Archive for April, 2011

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April 7, 2011

The Daily J.P. Arencibia to Cooperstown Watch, Day 6: Running and gunning

J.P. Arencibia rips a shot to leftfield, but he ends up getting thrown out at second as he tries for a double on Wednesday. (We shot it)

J.P. Arencibia rips a shot to leftfield, but he ends up getting thrown out at second as he tries for a double on Wednesday. (We shot it)

Catchers are catchers because they can’t run. If they could run, they would be Craig Biggio and be moved to middle infield or centerfield. J.P. Arencibia is a catcher through and through, so we shouldn’t be surprised when he gets thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double, even though it looked like he had extra bases off the bat.

That’s what happened, though, in the second inning on Wednesday night when Arencibia went for two and was gunned down, quelling the chants of “Cooperstown, Cooperstown,” emanating through SkyDome … Okay, it was only coming from the first two rows of Section 116, but it’s a start, right?

Arencibia was 1-for-3 and also threw out a runner as the Jays won again, beating the A’s 5-3 thanks to a three-run homer from Travis Snider in the fourth inning.

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April 6, 2011

Do you love Paris? Share your travel tips

Off to the City of Light in a couple of weeks. I’ll be meeting up with some expat Canadians over there who have kindly agreed to show me around “their Paris.” I look forward to discovering some gems that tourists miss and also some spots where Canadians might go to feel at home. Hopefully, I’ll get out to see Melissa Laveaux, a very talented musician from Ottawa who’s alerted me to an upcoming show of hers just outside of the city. I also look forward to a a tour of Montmartre with young Canadian artist Will Inrig and drinks at the Great Canadian Pub on Election Night, May 2.

If you’ve ever been to Paris and think there are things I should see other than the usual, or if there are particular places you want to read about here or in the Toronto Star’s Travel section, send an email. Any travel tips would be helpful. Any of your own Paris stories would be great, so do share.

I’ve got about seven days and a lot of ground to cover. The Louvre, Musee d’Orsay, Eiffel Tower, Seine River cruise and lots of bistro-hopping are in order, of course. But the goal is to focus on the special places that are unique, the spots that have significant meaning to people and still hold some cache as being off-the-track and undiscovered by the masses.

Thanks for any help!

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April 6, 2011

The Daily J.P. Arencibia to Cooperstown Watch, Day 5: OK, Blue Jays

Not long after the Maple Leafs’ dim playoff hopes finally flickered out and the Raptors were shamefully smacked around by yet another opponent, the SkyDome* cheered. You didn’t hear it. Only 11,077 went through the turnstiles on Tuesday night. There were so many empty seats even the Butler Bulldogs couldn’t miss hitting blue with their shots (maybe).

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April 5, 2011

Canada Election 2011: 5 reasons not to vote for Stephen Harper and the Conservatives

Stephen Harper stumping in Guelph on Monday as the election campaign enters its second week.

Stephen Harper stumping in Guelph on Monday as the election campaign enters its second week. (Photo from Conservative.ca)

1. He lies. He lies so often you wonder if it’s a reflex. He lies with such audacity there’s not need to cite any examples to convince you it’s a fact. You can just be directed to one of the sites that have catalogued his fibs, whoppers, exaggerations, misstatements and inventions. While all politicians are prone to lying, Stephen Harper’s serial dishonesty is the one thing that should make you wary of removing the training license that is a minority government and giving him the keys to the dominion.

2. Kudos to the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network for breaking the Bruce Carson scandal.

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April 4, 2011

The Daily J.P. Arencibia to Cooperstown Watch, Day 3: Rope burn

It’s never a good day when you lose 321 points on your batting average. An 0-for-3 will do that to you, and the Jays’ rookie catcher looked a lot less Ruthian on Sunday than he did on Opening Night. Still, J.P. Arencibia smacked the ball hard and gave the fans a charge in the ninth inning when his rope headed toward the seats in leftfield at the Dome. With Travis Snider on first and the Jays down 4-2, it appeared off the bat that Arencibia had tied the game, but his bid for a third home run died in the glove of Delmon Young, who tracked down the liner at the wall.

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April 4, 2011

Canada Election 2011: 5 reasons not to vote for Michael Ignatieff and the Liberals

1. For Michael Ignatieff, the title of Prime Minister of Canada pads his curriculum vitae. He’s a brilliant man with a long list of professional and academic accomplishments. Feats of public service? Not so much. Even he agrees.

“I was teaching people from 80 countries to go into public service. The Kennedy School’s mission is to train people for public service,” he said recently, citing his tenure as a Harvard professor and his decision in 2005 to move to Toronto. “At a certain point, when somebody says to you, ‘Come back to your country and do public service,’ you think, ‘Let’s walk the walk.’ Darnit, this is my home. I can’t do public service in any other country, only Canada.”

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April 2, 2011

The Daily J.P. Arencibia to Cooperstown Watch, Day 2: Call him Johnny Bench

Well, that’s one way to protect your .750 average.

J.P. Arencibia gave way to Jose Molina on Day 2 of the Blue Jays’ season and watched his fellow catcher launch a home run, go 2-for-3 and guide Kyle Drabek to his first Major League victory.

Drabek went seven innings, threw 101 pitches and fanned seven as the Jays again won impressively, 6-1, on Saturday. The key piece in the Roy Halladay deal walked three and surrendered just one hit in his fourth career start.

Molina and Drabek worked closely during spring training, so it’s not a surprise manager John Farrell would have them form the battery. Arencibia Nation can count on their hero being back in the lineup Sunday, where he could actually pad his lofty numbers from opening night against the mediocre Nick Blackburn, who posted a 5.42 ERA last season.

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April 2, 2011

Montreal as cool as it is cold


[From “Igloofest sizzles in Montreal” from the Toronto Star, published February 11, 2010.]

MONTREAL–It’s minus-35C with the wind chill and Nicolas Cournoyer sweats.

He’s not alone. Around him more than 5,000 mostly young people kick and dance and hug and howl beneath a full moon that has looked down on the St. Lawrence River forever and not seen a scene like this on its banks.

The coldest rave on the planet is called IglooFest and it’s the brainchild of Cournoyer, who’s managed a seemingly Olympian feat by enticing his fellow Montrealers, as well as many house music fans from around the world, to come outside in this weather.

They’ve done so even on the most frigid day of winter when everyone from the authorities to their parents are telling them it’s too damn cold.

“As long as you dress properly, you’ll enjoy it. If you dance and you’re together, you stay warm,” says Cournoyer, who wears a full-body snowsuit as he moves to the beat of DJ King Cannibal, a headliner from the U.K. spinning at Quai Jacques Cartier in the Old Port.

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