Newsmakers

Unforgettable goal, unforgettable friend
When Andrés Iniesta clinched the World Cup after smashing home the game winner deep into overtime, he honoured his friend Dani Jarque. Spain’s humble playmaker tore off his jersey, revealing an undershirt with the words “Dani Jarque: always with us” written in blue marker. Jarque, a teammate on Spain’s lineup since the pair cracked the under-15 squad, died a year ago, aged 26, a month after being made captain of Espanyol.

The pride of the ‘Peg
Thousands of screaming Winnipeggers greeted Stanley Cup winner and Olympic gold-medallist Jonathan Toews when he brought hockey’s Holy Grail home to the ’Peg. Tazer fever, it seems, is catching. First, Premier Greg Selinger named a lake after the Conn Smythe winner—“Jonathan likes to fish,” he said, explaining why a 22-year-old deserved the honour. Not to be outdone, Winnipeg Mayor Sam Katz gave Captain Serious the keys to the city, renamed his old rink the Jonathan Toews Community Centre, and launched a parade in his honour. As Blackhawks captain, Toews got to the keep the Cup two days instead of one. Lucky for Katz, he didn’t stay any longer. “Jonathan for mayor!” Winnipeg’s hockey fans demanded.

Love your job? Prove it.
“Motivation day,” for one of Italy’s top real estate agencies, ended in tears, screams and burn scars when eight Tecnocasa staffers were rushed to hospital after walking barefoot on a bed of hot coals. “Firewalking helps people overcome their fears and understand that most of what they see as their limits are self-inflicted,” athlete-turned-motivational speaker Alessandro Di Priamo, who organized the team-bonding event, told the Guardian. The burns were minimal, and no one was seriously hurt; that night, he added, he went for a 16-km run.

If you’re Canadian, say ‘I do’
Senators assistant captain Mike Fisher wed his southern belle, singer Carrie Under­wood, at the Ritz-Carlton Lodge in Greensboro, Ga., last weekend. Canuck figure-skating champ Elvis Stojko also ended his bachelorhood, announcing his recent wedding to Mexican skater Gladys Orozco, in Las Vegas. And no rings, but Ottawa’s Avril Lavigne and The Hills star Brody Jenner—nearing their five-month marker—made it clear they’re taking things to the next level, trotting out matching tattoos spelling the other’s name at a birthday party for Lindsay Lohan last weekend.

A very saucy cat burglar
Oscar, a 12-year-old British tabby has, it seems, been swiping the neighbours’ undies. “He was very proud that he found these presents for us, and would drop them at our feet,” his owner, retired teacher Peter Weismantel, told the Daily Mirror. The haul totals 70 items, socks and gloves included. Amusement soured when, last week, the klepto kitty brought home 10 pairs of children’s underwear: Weismantel turned the tabby over to police. “The officer I spoke to thought it was pretty amusing, but he could see why I was worried.” He’ll keep the naughty kitty, he says—knicker nicking and all.

A tweet too far?
Octavia Nasr sank a 20-year career with CNN in less than 140 characters. Shortly after learning of Mo­ham­med Hussein Fadlallah’s death, the senior Mid-east affairs editor tweeted her “respect” for the Israel-denouncing Shiite cleric. Criticism came fast and furious. “Is Nasr a Hezbollah sympathizer?” one website wondered. Within two days Nasr was out: her “credibility” had been “compromised,” a CNN executive explained. Britain’s ambassador to Lebanon, Frances Guy, also landed herself in hot water for a blog post—“The passing of a decent man”—removed by the Foreign Office after outrage from Israel. To some, Fadlallah was a terrorist sympathizer; to mourners in Beirut and beyond, he was a champion of women’s rights, a modern and open-minded cleric, a story that takes more than a few words to tell.

His next trick: Greene-backs
South Carolina voters got their first real glimpse of Democratic Senate candidate Alvin Greene, whose intellectual capacity and political track record—or lack thereof—have been under the U.S. media microscope. The unemployed former military man makes his first, much-anticipated public appearance with a speech to the NAACP this week. Greene, whose halting, bizarre interviews have confounded commentators like Stephen Colbert and even some Democratic party faithful, offered a unique idea last week to kick-start the U.S. economy: Alvin Greene toys. “Me in an army uniform, air force uniform, and me in my suit,” he told the Guardian. Outside-the-box thinking, he bragged—“not something a typical person would bring up.”

Anchors away
After 35 years, CTV stalwart Lloyd Robertson finally, and a touch awkwardly, announced his retirement this week in his sonorous, Count Floyd-y voice. National news correspondent Lisa LaFlamme will take the helm of CTV’s flagship news program, the network quickly announced. Then Emmy-winning NBC News foreign correspondent Dawna Friesen, a Winnipeg native, was named to replace Global National’s Kevin Newman—a record week for women in broadcast news, and a major shakeup among the country’s anchor desks.