It’s been over a week, but the ripple effect of Canada’s winter Olympic gold-medal victory over the United States in Men’s Hockey still has people buzzing, and today one of the more entertaining stories surfaced.
The president of Air Canada said a plane that was bound from Vancouver to Montreal sat on the tarmac the afternoon of the big game because several passengers refused to get on board — they were watching the game on TV screens in the airport.
He didn’t say how long the flight was delayed. Get the full story at CBC.ca.
The Great White North was ready for a party as its national hockey team faced off with its American rival on Olympic ice Sunday.
Alas, the Americans came through with an unlikely victory — and much of Canada watched it unfold before its eyes.
CTV says 10.6 million Canadians watched the contest, making it the most watched sports event in Canadian television history. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/capress/100222/entertainment/oly_tv_ratings
Here’s a little perspective for Americans, who may be thinking about the fact that 106 million people watched the Super Bowl a few weeks ago: Canada only had about 33 million people. That means about one-third of the nation was watching a qualifying round hockey game.
But what a disappointment it turned out to be.
The Canadians will have to work for another shot at the Stars & Stripes as they’ll now need to win a qualification match to get into the tournament bracket.
A fun piece from the New York Times today looks at the interesting split between right-handed and left-handed shooters in hockey.
Canadians, it seems, tend to shoot left-handed with a split of as much as 70 to 30 percent. About 60 percent of American hockey players shoot right-handed, however, and this all comes despite the fact that there is little difference (outside of the world of hockey) between the percentage of people who are right- and left-handed in the two nations.
A couple of weeks ago, we told you about Olivia Newton-John’s unlikely hockey connection as the Australian starlet has signed up to take part in “Score: A Hockey Musical.”
This bit of casting news makes a little more sense. WENN.com is reporting that Canadian Nelly Furtado is set to make her big-screen debut, playing a woman obsessed with the game, in the movie musical that is set to begin filming soon in Toronto.
Director Michael McGowan says, “Nelly is an incredible entertainer and, after speaking with her, I realized that she fully relished embracing her inner hockey fanatic.”
While she’s no stranger to getting physical, we can’t help but wonder what Australian pop star and actress Olivia Newton-John knows about hockey.
Nonetheless, she’s starring in a new Canadian musical film that will begun production next week in Toronto, according a story in the National Post.
“Score: A Hockey Musical,” has every indication of being a sort of reverse “Billy Elliott.” Newton-John is set to play a hippie-intellectual mom who homeschools her son (newcomer Noah Reid), feeds him organic food, takes him to the art gallery and becomes dismayed when he reveals a love for hockey, and turns out to be exceedingly good at it, the National Post reports.
The world of movie musicals is obviously nothing new to Newton-John, who has “Grease” and “Xanadu” to her credit. She’ll also be appearing with Calgary’s Cory Monteith on “Glee” in the spring,
The movie is set to come out in Canada in October.
In Canada, the hierarchy of music could go something like this:
1. The Canadian National Anthem
2. “The Hockey Theme”
3. Anything by Rush
Two of those became one, in a way, on Thursday night with the debut of Rush drummer Neil Peart’s percussion-heavy version of “The Hockey Theme.” The one-minute tune premiered during the first intermission of Thursday night’s broadcast of the game between the Flyers and the Maple Leafs.
UPDATE: And now you can see it here:
Of course, the move comes with a touch of controversy. “The Hockey Theme” was — and to many Canadians always will be — the “Hockey Night in Canada” theme song on CBC. A couple of years ago, the CBC was unable to negotiate an extension for the rights to use the song and rival CTV snatched it up. “The Hockey Theme” now plays on TSN’s broadcasts of hockey games.
Still, Peart said it was an honor to give his take on a song known throughout the land.
“I gave a little speech in the studio before we started [recording] saying: ‘Every mother, father, grandfather, grandmother, child, moose and beaver will see and hear this,’ the St. Catherines, Ontario, native told Allan Maki of The Globe & Mail. “I’ll be very curious to know how Canadians respond to this.”
He took the job seriously, taking about 60 days to record the minute-long piece of music, and using a 17-piece orchestra behind him. Peart was filmed recording the song, playing on a custom drum kit by DW, that bore the logos of all 30 NHL teams. The drum kit will be displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Check out the video below for a quick take and some words from Peart about what it meant to do this job:
Maurizio Terrigno, the owner of an upscale Calgary restaurant who told a few news outlets that members of the Edmonton Oilers refused to pay their full bill of nearly $18,000 on New Year’s Eve, now says he’s reached an agreement with the team, according to the Edmonton Sun.
“I have come to an agreement with the Edmonton Oilers,” he told the Sun. “I am very ecstatic with the agreement.”
Allan Watt, a spokesman for the team, didn’t confirm or deny any agreement, but clearly wanted to move on from the entire ordeal.
“The Edmonton Oilers has nothing more to say about this issue,” he told the Sun just before the team’s game in San Jose, Calif., against the Sharks. “I have nothing more to say on this issue … we consider the incident done with we have nothing more to add.”
In case you missed it, the Order of Canada honorees were announced this week and Governor General Michaelle Jean included NHL legend Mario Lemieux of Montreal, film director Ivan Reitman of Toronto, and folk rocker Neil Young of Winnipeg among the 57 honorees for the year,
All three men were given the honor of Officer of the Order of Canada, one of the country’s highest civilian honors which recognizes “a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to community and service to the nation.”
We here at Canadian of the Week figure if they’re good enough for the Governor General, they’re good enough for us, and we’re therefore proud to bestow the additional honor of Canadian of the Week on all three of them.
Here are their citations from Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean:
Mario Lemieux For his contributions as one of hockey’s most gifted players, as an inspirational role model and mentor, and for supporting charitable initiatives through the Mario Lemieux Foundation.
Ivan Reitman For his contributions as a director and producer, and for his promotion of the Canadian film and television industries.
Neil Young For his contributions as one of Canada’s greatest musical talents whose unique voice and iconic songs have influenced generations of musicians, and for his support of educational and charitable organizations.
The Flames-Oilers rivalry is reaching a whole new level.
A Calgary restaurant owner is calling unsportsmanlike conduct on some Edmonton Oilers players he says skipped out on part of a huge New Year’s Eve bill, following the team’s 2-1 loss to the hometown Flames.
TSN.ca reports that Osteria De Medici owner Maurizio Terrigno says the players partied in a group that included 45 people, and the drinks were flowing to the tune of $8,200, and the total bill came to nearly $17,000.
The restaurant owner says the players demanded a discount when they got the bill, and eventually left $12,000 before leaving.
He’s decided to donate the the money he did get to an earthquake relief fund for people in L’Aquila, Italy.
Oilers spokesman Allan Watt told TSN.ca the restaurant was recommended by some Calgary friends of the players and they had a prearranged meal and menu.
“They received the bill which they felt was outrageous,” said Watt.
“They inquired about it and they were unhappy about it and were unhappy with some of the charges. The restaurant adjusted it by $7,000.”
Watt said the players paid the adjusted bill and added a $1,900 tip and left the restaurant.
Los Angeles-based Canadian writer Linda Massarella posted a list of the 10 most influential Canadians in the United States in 2009, and Canadian of the Week fully endorses it.
Massarella kept her list to what she called “those who are most boldly Canadian, who exude Canadian-ness in their speech and actions, who when interviewed say, ‘I’m from Canada,’ and give as much time to their homeland as to their adopted town.”
Coming in first was Luc Robitaille, the former left winger-turned team president of the Los Angeles Kings. As an L.A. native now living on the east cosat, and former Kings’ season ticket holder, I love this choice. I just worry that it’s a little too insider-y, but big points for sticking to the national sport and honoring a man who has made hockey successful in L.A. for nearly three decades.
Also making the list were recent Canadian of the Week picks James Cameron and William Shatner.
Only in Canada.
While she’s no stranger to getting physical, we can’t help but wonder what Australian pop star and actress Olivia Newton-John knows about hockey.
In case you missed it, the Order of Canada honorees were announced this week and Governor General Michaelle Jean included NHL legend Mario Lemieux of Montreal, film director Ivan Reitman of Toronto, and folk rocker Neil Young of Winnipeg among the 57 honorees for the year,
The Flames-Oilers rivalry is reaching a whole new level.
