalie on the All-Time Great Leaf Team, and he helped lead Toronto to four Stanley Cup victories.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Johnny Bower is my all-time favorite goalie.
To read cbcsports.ca’s interview with Toronto Maple Leafs goaltending legend Johnny Bower, click here.
City Hiring, Tax Stats Enough To Make You Sick
03/03/2009 11:47
The following was
posted by Lynda Flannery on the St. Albert
Taxpayers Association web
site.
Lynda tells me the
figures were compiled by local resident
Robert Hartley. Thank you
Robert.
It certainly shows
why I have stated time and again that Robbing
Hood and His Merry Band Of Men must be fired.
The current administration staff have
demonstrated their desire to keep us poor far
too many times. Do senior members of
administration even live, or pay taxes here?
Can anyone shed some light on where they
actually live?
Do you know what increases in St. Albert City Staff, Taxes and Utilities since 2002 look like? Take a good look:
Note: Staffing does not include temporary or contract positions.
Do you know what increases in St. Albert City Staff, Taxes and Utilities since 2002 look like? Take a good look:
Note: Staffing does not include temporary or contract positions.
Last Ditch Appeal To Stop Gandhi Auction
03/03/2009 01:48
NEW DELHI (AFP) – A
relative of Mahatma Gandhi made a last ditch
appeal to the government Monday to stop the
iconic resistance leader's personal effects,
including trademark round glasses, from being
auctioned
off.The latest appeal from Tushar Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, came as New York-based Antiquorum Auctioneers said plans to sell a watch, a pair of sandals, a plate and bowl plus the glasses would go ahead this week.
"I abandoned my efforts to try and collect money to buy Gandhi's possessions after the government of India said it was determined to do whatever it could" to bring the belongings back to India, Tushar Gandhi told AFP.
"But according to my information, the government has made no effort yet to contact anyone from Antiquorum. I am really getting anxious," said Tushar Gandhi, who heads the Mahatma Gandhi Foundation in Mumbai and describes the sale as a "grave insult".
The Press Trust of India, however, quoted government officials as saying New Delhi was considering legal steps to stall the auction.
"We are seriously examining other means including legal action to stop the auction," it quoted an unnamed government official as saying.
Officials from India's Culture Ministry held a closed-door meeting Monday with experts from the government's legal wing on the issue, it added.
On Friday, India's Culture Minister Ambika Soni told the news agency that "whatever can be done is being done to ensure that articles are not auctioned".
But on Sunday, auctioneer Julien Schaerer said that despite an outcry in India over the sale, the auction house had not been contacted by India.
"The auction will happen on March 5," Antiquorum's spokeswoman Michelle Halpern told AFP in New York. "There has been no change."
Antiquorum has refused to identify the person it says is the single, private owner of the items.
The auction house has put an estimate of 20,000 to 30,000 dollars on the items, which will sell as one lot.
Expectations are for a considerably higher price -- partly thanks to publicity from the row in India over the sale.
SINC SAYS:
I can still remember watching newsreels in the theatres of the great man himself when I was a kid. To think it has come to fighting over his shoes.
Is This The World's Only PINK Dolphin?
03/03/2009 01:47
Caught on
camera: These are the stunning pictures of a rare pink bottlenose dolphin spotted swimming in a Louisiana lake.
The mammal was pictured by local charter boat captain Erik Rue, who has been studying the dolphin since it first surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico in Southwestern USA.
Since it was spotted with its pod of normal coloured dolphins last year the animal has been wowing visitors on the lake.
Capt Rue, 42, originally saw the dolphin, which also has reddish eyes, swimming with a pod of four other dolphins, with one appearing to be its mother which never left its side.
'I just happened to see a little pod of dolphins, and I noticed one that was a little lighter. It was absolutely stunningly pink', he said.
'I had never seen anything like it. It's the same colour throughout the whole body and it looks like it just came out of a paint booth. The dolphin appears to be healthy and normal other than its colouration, which is quite beautiful.
'The mammal is entirely pink from tip to tail and has reddish eyes indicating it's albinism. The skin appears smooth, glossy pink and without flaws. I have spotted it about 40 to 50 times in the time since the original sighting as it has apparently taken up residence with its family in the Calcasieu Ship Channel.
'As time has passed he has grown and sometimes ventures away from its mother to feed and play but always remains in the vicinity of the pod.
'Surprisingly, it does not appear to be drastically affected by the environment or sunlight as might be expected considering its condition, although it tends to remain below the surface a little more than the others in the pod.'
Capt Rue added: 'I feel very fortunate to have seen this incredible mammal and lucky to be able to work and live in the area where such a fantastic creature frequents.
'Our guests are always thrilled at the opportunity to spot such a unique mammal and we look forward to it being around for some time to come.'
Regina Asmutis-Silvia, senior biologist, with the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, called the dolphin 'truly beautiful'.
'I have never seen a dolphin coloured in this way in all my career', she said.
'While this animal looks pink, it is an albino which you can notice in the pink eyes. Albinism is a genetic trait and it unclear as to the type of albinism this animal inherited.
'It is a truly beautiful dolphin but people should be careful, as with any dolphins, to respect it. Observe from a distance, limit their time watching, don't chase or harass it.
SINC SAYS:
I’ve seen a couple of pink elephants in my day, but this is ridiculous.
Diners Swipe Own Credit Cards To Avert ID Theft
03/03/2009 01:47
Matt Charette knows
the customers at his three local restaurants
trust him every time they turn over their
credit cards to pay a
tab.That's why he's started putting bright yellow cards that read "customer swipe" with the checks, giving customers the option to walk over to the wait station and run their own cards. As a business owner, he says, it's a small comfort he can offer. As a fellow consumer, he hopes he'll get people thinking about being safer with their credit cards.
According to a report issued last week by the Federal Trade Commission, the Nashville-Murfreesboro region reported about 5,200 instances of fraud to the agency in 2008, ranking it in the middle of the pack among the 382 largest U.S. metropolitan areas. The region was about two-thirds up the list in complaints of identity theft, with nearly 1,400 reported.
Charette, who owns Beyond the Edge and two other East Nashville restaurants, knows a fellow business owner who was shocked to learn an employee was using a skimmer on their customers to steal credit card data.
"Anything we can do to make people feel more comfortable is a big deal," Charette said.
Since he started the initiative last week, Charette said only one person has taken him up on it. But he plans to keep offering.
The move is likely to have more effect on marketing than security because it's not a widespread problem, said Walt Baker, CEO of the Tennessee Hospitality Association.
"Does the opportunity exist? Yes, it always exists," Baker said. "But I would be paranoid if I thought about it every time I use my credit card.
SINC SAYS:
This is an excellent idea and should be adopted by local merchants. The peace of mind from swiping my own card would mkae me return to that business.
She's Not A Kid Anymore
03/03/2009 01:47
And South Milwaukee
wants dwarf goat
outMeet Gigi, the Nigerian dwarf goat living in the house of a South Milwaukee family.
"She's not really a goat. She's part of our family," Gail Krug said.
She also really is a goat, and the South Milwaukee Health Department wants her gone.
"I think of a goat as a farm animal, whether it's a pygmy goat or a farm goat," city public health administrator Jackie Ove said.
The city and the Krugs have been butting heads since December, when police discovered the miniature goat enjoying urban living. Officers also alerted the Health Department about the menagerie of two dogs, two cats, snakes, lizards, turtles and other critters at the Madison Ave. house.
The Krug family will plead their case before the Board of Health at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.
I'm no bleating heart, but I kinda hope they win. Gigi doesn't seem to be bothering anyone. The neighbors haven't complained.
You can guess the problem, though. Say yes to the hobby goat and someone else wants a pig or a mini horse in the rec room.
"Today, I got a request for chickens," Ove said last week. "I know they've bonded with the animal, but I have to look at the broader picture of the entire city."
Gail Krug's 23-year-old son, Kevin, bought the black goat at St. Martin's Fair for $100 a year and a half ago. Gigi was just a week old and less than 3 pounds. Today she's full grown at 18 inches tall and 50 pounds.
Kevin at first bottle-fed Gigi; now she's on a diet of mostly grain pellets and hay. "Basically, she eats everything except metal. And she doesn't like pickles," Kevin said.
Gigi tried to munch my notebook and jacket when I met her last week. She chewed on the remnants of a Mylar balloon, happily swallowing the shreds. It sounded strange to hear hooves clicking across the living room hardwood floor. She has horns, and at one point she head-butted a reclining chair, which was both scary and entertaining.
"She likes to watch Jerry Springer," Gail said. "She hops up on the recliner."
Gigi hasn't been "fixed," but so far no billy goats have come calling. Alas, that also means no goat milk for now. Kevin swears Gigi is housebroken, doing her business outside in the family's fenced two-thirds of an acre corner lot. She sometimes retires to a wire crate in the basement because you don't want to leave a mischievous goat unattended in your house.
Kevin walks the goat on a leash around the neighborhood, adding a dog sweater on cold days. She's been popular at festivals, kids' birthday parties, nursing homes, at the bank drive-through where they give her a sucker, and at meetings of the Old Goats club at the tavern across the street.
"It's going to sound weird, but she is my kid. I'm going to fight to keep her," Kevin said. "She's second-generation. Her mom was a house goat."
Gail handed me something from the Internet, a column written by a doctor at the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine. The headline is, "Pygmy goats can make good pets!"
I called over to U of I and found out that the doctor has since died (no, nothing related to goats or house-pet chimpanzees gone wild). But a colleague in the school's farm section, Cliff Shipley, said, "They do make very good pets - if you live in the country where you can avoid zoning laws."
"I've never heard of a housebroken goat," Shipley said. Usually it's the owner who is trained to know when the animal is about to let it fly.
South Milwaukee's ordinances say the Board of Health may approve an offbeat animal that poses no danger. Shipley did say dwarf goats are not really a danger, though it's best to have the horns removed, preferably at an early age. These goats have about the same life expectancy as a dog.
The Krugs have been circulating petitions to support their cause.
They would be more than happy to pay the $250 for an exotic animal permit. If they lose, they fear Gigi will not do well in a farm setting with far less human contact.
Gail never dreamed she would be fighting to keep a goat.
She and her son know of no one else around here who is sharing their home with one.
"She's just so important to us. I hate telling people I have a goat in my house because they look at me like Elly May Clampett. But it's not like that."
SINC SAYS:
Talk about stories that get my goat.
Face Off For The Fallen Four
03/03/2009 01:47
With members of the Mayerthorpe Wranglers behind them, ceremonial puck droppers Emma Heystek, 3, and Xander Graham, 3, adjust their outfits before the annual charity hockey game for the Fallen Four Memorial Society between members of the RCMP and the Wranglers at Rexall Place on Sunday. The game is usually held in Mayerthorpe's arena, but it burned down in July.
Study Reveals Referees’ Home Bias
03/03/2009 01:47
Oilers buck NHL trend of more power plays on home ice
New research confirms what many NHL hockey fans have long suspected, that referees consistently call more penalties on visiting teams.
In a sampling of more than 2,300 power plays from Jan. 1 through mid-February, home teams had 11.5 per cent more man advantages than did visitors.
National Hockey League teams have won 55 per cent more points and games at home than on the road this year -- a statistic which fits nicely into the 54- to 56-per-cent advantage home teams have enjoyed throughout this decade.
Is it because of familiarity? Comfort? The last line change?
Perhaps. But there may be another more significant factor.
Research by the Edmonton Journal and Vancouver researcher Will Lockwood shows that referees consistently award more power plays to the home teams.
The 11.5-per-cent figure surprised everyone interviewed by The Journal, including former referees Lance Roberts and Mark Faucette, former linesman Swede Knox and coaches such as the Vancouver Canucks' Alain Vigneault.
"I'm surprised it's that much," Vigneault said when presented with the numbers.
He shouldn't be. Last year --according to statistics compiled by Lockwood -- Vancouver had the biggest home/away power-play advantage. The Canucks had an average of 5.17 power plays at home compared with an average of 3.83 power plays on the road.
The Oilers were near the bottom, receiving slightly more power plays on the road -- an average of 4.24 per game -- than at Rexall Place -- 4.15 per game.
Overall, it's not just this year or last year that NHL home teams got more power plays -- it has happened to every team throughout this decade.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
Referees find it hard not to be swayed by 16,000 hockey fans.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Trust it to be the Oilers who would be the ones to buck the trend.
No Surgery Required For Oilers’ Captain Moreau
03/03/2009 01:47
The Edmonton Oilers received some good news Monday as the team learned that forward Ethan Moreau will not require surgery to repair a scratched cornea and bruised retina.
"He saw the doctor again today and everything went well," head coach Craig MacTavish told reporters. "All the news so far has been really positive. It's hard to completely anticipate and project how it's going to go but everything to this point has really gone well."
The 33-year old Moreau was taken to Edmonton hospital on Saturday night after he received a stick to the eye during the Oilers' victory over the Minnesota Wild. Doctors had to wait for the swelling and bleeding in the eye to come down before they could determine the best course of action.
The team was encouraged by the fact that there was no serious damage to the eye and that surgery would not be required, but no timeline for Moreau's return was outlined.
"Everything looks to be pointing towards a complete and full recovery," MacTavish said. "How long that is depends on the next few days with an obstacle every couple of days to get over."
Oilers head medical trainer Ken Lowe stated that Moreau's vision is slowly returning and he will see the eye specialist again on Thursday.
More from TSN.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
This is certainly very good news.
Loud Crowd Proud Of Bears
03/03/2009 01:47
Alberta repeats as CIS volleyball champions
The term Alberta Advantage usually refers to economics and tourism in this productive province, but it can easily be attributed to support of university athletics as well.
No one realized that more on Sunday than the University of Laval Rouge et Or, who had to endure a 100-minute beat-down -- not only on the volleyball floor, but from 2,714 raucous fans.
Each and every voice helped lift the Alberta Golden Bears to a Canadian Interuniversity Sport volleyball championship at the Main Gym.
A 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-17) victory gave head coach Terry Danyluk's Golden Bears their second straight national crown and fourth in eight years. It also capped a perfect CIS season for the Bears, and their fans, as they outlasted the Rouge et Or in a matchup of undefeated teams.
The T-shirt-waving mob started early and the taunting shortly followed, including a vivid sign that read, "Parlez-vous silver," welcoming -- if you can say that -- the nation's No. 2 team.
"It was surreal," said Bears fifth-year right-side hitter Joel Schmuland, the CIS player of the year who was also named the tournament's most valuable player. "Even when we were having little blips in our play, the crowd was there, all the time, so loud. We came out of both games (the semifinal and final) with a headache, and that's a great thing."
Not as big a migraine as Laval head coach Pascal Clement, who endured a rough ending. The Rouge et Or committed 13 service errors, 11 in the first two sets, as they gave away momentum early and often to the No. 1 Bears.
"That made a difference. They don't miss too much," he said of Alberta.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Congrats, Bears! What can I say? Another championship for the “City of Champions.”
CFL To Consider Three Rule Changes From Fans
03/03/2009 01:47
TORONTO - The Canadian Football League will consider three rule changes proposed by fans when the league's rules committee holds its annual winter meeting this week.
The league received more than 1,000 letters and e-mails when commissioner Mark Cohon issued a call for fan input into the process. The league will consider three fan suggestions for discussion: changes to converts, safeties and the controversial single point.
Fans complained convert kicks after touchdowns are automatic and statistics back them up: kickers have a 99.5 per cent success rate.
"We don't want our fans going to get popcorn or a hot dog because it's just an automatic play," CFL officiating director Tom Higgins said.
Higgins said the committee could consider moving the ball back five yards on point after attempts.
Higgins said many fans felt there's not enough of a downside to conceding a safety, and that the league might look at having the conceding team kick from its own 20-yard line instead of its 35.
As for the single, many fans feel rewarding a point when the receiving team fails to run a kick or missed field goal out of the end zone isn't fair and should be scrapped.
Higgins sees the point of all three proposed changes but isn't predicting any bold predictions will be made to the league's board of governors.
"I don't expect anything big because we're traditionalists," he said. "But anything's possible."
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Here we go again, folks - get rid of the rouge. This is the CFL, folks. The rouge is one of the things that makes the CFL unique. Scrapping it is just not going to happen.
Coast Guard Rescue One, NFL Players Still Missing
03/03/2009 01:47
TAMPA, Fla. - Coast Guard searchers on Monday narrowed the search area for two NFL players and a third man missing since a weekend fishing trip off the Florida Gulf Coast after crews rescued a fourth man clinging to their capsized boat.
Survivor Nick Schuyler, a former University of South Florida player, told rescuers that the boat the four friends were aboard was anchored when it flipped Saturday evening in rough seas, said Coast Guard Capt. Timothy M. Close. Since then, Schuyler, who was wearing a life vest, had been hanging onto the boat found by a Coast Guard cutter 55 kilometres off Clearwater.
Schuyler said the other three men got separated from the boat. The 21-footer belongs to Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper, who, along with free-agent defensive lineman Corey Smith and former South Florida player William Bleakley, remained missing.
Schuyler was conscious but appeared weak as he was being taken off a helicopter at Tampa General Hospital and placed on a stretcher. His father said his son was in serious but stable condition and that he "looks OK."
"He's got some cuts and bruises. He's dehydrated," said Stuart Schuyler.
Schuyler's mother, Marsha Schuyler, said her son told her that he survived by thinking about how he didn't want her to go to his funeral.
The family's joy at him being found alive was tempered by the search for his friends.
"We still have three men missing, and we're not going to talk too much until we find these guys," said his father, Stuart Schuyler. "We're all praying for them. These guys are all very close friends."
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
This doesn’t sound very good, folks.
Tax Trial Opens For ‘Dancing With Stars’ Castroneves
03/03/2009 01:47
MIAMI - On top of the world a few months ago, Brazilian race car driver and "Dancing with the Stars" champ Helio Castroneves faces possible prison time if convicted at a tax evasion trial that began Monday with selection of a jury.
An ethnically diverse panel of five men and seven women was chosen to hear the case, with lawyers' opening statements set for Tuesday.
Castroneves, a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, smiled broadly as he entered Miami's downtown federal courthouse. Prosecutors say Castroneves, his business-manager sister Katiucia and Michigan attorney Alan R. Miller conspired to hide about US$5.5 million in income from the Internal Revenue Service using offshore accounts.
Castroneves claims he relied on experts to advise him on handling his finances. He also says his father controlled a Panamanian entity called Seven Promotions at the heart of the prosecution's case.
Castroneves claims the money Seven Promotions received wasn't his tax liability because the income was for his father, who had financed and promoted his son's career for over 10 years.
Castroneves, his sister and Miller also deny acting "wilfully" to evade taxes and that they took improper deductions.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, Castroneves, 33, could get more than six years in prison if convicted of conspiracy and tax evasion from 1999 to 2004. That would short-circuit a brilliant racing career that began in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where a youthful Castroneves broke into the sport by driving go-carts.
Before the trial, U.S. District Judge Donald Graham rejected defence efforts to introduce a large amount of racing memorabilia and numerous photos of Castroneves' rise from obscurity to the pinnacle of his sport.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
It’s going to be hard to dance your way out of this one, Helio.
Will Lac La Biche Suffer Our Rec. Centre Fate?
02/03/2009 07:03
It seems very likely
given their council's
intentionsRe: The Lac La Biche Multi-Plex
We have a population of about 9200 people, with 3400 households, the Hamlet of Lac La Biche has 2800 people, and this council wants to borrow $48 million for a 55.3 million dollar venture.
The plans are not finalized, (so we're not sure what the final cost is going to be).
The planners are saying in between $1 and $2 million dollars a year operating.
30 to 40 employees, 1.2 million a year, $900,000.00 in utilities.how can they honestly say taxes are not going to go up and user fees are going to be reasonable?
The plan is just not there.
A lot of people here are going to be looking at a white elephant.
People that signed the petition were harrased and businesses were boycotted.
Council handed the petition out to who ever wanted one.
No one here is saying don't build facilities, we just want it affordable for all.
Sylvia
Lac La Biche
SINC SAYS:
Sylvia, It sounds to me like you have a council much like ours, bent on destroying their own community by overtaxation and pitting one citizen against another.
Please feel free to distribute our site address to people in your area. If you wish to use the site to combat your council's thinking, you will find plenty of ammunition available from readers here who will tell you and other Lac La Biche residents about the dangers of overbuilding and the long term effect on your community.
I would be more than pleased to offer space just for your purpose if enough of you could keep the information flowing.
Good luck in your fight against municipal stupidity like ours.
READER RESPONSE:
Thanks Don,
Too bad I didn't find your site sooner. The vote is today. I'll let you know the results later tonite.
If you really want to see hate in a community check this out.
Some community members even want to kick people out because they got the petition going.
Thanks again,
Sylvia
SINC SAYS:
By all means let us know how the vote turns out Sylvia.
The Slow Demise Of Local TV News
02/03/2009 06:57
If you didn’t see it
on TV, hear it on the radio, or read about it
in the paper or online this weekend, you must
live in a vacuum.
All three of Canada’s big TV networks are in big trouble financially. And because many of those companies also own newspapers, they too are facing dire straights due to the recession. Well, not entirely the recession. If the truth be known, it is a lot of bad management and awful broadcast policies to boot.
They are all crying that “conventional TV” is in trouble. Which brings me to my point. What the hell is “conventional TV” any more? Here is my take on what is apparently now “conventional TV”.
Let’s take CFRN for example. Oh I know, I know, they would prefer they be called CTV Edmonton, but they’re not. CTV in the mind of most people is the national network and features the big guns. You know, Lloyd Robertson and Sandy Renaldo and that bunch.
It’s certainly not the small potatoes in this market like Daryl and Carrie, or Gord and Linda who toil doing the local news.
To be honest, their schtick is getting rather long in the tooth. I mean really folks, who do they think they are fooling? It’s sure not me. How about you?
Take for example all day Friday and Saturday, no matter where I turned, I saw, or heard on air or in print, Carrie telling me to watch the evening CTV news so she could show me how to “Twitter”. Gimme a break Carrie. For the record, Gord and Linda showed me how to twitter over at Global a couple of days before.
And what’s with those obnoxious “teaser” announcements they love to plague me with? I mean there’s Josh telling me it’s gonna be colder, but I have to stay tuned for five more minutes to see just how much colder it will be. I’ve got news for ya Josh. I have a radio and I use it. I have the internet and I use it. I know damn well how much colder it’s going to be. It’s no secret and it doesn’t make me stay tuned. What is does is pee me off.
And then there are the sports guys telling me that Team Canada in the Scotties tourney met Saskatchewan this afternoon and they’ll be right back with who won. They know damn well who won, just like I do. It was on every TV I watched in the electronics store this afternoon, on the car radio and on TV at the local pub when I went for a pint.
Team Canada won a close one and I know it. These guys think they are making me stay tuned? Not likely. What they’re really doing is making me tune out.
Then there is the old "reporting live from our newsroom" BS. that means that the reporter can't be bothered to walk to the studio and sits in the newsroom right next door to tell their story. That's supposed to impress me? Not likely.
If this is supposed to be “conventional TV”, no damn wonder they are in trouble.
Whatever happened to good old locally labelled station who used to come on air with the announcement that Team Canada beat Saskatchewan this afternoon, story and video in a few minutes. That was honesty in reporting, not the good old boy electronic store “bait and switch” tactic.
I’m tired of
conventional TV. I long for a local identity
like CFRN again. This “national branding”
exercise adds zero credibility to their
broadcasts.
The bottom line? They can take their “conventional TV” and give it the Johnny Paycheck treatment. I’m tired of the half truths and teasing.
TV news needs to get real and they might just have to revive TV of old. If they continue down their chosen path, they will die a slow, painful death.
Elephant Shrew's Birth A Mystery At Zoo
02/03/2009 06:28
WASHINGTON, March 1
(UPI) -- The National Zoo says an elephant
shrew was born and resided at the Washington
tourist site for several weeks before zoo staff
finally noticed it.
The zoo said in a statement that Small Mammal House workers "did not know it had been born until they saw three elephant shrews in the exhibit instead of two," The Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported Sunday.
The infant shrew, which mammal house keepers estimate was likely born sometime in late January, has been enjoying a steady diet of crickets since being spied by employees, the zoo said. The animals are known for remaining out of view for several weeks after being born.
Elephant shrews are small mammals named for the pachyderm because of their long snout. They are not true members of the shrew family and are considered to be a close relative of the aardvark.
SINC SAYS:
Now if it had been an elephant, I’m pretty sure they would have noticed.
'Ugly' Cat Is Big Star At NH Vet Clinic
01/03/2009 19:32
Feline's Unusual
Appearance Captivates Vet
ClientsEXETER, N.H. -- A cat aptly named Ugly is attracting a lot of attention at an Exeter vet clinic, where clients say they can't take their eyes off his striking appearance.
Slideshow: 'Ugly' Cat
The cat's full name is Ugly Bat Boy. He's bald in most places except for flowing fur on his chest, and he spends his days on a warm computer at Exeter Veterinary Hospital, reported WMUR-TV in Manchester, N.H. Bat Boy has become something of a local star.
People come in and take pictures of him on their cell phones," said veterinary employee Christie Hartnett. "He's just great. He's Dr. (Stephen) Bassett's little wonder cat."
The cat's striking appearance is normal, for him. He was part of a litter of four with a sister that looked just like him. That kitten died at only a few weeks old, but that was long enough for Bassett to become enamored with Bat Boy.
"The owner knew that I liked the way the sister looked, and I came in from lunch one day and this cat was sitting in a cage, and the owner said Dr. Bassett liked this cat, so that's it," Bassett said.
Workers said many people who come into the building can't really believe what they're seeing. But they said despite appearances, Bat Boy has a nice disposition and real inner beauty.
"The impression from clients that come in is he's not real because he just sits so still, and when he does move, he scares them, but they think he's mesmerizing," Hartnett said.
The office staff was getting so many questions about the cat that they put up a couple of fliers saying he's about 8 years old and perfectly normal in every way -- just ugly.
He has the run of the place and all the attention he can handle.
"He likes it here," Bassett said. "He's comfortable. He likes the people petting him. So, he enjoys it."
SINC SAYS:
Man oh man, that is one ugly darn cat.
Team Jones Wins Scotties For Second Straight Year
01/03/2009 17:28
VICTORIA - Jennifer Jones has repeated as Canadian women's curling champion.
The Winnipeg skip earned a pivotal steal of two points in the seventh end as Canada earned an 8-5 win over B.C.'s Marla Mallett in the final of the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
The Jones foursome is just the sixth team to repeat as Canadian champion, but the second in a row after B.C.'s Kelly Scott won titles in 2006 and 2007.
For the second year in a row, Jones, third Cathy Overton-Clapham, second Jill Officer and lead Dawn Askin needed to win their final round-robin game just to make the playoffs.
They followed with victories over P.E.I., Saskatchewan and Quebec before downing Mallett in a thrilling final.
"We felt like we couldn't get any breaks this week," said Jones. "It's not like we were playing that badly."
The team traded one-point leads until the sixth, when Mallett forced a blank.
But she ran into trouble in the seventh end, when a hit-and-stick with her first shot left Canada sitting one.
Jones removed another B.C. stone with her final shot to lie two, and Mallett's draw to the four-foot was short, leading to the big steal.
"A little soft out of my hand, that's as simple as it was," Mallett said. "On this ice, if you let it out soft, it's gonna grab the curl and go. And that's what happened."
With the win, Jones will now represent Canada at the world women's curling championship held next month in Gangneung, South Korea.
It's the third Scotties title for Jones and the fourth for Overton-Clapham.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Congratulations Team Canada! It is no easy feat to repeat as Scotties Champion. It was a great game, however, and there is absolutely no question Team Jones, representing Canada, gives us the best chance of winning the Women’s World Curling Championship next month in Korea.
Congratulations also to Team B.C. for a very good showing at this year’s Scotties.
Rink Burned, But Weather Can’t Cool Hockey Passion
01/03/2009 17:27
Some players take two-hour drives to practise under the stars
The stars are out at a Grimshaw rink as chilly hockey players bundled against the cold run through practice.
Midget forward Brendan Dickson wears a tuque under his helmet, long johns under his hockey pants and a sweater under his jersey at practice this night.
In September, fire destroyed the indoor arena in the town 500 kilometres north of Edmonton. This season, minor hockey players are running drills on a new outdoor rink built on the bare cement pad the fire left behind.
"Your feet get cold faster," Dickson says. "We go out on the ice, do a few drills. There's no lines or anything, so that makes it tougher." The rink is lit after dark, and a local construction company has donated a two-room trailer that is normally used for industrial work sites.
"It's heated, so we get changed in there," Dickson says. Washroom facilities are currently limited to a portable toilet.
When the arena burnt down, it took Grimshaw's new Zamboni with it. The town of 2,500 kept the old one in the public works shop and it has been brought out of retirement to resurface the outdoor ice.
The Grimshaw River Valley Ladies' team held its first practice on the new rink last month. Player Dylan Jackson, 18, was impressed.
"I thought the ice might be a little rougher, but apparently they take the Zamboni to it every day," she says.
"But it's pretty cold. Your ears freeze and your face starts getting really, really cold. You only want to skate one way -- with the wind." A second, smaller outdoor rink was also built in the wake of the fire to accommodate public skating.
Losing the arena has forced teams to get creative and tested the commitment of hockey families.
More from the Edmonton Journal.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
There is nothing like a little adversity to test the mettle of a small town. And, usually, they come through with flying colors. I can remember when St. Albert was a small town like this. Oh, to have those days back.
Crusaders Open Up Two-Game Lead On Steel
01/03/2009 17:27
The Sherwood Park Crusaders scored three goals in the first eight minutes of the third period en route to a 6-1 victory over the St. Albert Steel in Alberta Junior Hockey League playoff action on Saturday night.
The Crusaders have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five AJHL North Division opening round series. The series shifts to St. Albert on Monday night. Crusader Rob Kleebaum scored his fourth goal of the series, with Colby Kulhanek, Matt Herh, Nick Yaremchuk. Scott Gabriel and Scott Hudson also tallying for Sherwood Park. Bradley Tierney scored the lone St. Albert goal at the 13:56 mark of the third period.
In other North Division action on Saturday, the No. 7 Lloydminster Bobcats beat the second-place Grande Prairie Storm 3-1 to tie the series 1-1. And the Fort McMurray Oil Barons beat the Bonnyville Pontiacs 4-1 to tie their series.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Well, it looks like this series will be over tonight when the two teams meet for game three at 7:00 p.m. at $ervu$ Place.
Oilers’ Moreau At Home Following Eye Injury Vs. Wild
01/03/2009 17:26
Edmonton Oilers forward Ethan Moreau is back at home the day after suffering a scary eye injury against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night.
Moreau was hit in his right eye by the stick of the Wild's Antti Miettinen late in the third period. After leaving the ice, Moreau was immediately taken to Royal Alexandria Hospital in Edmonton.
While the real extent of the injury is not yet known, surgery was not required on Saturday night. Doctors will continue to monitor the eye through the week to see if that changes.
There is no indication of how long the 33-year-old will be out.
Following the game, Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish expressed concern for his captain.
"We don't have much further to say about Ethan other than he has gone to the hospital and it looks pretty serious.
"He went under his own steam. It looks like the stick gave him a gash on the socket. According to the doctors you could see where it raked across the eye," MacTavish told the Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
This is certainly good news. Hopefully, the injury is not nearly as serious as was once feared. The fact that he did not require immediate surgery is reason for optimism.
Canada Takes Gold At Wheelchair Curling Worlds
01/03/2009 17:25
VANCOUVER - Team Canada won its first world wheelchair curling title Saturday at the new Vancouver Paralympic Centre.
The team of skip Jim Armstrong, third Darryl Neighbour, second Ina Forrest and lead Sonja Gaudet defeated Sweden 9-2 in seven ends in the gold medal game of the 2009 championships.
Germany, a newcomer to the event, took the bronze medal with a 6-4 victory over the U.S.
Despite dominating able-bodied curling, until Saturday Canada had never won the wheelchair championships, although the country did win the gold at the 2006 Turin Paralympics. In fact, Canada had not even made the podium at the last three championships.
Despite the loss, the silver medal was Sweden’s best-ever finish at the worlds.
The gold medal winning Canadian side is heavily weighted with B.C. athletes. Armstrong and Neighbour are both from Richmond while Forrest hails from Armstrong and Gaudet from Vernon. Coach Joe Rea is from Prince George. The only non-B.C. member of the team is Chris Sobkowicz of Winnipeg.
Canada, which placed fourth at last year’s world championships in Switzerland, started the week-long event slowly, losing three of its first five games. But a lineup switch which saw Gaudet inserted at lead seemed to spark the team. Team Canada won three of its last four round-robin matches then, in playoff action, defeated the U.S. 9-2 and Germany 10-4 before topping Sweden in the final.
The same venue will be host to the 2010 Paralympic Games curling event next March.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Congrats to Vancouver’s Jim Armstrong and the rest of Team Canada.
Ogilvy Wins Match Play For Second Time In Four Years
01/03/2009 17:25
MARANA, Ariz. - Geoff Ogilvy won the Accenture Match Play Championship for the second time in four years with a 4-and-3 victory over Paul Casey of England to stake his claim Sunday as the best in the world at match play.
In a relentless performance at Dove Mountain, the 31-year-old Australian did not trail over the final 62 holes of the tournament and did not have a bogey on his card over the last 57 holes.
He took the lead with a six-foot birdie on the first hole of a 36-hole title match, and never gave Casey a chance. Ogilvy had a 3-up lead after the morning round, then shot 31 on the front nine to pull away.
A tournament that began with so much buzz over the return of Tiger Woods ended with a newfound appreciation for the match-play prowess of Ogilvy, who ran his career record to 18-3 in this fickle format.
"The best thing I can say is I enjoy the format," Ogilvy said. "Generally, when you enjoy something, you do it well."
Ogilvy won his third World Golf Championship - he will defend his title in two week at Doral in the CA Championship - the most of any player besides Woods, who has won 15 of these elite events.
And while Woods is a three-time winner of the Match Play Championship, Ogilvy ran his record in this tournament to 17-2. He lost in the championship match two years ago to Henrik Stenson, and lost in the first round last year to Justin Leonard.
Casey, who brought a 16-3-1 record in match play into the final, faced a 3-up deficit after the morning match and knew he had to play well to get back in the game. He birdied three of his next eight holes, and Ogilvy still stretched his lead to 5 up.
"I have no excuses right now," Casey said.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Maybe Ogilvy has found his niche - match play?
Ochoa Rallies To Capture 25th LPGA Title In Thailand
01/03/2009 17:24
Chonburi, Thailand (Sports Network) - Women's World No. 1 Lorena Ochoa fired a six-under 66 Sunday to come from behind and win the Honda LPGA Thailand by three strokes.
Ochoa rallied from three back to win her 25th LPGA Tour title. She finished the event at 14-under-par 274.
"It has been a great week. It will be a good memory for me," said Ochoa, who earned $217,500 for the win. "My goal was to win the tournament. Here I am with the trophy and I am very pleased. I played especially well."
Hee Young Park posted the second-best round of the day with her seven-under 65. That moved her into second place at minus-11.
Third-round leader Paula Creamer struggled for most of her round before a pair of late birdies left her alone in third place. She closed with a one-over 73 to finish at 10-under-par 278 on the Plantation Course at Siam Country Club.
Creamer's lead started to disappear almost immediately. She tripped to a bogey on the second and another on the third.
Ochoa grabbed a piece of the lead with a birdie on No. 5. She followed with a birdie on six to take a two-shot lead.
Creamer parred nine in a row from the fourth and fell further back with a bogey on the 13th.
Ochoa pushed her lead to three shots with a 12-foot birdie putt on the par- three eighth. Around the turn, she didn't let up.
The 27-year-old birdied both par-fives, Nos. 11 and 13, to extend her lead to five strokes. She tripped to a bogey on 16, but recovered the lost stroke with a five-foot birdie putt on the 17th. Ochoa parred the last to earn the win.
"I think it is a good idea to wait a few months for my first tournament," said Ochoa, who made her season debut here. "I just tried my best. It gave me motivation to win first tournament. Hopefully, I will win more tournaments."
More from TSN.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Congrats on your 25th tournament win, Lorena. Not a bad start for Ochoa this year on the LPGA Tour, winning her first event. She is the best female golfer on the planet right now, by far, and only 10 wins away from automatic entry into the LPGA Hall of Fame.
St. Anne Street Closure A Done Deal?
01/03/2009 04:30
If you look closely
at yesterday’s story on the closure of St. Anne
Street, and folks you really should, the
denials make taxpayers suspicious that it is a
foregone conclusion.
This from the Saint City News Story of Friday, February 27:
“According to Mayor Nolan Crouse, the St. Anne Street idea has been in the works for 14 years and it is just coming to life again in concert with the downtown initiative.
“One of the things at the Downtown Mayor’s Task Force would be how to drive traffic downtown,” Crouse said. “This won’t be happening in the near future.”
He said that closure isn’t likely within five years.
“Council will be going public with the focus group’s efforts,” he went on. “[The closure] is one option of many.
He said the closure idea is going over well with all members of the focus group.”
You see folks, once again an elite group of hand picked citizens are making decisions that will affect the rest of us.
The task force appears to be nothing more than cherry picked by the mayor’s own hand, unless I am misunderstanding the process. It is not elected, nor condoned in any way by taxpayers.
Many residents think it to be little more than a clever ploy to try and sway public opinion to the thinking of this council and perhaps more appropriately, and once again no surprise, city administration. “Robbing Hood and His Merry Band of Men” strike again.
The most telling
statement made by the mayor was
this:
“One of the things
at the Downtown Mayor’s Task Force would be
how to drive traffic downtown.”
Just how do you drive traffic downtown by turning away traffic?
Just how do you drive traffic downtown by turning away traffic?
It is contrary
thinking and questionable for the city and
its residents in the long
run.
It carries the
stench of the failed $ervu$ Place study
groups that fell far short of any real
solution to the financial burden placed on
local taxpayers. We're still losing more than
a million bucks a year, over and above the
original cost in that
debacle.
Driver Fills Up Gas Tank
01/03/2009 04:29
Receives Bill For $81
BillionTalk about skyrocketing gas prices! One man from Richland, Washington was in for the shock of his life when he filled up the gas tank of his ‘94 Chevy Camaro.
When Juan Zamora stopped to refuel his car at a Conoco service station in Richland, the gas pump’s calculator registered a total fee of $26.
But in a freak computer hiccup, the PayPal debit card he used recorded the transaction as $81,400,836,908. Yes, you read that correctly, that’s more than 81 billion dollars.
“That’s a B, as in billions!” Zamora told the Tri-City Herald.
Zamora says that he always refuels at the same gas station during his weekly commute.
He only learned of the astounding figure when he received an email later that afternoon informing him that his debit card, which started out with $90 on it, was maxed out.
Initially, Mr. Zamora thought it must’ve been a joke. But after contacting PayPal customer service he was surprised to see that the company treated it as anything but a laughing matter.
“Somebody from a foreign country who spoke in broken English argued with me for 10 to 15 minutes,” Zamora said. ” ‘Did you get the gas?’ he asked. Like I had to prove that I didn’t pump $81,400,836,908 in gas!”
He would have needed more than 3 billion fill-ups of the amount he actually pumped into his tank in order to reach that outrageous sum.
Eventually, Zamora said, he was finally able to convince the representative that he didn’t deserve to be in the same position as General Motors, who has lost roughly 80 billion dollars since 2005.
When Zamora returned to the Conoco gas station, he said, the attendant would not believe him until he showed her the printout of the PayPal receipt.
The exact cause of the error is still unknown.
As always, there’s a lesson to be learned. “I guess the moral of this story is ‘pay cash,’ ” Zamora said.
SINC SAYS:
Now why can’t PayPal make a mistake like that on a deposit into my account?
Sir David Attenborough: Yetis Real
01/03/2009 04:29
SIR David
Attenborough said last night he believes
there is “very convincing” evidence Yetis
exist.
The wildlife expert, 82, said he was “baffled” by the ape-like ‘Abominable Snowman’ — said to roam the Himalayas.
He said: “Very convincing footprints have been found at 19,000ft. No one does that for a joke.”
Sir David also told Jonathan Ross on his Friday Night show that the world could only “slow down” climate change.
Watch the video interview here.
SINC SAYS:
They’re out there, aren’t they?
The wildlife expert, 82, said he was “baffled” by the ape-like ‘Abominable Snowman’ — said to roam the Himalayas.
He said: “Very convincing footprints have been found at 19,000ft. No one does that for a joke.”
Sir David also told Jonathan Ross on his Friday Night show that the world could only “slow down” climate change.
Watch the video interview here.
SINC SAYS:
They’re out there, aren’t they?
Jones Outscores Larouche To Advance To Scotties Final
01/03/2009 04:29
VICTORIA - Jennifer Jones will have a chance to defend her Canadian women's curling title.
The Winnipeg skip earned a wild 12-8 win over Quebec's Marie-France Larouche in semifinal action Saturday at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.
Following three straight last-rock wins, Jones built an early 5-0 lead against Quebec but gave it all away, and had to hold on in the second half to edge Larouche.
The eighth end was the difference, as Larouche had to settle for one point with the hammer when her raise attempt with her final stone slid a few inches too far.
Jones responded by scoring three points in the ninth end, and ran Quebec out of rocks in the 10th.
The win moves Jones into the final for the second consecutive year.
There, the defending champion will face B.C.'s Marla Mallett, who qualified for the final Friday night with a 7-5 win over Larouche in the 1-versus-2 Page playoff game.
Jones beat Mallett 6-5 in the final round-robin draw to make it to the playoffs.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Well, it looks like Team Canada is indeed going to have a chance to defend their Canadian Women's Curling Championship tonight. And you know what? Don't bet against them, either. That Cathy Overton-Clapham is just on fire right now and, as she goes, so goes Team Jennifer Jones. Catch all of the action on TSN and TSN-HD at 6:00 p.m. local time tonight.
Ogilvy-Casey To Meet In Accenture Match Play Final
01/03/2009 04:29
MARANA, Ariz. - Geoff Ogilvy and Paul Casey have even more in common than membership at the same Arizona golf club or the practice round they played two weeks ago on the new course for the Accenture Match Play Championship.
Their 36-hole title match Sunday will feature two players with the best match-play record over the last three years.
Each has won a prestigious Match Play Championship.
And both of them have won rich events that ended a Tiger Woods winning streak.
"An incredible coincidence that we're the last two guys in the tournament," Ogilvy said.
Their sterling golf Saturday at Dove Mountain had something to do with that.
Ogilvy made five birdies on the back nine to outlast teenage sensation Rory McIlroy in the quarter-finals, then played his final four holes in 5-under par against Stewart Cink for a 4-and-2 victory to reach the championship match for the third time in four years.
His final opponent will be Casey, who has turned in the most dominating performance in the 11-year history of this tournament.
In an All-England semifinal, Casey defeated Ross Fisher, 2 and 1, and will have a chance to become the first Match Play champion to never trail in a match the entire week. Even more astounding is that Casey has led 79 of the 80 holes he has played.
"The fact I haven't been down this week, I don't think it means anything, that you can read anything into that going into tomorrow," Casey said. "It's just been a very nice position to be in, simple as that."
What gets his attention is his opponent, a good friend and fellow member at Whisper Rock in Scottsdale.
"It's not going to be an easy match," Casey said. "There are no weaknesses that I can see in Geoff's game."
Ogilvy is 17-2 in match play dating to his 2006 victory at the Accenture Match Play Championship, the final year it was held at La Costa. His other World Golf Championship title came last year at Doral, where he ended Woods' six-tournament winning streak.
"I enjoy the big situations," Ogilvy said.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Without Tiger, or something else to spice it up, it's just plain - yawn!
Crusaders Win Wild Opening Game Against Steel
01/03/2009 04:29
Nineteen-year-old Rob Kleebaum scored three times and Nick Yaremchuk added a pair of goals to lead the Sherwood Park Crusaders to a 6-5 win over the St. Albert Steel on Friday in AJHL playoff action.
The win gives the Crusaders a 1-0 series lead in the best-of-five opening playoff round.
The Crusaders jumped out to a 3-0 second-period lead but St. Albert battled back with goals from Colby Sutton and David Andreassen midway through the frame.
Kleebaum stopped the St. Albert momentum with his second goal of the night, only for St. Albert's Alex Perkins to respond 65 seconds later to make it 4-3. Yaremchuk scored a power-play marker six seconds before intermission to restore the two-goal advantage.
St. Albert scored midway through the final period, but Kleebaum completed his hat trick 10 seconds later to ensure the Crusaders victory.
Game 2 goes tonight at 7:30 p.m. in Sherwood Park.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
C’mon, Steel, let’s make a series out of it!
Calgary Not Expecting Record Ticket Sales For Brier
01/03/2009 04:29
This year's Brier championship will likely fall short of any record for ticket sales because of the slumping economy, say organizers.
The Brier Canadian Men's Curling Championship will be held at Calgary's Pengrowth Saddledome March 7–15.
Calgary committee chair Ian Henderson said sales so far aren't indicating a record-breaking crowd this year. Edmonton holds that title at more than 280,000 people in 2005.
Henderson said the committee tried partnering with WestJet and tour bus companies to create packages, as well as offering side trips, such as a wine tour and a chance to curl at a local rink.
But despite this push, Henderson said the slumping economy is hurting sales, although he is pretty confident he'll be able to improve on ticket sales from 2002, which hit more than 245,000.
"I don't think that we are going to sell out the Saddledome. I think that would be a miracle if we did," he said. "It's hard to tell at this point how the walk ups and those kind of promotions are going to roll over into actual ticket sales."
Calgary Ald. Ray Jones said he was not surprised.
"When I was involved with curling, a lot of it had to do with the fact that a lot of companies used to buy the tickets, and it's probably the economy, and they're not just putting out as much money as they used to," he said.
SWIVEL HIP SAYS:
Anybody who doesn’t think this world-wide financial crisis is affecting absolutely everything in our lives should start reading some of this stuff.
PGA Tour Loses Wachovia As Tournament Sponsor
01/03/2009 04:29
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - One of the most successful tournaments on the PGA Tour is getting a new name as a result of the fallout from the financial crisis.
The Wachovia Championship at Charlotte's Quail Hollow Club was renamed the Quail Hollow Championship on Friday. Even though Wells Fargo, which recently purchased Wachovia, is under contract to sponsor the tournament through 2014, the company decided to take the name off the event.
"Given the merger integration with Wells Fargo and Wachovia, we believe it no longer makes sense to invest in promoting the Wachovia brand via the tournament," said David Carroll of Wells Fargo's wealth management, brokerage and retirement services group.
"In the current environment, we also believe that promoting this event with our brand could send mixed signals about our priorities to many of our stakeholders. Also, as a result, our company will not host any client entertainment events."
The decision comes less than a week after Northern Trust was criticized for hosting parties and other events in connection with its sponsorship of the PGA Tour event in suburban Los Angeles after it had taken US$1.6 billion in government money.
Wells Fargo has received $25 billion from the government.
SportsBusiness Daily first reported Wells Fargo's decision, which leaves officials scrambling to replace signs, merchandise and other items before the April 30-May 3 tournament.
Formed in 2003, the event has annually drawn sellout crowds and attracted one of the top fields for non-major tournaments. Tiger Woods, the 2007 winner, has led a parade of golfers who have praised the challenging course layout. Golfers have also raved about the perks, such as Mercedes courtesy cars, activities for players' wives and lavish gifts.
More from Canadian Press.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
As I just said, anybody who believes this world-wide financial crisis is not affecting absolutely everything in our lives should read some of these stories.
NHLPA Names Hargrove Temporary Ombudsman
01/03/2009 04:29
The National Hockey League Players' Association Executive Board announced Friday the appointment of Buzz Hargrove as the NHLPA's Ombudsman on an interim basis.
In order to fulfill this role, Hargrove will temporarily step-down from his position on the NHLPA's Advisory Board. Hargrove replaces Eric Lindros who resigned as NHLPA Ombudsman on February 3, 2009.
The Executive Board also announced that it has selected four members to sit on the Ombudsman Review & Selection Committee: Robyn Regehr of the Calgary Flames, Rick DiPietro and Andy Sutton of the New York Islanders and George Parros of the Anaheim Ducks. The committee will make recommendations to the Executive Board at the NHLPA's Summer Player Meetings.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Excuse me while I laugh my head off, folks, but there’s just no way I can see the old "Buzzard" acting as an Ombudsman.
Ex-'Rider Trevis Smith Deported
01/03/2009 04:29
Trevis Smith, the disgraced former CFL football player who was sentenced in 2007 after having unprotected sex with two women while he was HIV-positive, has left the country.
Canada Border Services Agency spokeswoman Lisa White confirmed Smith, a U.S. citizen, was deported late Thursday night to his home state of Alabama.
Smith, 32, who was granted full parole on Jan. 14 after serving a third of his six-year sentence for assault, was released from a Saskatchewan correctional facility on Wednesday. His sentence expires in 2013.
During his January parole hearing, Smith admitted he didn't inform his sexual partners of his HIV status.
SWIVEL HIPS SAYS:
Good riddance.