I am actually not that disapointed. I never believed in this Hossa thing, but I've got to admit that in the last couple of days, the rumours and the hype got to me.
But I urge you (and everyone else) to find the clip where Gainey says he's looking for an "impact player". If you've seen the whole segment, you know that answer was pulled out of him. At first, a journalist asked him if he intended to make any moves. He evaded the question. A second journalist pushed, and asked him if, hypothetically, he was going to make a move, what sort of move it would be. And that's when the "impact player" quote was born.
I don't think Gainey ever intended to shop for an "impact player", as in, it wasn't his MUST MAKE move. It was something he was open to. It was not make or break, and I'm glad.
Marian Hossa would never have signed in Montreal, and we would have given up way too much for him. I'm not ready to let go of the youth and young vets that this team has built. Also, I think Pittsburgh totally got the raw end of the deal. In my eyes, Atlanta is the definite winner in this transaction, picking up a trio of young talents who will develop into impact players.
And yes, Montreal is now stuck with two goalies who are rookies and have no NHL post-season experience. But these are both guys who thrive under pressure. They'll work with each other, pushing each other to the brink. That's the kind of pressure Carey Price needs, not this "it's all your fault" pressure we've been giving him.
I think it could definitely be beneficial for this tandem to be so young, and it also means the team is going to rally around them because they won't necessarily trust that they can let the pucks get all the way to the net every time. And Halak is pretty impressive. He's been rocking the Hamilton Bulldogs in the AHL and forcing them to keep competing for a playoffs spot. Who's to say he won't do the same here?
I also think that by keeping the core we have now, these guys are going to come together. They know there's no option, and that the only changes will be caused by call ups. Like Mikhail Grabovski, whom I hope will not be spending the majority of his time on the press gallery.
And while we will probably miss Huet in the room, at least we won't have to worry about him letting in that stinker. And this is good news. It's like if Saku Koivu were to never take offensive zone penalties again! We've got something to cheer about!
As for the 'Dogs, they've got Yann Danis and other solid goaltending prospects to pick up the slack, and so I'm not at all concerned about their playoff position... As long as everyone who is still down there keeps scoring now that Grabs is likely to finish the season in Montreal.
Meanwhile, the Habs have a game to play tonight. The good news is, no Hossa or Pascal Dupuis and no Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito or that elusive first round draft pick to worry about!
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Paper trail...
In honour of the NHL trade deadline, it's time to think of something else. In this case, paper.
This year, I once again was an intern for The Reporter, Pulp and Paper Canada's daily publication during PaperWeek International and EXFOR 2008.
It took place in early February, so while I'm a bit slow on the posting, I figured today was a symbolic day for looking back at past success and forward at new horizons.
Here are a couple of texts I wrote during that week.
I also have an article going into the March issue of Pulp and Paper Canada, which is always interesting, and I should be writing an article on one of my pet subjects as of late, so...
Stay tuned!
This year, I once again was an intern for The Reporter, Pulp and Paper Canada's daily publication during PaperWeek International and EXFOR 2008.
It took place in early February, so while I'm a bit slow on the posting, I figured today was a symbolic day for looking back at past success and forward at new horizons.
Here are a couple of texts I wrote during that week.
Irving impresses with SC-A upgrade
In 2006, Irving Paper Ltd. decided to convert its PM1 to an SC-A grade machine, with plans to upgrade to SC-A+. The PM1, which was built in 1964, was in need of an upgrade, especially in the press and calendering areas.
“This was a strategic decision by the company to move away from newsprint and go to value add grades, so that was probably the biggest asset,” said PM1 Superintendant Terry Tomney.
One of the most interesting aspects of this presentation, which was part of Metso’s annual conference, was the time lapse photography of the whole process. The upgrade took 65 days to complete, and the bird’s-eye view of the calendering and dryer hood deconstruction and reconstruction was captured every 20 minutes, providing a remarkable amount of material for an impressive slideshow.
Most inspiringly, the process was ongoing as workers were on the floor 24 hours a day and the project was completed with no downtime.
At first, Irving experienced some quality issues such as dry end breaks, VIB Digital Block Corrosion, and wrinkling due to air entrapment, but Metso and Irving cooperated in finding the solutions to these problems, often by using new technologies such as the OptiReel Plus.
However, several of Irving’s concerns turned out to be non-issues.
“One thing we were really concerned about,” said Tomney, “is that it’s approximately 80 meters that the sheet runs, so there’s a lot of opportunities for issues. But to our great surprise, thanks to the advance work we had done with Metso, we had no issues with threading.”
Since Irving has only two paper machines, it was important for the company to minimize downtime. One of the keys to accomplishing this was quicker troubleshooting of E&I issues, as software made it possible to resolve issues in ten to fifteen minutes rather than four to five hours.
“We are taking a quantum step in development for ourselves and we’re entering an area that we didn’t know so much about,” Tomney said. “[Metso] was very valuable to us, so much so that we extended our co-operation agreement.”
Still, while early 2007 results showed a great increase in the quality of the paper produced by Irving’s reconstructed SC-A/SC-A+ machine, there is still a lot of room for improvement.
-30-
Industry analyst forecasts transition year
By Naila Jinnah
Tuesday’s plenary session provided much food for thought as TD Newcrest’s Paper and Forest Products Equity Analyst Sean Steuart, CFA, presented his forecast for the year to come.
His presentation, appropriately entitled “Outlook: An Industry in Transition”, was a perfect partner to PaperWeek International’s theme for 2008, “A Bridge to the Future”.
Steuart explained that the pulp and paper industry in the United States and in Canada has a poor reputation in the investment community, partially because of its failure to meet performance expectations in the past few years but also because of the way brokers emphasize the pros but neglect to stress the cons of investing in the sector.
Since 1999, capital has been down 6%, with a more pronounced trend since the Canadian dollar started rising. Therefore, the industry is losing relevance in the investment community, as Canadian, US and European investments in the sector account for less than 1% of the equity market.
“I think there’s a credibility issue both on the analyst side and the industry side,” said Steuart. “We definitely get the sense that investors want to see how this unfolds in the next couple of years.”
In 2008, only five Canadian P&FP companies were listed in the S&P/TSX Composite Index, accounting for $6.0 million Canadian in market capital. That’s a huge drop from 1995, when 23 companies combined for $14.8 million in market capital. One major factor is the mergers and buyouts of the past few years, as traditionally Canadian companies like Abitibi and Domtar became listed as US companies.
Steuart looked back at the downturn of the past year and provided short, mid and long term trends, focusing primarily on the Canadian market.
“We estimate that the weighted average cost of capital for Canadian companies is 13%,” said Steuart of the current situation. “I wouldn’t say that USA and Europe companies have been better, but they’re certainly better than Canada. Companies have been withholding investments and share prices have gone down as a result.”
Steuart also addressed the recession fears in the US, claiming that although a broad recession might not take place, but that various commodities in this sector are already in recession.
Wood products were hit especially hard in 2007 and over the past five years, mitigated by actual demand improvement but also because of factors like the US housing crisis. New technologies will also play a role in the long term.
“A couple of products are in structural demand decline for North America,” said Steuart, “especially newsprint and uncoated freesheet. This reflects the trend in the way people are accessing information, especially with new technologies.”
Most wood product companies have a negative cashflow, especially in Canada, and further consolidation is inevitable, according to Steuart.
“Prices have fallen so much because companies with good balance sheets have decided to push their assets too hard and burn cash instead of sitting back and balancing,” said Steuart.
As for market pulp, prices are still rising across most grades and regions. The market remains tight, especially for hardwood, but momentum is decreasing due to the short term fibre scarcity caused by issues like weather, closures, and union disputes. In the long term, there will be a steady demand growth with closings of high demand price mills as new greenfield pulp mills open in the Southern Hemisphere. China remains a big driver, as shipments to that country account for 20% of the 19 major companies’ exports.
Prices for newsprint, primarily a Canadian commodity, have started increasing.
“A number of the smaller companies were waiting for Abitibi to finish their merger and proceed with expected closures. And they sort of sat at on the sidelines and waited, and prices went down,” explained Steuart.
For Steuart, it’s hard to believe prices went down so much, since the effect of inflation in the last 8 years in Canada coupled with the Canadian dollar appreciation made it double the US values.
“It’s been a very tough few years, but I think we’ve turned the corner,” said Steuart. “Part of the reasons we’re positive is that the big publishers in the States appear to be aboard and understanding our struggles.”
All Canadian lumber producers except for Interfor are losing operating cash before taxes and adjustments.
“We’re going to see the worst data in Q4 that we’ve ever seen. It’s going to be a tough quarter,” Steuart warned.
-30-
I also have an article going into the March issue of Pulp and Paper Canada, which is always interesting, and I should be writing an article on one of my pet subjects as of late, so...
Stay tuned!
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
NHL in Touch
This is what I've been waiting for.
Last year, Alyssa Milano (Charmed, Melrose Place, Who's the Boss?) partnered with MLB to create a line of clothing for female baseball fans like herself. It was an instant hit.
Now, she is coming out with a similar line for NHL fans!
The NHL released a press release this morning confirming that Alyssa Milano will be co-hosting the 2008 NHL All-Star Rockin' Skate Event, something we already knew. As a bonus, she will also be signing autographs. Most importantly, this collaboration is to celebrate the launch of the "Touch" female fashion line.
Touch is designed by Alyssa, and it truly does blend fashion and function. The garments will be produced by G-III Apparel Group and will be on sale by early February. That includes outerwear, sets, fashion tops, denim, dresses and more...
Of course, all the items will be flattering to a women's curves ;)
Touch - by Alyssa Milano apparel will be sold on Shop.NHL.com, in the team stores, and even in some retail stores!!
"I am really excited about TOUCH's partnership with the National Hockey League,” said Alyssa Milano in the NHL press release. “I am looking forward to giving female hockey fans fashion apparel as unique and special as the sport they love."
Last year, Alyssa Milano (Charmed, Melrose Place, Who's the Boss?) partnered with MLB to create a line of clothing for female baseball fans like herself. It was an instant hit.
Now, she is coming out with a similar line for NHL fans!
The NHL released a press release this morning confirming that Alyssa Milano will be co-hosting the 2008 NHL All-Star Rockin' Skate Event, something we already knew. As a bonus, she will also be signing autographs. Most importantly, this collaboration is to celebrate the launch of the "Touch" female fashion line.
Touch is designed by Alyssa, and it truly does blend fashion and function. The garments will be produced by G-III Apparel Group and will be on sale by early February. That includes outerwear, sets, fashion tops, denim, dresses and more...
Of course, all the items will be flattering to a women's curves ;)
Touch - by Alyssa Milano apparel will be sold on Shop.NHL.com, in the team stores, and even in some retail stores!!
"I am really excited about TOUCH's partnership with the National Hockey League,” said Alyssa Milano in the NHL press release. “I am looking forward to giving female hockey fans fashion apparel as unique and special as the sport they love."
“High fashion and team loyalty come together in the TOUCH clothing line,” said Brian Jennings, NHL Executive Vice President Marketing. “We are thrilled to offer this exciting line of apparel to our female fans and look forward to Alyssa's appearance at the 2008 NHL All-Star Weekend in Atlanta.”
I know I just can't wait! :)
I know I just can't wait! :)
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
New Feature!
Of the written kind, I mean.
Here's the piece I wrote on the goalies of the Concordia University women's hockey team, the Stingers. It was published in today's edition of the Link.
Enjoy!
By Naila Jinnah
On paper, Concordia Stingers goaltenders Meggy Hatin-Léveillée, Audrey Doyon-Lessard and Stephanie Peck don’t have much in common, apart from sharing a spot on the women’s hockey team.
A quick glance at the roster shows that the girls have different eligibility years, come from different CÉGEPs and are in programs that couldn’t be more different: honours psychology, exercise science and marketing respectively. But one look at these three masked warriors and all those differences come crashing to the ice.
Goalies are a special breed, a saying that rings especially true for collegiate teams. For years, these girls have been the only goaltenders on their team, left aside at practices while the rest of the players worked on drills. They have become more self-sufficient than their teammates, often learning on their own and from their own mistakes. They have been the starting goalie every game—by default. But CÉGEP brought not only a new level of play but also a new reality—competing for the starting spot with at least two other girls.
This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there is the risk of spending most of the season on the bench rather than on the ice. On the other hand, practices are a bit more fun when you have a companion to run goaltending drills with.
“With the three of us, practice is more fun, because it’s like a team of goalies!” said Hatin-Léveillée, laughing with her goaltending partners.
“Being goalie is a very special bond,” she added. “Aside from our field of study, we really understand each other, even if others don’t. We know we can rely on the other two to understand, so we don’t feel awkward or out of place.”
Hatin-Léveillée and Doyon-Lessard have been splitting the load for one season, but Peck joined the team this year. They were an instant fit.
“I totally felt welcome with them,” said rookie Peck. “I knew right away that they got along really well because it showed. It really makes a difference when you get along with your goalie partner.”
This year, the girls need to get along with someone else too. For the first time in four years, the Stingers have added a goalie coach to their staff. Dave Paré gets on the ice with the girls during practice and his feedback is definitely appreciated.
“Last year we couldn’t improve on anything because no one would tell us what the problems were,” Hatin-Léveillée said. “But this year, in practice, our coach tells us what we do and we can improve our game.”
“It makes us feel more part of a team and more important, in a way.”
“I think it shows that we just prioritize the goaltending and that it’s really important,” said Peck. “We need that kind of help and it’s good to have that kind of support.”
The girls also get a lot of support from each other—they spend a lot of time together and the comfortable chemistry that was established during training camp turned into friendly competition as the season started. At the beginning, Hatin-Léveillée and Doyon-Lessard were the goaltending duo of choice, and while Hatin-Léveillée got many starts, there was no clear-cut number one goalie. But on Oct. 28, 2007, Doyon-Lessard was injured in a game at Carleton University.
“I tried to cover the puck and was going forward, but the girl sort of skated on my head,” explained Doyon-Lessard.
She was diagnosed with a concussion, an injury that is particularly hard to recover from since it requires complete rest. After over two months on the injured reserve list, Doyon-Lessard finally made it back between the pipes on Jan. 6, 2008 for the championship game of the Theresa Humes tournament, replacing starter Hatin-Léveillée. The Stingers lost 7-0 to McGill.
“It was great for me to play,” Doyon-Lessard said after the game, “but I didn’t like the reason why I had to go in.”
Meanwhile, Peck was back at her usual seat in the stands. The third goalie is often lost in the rush, but she is just as much a member of the team as the other girls. Like Doyon-Lessard when she was injured, Peck needs to attend all practices and games, even if she’s not dressing for the latter. The average observer doesn’t notice her, but she is far from invisible to her teammates. And while the seats in the stands are mostly comfortable, it’s not Peck’s spot of choice.
“It’s really tough coming in as a third goalie,” she said. “People don’t understand unless they’ve lived it.”
“With goalies, there are only three spots, and two that dress,” said Hatin-Léveillée. “With players, there’s a lot more room to work with. They have twelve!”
“I’ve lived it,” she added, “and now Steph is going through it.”
“It’s a real learning experience,” Peck said. “It’s definitely going to make me better for it. Stronger. It’s humbling too, because you have to earn it. Everybody has to pay their dues.”
The bond between these three girls is apparent in their interactions on and off the ice, and their unofficial ranking on the roster is not of much concern to them.
“We try to stay together and keep it equal in practices,” Hatin-Léveillée said. “And come game time, for sure there’s going to be a goalie who plays and a goalie who doesn’t dress. I think that’s the only time that there’s a difference.”
“In practice, we don’t see number one, number two, number three. We don’t see a difference.”
But for Hatin-Léveillée, having a new partner in crime didn’t change the way she approached the game. Competition is important, but the girls each have a different role to play on the team. They push each other in positive ways.
“It’s never taken for granted,” Hatin-Léveillée said. “I’m not number one for sure. We have to work for it, earn it, and if I play a good game, more points for me!”
“It’s a competition, but at the same time it’s healthy, because we’re not bitching about it and we’re not being mean about it. We want our spot and we want to deserve it. If I don’t feel like I deserve it, I don’t want to be the one in nets.”
“It’s not like if someone has a bad game, you’re like ‘yes!’ You put the team first,” Peck agreed.
“We all can do it, and we all know that everyone here can stop the puck wherever it is,” said Hatin-Léveillée. “When it happens that we have bad games, we know it’s a mental thing. So we go up to each other and tell the other goalie to get back in there and to be strong mentally.”
The girls don’t really see each other outside of hockey, although that’s probably a good thing. With practice, workout sessions, school and homework, it’s hard to find time to relax, not to mention that non-hockey friends tend to get jealous.
“You’re with each other every day,” said Doyon-Lessard. “We see each other more than our family!”
It is this commitment to the game that enables the girls to make these sacrifices. Their love for hockey is apparent on and off the ice, and their passion brings them together just as it divides them.
“We have that thing in common that we love to come here to play hockey in the morning,” said Hatin-Léveillée.
“But like it or not, we’re here to play hockey, and we all want the same thing,” concluded Peck.
-30-
Here's the piece I wrote on the goalies of the Concordia University women's hockey team, the Stingers. It was published in today's edition of the Link.
Enjoy!
Passion brings Stingers goalies together
But a little competition is healthy for women's hockey teammatesBy Naila Jinnah
On paper, Concordia Stingers goaltenders Meggy Hatin-Léveillée, Audrey Doyon-Lessard and Stephanie Peck don’t have much in common, apart from sharing a spot on the women’s hockey team.
A quick glance at the roster shows that the girls have different eligibility years, come from different CÉGEPs and are in programs that couldn’t be more different: honours psychology, exercise science and marketing respectively. But one look at these three masked warriors and all those differences come crashing to the ice.
Goalies are a special breed, a saying that rings especially true for collegiate teams. For years, these girls have been the only goaltenders on their team, left aside at practices while the rest of the players worked on drills. They have become more self-sufficient than their teammates, often learning on their own and from their own mistakes. They have been the starting goalie every game—by default. But CÉGEP brought not only a new level of play but also a new reality—competing for the starting spot with at least two other girls.
This is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, there is the risk of spending most of the season on the bench rather than on the ice. On the other hand, practices are a bit more fun when you have a companion to run goaltending drills with.
“With the three of us, practice is more fun, because it’s like a team of goalies!” said Hatin-Léveillée, laughing with her goaltending partners.
“Being goalie is a very special bond,” she added. “Aside from our field of study, we really understand each other, even if others don’t. We know we can rely on the other two to understand, so we don’t feel awkward or out of place.”
Hatin-Léveillée and Doyon-Lessard have been splitting the load for one season, but Peck joined the team this year. They were an instant fit.
“I totally felt welcome with them,” said rookie Peck. “I knew right away that they got along really well because it showed. It really makes a difference when you get along with your goalie partner.”
This year, the girls need to get along with someone else too. For the first time in four years, the Stingers have added a goalie coach to their staff. Dave Paré gets on the ice with the girls during practice and his feedback is definitely appreciated.
“Last year we couldn’t improve on anything because no one would tell us what the problems were,” Hatin-Léveillée said. “But this year, in practice, our coach tells us what we do and we can improve our game.”
“It makes us feel more part of a team and more important, in a way.”
“I think it shows that we just prioritize the goaltending and that it’s really important,” said Peck. “We need that kind of help and it’s good to have that kind of support.”
The girls also get a lot of support from each other—they spend a lot of time together and the comfortable chemistry that was established during training camp turned into friendly competition as the season started. At the beginning, Hatin-Léveillée and Doyon-Lessard were the goaltending duo of choice, and while Hatin-Léveillée got many starts, there was no clear-cut number one goalie. But on Oct. 28, 2007, Doyon-Lessard was injured in a game at Carleton University.
“I tried to cover the puck and was going forward, but the girl sort of skated on my head,” explained Doyon-Lessard.
She was diagnosed with a concussion, an injury that is particularly hard to recover from since it requires complete rest. After over two months on the injured reserve list, Doyon-Lessard finally made it back between the pipes on Jan. 6, 2008 for the championship game of the Theresa Humes tournament, replacing starter Hatin-Léveillée. The Stingers lost 7-0 to McGill.
“It was great for me to play,” Doyon-Lessard said after the game, “but I didn’t like the reason why I had to go in.”
Meanwhile, Peck was back at her usual seat in the stands. The third goalie is often lost in the rush, but she is just as much a member of the team as the other girls. Like Doyon-Lessard when she was injured, Peck needs to attend all practices and games, even if she’s not dressing for the latter. The average observer doesn’t notice her, but she is far from invisible to her teammates. And while the seats in the stands are mostly comfortable, it’s not Peck’s spot of choice.
“It’s really tough coming in as a third goalie,” she said. “People don’t understand unless they’ve lived it.”
“With goalies, there are only three spots, and two that dress,” said Hatin-Léveillée. “With players, there’s a lot more room to work with. They have twelve!”
“I’ve lived it,” she added, “and now Steph is going through it.”
“It’s a real learning experience,” Peck said. “It’s definitely going to make me better for it. Stronger. It’s humbling too, because you have to earn it. Everybody has to pay their dues.”
The bond between these three girls is apparent in their interactions on and off the ice, and their unofficial ranking on the roster is not of much concern to them.
“We try to stay together and keep it equal in practices,” Hatin-Léveillée said. “And come game time, for sure there’s going to be a goalie who plays and a goalie who doesn’t dress. I think that’s the only time that there’s a difference.”
“In practice, we don’t see number one, number two, number three. We don’t see a difference.”
But for Hatin-Léveillée, having a new partner in crime didn’t change the way she approached the game. Competition is important, but the girls each have a different role to play on the team. They push each other in positive ways.
“It’s never taken for granted,” Hatin-Léveillée said. “I’m not number one for sure. We have to work for it, earn it, and if I play a good game, more points for me!”
“It’s a competition, but at the same time it’s healthy, because we’re not bitching about it and we’re not being mean about it. We want our spot and we want to deserve it. If I don’t feel like I deserve it, I don’t want to be the one in nets.”
“It’s not like if someone has a bad game, you’re like ‘yes!’ You put the team first,” Peck agreed.
“We all can do it, and we all know that everyone here can stop the puck wherever it is,” said Hatin-Léveillée. “When it happens that we have bad games, we know it’s a mental thing. So we go up to each other and tell the other goalie to get back in there and to be strong mentally.”
The girls don’t really see each other outside of hockey, although that’s probably a good thing. With practice, workout sessions, school and homework, it’s hard to find time to relax, not to mention that non-hockey friends tend to get jealous.
“You’re with each other every day,” said Doyon-Lessard. “We see each other more than our family!”
It is this commitment to the game that enables the girls to make these sacrifices. Their love for hockey is apparent on and off the ice, and their passion brings them together just as it divides them.
“We have that thing in common that we love to come here to play hockey in the morning,” said Hatin-Léveillée.
“But like it or not, we’re here to play hockey, and we all want the same thing,” concluded Peck.
-30-
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Money
Alexander Ovechkin just signed a multi-year deal that has been rumoured to earn him $124 million dollars over 13 years. That's the first six years at $9 mil and then next seven years at $10 mil.
Okay, so I love hockey and all, but, are you serious?!
$10 million?! What does one do with 10 million dollars a year?!
Sure, about half of that gets eaten up in taxes (if you're in Canada), and you've got to pay for a house and utilities you barely use... But all your travel and accommodations are paid by the team. You even get meal vouchers and/or a daily stipend.
Sure, it's nice to party once in a while when you're not at work, and as a "celebrity" you need good looking (read expensive) clothes.
Still, $10 million dollars is a whole lot of cash! But somehow, for some reason, I don't think he's gonna donate, say, 1 year's salary to charity. Not in a chunk, that's for sure. And chances are, even if he does make donations, they won't total up to 10% of his total gross salary. As in $12.4 million.
I don't mean to rag on Alexander Ovechkin. There are other superstars out there being locked up for longterm multi(gazillion) million dollar deals and entertainers racking up millions for one project. This is just the latest case in a series of (un)fortunate events.
Lets just take a second to put things into perspective.
* Half the world - nearly 3 billion people - live on less than $2 a day.
* Every year 15 million children die of hunger.
* Every day, about 25,000 people die from hunger, most of them children
* Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger, but...
* It is estimated that some 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition, about 100 times as many as those who actually die from it each year.
Closer to home,
* One out of every eight children under the age of twelve in the U.S. goes to bed hungry every night.
Now consider this...
* The combined wealth of the world’s 200 richest people hit $1 trillion in 1999; the combined incomes of the 582 million people living in the 43 least developed countries is $146 billion.
That's insane. What's more insane is this:
* The cost of ending world hunger completely is about $195 billion a year.
And there are more shocking statistics available online about how a little bit of money can change a lot. And check this out!
We can raise the $195 billion if, for every $100 made in Canada, the country donates 30 cents. In the US, that's 17 cents.
That's not too hard to do, yet we prefer to pay exorbitant amounts of money to watch 40 grown men take to the ice. (And yes, I do this too...)
Oh, and just fyi...
During the 2 minutes it took to read this post, 33 people died of extreme poverty.
I'm all for hockey players getting million dollar contracts. It's a tough life, I get it. Maybe you can't donate your whole paycheck... taxes eat up most of it anyway. Still, I don't think it's right to pay someone $10 million a year to lace up skates where there's so much more we could be doing with the money.
Okay, so I love hockey and all, but, are you serious?!
$10 million?! What does one do with 10 million dollars a year?!
Sure, about half of that gets eaten up in taxes (if you're in Canada), and you've got to pay for a house and utilities you barely use... But all your travel and accommodations are paid by the team. You even get meal vouchers and/or a daily stipend.
Sure, it's nice to party once in a while when you're not at work, and as a "celebrity" you need good looking (read expensive) clothes.
Still, $10 million dollars is a whole lot of cash! But somehow, for some reason, I don't think he's gonna donate, say, 1 year's salary to charity. Not in a chunk, that's for sure. And chances are, even if he does make donations, they won't total up to 10% of his total gross salary. As in $12.4 million.
I don't mean to rag on Alexander Ovechkin. There are other superstars out there being locked up for longterm multi(gazillion) million dollar deals and entertainers racking up millions for one project. This is just the latest case in a series of (un)fortunate events.
Lets just take a second to put things into perspective.
* Half the world - nearly 3 billion people - live on less than $2 a day.
* Every year 15 million children die of hunger.
* Every day, about 25,000 people die from hunger, most of them children
* Every 3.6 seconds someone dies of hunger, but...
* It is estimated that some 800 million people in the world suffer from hunger and malnutrition, about 100 times as many as those who actually die from it each year.
Closer to home,
* One out of every eight children under the age of twelve in the U.S. goes to bed hungry every night.
*
Now consider this...
* The combined wealth of the world’s 200 richest people hit $1 trillion in 1999; the combined incomes of the 582 million people living in the 43 least developed countries is $146 billion.
That's insane. What's more insane is this:
* The cost of ending world hunger completely is about $195 billion a year.
And there are more shocking statistics available online about how a little bit of money can change a lot. And check this out!
We can raise the $195 billion if, for every $100 made in Canada, the country donates 30 cents. In the US, that's 17 cents.
That's not too hard to do, yet we prefer to pay exorbitant amounts of money to watch 40 grown men take to the ice. (And yes, I do this too...)
*
Oh, and just fyi...
During the 2 minutes it took to read this post, 33 people died of extreme poverty.
I'm all for hockey players getting million dollar contracts. It's a tough life, I get it. Maybe you can't donate your whole paycheck... taxes eat up most of it anyway. Still, I don't think it's right to pay someone $10 million a year to lace up skates where there's so much more we could be doing with the money.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Something new...
Lets try something new! When I can, I usually live blog the post-game comments off RIS Info's live locker room and press conference coverage. This usually gets posted for a few friends, sometimes on Mike Boone's blog on HabsInsideOut.com, and I figured, why not share it with the rest of the world!
So here are tonight's clip from the locker room and the press conference. Ignore the typos and quick formatting... Live typing is kinda tough. I now understand the closed captioners.
So here are tonight's clip from the locker room and the press conference. Ignore the typos and quick formatting... Live typing is kinda tough. I now understand the closed captioners.
Lats on his winning goal: "I actually thought Max was going to dump it so I was going behind the net."
Carbo'd planned gui and max in OT before, it just never happened
on the second: we were missing a lot of chances, breakaways, but we're happy about the victory
Koivu:
"You learn from the guys and you're gonna get better.We have a quite young centerman and he's a really good faceoff man. It's one of the things we're practicing and wanna improve but we're not as bad as people think."
"You try to make them comfy and push at the same time, teach them to do the little things right"
Saku thinks his wingers are comfortable, but says they all need to pay attention defensively.
on home: "3 out of 4 is not bad," but not satisfied with the way they played.
Huey: "We would have liked to have a better second but after we reacted well, esp in the third, we deserved the win. It was a sign of maturity to be able to come back, earlier in the season, we weren't able to come back from our mistakes."
Locke: "It's a great feeling, I've wanted to play in the NHL and with the habs since I was a kid. It was an honour. It was great, a great experience, I'm glad I got in the game, and I'm glad we won in OT, it's nice to get the win."
Surprised: How quick it is and you have to pay attention all the time no standing around
Max: on the winning goal
"When I saw him (Gui) at the center and saw he was giving me space, so I just tried to give him the puck and he scored.
He says he was trying to dump it behind, like Gui thought, but it turned into a pass and Gui scored. plus they have fun off the ice, so it's always fun to win, but because it's Gui it's even better.
Carbo:
3/4 is good. We would have liked 6/6 but after the Washington game, we talked about it, and I'm happy. It was a weird game, but a good one. It's always been a good rivalry, so it was fun to prepare this game, esp. against a team we don't always face.
We liked the way we were playing before Xmas, and we still have a bit of a letdown in the second, but I think it went really well.
Sometimes, you make decisions and it works. It had been a couple of games I hadn't used them (Max and Gui), but I had a feeling, and so I put them on the ice. Max had already been there for 20 seconds, and it turned out well!
More in English: I thought they had a good game. Max has been really good for us since he'd been called up, and Gui had a really good game with a lot of chances around the net. Last game in overtime, I didn't use them, but like I said, sometimes, you just have a feeling.
We've been working with him since he's been up last year. Especially in the power play when we need him in front. He has 12 goals, and last year he scored a few, and they're not 10 feet away, they're from in front of the net.
Laughs and complains at the Price and Chip question.
It was about the time we were thinking about it. If you look at Carey, we knew January would be an easier schedule, and that we wanted to give Price more ice time. Finally, the schedule was favourable to make a change, and we talked about it even before the Washington game.
Kyle had a very good beginning of the season, he was excited and was playing hard. But then I think he stabilized and the league kept getting better. It's something that always happens, and it's tougher when you're young. Kyle is an instinct player, and when you don't have confidence, it's harder to play. So he can go to Hamilton for the next four games... Hamilton's playing 4 games in 7 nights.
... Yeah, maybe, it's supposed to be temporary. They told us they'd be there for the next four games.
Yeah, I've been watching Corey for a while, and he's always been the best wherever he played. He's always found the way to score, in all his leagues, so it was important for me to give him a chance.
We want Kyle to come back strong. It's not just for the guys who are here. I think we're gonna have some players coming back in the next couple games, and I can't dress 20 players, so some of them are going to have to sit down, and they have to prove they want to be in the lineup.
Stay tuned...
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Timbits
* It is absolutely ridiculous that the Pittsburgh Penguins are pushing away their vets, including Mark Recchi, who cleared waivers last night. Ironically, Wednesday was Mark Recchi Bobblehead night in Pittsburgh.
* Maroon 5's latest CD is brilliant. It's fun to listen to, but not too overbearing or repetitive. It uses a few well known riffs from popular songs... but mostly to start off their songs, before going in an opposite direction. Still, it catches your ear, which makes me believe that this disc has at least 3 more good singles on it.
* The Habs have called up Ryan O'Byrne and Maxim Lapierre, as you're probably already aware. This means Grabovski's going to Hamilton. These changes, in my opinion, are long overdue... although you have to wonder about calling up two of the penalty minute leaders on the 'Dogs team. Hopefully, this shake up, a mini-shake-up really, will create a spark, add some energy, shuffle the deck, add your cliché here...
* The TV Strike officially sucks. Simply because I'm now on break and there's nothing on at night. I have to resort to going out and spending money (yay! Wings night!), or watching old shows.
* Speaking of which, I have finished re-watching all of ALIAS... Two years after I started, lol. But, to be fair, I didn't watch it regularly. And all my habitual TV viewing/hockey games/work/homework came first. The good news is, it's just as good as I remember it to be. The bad news is, it's so sad I cried. And now, I have nothing to watch. I'm trying a bit of Robot Chicken, but I'm definitely going to have to search the server for a new series to watch...
* Tonight is JSA Karaoke night. YEY! But travel time means that I'll probably miss some of the game... unless I watch from downtown earlier, which involves driving in traffic. And then there's the whole needing a car at the specified time thing...
* Star Trek is coming to town! We don't know when, or where exactly, but a Star Trek Tour has been announced, and for once, Montreal is on the list of stops. Attractions include a life-size version of the Enterprise bridge (the original, in case you're wondering), an opportunity to have a digitally-modified photo taken with life-sized members of the original cast, a few museum-like articles such as Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine costume, tours, audio visuals, simulators, and more! :D You can be sure that when the details are revealed (including prices), I'm totally jumping on this bandwagon!
* And in more Star Trek-related news, I was lucky enough to be one of the 300 people who got their hands on a limited, signed, hardcover copy of Wil Wheaton's latest book, The Happiest Days of our Lives. My paypal order has been processed, and my package is probably somewhere between California and Montreal right now... How wonderful! I love waiting for packages you can't track... it's all the more exciting!
* I wasn't selected as a Donaldson Scholar, but no matter! I'm applying for the winter semester internship with CBC News TV in Montreal. Sure, I won't get paid, but that's totally irrelevant. The experience is worth much more than a couple of sparkly tops.
And last but not least,
* Biorhythms are actually fairly accurate, from my experience. Very surprising, but very useful. If you believe in that sort of thing, I mean.
Stay tuned for more rambling...
* Maroon 5's latest CD is brilliant. It's fun to listen to, but not too overbearing or repetitive. It uses a few well known riffs from popular songs... but mostly to start off their songs, before going in an opposite direction. Still, it catches your ear, which makes me believe that this disc has at least 3 more good singles on it.
* The Habs have called up Ryan O'Byrne and Maxim Lapierre, as you're probably already aware. This means Grabovski's going to Hamilton. These changes, in my opinion, are long overdue... although you have to wonder about calling up two of the penalty minute leaders on the 'Dogs team. Hopefully, this shake up, a mini-shake-up really, will create a spark, add some energy, shuffle the deck, add your cliché here...
* The TV Strike officially sucks. Simply because I'm now on break and there's nothing on at night. I have to resort to going out and spending money (yay! Wings night!), or watching old shows.
* Speaking of which, I have finished re-watching all of ALIAS... Two years after I started, lol. But, to be fair, I didn't watch it regularly. And all my habitual TV viewing/hockey games/work/homework came first. The good news is, it's just as good as I remember it to be. The bad news is, it's so sad I cried. And now, I have nothing to watch. I'm trying a bit of Robot Chicken, but I'm definitely going to have to search the server for a new series to watch...
* Tonight is JSA Karaoke night. YEY! But travel time means that I'll probably miss some of the game... unless I watch from downtown earlier, which involves driving in traffic. And then there's the whole needing a car at the specified time thing...
* Star Trek is coming to town! We don't know when, or where exactly, but a Star Trek Tour has been announced, and for once, Montreal is on the list of stops. Attractions include a life-size version of the Enterprise bridge (the original, in case you're wondering), an opportunity to have a digitally-modified photo taken with life-sized members of the original cast, a few museum-like articles such as Jeri Ryan's Seven of Nine costume, tours, audio visuals, simulators, and more! :D You can be sure that when the details are revealed (including prices), I'm totally jumping on this bandwagon!
* And in more Star Trek-related news, I was lucky enough to be one of the 300 people who got their hands on a limited, signed, hardcover copy of Wil Wheaton's latest book, The Happiest Days of our Lives. My paypal order has been processed, and my package is probably somewhere between California and Montreal right now... How wonderful! I love waiting for packages you can't track... it's all the more exciting!
* I wasn't selected as a Donaldson Scholar, but no matter! I'm applying for the winter semester internship with CBC News TV in Montreal. Sure, I won't get paid, but that's totally irrelevant. The experience is worth much more than a couple of sparkly tops.
And last but not least,
* Biorhythms are actually fairly accurate, from my experience. Very surprising, but very useful. If you believe in that sort of thing, I mean.
Stay tuned for more rambling...
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