NHL Conference Finals

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Edward Brain

We are now down to the final four teams vying to be the 2013 Stanley Cup Champions.

In the Eastern Conference, the #4 Boston Bruins look to leap frog over the #1 Pittsburgh Penguins.  Boston looked much better against the New York Rangers than they did against the Maple Leafs, winning in five games.

Pittsburgh if 3-0-0 against Boston this season.  Pittsburgh and Boston have faced each other four times in the past.  Boston won series in 1979 (four games to none) and 1980 (three games to two.)  Pittsburgh won series in 1991 (four games to two) and 1992 (four games to none.)  In 1991 and 1992, Pittsburgh went on to win the Stanley Cup and is 10-9 overal against Boston in the postseason.  As both Western Conference Semifinal series went seven games, both teams will be well rested for Game #1 in Pittsburgh. Continue reading →

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Alain Vigneault Dismissed as Canucks Coach

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Edward Brain

Alain Vigneault, the head coach of the Vancouver Canucks since the start of the 2006-2007 season has been dismissed by the team after the Canucks were swept in four games in the first round of the 2013 playoffs by the San Jose Sharks.

Let’s look at what he accomplished in Vancouver:

  • The Canucks made it to the playoffs in every year that he was head coach, except 2008 (six out of seven years.)
  • He won the Jack Adams award in 2007 as coach of the year.
  • He had a record of 313-170-57 in 540 games.  He holds the Canucks record for most wins.
  • He lead the Canucks to the Stanley Cup in 2011, losing in seven games.
  • The Canucks finished first in the Northwest Division six times, including back-to-back President’s Trophies in 2011 and 2012 as the best team in the NHL.
  • He coached the team to a team record 54 wins in 2011, after beating Pat Quinn’s record of 46 wins with 49 wins in 2007, his first season as the Canucks’ coach.

His only blemish would be back-to-back first round losses in 2012 and 2013, including being swept by San Jose this year.  This is likely the reason for his dismissal.

With all the good points mentioned above, I doubt Mr. Vigneault will be without a job as a Head Coach in the NHL anytime soon.

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Bugs Bunny at the Symphony

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Edward Brain

Last night I attended a performance of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.  The performance was entitled “Bugs Bunny at the Symphony.”  Many Looney Tunes episodes deal with music, and as such an idea was started in 1990 to create a concert based on these episodes.  The night travelled through several episodes, including “Rhapsody Rabbit“, “The Rabbit of Seville“, “Tom and Jerry in the Hollywood Bowl“, “Long-Haired Hare“, and the famous “What’s Opera, Doc?”

“The Rabbit of Seville” is of course based on Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” while “What’s Opera, Doc?” is filled with the music of Wagner, including music from Der Fliegende Hollander, Tannhäuser, Rienzi, Die Walküre, Siegfried, and Götterdämmerung. Continue reading →

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Unruly Directors

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Edward Brain

Gerry Hyman has another column in the Saturday May 18th 2013 edition of the Toronto Star.  Here are some of my thoughts from questions raised in his article:

Q. One of our directors made derogatory comments about other directors at a board meeting attended by all of the directors.

The board member now maintains that there should be no minutes of the meeting setting out those remarks, as the meeting was not properly constituted because the 10 days notice of the meeting was not given. Is he correct?

A. The Condominium Act provides that a director who attends a meeting shall be deemed to have waived the right to object to a failure to give the required notice, unless the director expressly objects to the failure at the meeting.

Mr. Hyman’s response is correct, with regards to notice for the meeting.  However, he does not touch on the issue of the director’s remarks.  These remarks are obviously unacceptable.  The other directors should demand that the director either apologize or resign.  Directors can have disagreements with each other (and if their meetings are run according to democratic principles, every director is entitled to his or her own opinion) this does not mean that a director can make derogatory statements. Continue reading →

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NHL Round 2

Posted on May 14, 2013 by Edward Brain

We are now set for the Conference Semi-finals of the NHL playoffs (the second of four rounds required to win the Stanley Cup.)

Of the 16 teams who competed in first roung, the following teams have advanced

Eastern Conference

#1 Pittsurgh Penguins
#4 Boston Bruins
#6 New York Rangers
#7 Ottawa Senators Continue reading →

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NHL’s New Alignment

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Edward Brain

The National Hockey League (NHL) has adjusted its conferences for the 2013-2014 Season.  The Conferences will now have two divisons each instead of the current three.  However, due to how the alignment has been made, the ‘new’ Eastern Conference will have 16 teams while the ‘new’ Western Conference will only have 14 teams.  The four divisions currently do not have any names, only letters.

The NHL Conferences will look as follows: Continue reading →

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Condominium Social Committees

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Edward Brain

Gerry Hyman has a new article for the Toronto Star.  I would like to discuss some of the questions he responded to.  Firstly, this one:

Q: Our board has been funding a social committee to the tune of $200 a month to finance assorted functions that are attended by fewer than five per cent of approximately 400 residents. Is it legitimate that all owners are required to contribute through their common expenses to events that the vast majority have no interest in attending?

A: The Condominium Act defines common expenses as “the expenses related to the performance of the objects and duties of a corporation and all expenses specified as common expenses in this Act or in a declaration.” The objects of a corporation are “to manage the property and assets, if any, of the corporation on behalf of the owners.” The duties of a corporation are “to control, manage and administer the common elements and assets of the corporation.” I am of the opinion that the social committee expenditures benefitting very few of the residents are not related to the performance of the objects or duties of the corporation.

The board, if it wishes to obligate all of the owners to provide such funding, should amend the declaration to specify that the expenditures are common expenses. The declaration amendment will require written approval of owners of 80 per cent of the units.

The person raising the question has not specified whether or not the Board has allowed the Social Committee to raise funds on their own through a donation box, 50/50 draws, etc.  The Board should allow the Committee to do this in any case as it may help to either reduce, or eliminate the need for monthly amounts plus as long as it voluntary it allows those attending to decide whether or not they wish to give any money or not. Continue reading →

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Toronto Wagner Society Celebrates 200 years of Richard Wagner

Posted on May 3, 2013 by Edward Brain

The Toronto Wagner Society will be celebrating the 200th birth of composer Richard Wagner on Saturday May 25th, 2013.

The event takes place at the Arts and Letters Club (14 Elm Street) starting at 9:00 am.  There will be two interviews in the morning with directors Francesca Zambello and Atom Egoyan, as well as a presentation by Bernard Gilbert – the production manager of the current Ring Cycle at the Met Opera directed by Rober Lepage.

In the afternoon, the Society presents a live performance of Act 1 of Die Walküre by Opera by Request.

The Society is accepting donations for this event, which are tax deductible.  However, due to costs there will an entrance fee of $35 per member, $45 for non-members.  People can reserve a seat by e-mailing the Society at torontowagner@yahoo.com.

For more information, please check out their website.

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The Blues Jays after One Month

Posted on May 1, 2013 by Edward Brain

Now that April has come to an end, I’d like to examine how the Blue Jays are performing compared to the 2012 Season.  This season was taunted as being a breakout year for the Toronto Blue Jays after the acquisition of a number of players in the offseason including NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey,  four time Gold Glove winner Mark Buehrle, Josh Johnson, Maicer Izturis, Melky Cabrera, 2011 NL Batting Chmapion José Reyes, and Emilio Bonifacio.

After their April 30th game against division rival Boston Red Sox, the Blue Jays are 10-17 for .370 winning record.  After their game on April 30th 2012, the Toronto Blue Jays were 12-11 for .522 winning record.  Last year they were three games behind the division leader, while this year they are 8.5 games behind the division leading Boston Red Sox.  They currently sit 6 games out of a wildcard spot. Continue reading →

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First Round of the NHL Playoffs

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Edward Brain

Now that the season has ended with the Ottawa Senators defeating Boston Bruins 4-2, the final Standings for the NHL are as follows:

Eastern Conference

#1 Pittsburgh Penguins 36-12-0 for 72 points
#2 Montreal Canadiens 29-14-5 for 63 points
#3 Washington Capitals 27-18-3 for 57 points
#4 Boston Bruins 28-14-6 for 62 points
#5 Toronto Maple Leafs 26-17-5 for 57 points
#6 New York Rangers 26-18-4 foe 56 pojnts
#7 Ottawa Senators 25-17-6 for 56 points
#8 New York Islanders 24-17-7 for 55 points Continue reading →

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