Exciting Week for Canadian Swimming!

The Canadian Olympic swim team will be chosen this week at the Olympic Pool in Montreal.
This is a great week to check out CBC TV at 6.30pm for daily updates, and Saturday afternoon at 2.30pm for the finale.
There are Kingston area swimmers in the pool, swimming theeir hearts out, hoping to make the 2008 team, but definitely setting the stage for 20012 in London, or 2016.

Check out www.swimming.ca
for live coverage, and updates.

Canadian swimming has entered a new exciting era, led by retired Olympian swimmer Dan Thompson (President) and CEO Pierre Lafontaine. Inspired leadership. Get behind them!

Public Tears Really Are Private

Jennifer Jones' team won the World Curling Championship yesterday. It was a great game to watch, with an end that pleases Canadians.

If you have stood at the top of the podium, you will know about tears. If you have led or coached a team or athletes who have stood there, you will know about tears.

If you have not done any of these things, don't make any assumptions about tears. Although public, they are priviate, and unique. For every person whose tears well up, the reasons are private and are often never spoken.

Be happy for athletes at the top of the podium. Help them savour the moment, and the moments that follow. They never want it to end.

"It was great," said second Jill Officer, 32. "Loud and proud, baby. It was awesome and when the beat really picks up at the end there, I just totally had chills all the way down my body."

Wonderful!

Swim Canada OLYMPIC TRIALS

Montreal, April 1-6,2008.

Hit the wall first; go to Beijing. Not complicated, no subjectivity. Clean and simple.
And how well Kingston will be represented, in spite of our wait for an aquatic complex!

NEWS Update from KAARS, Kingston Association of Aquatic Recreation & Sport.....

Kingston Supports Its Olympic Hopefuls
To show our support to the half dozen Kingston swimmers competing in a number of events at the Olympic trials, Kingston Sport Tourism of KEDCO and the Kingston Association of Aquatic Recreation and Sport (KAARS) joined efforts to sponsor the women’s 400m medley relay event at the CN (sponsored by Canadian National Corp) Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials, a six-day national competition that will take place April 1-6 at the Olympic Park Pool in Montreal, QC.
Canada’s elite swimmers will compete at the trials to earn a place on Canada’s Beijing Olympic Team. Touching the wall first is all that matters in making the Team. This will include the 24-year old Elizabeth Wycliffe, Kingston Kiwanis Amateur Athlete of the Year, from the Ernestown Barracudas Swim Club who presently trains at the University of Texas. Wycliffe is ranked as Canada’s number one swimmer for that event. She’s also number one ranked in the 100m backstroke.
This is just one hopeful that is trying out for the team as five more Kingston swimmers have qualified to compete at the Trials. We have two 18-year olds, Jessica Craig and Pamela Ruksys, 17-year old Benjamin Roberts and then Allie Duff at 14. The biggest surprise of all is Amanda McCormack who is only 12. They are all working to position themselves in Canada’s swimming ranks, and we are very proud to be supporting them.
Each day, swimmers will be nominated to the Olympic & Paralympic Team as they race their speciality event. All members of Canada’s swim team will be nominated at the 2008 Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials in Montreal.
Forty to fifty of Kingston’s swimming enthusiasts will be travelling to the Montreal Olympic Pool over the weekend to watch the competition. There are seats on the bus (including entry ticket) still available for the April 5th finals at $40 each/double. If interested in getting on board contact KBMtour@kingston.net . There will be CBC coverage on Saturday afternoon with taped hi-lites broadcast on Monday, April 7th (check your listings). All-in-all, Kingston should be proud regardless of the outcome.

Visit www.ktownaquaticcentre.ca
for updates on the swimming trials, and for news about out efforts, along with city staff and many supportive citizens, to build an AQUATIC CENTRE in Kingston. It's time! We're in the right location!

Just think....if we had an AQUATIC CENTRE in Kingston, young Olympic hopeful AMANDA MCCORMACK would be able to stay here to train for the 2016 Olympic Games, and our local children could train alongside her, and become the best they could be!

An exciting thought, so let's have a KINGSTON AQUATIC CENTRE!

Olympics: Jittery sponsors stay loyal to China, but worry in private

Olympics: Jittery sponsors stay loyal to China, but worry in private
March 28, 2008
from AFP

BEIJING (AFP) — Big corporations are still loyal backers of the Beijing Olympics, looking beyond boycott calls and protests over Tibet, Darfur and human rights to their long term interests in China.
Firms such as Coca-Cola, Visa, Volkswagen and Adidas are jittery about the bad news swirling around the Games but are even more worried about offending Beijing's rulers, according to experts.
"The Chinese government is the gatekeeper to 1.3 billion potential consumers so they are choosing their words carefully," said Damien Ryan, a Hong Kong-based media advisor with Ryan Financial Communications.
"Nobody wants to say a word that could be used against them down the road."
As recently as three months ago the Beijing Olympics looked like a win-win marketing dream for the world's top companies who fought tooth and nail, and paid tens of millions of dollars, for the right to sponsor the event.
The opportunities remain dazzling in a country where the consumer base is measured in hundreds of millions, but suddenly the companies find themselves in a position where they have to explain themselves.
"The line so far is that the Olympics are a force for good and sponsors are part of that change for good," said Ryan.
But sponsors have been unable to deflect pressure from campaign groups who are urging them to bring pressure to bear on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and on the Beijing Games organisers.
Group such as the Students for a Free Tibet, which want the IOC to reroute the torch relay to eliminate the Tibet leg, are planning to launch grass roots campaigns targeting sponsors.
Dream for Darfur, an organisation set up to pressure China into helping end the bloodshed in the western Sudanese region, has also urged Olympic sponsors to speak out publicly on the issue.
Those who fail to do so will face "intensive advocacy," that may include demonstrations at corporate headquarters, said Jill Savitt, the group's director.
Coca-Cola, Samsung and computer maker Lenovo, which are sponsors of the torch relay in addition to being top Olympic sponsors, and other firms have shown no signs of wavering publicly on their backing for the event or the Games themselves.
Coca-Cola said in a statement it was "inappropriate" for sponsors to comment on the political situation of individual nations and that it "firmly believed the Olympics are a force for good."
"We remain committed to supporting the torch relay, which provides a unique opportunity to share the Olympic values of unity, pride and inspiration with people all over the world," the firm added.
Adidas, another veteran Olympic sponsor, expressed concern about Tibet and also addressed boycott calls.
"We are concerned about the recent situation in Tibet. We hope that the situation will calm down very soon," the firm said in a statement.
"We believe that a boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games would be counter-productive and we have therefore reiterated our commitment to the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games."
Privately, however, firms are worried, according to western marketing experts in Beijing.
They have appointed crisis management teams, increased their budgets for media consultants, and have been talking privately to the Beijing Olympic organising committee, which has invited sponsors to Beijing for talks later this month
At least one multinational sponsor is considering cutting its budget for Olympic-related marketing in the west because it fears a possible consumer backlash there, where opposition to China's Tibet crackdown is high.
The sponsors have also become more conciliatory towards human rights and other groups.
Last year, multinational Olympic sponsors refused to meet with Dream for Darfur representatives.
That has changed. Savitt and Hollywood actress Mia Farrow, the organisation's founder, have been meeting with sponsors for the past week in the United States.
Nicholas Bequelin, a researcher for Human Rights Watch, said big firms were also "much more open to meeting with us and hearing from us."
"We have told them that there are high reputational risks to be associated with any event that takes place in a one party dictatorship," he said.

Now Here's a Ridiculous Idea

To think that Kingstonians, or Ontarians in general, would support another tax, is unimaginable. Yet, a Kingstonian who holds a high office, is floating that idea. A municipal tax for infrastructure.

Yesterday, the Mayor of Sarnia said that she does not support a municipal tax. Others have spoken out against this incredible idea, long before the Mayor of Sarnia said it.

It's another bone-headed idea, to match the one in which the city shoe-horned its new rink into one downtown block, made no provision for parking, did not conduct credible traffic studies prior to deciding to build there, had virtually no idea where the money was to come from, ignored thousands of local taxpayers who opposed the location, and counted on federal government support when there was little (if any) support noticeable from the feds.

Then, in the time since construction started, had the audacity to beat on the federal government on a number of issues and STILL expect it to give, not $4 million, but $8 million!

Kingstonians can barely comprehend all this.

NO Boycott of the Beijing Olympic Games

Speak up.
Canada should not boycott the 2008 OG.
No athlete would support it, espeecially those who were hurt by the 1980 boycott. Those athletes, including Sue Holloway, kayaker at the time, have had 28 years to reflect on it. It's amazing that they don't seem bitter.
The Canadian government can't tell the COC what to do, but it sure can make it dreadful for athletes. The federal government gives very little money to the COC, but, recently it has provided funding for Own The Podium (summer and winter versions), and this government wouldn't think twice about cutting off that funding.
So, while there's little taxpayer money in the actual team or Missin Staff, there is considerable funding in federally-supported programs.

Like Yogi Berra said, "It's deja vu all over again."

Watching Canada/China play in the women's World Curling championships, it seemed as if the reel had re-wound.

In the 1980s, Canadian syncho was at the top of the synchro world. Now, 2008, Canadian synchro teams have a tough time getting a medal. The A team is off the Beijing next week to the Olympic Qualifying Tournament, hoping to make the top 8 in the world. Let's hope they do.

In those days, China and Russia were just getting onto the world stage. Since then, with all the money in the world, and support personnel and experts galore, they have risen to the top of the synchro world; their demise is a way down the road!

But, back to curling. One loss is no big deal, but sometimes a look back shows that those "one losses" accumulate.

Let's hope that Canada is able, and willing, to commit the necessary resources to keep both men's and women's teams on the podium. Other countries will do it; we must.

Let's hope that the lessons of synchro have been learned by other sport organizations in the country.

Let the games begin; Boycotting Olympics hurts the athletes, Kingstonian says

from the Kingston Whig Standard, March 24, 2008
by Brock Harrison

Several of the world's highest-profile Olympians have publicly denounced any notion of boycotting the upcoming Summer Games in China because of that country's human-rights record in Tibet.
Kingston's own elite Olympian is adding her voice to that call.
Andrea Blackwell, now a well-known local basketball coach, was just 17 when she was prevented from playing with the national women's basketball team in the 1980 Olympiad, as Canada joined U.S. President Jimmy Carter's boycott of the Moscow games.
She says she understands the need to draw attention to critical international issues - like Russia's refusal to pull out of Afghanistan in 1980 and China's current human-rights rap sheet - but she also says a politically sanctioned boycott that withdraws participation can be "devastating" to the athletes.
"Just knowing the time and the effort that athletes put into the Olympic Games, I don't know that I could support a boycott," said Blackwell, who was fortunately at the very beginning of her amateur career in 1980.
"Obviously, this shows how important [the Olympics are] to countries but its unfortunate who gets affected most by it."
Competing in the 1984 Games in Los Angeles and the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta has somewhat erased Blackwell's painful memories of missing the 1980 Games, but she says if a 2008 boycott goes through others won't be as fortunate.
"I couldn't imagine had the 1996 Olympics been boycotted. That was the end of my career. I wouldn't have had another chance," said Blackwell, who coaches the St. Lawrence College Vikings women's basketball team and the senior boys' team at Loyalist Collegiate.
Calls for the Beijing boycott have intensified in the wake of deadly clashes between the Chinese government and Tibetan protesters who are pushing for greater autonomy from the Communist regime.
Ostensibly, the Olympic boycott would be one of several diplomatic pressure points the international community could apply to China for its violent treatment of protesters and its continued support for the Sudanese regime that is accused of aiding genocide in the Darfur region.
China wishes to use the spotlight it will receive from the upcoming games to signify its arrival as a world power on the international stage. A large-scale gesture of rebuke, in theory, would throw cold water on those ambitious plans and draw widespread attention to China's alleged domestic and foreign atrocities.
Blackwell, echoing the sentiments of Australian Olympic swimming icon Ian Thorpe and British Olympic silver-medalist swimmer Sharron Davies, says there are other ways for government officials and diplomats to exert influence.
She also says it's opportunistic for governments to leverage the Olympics to promote their own agendas when those same governments often fail to support athletes between events.
"The whole idea of a boycott demonstrates the power of sport and how valuable sport is," she said. "It's not just the tiny fraction of people who actually makes it to the Games, it shows how valuable it is to everyone."
The Canadian government hasn't taken a stance on a boycott, but the idea is getting some political footing. Randy Hillier, Progressive Conservative MPP for Hastings-Frontenac-Lennox and Addington, rose in the legislature last Tuesday calling on Ottawa to impose a boycott.
Blackwell says that would be an "incredibly hard" pill for athletes to swallow, given the years of training they dedicate to reaching the Olympics.
"You obviously want to support your government and the decisions that get made, but sometimes it makes it pretty difficult when you're directly affected without any control," she said.

Now Here's A Crock......UPDATED March 28, 2008

Why would the UCI sue RWP?
Because he is running for president of the Court of Arbitration for Sport, that's why, and cycling would do anything to discredit him, since he has been on their case for years.
Never underestimate the ability of an IF to stoop.
----------------

UCI & Verbruggen Sue Dick Pound

The UCI has moved to the next level in its ongoing dispute with WADA and the organization's former president Dick Pound. The UCI has issued a statement that they will be suing Canadian lawyer Dick Pound for "continual injurious and biased comments" against both the UCI and former UCI President Hein Verbruggen.

Pound was until recently the President of the World AntiDoping Agency (WADA), and he and Verbruggen had a running war of words over Pound's comments about the efforts (or lack therof, according to Pound) of the UCI to combat doping.The text of the UCI statement:The UCI and Mr. Hein Verbruggen have sued Mr. Richard Pound ex-president of WADA before Swiss courts for what they perceive as being continual injurious and biased comments by Mr. Pound against UCI and Mr. Verbruggen in the context of the efforts made by them to eradicate doping from their sport. Indeed, on many occasions, Mr. Pound has publicly questioned the extent of the UCI's efforts in the fight against doping.

One would think that the UCI would have more important things on its agenda than suing Dick Pound. Like, cleaning up the sport????

They must have more money than FIFA!!

No men's Soccer Either

That Own the Podium OTP funding can't come too soon for Canadian teams.

Once again, a Canadian team has failed to qualify for the Olympic Games. Men's soccer (under 23) will be staying home this summer.

What a disappointment for Canadian teams. The cost of developing a system, then training a large number of athletes for any team, then getting them the essential competition, then getting them to the Olympic Qualification Tournament, and keeping them sharp after they qualify, is gigantic.

Let's hope that popular sports like soccer, basketball, volleyball and field hockey can benefit immediately for additional funding. It may be too late for 2012, but there is light for 2016.

Our Canadian children need to see our athletes at the OG. When they see women's and men's hockey playing at the OWG, don't you think that inspires them? You bet!

So, let's get the funding to Canadian teams. Let's get the system working. It's well past time.

Canada and an Olympic Boycott

It's good to see that COC CEO Chris Rudge has said that Canada will NOT boycott the 2008 Olympic Games. Good for him.
I was in the room for the vote in the spring of 1980 when the COA voted to boycott the 1980 Games in Moscow. And I supported the boycott.
I have changed my mind. Boycotts don't do anything except kill the dream of so many athletes. I knew/know some Canadians who didn't get to go to Moscow because of the boycott. It broke their hearts.
I have believed for quite some time that boycotts do not work. They don't make a statement to the country that is the target, and they don't say anything to the country that decides to boycott.
In this case, does anyone really think that if Canada doesn't send its athletes, China will notice or change it's stance on human rights? Not likely.
I despise the idea that the Olympic Games can be used for political purposes. But I know that they are. Sports and politics are intertwined....starting with the IOC.
Let us support Canadian athletes who speak out against injustices wherever they may be; let us all speak out against injustice. But let's not ever again squash the dreams of any Canadian child to become an Olympian. THAT would be an injustice.

More on the Brier

Russ Howard wins as repeat analyst. Joan Mc Cusker did a good job in the last two draws of the Brier. Russ is quite fair, he presents one educated view of the game as it progresses, he has the better tone of voice, he allowed viewers to hear the athletes (skips and others).

Somehow, it has eluded the CBC crowd that there are 4 aspects to air time: booth time, skips time, players time, and no comments. These 4 should not be distributed equally, and "booth time" definitely does not get more than the others.

Thanks to the TSN and CBC for NOT showing viewers the "routines" that players have as they prepare for their delivery. There was nothing more irritating for fans than to watch Dave Nedolin go through his pre-delivery routine.

Unlike some analysts, I think that Kevin Martin has grown a lot in the last while. John Morris has brought a fine contribution to the team, and he too has grown in his game. Yes, he still gets mad, but his coping skills are seriously improved this year. He deserves a large bouquet.

Maybe the networks can persuade Jim Cotter and others to drop the ball cap. It sure looks dorky, and doesn't fit the game at all.

The tribute to Don Wittman (and Chev and Maxwell) was very nice. They stand as giants in curling's development in this country. The patch on the curlers' jackets was obtuse. Looked like a last minute design and execution; it probably was. More is expected from the CCA.

Please, let the game speak for itself. No one needs to tell us "Howard is going to take out the yellow one," as Harris did, as the rock approached the house. Good grief. We can see the obvious!!!

We're looking forward to the Worlds. Let's hope that the round robin play is good, and that the playoffs are better. This Brier final will stick out as one of the game's true duds. Poor ice and poor play. Disappinting for the athletes and the fans.

The Brier Final

What a bust.
A highly-anticipated game, the culmination of a great week of men's curling, two of the best teams in the world. And they can't get the ice right.
What a disappointment.

How do you pronounce "SASKATCHEWAN" ?

Let's hope that Joan's first order of business this afternoon is to take Bruce Rainie aside and have a lesson in pronounciation. He sounds as if he is from Toronto!

Brier, A Great Week of Curling

What a fine week of curling. I'd love it to go forever!!
Russ Howard has done an excellent job as the analyst for TSN druing the daytime. More on that later.
Brad and the boys from the Rock never really showed up. I watched just a few minutes of his loss to BC this morning, it didn't look as if he had his heart in it, and probably didn't. He looked quite sad.
Although Jeff Stoughton expresses disappintment (http://www.cbc.ca/ blog) in Burtnyk's show this week, I thought he had the best attitude all week. He knows that this is just a game, and that there are more important things in this life. Brad will learn that one day. For now, though, he is really disappointed. It shows.
So we are into the Page playoffs. Great games coming up. That Kevin Martin and his team, are extraordinary. He must have an incredible kinesthetic sense. It would be interesting for experts to be able to "measure" why he does so well: his motor skills, his physiology, his mental skills. He'd make a great subject.
I know someone who studied his spouse and her specific athletic performance for a PhD dissertation....maybe we can find someone who would take on this project!!

No Ball Caps, Please

Curlers shouldn't wear ballcaps on the ice.

Why? Viewers can't see their faces, that's why. Viewers watch the delivery, the path of the rock, and of course the action in the house. The curler's face tells us something about the shot.

Help us follow the game, please!

Brenda Martin and the Canadian PM

Steven Harper has never been accused of too much compassion. And, the situation of BRENDA MARTIN in a Mexican jail won't change that. Hard of heart, deaf to opinions other than his own, a bully of the first order.
BRENDA MARTIN is now in the hospital unit in the Mexican jail in which she has languished for 2 years. Apparently charged with being an accessory in a fraud case involving her former employer (who has stated that she was not at any time involved in his nefarious doings), MARTIN was not permitted a lawyer or a translator when she was brought before a judge. Her human rights were trampled upon, according to her lawyer, and her friend in Trenton, Ontario.
Her appeal to this injustice was denied early this week.
As MARTIN languishes in jail, now at 90 pounds, the Minister says she has send "notes" to the Mexican government, and is now powerless to do anything more.
If MARTIN dies in jail, without any intervention by the PM or more assertive measures by the Minister, it will definitely be time to go to the polls.
There are so many examples that illustrate that this man should not have been elected, nor should he continue in office. But the deaths of Canadians due to negligence of the government is unacceptable, not only to me, but also to many others.
A Federal election costs somewhat over $2.5 millin per constituency. This time, it will be money well spent, to get rid of this government, and its "leader."
He is not a "leader." He is a bully who now says that the bill on RESPs must not be implemented. This bill was passed by parliament. He was having a snooze when it went though.

Let's get to the polls. It is time for a new government, one with a leader who does not bully parliament, does not act in secret, one who respects the people of this country.

Please email the PM to take action on behalf of BRENDA MARTIN. Now.
pm@pm.gc.ca

Updates

Winter will leave, I'm sure! Someday!!

A good weekend for sports on TV. The Brier got off to a good start on TSN. The Sunday afternoon "colour" commentatoor was Russ Howard who did a great job. He offers very different insights from Ray and Linda. Very refreshing. Thanks, TSN! And, he and Vic probably had more "dead air" than the CBC staff in most of their games. We actually could listen to the athlete deliberations, without having to listen to colour commentators then beat on the skips' decisions. How refreshing!! Once again, "there's more than one way to skin a cat."

The Score aired the CIS woomen's basketball final from Saskatoon. Since I finally have The Score, it was great to be able to see the game. They aired ONE women's game of this tournament, and are airing FOUR games of the men's final basketball tournament. Small steps, to be sure. But let's pick up the pace! More women's games in 2009, please.

One notable problem in the telecast was the sound. With the noise of fans, it was very difficult to hear the female colour commentator (Shawnee Harle) most of the time, and the man's voice was drowned out quite often.

Otherwise, a good game, played before a rather slim crowd, which is too bad.

Water polo team dunks Romania in huge upset

Victory in Ordea gives Canada first outright berth in Olympics

March 08, 2008
Randy Starkman SPORTS REPORTER (Toronto Star)

Nathaniel Miller wore his bite marks proudly in Romania last night, a souvenir of Canada's "Miracle on Water."
The Canadian water polo team had no business beating Romania in their home pool with an Olympic berth on the line. The Romanians were huge favourites, trouncing Canada by 10 goals a week ago in Hungary. The undersized Canadian crew knew the crowd would be against them and likely the referees, too. And, besides, upsets rarely occur in water polo.
But one did this time.
The headline on waterpolo-world.com said it all: Canada causes earthquake in Ordea.
The tremors were still being felt after a 9-8 victory for Canada that qualified the country in men's water polo outright for the first time in Olympic history – they got there before by invitation, boycott or being the host.
The receptionist at the team's hotel in Romania at first said no one from the Canadian team could come to the phone because they were celebrating, but Miller kindly obliged. It turns out head coach Dragan Jovanovic had set a two-beer maximum, anyway, because they have two games left.
It was a vicious game that left Miller and a few of his teammates with bite marks, all from the same 6-foot-4 offender who may or may not have been a descendant of that great Romanian, Vlad Dracula.
"I'll take it," said Miller, a Montrealer who at 28 is the team's elder statesman. "While he was worrying about biting me, I was worrying about putting the ball in the net."
Jovanovic, a star goalie for the former Yugoslavia, started laying the groundwork for the victory when he took over as head coach in 2004. He demanded a much greater commitment from the players than ever before, one that saw many veterans step aside.
"Right from the start, he changed the mentality," said Miller.
A toughness that belied their youth was evident yesterday. At an average of about 23 years old, the Canadians have one of the youngest teams, with only four pros on their roster. When they got into penalty trouble, they had 18- and 19-year-olds battling against 32-year-old Romanian pros.
They stuck to the defence-first system preached by Jovanovic, blocking over a dozen balls with a smothering defence. The inordinate number of blocks seemed to take a toll on the Romanian psyche.
In the final seconds, one of the Romanians grabbed the ball and was poised for a seemingly dangerous shot, but squeezed too tightly and it fell harmlessly into the hands of a Canadian defender.
Miller watched the last seconds tick off from the penalty box.
"That was the greatest moment of my life," Miller said. "We trusted in each other and trusted in our coach and pulled off a huge upset. Going into this, I don't think anyone in the sport thought we had a chance to win."

-30-

This is a stunning upset! Way to go Canada!

Random Thoughts on a Very Snowy Saturday!

Leading the good news is that the Canadian Men's Water Polo Teaam has qualified for the first time ever, through QT, for the Beijing Olympics. This is great news for water polo athletes, fans and for Canada. Canada is a water country; our divers, synchro athletes, swimmers and water polo athletes are terrific. If there were more pools so we could introduce young people to many different kinds of water activities, it would be great!

In today's Globe and Mail, Bob Weeks pays tribute to the CBC for 42 years connected to the Brier, the Canadian men's curling championship. A well-deserved tribute. It's been a long time, innovations to enhance the game, and fine hosts have given curling a Canadian and world profile that was instrumental in getting the game into the Olympic Winter Games.

It's always interesting to consider people's philosophy, where they are coming from, why they hold the views that they express. Having spent many years in sport, where athletes (and coaches) measure from the TOP, I am always a bit surprised to read in the newspaper or in blogs or on websites, a very different perspective. Some people express the view that "things are a lot better than they were [at the Memorial Centre] in the old facility." Many of us express it differently: "things could have been closer to the best/finest/most innovative facilities." That's how I feel about the lvec; it could have been so much more.

It's ridiculous to say "this is just a small town, so what we got suits us." That's why Kingston will always be a small town, till the mayor, council and civic leaders stand up and say how fine a city it is, that it is a great place to live....get on their podiums, sound proud of the place, provide some positive, community-building leadership. Leadership.