Results tagged “jr”

If you're reading this and it's between the hours of 7-9:30pm EST, do yourself a favour and tune into Hockey Night in Canada. You might be witnessing the end of an era in Toronto sports.

The coolest movie opening this week is Be Kind Rewind, which is a treasure trove of Things White People Like, as it stars Jack Black and his black friend played by Mos Def, and is directed by Michel Gondry, and has lots of irony, seeing as how it is about a couple of people who erase all the videotapes in their video store and then make their own mocking versions of the movies they erased. In all seriousness, though, it looks pretty funny, so possibly people who are not white will like it as well!

It's been the best of times, it's been the worst of times for the Toronto Maple Leafs; in fact, the past couple weeks have been nothing short of surreal. First, the best of times: wins against the high-flying Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens, followed by a thoroughly unexpected Hockey Day in Canada victory over the league-leading Detroit Red Wings, have given the team a boost. Injured players are getting healthy. The return of the much-maligned Bryan McCabe has apparently galvanized the team's defensive corps, not to mention relegated Andy "The Cause" Wozniewski to the Toronto Marlies. Mats Sundin, meanwhile, who turns thirty-seven years old today, has fifty-eight points in fifty-seven games—not bad for a guy with a "career-threatening" injury (we'll never tire of using it against you, Steve Simmons!).

The saga of John Ferguson, Jr. is mercifully over: the beleaguered General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who's been a whipping boy for the team's misfortunes ever since his appointment in 2003, has been fired.

We have no problem admitting our man-love for Mats Sundin: he's been the captain of our favourite hockey team for most of our adult lives, he's one of the greatest Toronto Maple Leafs of all-time and he's a shoe-in hall-of-famer once he retires. Seeing him score his 500th career goal still ranks as the greatest sporting moment we've ever witnessed. We know we're supposed to be too old and too sophisticated to have favourite athletes...but if we weren't, Sundin would be head-and-shoulders above everyone else.

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset.

Say what you will about the Toronto Maple Leafs, but they’re not boring. Incompetent, sure, but definitely not boring—not even during their recent, well-publicized losing streak. The Leafs are a middling 3–4–3 in their last ten games, yet they're oddly compelling to watch: they’re tied for third in league scoring (this, despite the inability of some of its key players to put the puck in the net) and they’re by far and away the...

For anyone who missed this year's Massey Lecture last Friday at U of T, don't fret. The City of Words, by celebrated writer, essayist, novelist, and anthologist Alberto Manguel, will be broadcast on CBC Radio One's IDEAS each night at 9:00 p.m. beginning Monday, November 5 running to Friday, the 9th.

Merriam-Webster defines "telethon" as "a long television program usually to solicit funds especially for a charity." Almost from the dawn of broadcast television on both sides of the border, time has been set aside to urge viewers to support a long list of causes.

As any hockey fan in Toronto already knows, the NHL draft took place this weekend and featured John Ferguson Jr. trading for a veteran goalie for the second straight year. The newly acquired Vesa Toskala, traded from San Jose, should provide a more stable presence in the net than Andrew Raycroft, and is projected to become the starting netminder.

Unless you live under a rock, you know that the North by Northeast Music & Film Festival is currently underway...and if you've stayed out past two nights until almost 5 a.m. like some Torontoist staffers, you really know it's here. You'll be hard pressed to find very many other music events going on this week, since almost every venue being occupied by the festival, so we suggest you just go with it and take in a bunch of bands you've probably never heard of. If you need some help, we've provided these three handy previews for you.

Lots going on around town over the next little while. One of the city's biggest music festivals, NXNE, held their press conference this week announcing the 2007 lineup (warning, the list is tough to read), hosted by Dave Foley. Many show dates and venues were announced, including the addition of the Dinosaur Jr., Voxtrot and The National shows as officially being part of the festival. Limited wristbands will be accepted at each show, so if you really want to go, you're better off buying tickets.

In a time when Al Gore is predicting that global warming is the coming of the apocalypse, people are looking for creative ways to maintain a sustainable ecosystem without giving up their consumerist lifestyles. Toronto’s first Green Living Show will inspire ways to do just that.

Another ticket giveaway! This time it's to check out Toronto's very own Uncut at Sneaky Dee's tomorrow night, courtesy of The Musebox. Also on the bill for the evening are Debaser, Fjord Rowboat and Fire Hydrant, so it's going to be a busy night! We have a pair of tickets to put into someone's hands, and all you have to do to win is be the third person to email carrie@torontoist.com with your full name. Pretty simple stuff.

It was one of the wildest final weekends in NHL history. The Toronto Maple Leafs delivered a knockout blow to the Montreal Canadiens in one of the most electric matches in recent memory, only to have the New York Islanders break our hearts and take the final playoff spot in a shootout against the New Jersey Devils the following day.

Concert announcements are coming fast and furious, now that everyone's back to their regularly scheduled programming. A number of festival dates are set all the way into September already, including the return of V-Fest to Olympic Island on Sept. 8-9. The festival is expanding out west this year, with Vancouver getting it's innaugural V-Fest -- although judging by the current lineup so far (headliners only), they're catering to a much younger crowd than Toronto did last year. Here's hoping that we get a slightly more mature and diverse bill, which will likely be announced in the coming few months. Here's also hoping that none of the bands get the shaft due to schedule issues (hello, Flaming Lips!).

With their 4-1 loss to the defending Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs slipped back to a .500 record (19-19-6) yet again, and now sit tied for ninth place in the Eastern Conference, fighting for their playoff lives after having played more than half of their games this season. They're missing a hospital ward full of regular players due to injury (Mike Peca, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ian White, Kyle Wellwood, Darcy Tucker, etc.). They continue to struggle with goaltending that, while decent at times, is far from superior, with neither Andrew Raycroft nor Jean-Sebastien Aubin stealing a single game for them this year. So what has general manager John Ferguson, Jr. done to shore up his team with the all-star break and stretch run looming? Well, yesterday he claimed former Leaf third/fourth-liner Travis Green (two points in seven games this year with Anaheim, 22 points in 82 games with Boston last season) off of waivers. While a noted faceoff and penalty kill specialist, Green is hardly a replacement for the likes of Tucker (19-12-31 in 39 games), Ponikarovsky (11-13-24 in 35 games) or Wellwood (9-22-31 in 35 games) on a team that even when fully healthy is still lacking offensively.

Nope, Torontoist isn't referring to the classic movie series. With Halloween just around the corner, it's a different goalie mask creating this sequence of horrors. Although it may be Friday the 27th, the number 13 represents the total amount of goals Toronto Maple Leaf netminders - mainly Andrew Raycroft - have allowed to Ottawa Senator shooters this week. Even by factoring in his day off in between, Raycroft's goals against average over those 3 days would still put him near the bottom of the NHL. Now Torontoist has been quick to jump to conclusions in the past. Granted the Leafs were off to a rather decent start this season, and it was Raycroft who was indeed leading the way. However, Tuesday's 6-2 and Thursday's 7-2 losses to their provincial rivals are an all too familiar occurance over the past couple of seasons, and surely have to serve as a reality check for Paul Maurice's club.

You know who's going to be upset about those Bikini Bandits? The Houston school system. Houstonist also reports on some redevelopment shenanigans over a landmark theater.

Well, you know, it can’t all be exciting glamorous press conferences for internationally famous film festivals where they reveal huge megastars are going to be attending, can it? Yeah, sometimes we have to cover the films that are coming out in cinemas now. And some weeks they’re all really boring.

Stillepost is atwitter about tonight's BSS/Jay Mascis show at the Mod Club (doors 7:00). Like previous times when Toronto's biggest "indie" band has played the message board goes crazy. Torontoist has sifted through the dozens of messages and has this roundup of five fun facts:

Mayor Miller officially launched his re-election campaign by not mentioning Jane Pitfield and throwing a party instead. Over a dozen councillors showed up to lend their support and even environmentalist Robert Kennedy Jr. sent in a video message.

By merely parting with a fifth-round draft pick, John Ferguson Jr. made a strong statement today that his team is for real. The Maple Leafs General Manager acquired veteran defenseman Luke Richardson in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets this afternoon. Turning thirty-seven later this month, Richardson is expected to add his speed and youthful enthusiasm to a tired Leafs defense. For those of you who aren't familiar with the rugged blue liner, that previous sentence couldn't be less truthful. Richardson, who began his career with the Blue and White, has lost a step over the last four or five years and has done little to contribute for the disappointing Blue Jackets this season. His stat line for the year reads: 44 GP, 1 G, 6 A, -18, 30 PIM

There's been a number of unfavourable comparisons of Stephen Harper and George W. Bush of late, both in politics, media and of course those silly attack ads. But what of a legitimate comparison, at least in terms of the campaign? Here is George Jr. on his father's failed 1992 presidential campaign:

In the year that the popularity of the ringtone might have outweighed the popularity of the single, Toronto-I-S-T comes up with the top ten songs that mattered in 2005.

The City of Toronto has decided that "Segways cannot be operated legally on Toronto streets or sidewalks." They also face limited usability in city parks, and the Ministry of Transport won't give them license plates, so you can't take them on most roads. Where does that leave a Segway driver to take his new toy out for a spin? Just about nowhere. Phew. Naturally, Segway of Ontario is unimpressed with the rulings. But, as the Segway riding Gob would say, come on! It's difficult enough to navigate city sidewalks with speeding grannies on motorized scooters doing their best to play lopsided bumper cars with pedestrians.

, knows that the acrimony between J Mascis and Lou Barlow was legendary. The fact that they were able to record three albums before fracturing (in a famously jerk-eriffic move, Mascis told Barlow the band was dissolving and then immediately re-formed it with drummer Murph. Barlow found out about it from watching MTV).

Paul Martin Junior fired Immigration Minister Judy Sgro today and replaced her with current HRDC top dog Joe Volpe. Despite no new information having come to light in the West York MP's "Strippergate" scandal, the fickle Martin nonetheless went off message once again in dropping his support for his beleaguered underling. Which leads Torontoist to suspect that Ethics Commissioner Bernard "Shappy" Shapiro is on the verge of declaring Ms. Sgro in the wrong.