Monday, October 15th

1 - Sorry about the long absence. I blame global warming.

2 - The Madden Curse strikes again. Fortunately this doesn't look as bad as it has in previous years.

3 - In other news, Sportsnet asks the question that makes hockey fans the world over shudder: Is Bryan McCabe the new Aki Berg?

4 - Sean Millington writes of the Lions-Riders donnybrook two months ago and the subsequent displeasure voiced by Eric Tillman:

I just wonder if it’s a coincidence that in a seemingly disproportionate
number of cases where teams are complaining loudly, they also happen to be on
the losing end of the scoreboard.

Now correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t seem to remember Wally Buono
making the kind of fuss that has been coming out of Saskatchewan and Calgary
when Dave Dickenson was knocked out. Is it just a coincidence that his team also
happened to win that one? Hey things look better when you win and it always
hurts more when you lose and that goes for management too, I suppose.

Perhaps this ought to jog Millington's memory:

Forget the Wally Buono propaganda. He defended Rob Murphy the week before, and
if Perry was wearing orange instead if green, he'd defend him, too.

That's Millington's CBC colleague Elliotte Freidman commenting on Fred Perry's hit on Dave Dickenson in week 3. Shortly thereafter Buono went on the record complaining because other teams call the Lions dirty, and then ignore hits like Fred Perry's. What is it with Wally Buono and CFL analysts. Last post Chris Schultz used Buono as a rather weak, if not downright wrong, example of CFL sportsmanship, and now Millington forgets how riled up the Lions coach/GM was after the Perry hit.

5 - The recent departure of ex-PQ leader Andre Boisclair from politics proves it doesn't matter how hip you are, if you're a bad party leader, you won't be (there) for long. The PQ thought Boisclair would curry favour with Quebec voters simply for being gay and snorting cocaine. Boisclair's fall from grace would suggest Quebecer's are not ready for a gay Premier. That is incorrect. Quebecer's are ready for a gay Premier, but only one that has some policy ideas to run on.

6 - If this is true then why is he even bothering to go?

No matter what he learns on his "fact-finding mission" to Afghanistan, Liberal
defence critic Denis Coderre said Monday that he and his party remained
convinced that Canada must end its combat mission here when the current mandate
expires.

And this is just painful to read:

"I don't think frankly that's possible. The issue is much too alive for
Canadians, much to important to Canadians, to simply say we're going to let five
individuals go off in a corner and tell us what to do," he told CTV's Question
Period on Sunday.

The panel has to be part of a broader discussion, he said.

As I understand it this panel will give recommendations to parliament, not supersede it's role in government. The MP's will still have the final say.

Harper said at a news conference in Ottawa on Friday that the group was
non-partisan and will come up with recommendations on a course of action for
when Canada's NATO commitment in Afghanistan expires in February 2009.

This begs the question, does Bob Rae actually believe the crap that comes out of his own mouth?

7 - This is old news, but it's still funny. Jack Layton thinks the public should have a say in how the federal government spends it's surplus. What the NDP leader forgets is that the public has already had a say, and they voted Conservative.

8 - The NHL has inadvertently come up with a brilliant solution to the rash of cheapshots plaguing pro-hockey's highest level. After being suspended 25 games for smacking Ryan Kesler in the mouth with the shaft of his stick, tough guy Jesse Boulrice suddenly found himself out of a job. I could say why, but Flyers GM Paul Holmgren says it so much better than me:

"It just gives us more freedom to do more things with our roster, that's all."

That's right, rather than have Boulrice's salary counting against the cap for the next two months, the Flyers simply opted to release him. After all, guys who do what Boulice does are a dime a dozen. I mean, I'd suit up and smack Kesler in the mouth for free, just so I could say I played in the NHL. One wonders how many NHL clubs are looking at Boulrice the same way the Flyers did: an expendable player who'll be taking up valuable cap space for a long period of time.

9 - Breaking news from CNN: Spanish Anthem to get Words.

According to the article, Spanish athletes feel a little silly when standing for their national anthem without singing along. But it's not going to be as easy as it sounds:

Indeed, the biggest hurdle may be convincing autonomy-minded Catalans and
Basques that they need a Spanish anthem at all.

Win Spanish athletes win medals at the Olympics they hum along to the tune. The Spanish Olympic Committee hopes the words will be ready for the 2008 Summer Games in China.

Man on Fire