Leafs vs. Habs: The Greatest Rivalry

Posted on April 28, 2013 by Edward Brain

It’s now the end of the National Hockey League (NHL) 2012-2013 regular season, with the Toronto Maple Leafs playing host to their arch rivals the  Montreal Canadiens.  The Canadiens would win 4-1, to finish the regular season with 29 wins, 14 losses, and five overtime losses, good enough for first place in the Northeast Division and second place overall in the Eastern Conference.  The Maple Leafs finished with a record of 26 wins, 17 losses, and five overtime losses for 57 points, good for third place in the Northeast Divsion and fifth place overall in the Eastern Conference.

Let’s look at the greatest rivalry in sports:

The Maple Leafs and Habs have met 15 times in the post season, the last time being in 1979.  Of those meetings, five have been for the Stanley Cup (1947, 1951, 1959, 1960, 1967) with the Leafs winning three of those finals.  The two teams also played for the NHL Title (and the right to play for the Stanley Cup) in 1918, which Toronto also one.  Overall, Montreal has won eight of the playoff meetings between the two teams with a record of 42-29. Continue reading →

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Is Lohengrin a Hero?

Posted on April 20, 2013 by Edward Brain

I want to raise the question of whether or not the title character of Lohengrin in Wagner’s opera is really a hero?

We know that in Act 1 of Lohengrin, the ‘unknown knight’ appears to save Elsa when she is accused of murdering her younger brother the Duke Gottfried of Brabant.  In the Trial by Combat that occurs, Lohengrin defeats Elsa’s accusor, Count Friedrich von Telramund.

We know that Lohengrin offers to defend Elsa, and to marry her, only if she never asks him who he is or where he came from.  Naturally, Elsa is in no position to refuse any help that she can get – she is being accused of murder after all.  So right away, one has to question the situation – why should this man be willing to take advantage of a woman like this? Continue reading →

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Removing A Board Member

Posted on April 5, 2013 by Edward Brain

Gerry Hyman has written a new article on condominiums.  From that article, I would like to discuss a question that was posed by a reader:

Q: One of our directors, who is also the treasurer, takes inappropriate action on his own without authorization from the board. He calls and directs the corporation’s lawyer and contractors. He ignores instructions from the other directors that he must obtain board approval before taking these steps. Does the Condominium Act deal with such conduct by a director?

A: The Condominium Act specifies that the board of directors will manage the affairs of the corporation. No director has the authority to take any action on behalf of the board unless the action has been authorized by a board resolution.

If the board believes that the director’s role as treasurer is a factor in his conduct, it could remove him from that office. The board could pass a resolution that the corporation’s lawyer be advised that the director has no authority to instruct the lawyer. The lawyer’s opinion might be obtained as to available remedies. That will include removal of the director from the board before the end of his term by an affirmative vote of owners of more than 50 per cent of the units at an owners’ meeting called for that purpose.

I would like to specifically discuss the portion of Mr. Hyman’s response which is bolded: the requirement of the Condominium Act require a majority vote of all owners to remove a director. Continue reading →

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Toronto Blue Jays’ 2013 Opening Day Roster (Updated)

Posted on March 31, 2013 by Edward Brain

The Toronto Blue Jays open the 2013 MLB season at home against the Cleveland Indians on April 2nd.  R.A. Dickey, the 2012 NL Cy Young award winner, will be the starting pitcher.

The Blue Jays 25 man roster is as follows:

Starting Rotation:

  1. R.A. Dickey (#43)
  2. Brandon Morrow (#23)
  3. Mark Buehrle (#56)
  4. Josh Johnson (#55)
  5. J.A. Happ (#48) Continue reading →
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The Leafs Season So Far

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Edward Brain

After playing 35 games of a 48 game shortened season, the Maple Leafs sit in 6th place in the Eastern Conference, and in 4th place in the Northeast Division with a record of 19 wins, 12 losses, and 4 overtime losses for 42 points.  They are 5 points behind Montreal for the lead in their division, and 12 points behind Pittsburgh in the Conference.

Toronto’s offense has been lead by Nazem Kadri with 35 points (14 goals, 21 assists),   James van Riemsdyk (14 goals), and Phil Kessel (24 assists.)  Kadri has a plus/minus of +17, Mark Fraser is +15, and Cody Franson +9.  Ben Scrivens has a GAA of 2.59 which is 26th overall.  James Reimer has a GAA of 2.65 for 28th overall.  Scrivens has a save percentage of .918, good for 16th overall, while Reimer has a save percentage of .916 for 22nd.  Reimer has started 19 games and has a record of 12-4-4 good for 16th place, while Scrivens started 16 games with a record of 7-8-0 for 35th place. Continue reading →

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Ricky Romero Demoted

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Edward Brain

On March 26th, 2013 the Toronto Blue Jays announced the demotion of starting pitcher Ricky Romero to Class-A Dunedin.  The announcement came after a bad 2012 season where Romero went 9-14 with a 5.77 E.R.A. in 32 starts.  He was also having difficulty during spring training this year.

J. A. Happ will become the fifth starter out of spring training for the Blue Jays.

This decision is wise in my opinion.  Romero is in need of re-discovering his ability to pitch – something he did very well over his first three big league season with the Blue Jays. Continue reading →

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Toronto Blue Jays Opening Day Line-Up

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Edward Brain

I’d like to discuss the proposed Opening Day line-up for the Blue Jays.

If I were manager John Gibbons, my opening day starting rotation would consist of:

  • R.A. Dickey
  • Mark Buerhle
  • Josh Johnson
  • Brandon Morrow
  • Ricky Romero

Casey Janssen would remain the closer, with Darren Oliver as the set-up man.  Sergio Santos would have to prove himself of being capable of taking over the set-up role (and then maybe the closer position) if he can show that he can actually pitch.  He never provedd this to me prior to his injury last year – blowing the first save opportunity (and first appearance) at the Rogers Centre last year in the Blue Jays home opener. Continue reading →

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NHL Shootout

Posted on March 22, 2013 by Edward Brain

Is the Shootout worthwhile in the NHL?

I say no.  It is far better to simply allow the two teams to keep the tie if no one can win a game after an extra period of play.  As it is, everytime a game goes to overtime, both teams are guaranteed at least one point simply for going to overtime.

In my opinion, the shootout and the one point for going to overtime are simply not required for the NHL – and other leagues (for example, the football leagues in Europe) allow for teams to accept a tie during the regular season, and if you lose in extra time (i.e. overtime) you do not receive any points at all. Continue reading →

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VIA Rail Operations (Part Three)

Posted on March 16, 2013 by Edward Brain

After talking about what trains/services VIA Rail could add, and where, I would like to talk about the other two important parts of the equation: financing and rolling stock.

Financing

Right now, VIA receives operating revenue from ticket sales and grants from the Federal Government.  The Federal Government also, from time to time, provides capital costs for rebuiding rolling stock, to acquire new stock, to build/upgrade stations, etc.

What I would like to see is what is similar to Amtrak in the U.S.  Some states provide some (or all) of the funding to operate Amtrak trains in their state.  This takes the financial responsibility off the Federal Government.  It would be great for VIA to do the same. Continue reading →

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VIA Rail Operations (Part Two)

Posted on March 14, 2013 by Edward Brain

In this second part of my blogs on VIA Rail, I am going to talk about VIA’s Corridor service, the backbone of VIA’s system.  It runs from Windsor, on the border between Ontario and Michagan, to Quebec City.  It serves Windsor and Sarnia in the extreme southwest of Ontario, through London, Woodstock, Brantford, Stratford, Kitchener, Niagara Falls, Toronto, Kingston, Brockville, Ottawa, Montreal, and finally Quebec City.

While the CPR did offer passenger service in this corridor, VIA essentially operates trains operating on the CNR mainline and routes it inherited from the CNR. Continue reading →

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