Canada has a new saint

By macleans.ca - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 6:17 PM - 14 Comments

The founding cleric of St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal, Brother André, has been approved by Pope Benedict XVI  to become saint. André was one of six candidates being reviewed for sainthood, all of whom will be formally canonized on Oct. 17 at the Vatican. Born Alfred Bessette on Aug. 9, 1845, André was known as a healer and miracle-worker. He founded a tiny chapel on Mount Royal in 1904 which grew into the giant landmark church that now towers over the city. André is Canada’s 11th saint.

CBC News

Liveblog: Ice Dancing

By Cathy Gulli - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 6:12 PM - 2 Comments

7:05pm
Okay party people, 40 minutes til the first round of ice dancing starts. To get you even more pumped than you already are, here now is legendary footage of Brits Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean’s Bolero program from the 1984 Olympics. They won gold—the last 45 seconds sealed the deal, no doubt.

7:40pm
Competition is about to begin. Commentators saying that the compulsory program is about showing off technical strengths. There are 23 pairs skating tonight: Canadians Vanessa Crone and Paul Poirier are up in the 10th slot, and Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir—the favoured team—are on last tonight. This is an advantage. How big, we’ll see.

7:45pm
The Italians are first, Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte, they’re warming up now. The British and Germans are on the ice too.

7:48pm
Apparently compulsory dance is rarely televised anymore. Unclear why.

7:50pm
Here we go. The Italians are on. It’s Cappellini’s 23rd birthday today. Will the gift be gold? Tango has begun.

7:53
Wow, this really is like ballroom dancing on ice…

7:54pm
Okay, so the first dance is done. Pretty, lots of facial expression and shoulder rolls…commentators saying they look like an Italian version of the Canadians Virtue and Moir…but not as good, right?

7:55pm
Cappellini and Lanotte score 33.13. Putting the Italians in first…because they skated first. Will this last?

7:57pm
Brits Coomes and Buckland are on. Rocking punk rock black and purple sequence numbers. Looking good, not as expressive as the Italians. Commentators saying the unison “isn’t quite there” and lacking speed. They apparently have a great coach. Their performance summed up this way by commentators: “They have a long way to go.” Oooh.

8:01pm
This may be the Brits first international competition. OH! Commentator says that Buckland’s younger brother is a better skater. Wow. Score: 25.68. Italians are still in first!

8:02pm
We have the first of four sibling pairs on the ice: Germans Beier & Beier. They’re each wearing a sexy flamenco number…Um.

8:04pm
Apparently they’re skating too softly and loosely. May appear lazy. Or maybe they’re just being brother-and-sisterly, not like lovers?

8:06pm
Commentators want to see the tango skated “tango-ier”. That means punchier, with more passion. Score: 30.31.

8:10pm
Next four pairs warming up. Russians, Ukranians, Chinese and Georgians.

8:12pm
Russians Bobrova & Soloviev are on. Again with the black and red sequence costumes…a real theme here.

8:14pm
They seem to be skating pretty well. But they aren’t looking like they’re having much fun, or sharing much passion. They’re “showing nerves”, say commentators.

8:18pm
Apparently good and bad ice skaters are defined by how well they do “the twizzle”…a spin while travelling down the ice. Where do the Russians stand? Score says it all: 29.86. Boo.

8:20pm
Ukranians are up, Zadorozhniuk & Verbillo. Swanky costumes (white, black, silver, sequence, lots of feathers), and a “very nice twizzle”. They are doing great, high legs, matching well, lots of eye contact and expression on their faces. Their tango music is sort of 1950s orchestral, less flamenco…Nicely done!

8:22pm
Oh, the Ukranians could take the top spot. He’s making a heart symbol with his hands in the “kiss and cry” area while waiting for their score. Deep breaths. They’ve done it: 33.87. A season best for them.

8:24pm
Huang & Zheng from China…They weren’t ready to start the dance. The ref restarted the music. Who knew they had refs in figure skating?

8:25pm
They are “tall and slender” say the commentators, and match well while skating. Lovely. They too are wearing red and black with sequence. They’re flowing so smoothly, pretty plain expressions, seem to be slowing down. Apparently her edges aren’t as clean as some of the other competitors.

8:29pm
They are breathing heavy. Score 29.22. That’s too bad.

8:32pm
Oooh, the Georgians are on, Reed & Japaridze. In black. Appropriate given their countryman’s tragic death. They are skating too far apart. But smiling and expressive. Lovely. And they gave each other double high fives to finish! That’s spirit.

8:34pm
Wow, Reed’s siblings are also skating in this competition for Japan. Their mom is from Japan. OH! She just wished them luck while waiting for the score. That’s class.

8:34pm
Georgian score: 26.65, ranked sixth.

8:45pm
We’re watching an intimate portrait of Moir & Virtue. Their story; how they came to skate together as kids, where they are now. He says, “Our connection sets us apart from everyone else.” They are a handsome pair. She says the Olympics were always “a distant dream.” No longer.

8:52pm
Next pairs are warming up. Czechs, Hungarians, Japanese and Estonians.

8:53pm
Apparently the compulsory element of ice dance competition is going on the chopping block in the future among senior skaters. Listening between the lines of commentators commentary, sounds like because it’s considered boring.

8:55pm
Czech pair, Hajkova & Vincour. Apparently their accreditation wasn’t in order in time, and they had to practice on their own. Or maybe that of their coach. Anyway, more red and black costumes, a flower in her hair. It’s a tango dance, we get it. Commentators saying their hips are too far apart from each other. But they had a clean twizzle! Oh no: He stumbled. This isn’t going well. Scathing commentary: “Maybe they should have had their accreditation ready and skated with everyone else. Might have helped.”

9pm
The Czechs were shaking their heads. They aren’t pleased either. Their score: 23.19. Woah. I feel bad for them.

9:02pm
The Hungarians are next. Hoffmann & Zavozin. Ooh, she’s wearing long black gloves, that’s tango-y. They apparently have never skated in an international competition together. They are working some passionate facial expressions, kinda angry-sexy. Lots of sharp head tosses. That’s tango-y too, right?  She has a full scowl now. They are getting tired, a little unsteady.

9:06pm
They may have suffered a “brain cramp” say commentators. Uh, okay. So, what’s the score? She’s blowing lots of kisses, and doesn’t seem disappointed at all. He’s cute too. They’re saying things to the camera I can’t understand, but love language is universal. They’re pleased. That is pleasing to watch. Their score: 31.9, a personal best. Puts them in third.

9:08pm
Japanese siblings Reed on now. All black, look sharp. Apparently she skates on blades that aren’t a perfect fit on her boots, they’re a little longer. Don’t know why, but gather this is noteworthy. It looks weird, anyway.

9:09pm
Commentators are dead quiet. What does this mean? They seem to be smooth and matching and expressive. Now we’re hearing they are slowing themselves down by being too much on their toes…

9:11pm
Okay, the Reeds are about to get their score. They look like brother and sister, what a resemblance! Score: 29.49. Ranked sixth. They look disappointed.

9:13pm
Estonians Shtork & Rand are on. This is an international senior debut for them. They are so young-looking, and petite. She’s in bright red, he’s in black, restrained sequence. She has a small smile. They aren’t skating too fast. She is being forced to “skate around him” like he’s “a pole”, we’re hearing, so their unison isn’t great. She looked at the judges, he looked down.

9:17pm
They’re 16 & 17 years old. Wow. So they have plenty of Olympics ahead of them. Which is good news because they aren’t going home with a medal this time. Score: 21.73. They’re smiling though, which is great to see.

9:18pm
Next pairs warming up: French, CANADIANS!!!!!, Americans & Israelis (another bro-sis team).

9:23pm
France’s  Delobel & Schoenfelder are up. She had a baby five months ago. Stunning! They are a gorgeous match; her in all black, just a little colourful sequence at her lower back, him in a black suit. The crowd is pumped.

9:24pm
Oh, they are expressive. They are “high quality” say commentators. Awesome, that was beautiful.

9:28pm
The French are waiting for their score. The Canadians stepped on the ice, and they crowd went wild. Now, for the French score: 37.99! Oohh-la-la! They are in first.

9:29pm
Canadians Crone & Poirier are on, and the crowd is raving mad with enthusiasm. Their costumes are a pleasing change: bright purple. She’s apparently worked on her womanly expression recently, whatever that means. This is the tango, I guess. They are skating great. He’s smiling, and composed. They look terrific, the matching and unison seems in sync. No glitches so far. Commentators are silent; holding their breath, surely. But wow, that was terrific. And the fans are behind them!

9:32pm
Are the judges with them too? Sorta. 31.14, in fifth. Good for them.

9:34pm
Americans Samuelson & Bates are up. He’s in red & black, she’s in red…and…blue. With lots of sequence. Nothing like a tango to mark true U.S. patriotism.

9:36pm
They’re smiling. Looking great, clean movements. Nice movement together. She is making a lot of faces, again that sort of angry-sexy scowl. No real low points in the dance.

9:38pm
Passively snide comment of the night: commentators telling us she once fell flat on her face and knocked out two teeth while bowing after a performance. Score: 31.37, taking the fifth spot from Crone & Poirier.

9:41pm
Here are the Israeli siblings, Zaretsky & Zaretsky. Here we go again with the red and black. Am I asking too much for a little more creativity when interpreting what to wear while doing the tango?

9:42pm
They are skating in remarkable unison, and very closely. She is full of joy! And we’re learning they control their edges effortlessly. They are feeling the music! Fun to watch!

9:44pm
Apparently there is only one ice skating rink in Israel, the Canada Centre. And that’s where they train. Man, they look alike too. They are saying a lot of names into the camera and cocking eyebrows, pointing fingers. Score: 34.38, for second! (Not a personal best though.)

10:04pm
Next four pairs warming up. France, U.S., Russia x 2.

10:05pm
Up first, France’s Pechalat & Bourzat. She’s in a graphic red and black number, he’s in a black suit with red accents. France is working the male skater suit. Nice.

10:07pm
Plenty of smiling from her, and they are dancing closely and with fervor. And they were quick and light on their feet, we’re hearing.

10:10pm
French pair are quiet, smiling, seem nervous. Score: 36.13, for second. Great, but not great enough to beat the other French team. They sighed, seem unsatisfied.

10:11pm
Americans, much hyped White & Davis. They are the team to beat Virtue & Moir. Wow, lots of smiles and drama from them to start. They’re wearing…can you guess what colours?

10:12pm
Terrific speed and unity between them. They seem to be totally at ease. Commentators are impressed with their big movements and smooth transitions. More mention of them in relation to the Canadian gold-medal hopefuls: “This team knows Virtue & Moira. They are rivals.” They train together apparently, and share a coach.

10:15pm
The Americans seem very happy, as do their coaches. He seems to be teasing her. The score: 41.47!!! They nab first from the French. They should be happy!

10:18pm
Russians Domnina & Shabalin. Okay, they too are wearing red and black. They’re skating with lots of flair, and they seem tall and strong. We’re hearing they may be slowing down and not close enough. But “they may have trained to skate that way.” Yeah, stick to that story.

10:22pm
Russian score:  43.76!!! The drama for gold has truly begun. They take first from the Americans!

10:23pm
And now, for another Russian pair, Khokhlova & Novitski. They’re wearing all black. Her hair is bright red. They too have a flamboyance about them. Lots of happy expressions. Nice turns together. Oh, she gave the judges a wave! They may be losing some speed, but they are moving neatly. Commentators saying they may have lost confidence, but that’s hard to see.

10:26pm
Can the Russians take the first spot from the Russians? She’s pulling on her ear. For good luck, maybe. Nope, not this time. Score: 37.18, for fourth spot. They look shocked and put off.

10:28pm
Next four—and last four—pairs warming up: Americans, Italians, Brits & CANADIANS VIRTUE & MOIR.

10:35pm
Americans Belbin & Agosto are up. They are skating in great unison, and they are both really making a lot of angry-sexy facial expressions. They want this, bad. Commentators say that their leg work is unique, didn’t catch the details. They are dramatic.

10:37pm
Quick shot of Moir & Virtue getting ready to take the ice soon. Now the Americans, saying names into the camera, seem happy, giddy, really. She’s wiping her teeth, in case there is lipstick on them. Smart. Score: 40.83, for third. Not happy. Commentators aren’t not happy either.

10:39pm
Italians Faiella & Scali are up. Red and black costumes, yahdah, yahdah. They look like they could have invented the tango though. Lots of fierce facial expression and sharp movements. Commentators saying they show “skill and good partnering”. Moving well, she’s smiling at the judges. They seem to be skating effortlessly. Big movements.

10:42pm
Another shot of Moir & Virtue tying their skates. She has a hole in her fishnets. And now for the Italians. They’re blowing kisses. Their score: 39.88, for fourth. That’s too bad.

10:45pm
Brits Kerr & Kerr. They are siblings too. But they have said that when they’re on the ice they like to pretend their not brother and sister. That would help when performing the tango romantica. They’re wearing black sequence numbers. Look great, steady speed. Moving well together. They have stoic facial expressions. No angry-sexy here, nope. Commentators saying not much.

10:48pm
Moira & Virtue are on the ice, and the crowd is celebrating! And they haven’t even skated yet! She looks gorgeous in a burgundy and taffeta, one-strap costume, he’s in black.

10:49pm
Americans are calm, but the score ain’t great: 37.02. Rank seventh.

10:50pm
Moir & Virtue are starting. Commentators: “The drive for gold begins here.” Crowd cheering. They look fantastic. Both moving sharply, very clean edges and dramatic facial expressions. Commentators are quiet. Crowd is going crazy. They have great speed, and huge movements. The crowd is applauding again, this time to the beat of the music. Virtue is smiling, you can tell they’re enjoying this. OH! That is drama. Moir clenched his jaw on the finish. Virtue smiled wide. Virtue’s sister was fanning herself in the stands, Moir’s brother wiped a tear. The pair are smiling. Commentators are gushing: “Fabulous!”

10:55pm
Moir & Virtue are smiling because they know what’s coming: 42.72, for second! It’s a personal best, and “they are only a point back of the world champions—GAME ON!” say commentators. And apparently the free dance is where they excel…which means the best is yet to come.

Is Tiger Woods sorry enough?

By macleans.ca - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 5:44 PM - 8 Comments

As to the historical legacy of Louis Riel

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 5:39 PM - 61 Comments

Conservative MP Peter Goldring has managed today the rare feat of uniting the Liberal party and the Prime Minister’s Office in scorn.

“This document is absolutely not, in any way, an initiative of our government or our party,” said Dimitri Soudas, a spokesman for Prime Minister Stephen Harper, in an emailed statement. ”This is a personal initiative of MP Goldring which we strongly disapprove of. Louis Riel is a historical and controversial figure. But he played an important role in the development of Canada and in the protection of the rights and culture of the Metis and Francophones in Canada.”

Conservative Shelly Glover, a Metis, calls Mr. Goldring’s published views unjust, inaccurate and unfortunate. The newsletter in question is here.

Second Swiss bobsled pilot withdraws

By Nicholas Köhler - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 5:38 PM - 2 Comments

After a frightening bobsled crash this morning, one of several on the controversial Whistler Sliding Centre track during training today, Swiss pilot Daniel Schmid is withdrawing from competition.

His departure not long after the withdrawal of teammate Beat Hefti leaves only world champion Ivo Rueegg among the Swiss in contention. And it does little to help soften the reputation of the Whistler track, where 21-year-old Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in a crash a week ago today, as a foreboding place.

The Swiss team said Schmid, a relatively inexperienced driver, would not compete for safety reasons; yet there is word his misadventures on the track left him too badly shaken to continue in contention.

Though Schmid appeared to emerge from this morning’s crash, his second this week, relatively unscathed, brakeman Juerg Egger is now under observation in a Vancouver hospital.

My Kind of LOST Recap

By Jaime Weinman - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 5:33 PM - 2 Comments

This new blog, with recaps of the final season of Lost from the point of view of someone who never saw the show before, has already been recommended by the show’s co-creator Damon Lindelof.

I’m assuming, perhaps wrongly, that the “I’ve never seen the show” idea is just a persona the blogger has adopted in order to provide a basis for the snarky recaps. In any case, it’s pretty much a perfect reducto ad absurdum retelling of the first three episodes of the season, and I hope he keeps it up to the end.

These people are stuck on an island.  They tried detonating a bomb to disrupt a space time continuum, which is 100 times better than using a boat when trying to get somewhere.  The bombing didn’t work (or did it?!?!?! it didn’t.) so now everyone is dying left and right and everyone is mad at Jake because his plan didn’t work. Juliette is trapped under a bunch of steel. How’d she get there?  She fell down a hole, survived, and then beat an H-bomb (according to my cable TV episode guide) with a rock til it blew up.    Sawyer seems pretty grouchy about the whole thing.  Juliette dies.  Meanwhile, the Indian guy got shot but they just ignored him even though he was coughing up blood and still had a chance to live.  I guess they figured since Juliette was at the center of a bomb detonation, they had less time to save her.

Here’s a link to Lindelof’s pronouncement that the blog is “Awesome. Just… AWESOME.”

I personally just like this kind of recap because I think one of the best way to make affectionate fun of something (somewhat related to the question-answer format I talked about earlier) is to recap everything that happens in a wide-eyed, literal, unembellished sort of way. Anything sounds silly when you recap it that way, which is why the technique works.

Climbing the Schmatterhorn Is Not A Winter Olympic Sport, Either

By Jaime Weinman - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 4:58 PM - 2 Comments

That could be because the two top competitors in this sport, Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam, have forfeited their non-pro status by doing it for a fee of 50,000 Kronkites.

[vodpod id=Video.2112058&w=580&h=490&fv=]

For music-spotters, the music the bad Swiss band keeps playing every time Sam falls down the mountain is not Swiss, but Czech: it’s from Bedřich Smetana’s The Bartered Bride, the opera that also supplied the Road Runner and Coyote’s theme music.

Weekend Discussion: Olympic commercials

By Scott Feschuk - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 4:44 PM - 15 Comments

Because for the first time I’m actually at the Olympics, capturing the attention of world-famous skier Lindsay Vonn, who as you’ll see in the photograph below was looking directly at me, mesmerized by me, unable to peel her eyes away even as the world’s media awaited word on her fall in the ladies’ super combined…

Siiiiigh.

Where was I? Right. Grim, dismaying reality.

Because for the first time I’m actually at the Olympics, I am not getting to see many of the commercials that are airing during Winter Games programming. I assume most of them are Continue…

I'm a Yankee-doodle underdog

By Charlie Gillis - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 4:18 PM - 0 Comments

There’s something irksome about this American gambit of setting oneself up as an underdog, when in fact one is a contender. For anyone trying to make sense of it, I suggest the following rule of thumb: the more loudly and frequently they lament being little guys, the more likely they are to win.

Consider the following quote from David Backes, a forward for the U.S. men’s hockey team, who had just polished off Norway 6-1. Backes, bear in mind, is a multi-dimensional player and top-six forward with the St. Louis Blues. He was asked about the prospect of playing Canada on Sunday:

“To play a Canadian team that’s favored, that’s got all the talent they do, who knows how many Hall of Famers, guys that print their all-star tickets every year? That’s a great test for a bunch of blue-collar Americans on Sunday.”

I’m the first to acknowledge the hype surrounding this Canadian team. Steve Yzerman, Canada’s manager, is genuinely worried by it, and has even tried deflecting pressure onto Russia, the other putative frontrunner.

But “blue-collar?” Huh?

We’re talking about a team that boasts Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel, Zach Parise, Paul Stastny and Jack Johnson—some of the most dynamic, talented young players in the game. They have Brian Rafalski, a two-time all-star, and Ryan Suter, an emerging gem, on the back end.

They have Tim Thomas, last year’s Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL’s best goalie. And Ryan Miller, a good bet to win the Vezina this year.

Oh, I almost forgot Backes, who is not only talented but big. He hasn’t had the greatest season this year. But he scored 31 goals last year and is a physical presence on every shift. No one’s kicking him out of the dressing room for eating crackers.

Even the oddsmakers like the U.S. team. Yes, Canada and Russia are odds-on favourites (1-2 and 2-1, respectively, depending on the rating service), but the Americans are right behind them at 6-1, same as Sweden. When your odds are the same as the defending Olympic champion, sorry, you’re not an underdog.

Backes, of course, is merely echoing a line of rhetoric set down by Brian Burke, the U.S. team manager, and used throughout the American Olympic team (did anyone really think that shin injury was going to keep Lindsey Vonn off the ski hill?). This despite their position atop the medal standings.

It makes for a nice story if they win. But it’s really intended to put pressure on their opponents.

I find myself pining for the chest-thumping Americans of old. At least they were honest.

Spills force bobsleigh withdrawals

By Nicholas Köhler - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 3:58 PM - 2 Comments

Whistler’s crash-plagued sliding track this morning scuttled the Olympic dreams of gold-medal bobsled favourite Beat Hefti of Switzerland, whose failure to complete two training runs prior to competition in the wake of a bad spill Wednesday night forced him to withdraw.

That Hefti, who is reigning World Cup champion in the sport, will not race due to a crash raises more questions about the Whistler Sliding Centre track, where Hefti’s Swiss teammate, two-man pilot Daniel Schmid, suffered yet another ugly rollover this morning.

Schmid now appears to be fine and the FIBT last night provided more training time in light of the crashes (though the number of spills here is in keeping with training periods elsewhere—at the Park City track during the Salt Lake City games in 2002, 17 training runs ended in crashes).

Perhaps only five or six of the pilots are solid bets to complete the track without crashing in the two-man tomorrow and Sunday—the Canadians, the Germans and the Swiss. The others are all iffy, a shockingly small margin thanks, some say, to the track’s difficulty.

And the absence of Hefti certainly doesn’t do any hard to Canadian Lyndon Rush’s gold-medal prospects.

Rush had the best time in the first two-man run on Wednesday, finishing the track with 52.05; he was second in the second run, just behind German pilot Andre Lange, a three-time Olympic gold medalist. Results for today’s training have yet to be posted. Pierre Lueders, a two-time Olympic medalist, placed seventh and 17th.

Such strong training finishes certainly ups the pressure on Rush.

And there are indications some of the Europeans are letting Rush take all the heat of the vanguard.

World champion two-man pilot Ivo Rueegg is said to take his training runs underweight and with unpolished runners. His runs lagged behind Rush’s during training.

We’ll find out if Rush can handle the pressure when the Europeans turn it on during competition this weekend.

Boat carrying Canadian students capsizes

By macleans.ca - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 3:49 PM - 5 Comments

Late last night, about 480 kilometres off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, the SV Concordia sent out a distress signal. A nearby merchant ship was alerted to the emergency and could spot lifeboats, but couldn’t say how many passengers were safely aboard. It has since been reported that the student ship’s 64 passengers—48 of them Canadian high school students—have been transported to a Brazilian navy vessel now headed to port. All are safe, though their condition, and the cause of the ship wreck, is still unknown.

The Globe and Mail

Dear Quebec

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 3:48 PM - 26 Comments

Michael Ignatieff writes an open letter to la belle province.

While plenty of media attention was given to the poor place of French in the opening ceremonies at the Vancouver Olympics – and not without reason – Lucien Bouchard’s remarks last Tuesday will likely fuel public debate, both in Quebec and across Canada.

With respect to the opening ceremonies, it is important to note that the limited amount of French was noticed from coast to coast. The issue doesn’t come down to criticizing the Olympic organizing committee, but rather ensuring that this error is rectified. After all, an impressive number of our athletes are bilingual – we were all very impressed by the confidence Jennifer Heil and Maëlle Ricker showed while speaking in French, although both are from the West.  It now falls to the organizing committee to catch up to Canada’s reality.  If the improvements we’ve already seen in the competition venues are any indication, the closing ceremonies will show that the message has been heard.

I believe however that Mr. Bouchard, who isn’t known for mincing his words, made comments this week that are far more important for advancing the debate on the nature of our country and the role Quebec should play in it. Mr. Bouchard has invited Quebecers to embrace a new dream.  A dream that does not involve sovereignty, because according to him, that dream is not attainable.  His statements will surely prompt further discussion on whether sovereignty is attainable or not. His observation that PQ has chosen to play identity politics within Quebec will also generate debate. But that is not the point of my comments today.

Continue…

Plushenko dethroned! Men’s figure skating gold goes to U.S.

By Nancy Macdonald - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 3:42 PM - 8 Comments

Men’s figure skating, with its international intrigues, judging scandals, corsets and divas has reached the point, say enthusiasts, where Blades of Glory seems less like satire, and more like cinéma vérité.

Last night’s U.S.-Russia showdown was no exception.

Before it began, Evgeni Plushenko, Russia’s reigning gold medal champion and the night’s putative favourite, was talking smack, calling out Evan Lysacek’s inability to land the risky quadruple jump.

“Without the quadruple, I’m sorry, but it’s not men,” Plushenko, said Tuesday, shortly after executing night’s only quad, and grabbing an early lead heading into last night’s long program.

Translation: Evan’s not man enough for figure skating (it bears mention that he said this while dressed in a unitard—I do love this sport).

In the end, however, Plushenko’s early quad, though landed cleanly, wasn’t enough to give him the gold. He made small mistakes; his spins were not as fast as two nights ago, nor did he seem to have the same, perfect control over body movement as he did in the short program.

Lysachek’s spins, meanwhile, were faster, more centred; cleaner. Neither, however, skated as well as they did two nights before.

Canada’s boy wonder, Patrick Chan, who started the night in seventh, needed a clean skate to crack the podium. He did not; he fell on a triple axel, and made several, small, but costly errors (as he did two nights ago), yet finished a respectable fifth.

All in all, he did not look like the poised, perfect Patrick Chan who won the Four Continents Skating Championship here, a year ago, at just 18.

“I wish I hadn’t made the mistakes—dumb mistakes,” he said afterward. “My goal was definitely to finish higher.” The crowd, which gave him a standing O was “amazing,” he added, and made him “proud to be Canadian.” He’s looking beyond his first Olympics to Sochi when he’ll be 23.

The Sheherazade, the music Lysacek—a 24-year-old Chicagoan—chose to skate to, is about a battle between a king and a slave—a fitting choice for a dethroning.

Afterwards, a deflated Plushenko refused to let up. “If the Olympic champion doesn’t know how to jump quad—I don’t know. Now it’s not figure skating. Now it’s dancing.”

Why social networking could raise your home insurance premiums

By macleans.ca - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 3:42 PM - 0 Comments

Another reason to become a Luddite: according to Confused.com, a price comparison service based in the U.K., the fact that Google Buzz, Facebook and Twitter can publicize users’ whereabouts could lead to a rise in home insurance premiums. “Criminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their information gathering, even using Google Earth and Streetview to plan their burglaries with military precision,” says company head Darren Black, who advises users to turn off location based-services on social networking sites, and to never post personal information or grant access to people they don’t know. According to Black, “Insurance providers are starting to take this into account when they are assessing claims and we may in future see insurers declining claims if they believe the customer was negligent.”

The Telegraph

Silver medal leaves Russians reeling

By macleans.ca - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 3:06 PM - 6 Comments

Vladimir Putin is not pleased with the Olympic judges who awarded Russian figure skater Yevgeny Plushenko a silver medal, instead of a gold, after Thursday night’s free skate. On Friday, Putin sent Plushenko a telegram offering his support to the Russian skater. “Accept my heartfelt congratulations,” Putin wrote, adding that Plushenko’s silver medal was “worth a gold medal.” Meanwhile, Plushenko is also miffed at what he believes was his unfair treatment at hands of judges. After the medal ceremony, he threatened to quit professional figure skating for good: “I am not prepared to skate well and lose. This is men’s figure skating—not ice dancing.” The men’s gold was nabbed by American skater Evan Lysacekv who, unlike Plushenko, did not include a quad jump in his long performance.

The Telegraph

Tiger Woods is sorry

By macleans.ca - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 3:02 PM - 5 Comments

In a contrite statement to reporters in Florida on Friday, Tiger Woods apologized for cheating on his wife and said he was dedicating himself to rebuilding his shattered family life. Woods revealed he has spent the past 45 days in “inpatient therapy” for his “repeated irresponsible behaviour.” “As Elin pointed out to me, my real apology to her will not come in the form of words; it will come from my behaviour over time,” he said. “We have a lot to discuss; however, what we say to each other will remain between the two of us.” The golf superstar also used his first press conference since his affairs came to light to insist the rumours of a violent confrontation between him and wife were false. “Elin never hit me that night or any other night. There has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage, ever. Elin has shown enormous grace and poise throughout this ordeal. Elin deserves praise, not blame.” As for his future on the golf course, Woods wouldn’t say when he might return to the sport that made him one of the wealthiest athletes  the planet. “I don’t rule out that it will be this year,” he said, adding that “when I do return, I need to make my behaviour more respectful of the game.”

Sportsnet

What we're talking about when we talk about maternal health (II)

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 2:40 PM - 125 Comments

Included in CIDA’s explanation of the UN’s Millennium Development Goals and what Canada is doing to help meet those goals is this section on maternal health. Included in that is a three-year commitment to the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

CIDA supports the International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and is providing $18 million over three years beginning in 2007 to help raise awareness and increase the provision of sexual and reproductive health services. The IPPF supports services provided by 58,000 facilities worldwide to approximately 32 million visitors per year.

Planned Parenthood explicitly includes access to abortion in its mandate. At last report, it was still waiting to hear whether its funding would be renewed.

Conan O'Brien goes barnstorming

By macleans.ca - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 2:33 PM - 0 Comments

Deposed Tonight Show host Conan O’Brien isn’t going to be idle for long. While Jay Leno takes over The Tonight Show again, O’Brien is planning to tour with a live show, going from venue to venue in the U.S. and capitalizing on the “Team Coco mania” that swept the country. The tour will be tied to “a new Internet presence for O’Brien,” all serving to make him more visible as he plots his next move, which seems increasingly likely to be with a show on Fox.

The Wrap

Whistler sale delayed

By macleans.ca - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 2:29 PM - 0 Comments

The auctioning off of the Whistler and Blackcomb resort will be delayed for one more week. A key venue for the Olympics, Whistler was supposed to be put up for sale today after its owner Fortress Investment missed payments on a US$1.4 billion loan in December. Fortress bought Intrawest, which controls Whistler and other resorts, in 2006 for $2.8 billion and has struggled under a huge debt load. The firm’s creditors agreed to postpone the auction until Feb. 26 (two days before the Olympic closing ceremonies). There has been some concern that the resort’s sale could disrupt the Games, or at the very least leave a black mark on the event. “They’re tough discussions, money’s at stake, big mountains (are) at stake, but I think they’re working pretty constructively,” said Fortress chief executive Dan Mudd, about the negotiations with creditors. “Nobody wants to see any damage done to the Olympics in the process.”

Canadian Press

Olympic Photos: Thursday February 18th, 2010

By macleans.ca - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 2:25 PM - 0 Comments

Week in Pictures: February 12th – February 19th 2010

By macleans.ca - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 1:46 PM - 1 Comment

The Olympic Food Police

By Anne Kingston - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 1:33 PM - 0 Comments

Chef and restaurateur Pino Posteraro, who owns Vancouver’s landmark Cioppino’s Enoteca, has cooked for foreign dignitaries for decades. Jean Chrétien and Bill Clinton have both dined at the place without much security fuss. So he was surprised to see a crew of government operatives—one U.S. Secret Service, a RCMP officer and a Health Canada official—show up in his kitchen last Sunday after U.S. VP Joe Biden arrived for dinner. That’s when he learned of new rules for traveling heads of states chowing down in local restaurants: He had to prepare a duplicate of Biden’s order for the agents who bagged it as evidence should the VP suddenly fall ill. Meet the 21st-century court food tester—all forensic analysis minus any of that problematic thrashing around on the floor grasping at one’s throat. If Jill Biden had joined her hubby for the Valentine’s Day dinner, Posteraro learned, he would have had to cook up a duplicate of her order as well. Fortunately, he says, Biden has simple tastes: Bufala Mozzarella as a starter, followed by pasta with a tomato-basil sauce. Matters were more complicated on Tuesday night when Prince Albert of Monaco showed up for dinner with Richard Branson. The chef had to duplicate the royal’s entire seven-course tasting menu for federal take-out.

How we talk about this

By Aaron Wherry - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 11:35 AM - 16 Comments

Matthew Yglesias considers Packer.

I consider this another reason to try to enhance understanding of the fact that when it comes to political outcomes it’s the fundamentals that matter most. Interest in the horse-race aspects of politics is to some extent inevitable, but to understand the horse-race properly you need to spend more time trying to understand what’s actually happening in the country and less time paying attention to spin and positioning.

Oh, Tiger

By Jaime Weinman - Friday, February 19, 2010 at 11:15 AM - 13 Comments

I’m watching Tiger Woods’ speech as I write this, and aside from being very glad that his wife isn’t standing right next to him at the moment, I don’t know what to say about it.

When he says he hopes we’ll believe in him again, my knee-jerk answer is that most people who believed in him did so because he was a great golfer. If he returns to golf and once again performs brilliantly, people will believe in him again. If not, not. If Dwight Gooden had returned to his 1984-5 level of performance after his drug problems, he would have become a hero again, and deservedly.

That’s the one thing that keeps our society’s attitude to sports at least mildly healthy. At the moment, some analyst on CNN is calling his speech a “disaster” because of the optics of it, saying that Woods’ refusal to take questions and his attacks on the media will “anger the media.” He’s probably right, in a sense. But that just demonstrates that the public may be smarter than the monolith known as “the media.” The public normally “forgives” public figures for doing stuff that is actually none of our business, as long as these public figures give us something in return (entertainment, thrills, heroism). It’s the TV talking heads who seem consumed with the idea that Woods or Bill Clinton or whoever owe us something more than that. Someone on CNN just said he expected to see some “humility” from Woods and instead saw only “arrogance.” How about expecting some good golf from him instead?

As for the announcement that he’s going back for more therapy… I’m sure that therapy can help sometimes. But sleeping around is not exactly uncommon among athletes (let alone a sign of a serious problem), so every time an athlete makes an announcement like that, I’m always remembered of another athlete with problems, Sam Malone:

Niles: Is it my imagination, or is Sam flirting with Daphne?

Frasier: Of course he’s flirting with her.  He flirts with everyone. He can’t help it, he’s a sexual compulsive.  But he’s getting help for it in a support group.

From the kitchen, Daphne giggles and titters again.

Niles: Did he miss a meeting?!

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