20
Carlton Street, Suite 1032, Toronto, ON
M5B 2H5
(416)
677-5883
langfieldent@rogers.com
www.langfieldentertainment.com
August 21, 2008
Now THIS is the weather that we've been hungry for - enjoy it
while you can!
I've got a CD giveaway for you this week again - you've heard the
name before ... New Kids
on the Block! Now you
may think that you know them but you don't know the NEW them ... A copy of the
CD is yours if you can answer what is the date that the CD is available - enter
HERE and don't forget your full name and mailing address.
Canada had a hot week in the Olympics this week so I've made a special Olympics section just to celebrate
our athletes - who never seem to get the attention they deserve.
And more losses in the music scene .. please see below.
Scroll down and find out what interests you - take your time and take a walk
into your weekly entertainment news!
::UNIVERSAL SCOOP::
New Kids on “The
Block”
Source: Universal Music Canada
The New Kids on the Block are back after 15 years with their long awaited new CD – ‘THE
BLOCK’. Included are the hot new tracks ‘Summertime’ & ‘Single’ featuring Ne-Yo,
but also more sizzling new tracks with the Pussycat
Dolls, Timbaland, Lady Gaga & Akon! NKOTB’s ‘THE BLOCK’ is
available in stores and online on September 2nd, but if you pre-order now on iTunes, you can get a track right
now!
Don't forget to get your tickets to see them live on tour!
9/18 - Toronto @
ACC
9/19 - Toronto @
ACC
9/20 - Montreal @
Bell Centre
9/21 - Toronto @
ACC
11/18 - Edmonton @
Rexall
11/19 - Calgary @
Saddledome
11/21 - Vancouver
- GM Place
::TOP STORIES::
Divine Brown Went By Feel When Recording Her Latest, Which
Touches On 50 Years Of Music
Source: www.thestar.com
- Ashante Infantry. Pop & Jazz Critic
(August 17, 2008) To hear the retro bent of Divine Brown's new album, is to imagine the Toronto singer steeped in vintage
Motown and Stax during it's making.
"I was listening to Kanye on my way home from the studio," Brown
reveals in an interview. "I did the songs by feel.
"If I wanted to write something that had, say, a '50s style to it – my dad
used to listen to a lot of Skeeter Davis – I remember the feeling that I got
when I listened to that stuff, so I'd try to write based on the emotion of what
I'd felt.
"I didn't have the Skeeter Davis records on hand to work from, so it was
feeling and then writing based on the feeling, not referencing something."
Add power of recall then to her other strengths – five-octave pipes,
songwriter, bass player, actor – since The Love Chronicles, out on Tuesday,
cuts a swath through the last 50 years of popular music.
And lest one think Brown is following the throwback footsteps of Amy Winehouse,
Duffy or Jully Black, she's quick to point out that her 2005 Juno-nominated
self-titled debut was steeped in classic soul and R&B, and sold 70,000
copies on the strength of lead single "Old Skool Love."
"It's paying homage, but it happens naturally, because I have always been
an artist who writes from where my roots lie," she said, running down a
list of mentors that begins with Stevie Wonder, Joni Mitchell and Chaka Khan.
From the nasal bobby-soxer kiss-off "Bebe" to Donny Hathawayesque
"Sweet Surrender," Gap Band style '70's jam "Jump Start"
and Mariah-worthy power ballad "One More Chance," Brown meets her goal
of capturing "the essence of the era that each song was a part of."
The Love Chronicles didn't begin as a concept album when she penned the
doo-wop tinged lead single "Lay It On The Line" in 2006. Brown
explained between post-workout bites at a Little Italy restaurant.
"I go on inspiration, it can hit at any moment, like when I'm driving, or
walking down the street and see a fine dude, and a melody just comes to me. It
was a theme I saw happening once I started. It came to me write an album called
Love Chronicles that would be a journey through different periods of
music."
But the disc took a back seat while Brown changed management and record labels.
"If forward movement is not happening I'm very impatient," said the
single parent of a 9-year-old girl. "In this business you really have to
be aware and have the strength to tell people what you want; and if you're not
getting it, move the hell on."
Brown landed at Warner Music, which gave the project a hands-off green light –
mostly.
"I wanted "Meet Me At The Roxy" to be the first single, because
it has a very happy, uptempo, `Let's get up and dance' kind of vibe," she
said. "But the label wanted "Lay It On the Line." They said it
would sound like nothing else on radio and stick out like sore thumb. But I
thought there was nothing like "Meet Me At the Roxy" on radio either.
Warner had its way and "Lay It On the Line" currently sits in the Top
3 at Adult Contemporary radio with "Meet Me At The Roxy" slated to
drop next.
Brown, who cut her teeth in Toronto R&B and jazz fusion bands and musical
theatre hits such as Ain't Misbehavin' and Rent, and admits to
having Madonna's latest disc in heavy rotation, said selling records and
maintaining artistic integrity is fine balance.
"As a singer, artist, businesswoman, I know there are certain songs you
have to write that cater to the way radio programmers think in Canada, but I
still have to be true to myself. It's all soul at the end of the day, because
it's all coming from the soul."
Canada Adds Four More To Medals Haul
Source: www.thestar.com
- Jim Byers
(August 19, 2008) BEIJING–Canadian athletes
might have trouble finding a container big enough for all their medals at the Beijing Olympics.
It’s not yet like the heyday of Atlanta’s 22 medals or the 18 brought home from
Barcelona in 1992, but Canadian athletes suddenly are on fire at the Summer
Olympic Games.
Topped by a bronze medal in the 100-metre hurdles by Priscilla Lopes-Schliep,
Canadians on Tuesday picked up four more podium finishes to bring the nation’s
total to a nearly dizzying 13. That’s one more than Athens four years ago and
only one less than Sydney four years before that, with more medals likely
coming.
The sudden onslaught of medals gives Canada two gold, six silver and four
bronze, and there’s likely a fair number still to come. Adam van Koeverden of
Oakville today set a new world record in the K1-500 kayaking event and is
expected to earn more than one trip to the podium this weekend.
After a nasty start to the Games, the Canadian contingent in Beijing picked up
three medals on Saturday, four on Sunday, two on Monday and four again today.
The official tally is two golds, six silvers and five bronze medals.
The biggest surprise to most was probably Lopes-Schliep. She was the
ninth-ranked hurdler coming into a race where many Canadians had hoped to see
Pickering’s Perdita Felicien, or perhaps expected to see Angela Whyte. But
Felicien is injured and Whyte didn’t make the finals, which left Canada’s hopes
with Lopes-Schliep.
She came out slow but used her muscular frame to kick into an extra gear and
thundered down the track at the Bird’s Nest stadium. She leaned just in time to
capture a bronze medal.
It was a photo finish and it took a while for the results to be posted and it
first appeared she got a share of silver.
But Australia’s Sally McLennan got the silver medal in a photo finish; both she
and Lopes-Schliep crossed in 12.64, but when the time was extended to
thousandths of a second, it showed McLennan was faster.
It was Canada’s first athletics medal in Beijing and first since Atlanta in
1996.
"I feel like I've jumped out of my body, gone to heaven and back,"
she said. "I was very anxious, very excited to go and just to be here and
medal for Canada, our first Olympic medal in athletics, it's such a huge
accomplishment to go home with a bronze medal."
Alexandre Despatie of Montreal gave Canada its third silver medallion of the
day when he came second in men’s three-metre springboard diving; his second
straight Olympic silver in the event.
"My silver medal is gold to me because of all the bad things that happened
to me this year," he said. "I was able to get it together."
Despatie fractured his right foot kicking a soccer ball around during warm-ups
in mid April. That caused him to miss seven weeks of training and prevented him
from attending the Olympic diving trials.
To be named to the Olympic team, Despatie had to attend the Canadian junior
nationals in Thunder Bay, Ont., in early July and dive before a panel of judges
to prove his fitness.
Reuben Ross, Canada’s other diver in the event, finished 18th.
A few minutes earlier, 21-year-old Jason Burnett of Toronto won a surprising
silver in trampoline. It was the second trampoline silver in two days for a GTA
jumper, the other going on Monday night to three-time Olympic medallist Karen
Cockburn of Toronto.
Earlier in the day, Kingston-born Simon Whitfield won a silver medal in
triathlon thanks to a late-race kick. Whitfield won gold in triathlon at the
2000 Games in Sydney.
Burnett, 21, appeared quite pleased with his show, clapping his hands together
as he finally came back to earth following a very difficult routine. He had to
wait nervously, however, as the next six jumpers followed.
None were able to match his 40.70 score and you could see the anticipation and
excitement building on Burnett’s face. Gold was within his grasp until the
final athlete of the night, China’s Lu Chunlong, came up with a closing 41.00
score and another Chinese gold medal for a wildly appreciative Beijing
crowd.
Still, Burnett didn’t come to Beijing as a medal favourite, at least not in
some eyes. And he seemed more than thrilled at the idea of carting a silver
home in his suitcase; or more likely closely held to his body.
Dong Dong of China came third and got the bronze medal with a score of 40.60.
Dong appeared stunned by his bronze finish, but Burnett was beaming during the
medal ceremony. As he walked towards the dressing area following the ceremony,
Burnett looked over towards one of his friends or trainers and raised his arms
up as if to say, "How about that?"
Suddenly, Canada is right within the Canadian Olympic Committee’s prediction of
13 to 19 medals.
Sam Jackson On Deaths Of Co-Stars
Source: www.eurweb.com
(August 19, 2008) *EUR's Lee Bailey caught up
with Samuel L. Jackson on Sunday to discuss the recent passing of Bernie Mac and Isaac Hayes, both of whom co-starred with Jackson in the
upcoming film "Soul Men."
The movie stars Mac and Jackson as estranged members of a legendary soul group
who reluctantly reunite to attend the funeral of another member of the group.
Hayes plays himself in the film.
Jackson said he and Mac had to sing the Hayes song "Do Your Thing,"
from the 1971 soundtrack to "Shaft," as part of the film, which was a
bit intimidating when the man who sang it originally was standing a few feet
away.
"A little pressure in that," laughs Jackson. "When you're
standing there singing and dancing, and you're singing the guy's song and he's
watching you do it, it's a little pressure."
"But he gave us all these props because we do what we do," Jackson
added.
The Kangol-wearing film star said he was still in bed when news of Mac's death
broke in the morning hours of Aug. 9.
"Somebody woke me up and told me. I got up to make sure, because there had
already been a false alarm earlier that week, so I wanted to make sure it was true,
first of all, before I reacted in any way," Jackson said. "And then
to find out that he was dead, it was sad because I had just seen the film
earlier that week. I immediately wondered had he seen it, would he have
realized we had done something really great together. I found out from his
manager that he hadn't [seen it]. That's a shame, but hopefully, the legacy of
it all, everybody who sees the film they'll know we did something
worthwhile."
"Life is short, so, we have to enjoy it and do as much as we can," he
continued. "I'm really glad that I had the opportunity to work with
Bernie, because he was a friend and colleague, somebody that I loved a lot, and
it was a joy to finally be able to do a film with him. It's a great film, great
performance by him. I hope that when the film comes out, people will go and see
it and enjoy it and remember him as the wonderful, jovial, full-of-life person
that he was."
Shenae Grimes Moves From The 905 To 90210
Source: www.thestar.com
- Rob Salem, TV
Columnist
(August
16, 2008) BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.–It's a long
way from the 905 to 90210, a world of difference between Degrassi and
West Beverly High.
And erstwhile exchange student Shenae Grimes still isn't quite sure what to expect
... except that it's going to be big. Really big. Majorly, life-changingly,
not-being-able-to-go-out-shopping-any-more big.
"I don't know what's about to come and smack me in the face," the
18-year-old Toronto actor allowed, taking a break in the lobby bar of the
venerable Beverly Hilton hotel, just moments after her official introduction as
star of the new sequel series, 90210, at last month's TV critics tour.
Not that she needed much introduction – the Gemini-winning actor was already a
familiar face from the past several seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation,
one of the first Canadian-grown series to have a major impact in the U.S.
But this is fame on a whole other level. If this new 90210 hits like
there is every reason to expect it will, Grimes is now looking at life in a
fishbowl, illuminated by klieg lights and the constant presence of paparazzi.
Her every move will be painstakingly chronicled, her every outfit analyzed, her
every waking moment disseminated, dissected and discussed.
Grimes tries to remain philosophical. "I can't live my life to please
other people just because a camera is constantly going to be on me," she
says. "Obviously, I think the best way to deal with it is to just be you,
and take it for what it is.
"It's kind of funny ... the whole idea to me is really hilarious, because
in Canada we see it all so objectively. You know what I mean, we see it all for
the stupid s--- that it really can be sometimes.
"So it really doesn't matter. It all seems like a crazy, silly little
world to me. All I know is that I am me, and this is all I've got, and if you
don't like it, you don't like it, and if you do, you do, and that's it."
Clearly, the resuscitators of the golden 90210 franchise liked her very
much, indeed – she was the first of the Class of '08 to be signed and
announced, to be immediately followed by Dustin Milligan, a young actor from
the Northwest Territories, most recently part of the fugitive family in the
short-lived series Runaway.
"Oh yeah, we're taking over," Grimes giggles. "It's comforting
to have some (Canadian) company. You just feel immediately bonded, knowing that
you are coming from the same place ... ketchup and chips and all, baby."
Her impending "it" girlhood aside, it is hard not to be impressed by Grimes
– in between the two high school dramas, she was back at school herself,
studying for her SATs, while at the same time interning at Fashion Television.
"I want to grow and learn and be challenged in whatever I am doing,"
she insists. "So I took a break (from acting) to do the internship, and I
was growing and learning there instead.
"But then this came up, and it was like ... uh, wow."
She has been acting professionally since she was 16, when she portrayed the
teenaged version of the similarly sounding Shania Twain in a 2005 episode of Biography.
Though her own given name Shenae is intentionally misspelled Gaelic,
"people," she says, "have been calling me Shania for my entire
life."
Now, of course, they'll be calling her Annie, as in Annie Wilson, her 90210
alter ego.
"I've never related so much to a character before," Grimes gushes.
"She's the good Kansas girl thrown into this world that she doesn't want
to be a part of; the nice girl coming to L.A. with a lot better values than
most of the kids there, because of the way they've been raised and the
mentality there in Beverly Hills.
"She wants to fit in, but she's still got a strong head. She knows, `This
is who I am, and I don't care who you are, I am not going to let you walk right
over me. I've got to stand up for myself and teach you a lesson' ... in a calm
and, you know, very centred fashion."
Sounds a bit like the original show's Brenda Walsh – at least, before she
reverted to type to become indistinguishable from Shannen Doherty, the bad-girl
actor who portrayed her.
Not that you'd expect Grimes to know anything about that, since she was still
in diapers when the first series debuted.
In which case, you would be wrong. "Are you kidding?" Grimes squeals.
"I was literally raised on it! In reruns, of course. It's bizarre, because
I'm most familiar with the first few seasons more than anything else. Which is
hilarious, since I was 4 at the time."
Still, old enough to now be somewhat awestruck over becoming an actual part of
this iconic overhaul.
"It's a crazy experience, being thrown into the middle of all this. I
don't even know what to do. It's wild, meeting Nat, Joey Tata, and seeing Jenny
(Garth, who, along with a guesting Doherty, reprises her original role in the
remake).
"I mean, (Garth's character) Kelly Taylor ... I totally identified with
Kelly Taylor. And here's Kelly Taylor, like, right beside me. What the hell is
going on?
"It's insane. I'm here, and I still can't believe it."
::TRAVEL NEWS::
A Spa Town Reborn In French Lick
Source: www.thestar.com - Barbara Turnbull, Toronto Star
(August
16, 2008) FRENCH LICK, Indiana – Move over, Larry Bird, there's a new star in
town. The place best known as home to one of the greatest basketball players in
U.S. history is reinventing itself.
Welcome to French
Lick, originally a French trading post in southern Indiana, named
for the salt residue on rocks surrounding the mineral springs that attracted
deer and buffalo.
It's been nationally known as a spa town since the end of the 19th century, its
abundant sulphur springs exploited commercially for medicinal benefits. When
the 20th century dawned, the French Lick Springs Hotel and nearby West Baden
Springs Hotel – with its spectacular circular building topped by what's said to
be the world's largest dome – had seven rail lines bringing guests from
all over the country.
For the next few decades it was also known as a gaming town, with lots of legal
– and illegal – gambling and speakeasies. It boasted perennial guests like Al
Capone and "Diamond Jim" Brady.
These days, it's trying to be that and much more. With unprecedented support
and more than $450 million from Bloomington billionaire Bill Cook, the resorts
have been amalgamated and restored to dazzling glory. There's a (legal) casino,
and a $20-million golf course slated to open next spring has already snagged
future PGA tournaments.
The Springs Valley location, although surrounded by the spectacular Hoosier
National Forest, hasn't had much to draw non-gamblers. But a large waterpark is
in the works. Hotels and tourist draws are under construction and "Coming
Soon" signs abound.
Larry Bird is even looking to be a partner in a restaurant, although he no
longer lives here.
Driving through, it feels as though the town of about 1,800 hasn't evolved in
decades. People are astoundingly friendly. Yet there is unmistakable optimism
and inspired passion among locals, who see the casino and resort – and most
offshoots – as a brass ring for everyone.
"We needed something to pick up the town," says lifelong resident
Aaliyah Harford, 32, who lives in one of the town's most unique homes,
airbrushed with her own artwork.
"Most people say `French Lick? What kind of name is that?'" Harford
says. "Now we are getting known and that's what French Lick needed. The
more positive feedback we get, the more business the small businesses get and
that to me is more than a positive."
"If there is a downside, we haven't heard it," says Mark Bommarito,
vice-president of sales and marketing for the French Lick Resort and Casino.
That's not to say there's been no criticism – especially of the casino, whose
architecture that can only be described as trailer-park period. Locals have
dubbed it "the biggest double-wide in southern Indiana."
That's because state law allows riverboat gambling only. It took years to get a
license, and only on condition it look like a riverboat and be surrounded by
water. Even Donald Trump walked away from the project, which has its own moat.
Since then, the law has "evolved" and, in three months, the casino's
exterior will match the yellow brick of the resort next door.
The first French Lick Springs Hotel was built in 1845. In the early 20th
century, two golf courses were added and trains started daily runs from
Chicago, bringing guests right to the front door.
Today the hotel sits on just over 1,000 hectares of land. Not far down the
road, the resort includes the 246-room West Baden Springs Hotel, which last
functioned as a hotel in 1932.
Area businessman Lee W. Sinclair transformed the West Baden into the hotel of
his dreams – a circular building, topped by a breathtaking glass dome, which
opened in 1902 and was billed as the Eighth Wonder of the World. It had birds
flying from palm to palm in the 60-metre- diameter atrium and an enormous
fireplace that burned 5-metre logs.
When the stock market crashed in 1929, the hotel emptied almost overnight, then
closed in 1932. It was later turned into a Jesuit seminary and then used as a
college until 1983.
Despite being listed as a National Historic Landmark, it was closed for safety
reasons and a portion of the exterior wall collapsed. For years, rain fell on
the Italian mosaic floors.
"Growing up in the area, I had a passion for this place," says local Sean
Collier. "Throughout the years I'd drive by and see it in its ruined
state."
He was just 18 when the refurbishment of the West Baden dome began and signed
on to do odd jobs, just to be part of the project. Now he's a bellman at the
dome and loves pointing out details of the refurbishment, such as the 24-karat
gold leaf used liberally throughout both hotels.
The challenge now is to provide fitting big-city service while retaining the
small-town charm.
"We are trying hard to understand how we want to present our area,"
town councillor Don Renner says. "We want to provide a very quality resort
experience, but also be the flavour of who southern Indiana folks are."
Barbara Turnbull is a reporter with the Star.
::OLYMPIC NEWS::
Millar
Finally Gets Olympic Medal In Show Jumping At 61
Source: www.thestar.com
(August 18, 2008) BEIJING – The one void in a
stellar career of legendary Canadian equestrian Ian Millar has been filled.
The iconic rider, along with Eric Lamaze and Jill Henselwood, won a silver
medal in the Olympic team equestrian event in Hong Kong on Monday, losing a
gold-medal jump-off with the United States.
Norway finished with the bronze.
The 61-year-old Millar, aboard In Style, is competing in his ninth Olympics and
now has his first medal. Lamaze was riding Hickstead and Henselwood was on
Special Ed for the competition.
“We are a small country in terms of the sport, this is an incredible achievement,”
said Millar.
The Americans went clean in the gold medal jump off while Henselwood had one
fault in her ride.
“This is incredible, but I wish we had a gold,” said Henselwood.
For Millar, the silver adds to an astonishing list of accomplishments over a
career that’s spanned more than three decades.
“Age does not matter unless it matters to you,” he said in Hong Kong.
The native of Perth, Ont., first competed in the Olympics in 1972 in Munich and
has been at every Games since except 1980 when Canada boycotted the Moscow
Games.
He competed as an individual in Athens four years ago but was back on the
Canadian team roster for last year’s Pan-Am Games, when Canada qualified the
team for these Games.
“It’s the same rush and excitement,” he told The Canadian Press after competing
in the individual jumping event in Hong Kong last week.
Millar plans to try to make the Canadian team for the 2012 London Olympics,
which would give him 10 Games appearances and tie him with Austrian sailor
Hubert Raudaschl.
"I have the horse picked out," Millar told Canadian Press. "His
name is Redefin. You have to plan that far ahead."
The fourth Canadian team member, Mac Cone of King City had to withdraw earlier
Monday when his mount, Ole, suffered a minor injury. In the four-person
equestrian event, only the top three scores count so Canada wasn’t at a huge
disadvantage in the final.
“We were in a difficult situation,” said Lamaze. “We only have three riders for
the team. What we did was already amazing.”
Said Miller before the jump off: “It sure does put you at a disadvantage. But
it is not uncommon in this sport to compete with three members. We've lost a
strong one, but one of our closest opponents are in the same position."
Millar is perhaps best known for teaming up with Big Ben during the 1980s,
including back-to-back World Cup wins in 1988 and 1989.
“The support we have all year motivates us,” he said.
Gold,
Silver, Bronze Medals For Canada
Source: www.thestar.com - Jim Byers
(August 16, 2008) BEIJING–After a week-long drought, Canada won three Olympic
medals within an hour, picking up a gold, silver and bronze at the 2008
Beijing Games.
Tonya Verbeek of Grimsby, Ont., is the latest in a string of Canadians to win a
medal, grabbing a bronze in the 55 kg women’s wrestling event shortly before
5:30 a.m. local time.
Verbeek, who won a silver medal in wrestling in Athens, defeated Sweden’s
Ida-Theres Nerell 1-0, 1-0 for the medal.
A few minutes before 5 p.m. local time, 27-year-old wrestler Carol Huynh won
Canada’s first gold medal with a crushing win in the 48 kg category.
About 20 minutes before that, the men’s rowing pair of Dave Calder and Scott
Frandsen grabbed a silver medal at the Olympic rowing course.
Huynh, the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, came out strong against her
Japanese opponent and started scoring right away. When it was over, she bent
over in tears of disbelief.
In the stands, Canadian fans who were no doubt relieved waved Canada’s flag
back and forth and shouted in support.
Huynh, who trains in Calgary, earned a spot in the women’s 48 kg wrestling
final with a couple wins Saturday morning. She came out strong against Japan’s
Chiharu Icho and the match was almost never in doubt as she posted a 4-0, 2-0
win.
Huynh won a gold medal at the Pan American Games last year and a bronze at the
world championships in 2005.
After winning her first career Olympic medal, Hunyh ran over to hug coach Leigh
Vierling. He put the 27-year-old on his shoulders to carry her around the China
Agricultural University Gymnasium as Huynh proudly held up a Canadian flag.
She wiped away tears as O Canada was played after the medal presentation.
“I was just thinking how proud I am to be Canadian,” Huynh said. “And I was
just thinking about the road to how I got here. It’s been a long one but a good
one.”
Calder and Frandsen were ahead at the halfway point of the men’s pairs event
but the renowned Australian team of Drew Ginn and Duncan Free pulled ahead and
took the gold.
The bronze went to New Zealand’s team of Nathan Twaddle and George Bridgewater.
Calder, who’s from Victoria, and Frandsen, who hails from Kelowna, were
considered medal possibilities but not huge favourites.
It wasn’t really part of our thought process going in because that’s just
unneeded pressure,” Frandsen said of breaking the country’s losing streak.
“It’s great to get Canada on the board.”
"I’m really proud of it and Scott is really proud of it,” said Calder.
“The Australians had a great push through the middle. We pushed back a little
bit but congratulations to them."
Calder was more than happy with his silver medal.
"I have been at this game since I was 12, and now the long, hard training
in the winter has paid off."
They gave the Australians a run for their money and finished with a time of
6:39.55. The Aussies were just a bit ahead at 6:37.44.
The New Zealand squad came in at 6:44.19 for third place.
Calder rowed in the men’s pair four years ago in Athens when the crew was
disqualified for leaving their lane in the semi-final. Frandsen was a member of
the men’s eight squad that finished a disappointing fifth at the Athens Games.
Staff Reporter
4
More Medals For Canada
Source: www.thestar.com
- Jim Byers
(August 17, 2008) BEIJING- Canada’s men’s eights rowing squad today captured Canada’s second gold of the Beijing Olympics and
the fourth medal of the day.
Canada led from the start and although Great Britain picked up the pace late in
the race but it wasn’t enough.
Coxswain Brian Price raised both arms in the air as Canada crossed the finish
line ahead of Britain. The U.S. came third for the bronze medal.
The win is a huge turn around for the men’s eights who came a disappointing
fifth in Athens four years ago. But they entered the Games as world champions
and broke a jinx with their gold. No world championship squad has managed an
Olympic gold since 1973.
The team is consists of Kevin Light, Ben Rutledge, Andrew Byrnes, Jake Wetzel,
Malcolm Howard, Dominic Seiterle, Adam Kreek, Kyle Hamilton and Price. Earlier
Canadians won three bronze medals in rowing events.
In lightweight men’s fours, Iain Brambell, Jon Beare, Mike Lewis and Liam
Parsons were in second place at the halfway point, slipped into fourth and
rallied down the stretch to come third.
"In the last 500 (metres) we seemed to get our rhythm together,” parson
said. “And when Iain said 'Go for it' we all committed everything we had."
The Canadians were the fastest boat over the final 500 metres.
It was an emotional week for the team. Their coach, Bent Jensen, is suffering
from cancer and has been getting chemotherapy in his Beijing hotel room.
Denmark came first by a large margin and finished with a time of 5:47.76, while
Poland got the silver medal at 5:49.39. Canada was clocked at 5:50.09, almost a
full second ahead of fourth-place France.
Earlier, the lightweight double sculls team of Melanie Kok and Tracy Cameron
just beat Germany to capture a bronze medal of their own.
Kok and Cameron just held off the Germans to finish on the podium in a race won
by the Netherlands. Finland won silver.
Kok and Cameron were in second place halfway through the race, right behind the
Germans. It was all Canada could do to keep Germany from the podium, as Canada
won by a mere four one-hundredths of a second.
The Canadians were timed in 6:56.68, with Germany at 6:56.72.
Kok is from St. Catharines, while Cameron is from Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia but
lives in Calgary.
"We had to find a little something extra to get beyond them," Kok
told the CBC. "Just close your eyes and go."
The Netherlands won gold in 6:54.74 while Finland took silver in 6:56.03.
"We were just hoping the scales would tip in our favour" said Kok.
Ryan Cochrane of Victoria won Canada's first bronze in the 1500 freestyle swim
event; Canada's first medal of the Games in the swimming pool.
Victoria’s Ryan Cochrane won a bronze medal in the men’s 1,500 freestyle for
Canada’s first Olympic swimming medal in eight years.
“I'm so happy with it,” said the 6-4 Cochrane. “It was a hard race, and I think
the first half took a lot out of me for the second half, but I just couldn't be
happier.”
Last year, Cochrane came 15th in the 1,500-meter swim at the world championships.
On Aug. 15 at Beijing's Water Cube stadium, he set the third-fastest time in
history. Yesterday, he hung on for a medal that puts a shiny finish on what had
been a solid but medal-free performance for Canada’s swim team.
Tunisia’s Oussama Mellouli pulled ahead about two-thirds of the way through to
take the gold, depriving Australia’s Grant Hackett of his third straight gold
in the gruelling, freestyle race. Hackett came second, while Cochrane managed
to hold off Russia’s Yuriy Prilukov.
Cochrane was first at the 1000-meter mark, and then watched Mellouli kick in.
That left the Canadian and Australian battling it out for second for a while.
The veteran Hackett slowly pulled ahead, and it looked like Cochrane might have
used up too much gas in his heat and would lose the bronze to Prilukov. But he
managed to find another gear and hold off the Russian.
“Yeah, I could see Prilukov coming, and I knew he was going to have a good back
end, and I just did whatever I could to hold him off,” Cochrane said. Canada
made ten swim finals in Beijing, compared to only three in Athens. There were a
couple of close calls, most notably a narrow fourth-place finish by Mike Brown
of Perth. Canadian swimmers have set 22 national records this week. But it
wasn’t until Cochrane touched the wall that a Canadian finally grabbed a
swimming medal.
“It was really hard to compete on the last day, and the team's been so
supportive,” he said. “And I think we really showed what we can do, and set so
many Canadian records this week, and I think we're all really ecstatic to be
Canadians right now.”
Canada fired coach Dave Johnson after the dismal Athens Games. Engaging Pierre
Lafontaine came in, and the Canadians have slowly begun to get back to where
they once belonged.
Canada
Wins Bronze In Men's 1,500-Metre Freestyle
Source: www.thestar.com
- Jim Byers
(August 16, 2008) BEIJING–Canadian swimming may be on the road to redemption.
Ryan Cochrane of Victoria, B.C.
won a bronze medal in the men’s 1,500 freestyle in Beijing Sunday morning for
Canada’s first Olympic swimming medal in eight years.
It was the fourth podium finish of the Beijing Olympics for Canada, which was
shut out of the medal hunt for the first seven days of action.
“I'm so happy with it,” said the 6'4 Cochrane. “It was a hard race, and I think
the first half took a lot out of me for the second half, but I just couldn't be
happier.”
Last year, Cochrane came 15th in the 1,500-metre swim at the world
championships. On Aug. 15 at Beijing's Water Cube stadium, he set the
third-fastest time in history. Yesterday, he hung on for a medal that puts a
shiny finish on what had been a solid but medal-free performance for Canada’s
swim team.
Tunisia’s Oussama Mellouli pulled ahead about two-thirds of the way through to
take the gold, depriving Australia’s Grant Hackett of his third straight gold
in the gruelling, freestyle race. Hackett came second, while Cochrane managed
to hold off Russia’s Yuriy Prilukov.
Cochrane was first at the 1,000-metre mark, then watched Mellouli kick in. That
left the Canadian and Australian battling it out for second for a while. The
veteran Hackett slowly pulled ahead, and it looked like Cochrane might have
used up too much gas in his heat and would lose the bronze to Prilukov. But he
managed to find another gear and hold off the Russian.
“Yeah, I could see Prilukov coming, and I knew he was going to have a good back
end, and I just did whatever I could to hold him off,” Cochrane said.
Canada made 10 swim finals in Beijing, compared to only three in Athens. There
were a couple of close calls, most notably a narrow fourth-place finish by Mike
Brown of Perth, Ont. Canadian swimmers here set 22 national records this week.
But it wasn’t until Cochrane touched the wall that a Canadian finally grabbed a
swimming medal.
“It was really hard to compete on the last day, and the team's been so
supportive,” he said. “And I think we really showed what we can do, and set so
many Canadian records this week, and I think we're all really ecstatic to be
Canadians right now.”
Canada fired coach Dave Johnson after the dismal Athens Games. Engaging Pierre
Lafontaine came in, and the Canadians have slowly begun to get back to where
they once belonged.
Toronto's
Cockburn Wins Silver In Trampoline
Source: www.thestar.com
(August 18, 2008) BEIJING–Karen Cockburn has another Olympic medal to add to her
collection.
The 27-year-old Toronto native won a silver in the women's trampoline event here
Monday night, giving her three Olympic medals in her illustrious career.
The 5-foot-3 Cockburn won a silver in Athens four years ago and a bronze in
Sydney in 2000 and has now won a medal every Olympics in which trampoline has
been contested.
Cockburn finished behind gold medallist Wenna He of China and ahead of
Ekaterina Khilko of Uzbekistan.
"I'm just still in shock," she said. "It's really stressful with
the crowds, but coming out with an Olympic medal is a great result."
The medal-winning performance caps a stunning comeback for Cockburn, who wasn't
even certain she'd be healthy enough to compete here.
She had reconstructive surgery on her right knee after tearing cartilage in it
last October and wasn't certain she'd be fully recovered in time for the
Beijing Games. She also has surgery on the same knee more than a decade ago.
"To go 12 years without re-injuring her knee was a pretty good run for
it," said Cockburn's coach, Dave Ross. "When somebody has an injury
like that, you don't expect them to have as long of a career but she's been
working very hard."
Cockburn came to the Olympics in good form, winning her last World Cup event
before getting here.
She received a score of 37.00 for her performance, well behind winner He, who
had a 37.80 score and just ahead of Khilko's 36.90.
"I knew my score wasn't the greatest," she said. "I didn't think
it would hold up in the end (for gold) and it didn't."
The other Canadians who won medals at three straight games were Phil Edwards in
track and field in 1928, 1932 and 1936 (three bronze); rower Leslie
Thompson-Willie in 1992, 1996 and 2000 (gold, silver, bronze); and kayaker
Caroline Brunet in 1996, 2000 and 2004 (two silver and a bronze).
With files from The Canadian Press
Fraser Leads Jamaican 100-Metre Sweep
Source: CBC Sports
(August 17, 2008) It
was all green and gold as Jamaica swept the 100-metre
medals at the Beijing Olympics on Day 9, with
Shelly-Ann Fraser getting the win in a time of 10.78 seconds.
Kerron Stewart and Sherone Simpson will each receive a silver medal after tying
at 10.98 seconds.
"It's wonderful. Top 3 for Jamaica [and] history," Simpson said.
"This says a lot for our country."
The result also clinches a Jamaican sweep of the fastest track races. Usain
Bolt ran a world record 9.69 to take the men's event on Saturday.
Like Bolt, Fraser is just 21. She finished second at the Jamaican trials,
helping put favoured Veronica Campbell-Brown in fourth.
Women from the United States and Jamaica occupied six of the eight lanes in the
Olympic final.
Americans Lauryn Williams and Muna Lee were fourth and fifth, respectively.
Jeanette Kwakye of Great Britain was sixth, followed by Bahamian veteran Debbie
Ferguson-McKenzie and Torri Edwards of the U.S.
The United States afterwards protested the result and asked for a review due to
a possible false start by Edwards.
"We have filed a protest looking at whether Torri Edwards false-started
and whether the race should have been called back," USA Track & Field
director of communications Jill Geer said.
The protest was rejected.
Lee, who won at the U.S. Olympic trials, admitted she made a mistake at the
blocks.
"I didn't know if they were going to call it," Lee said. "I
should have just ran. That's my fault."
Williams, who won silver at the Athens Games, gave credit to the Jamaican
rivals.
"We've dominated for years, and now it's their time," said Williams.
Defending Olympic champion Yuliya Nestsiarenka of Belarus did not advance out
of the semi-finals.
Fraser posted the fastest time in the semi-finals, finishing in exactly 11
seconds.
The world and Olympic record of 10.49, set by the late Florence Griffith-Joyner
at the 1988 Games, has not been approached since.
Fraser's win was in the widest margin since that victory nearly 20 years ago in
Seoul.
"When I was thinking about it, I was getting ahead of myself," Fraser
said about a gold medal. "I was like, 'Calm down. First you need to go out there and do it."'
Bolt Wins 200-Metres In World Record Time
Source: www.thestar.com - Associated Press
(August 20, 2008) BEIJING–Arms churning
high, face twisted in pain as he sprinted toward the finish line, Usain Bolt kept glancing at the clock.
The win in the Olympic 200 metres was a given, his second gold medal of the
Beijing Games assured.
This was now about a world record. About racing against history.
Showing just what he can do when he goes all out start to finish, Bolt forged
the greatest race ever run Wednesday night under the hazy lights at the Bird's
Nest, heaving his chest toward the finish line – not simply to beat someone for
the gold, but to become a part of track's glorious, and sometimes troubled,
lore.
He finished in 19.30 seconds to break Michael Johnson's 12-year-old world
record, one of the most venerable in the books.
"I blew my mind and I blew the world's mind," Bolt said.
Insane, Usain.
Officially, he won by an astounding 0.66 second over American Shawn Crawford,
the defending Olympic champion. Crawford won the silver medal when Churandy
Martina of Netherlands Antilles, who had finished 0.52 behind Bolt, was
disqualified after a U.S. protest for running out of his lane. "It feels
like a charity case,'' Crawford said.
Either way, it was about four body lengths, the biggest margin in an Olympic
200.
American Walter Dix was awarded the bronze medal when the third man across the
line, teammate Wallace Spearmon, also was DQ'd for leaving his lane.
Footnotes to history.
Bolt added the 19.30 to the 9.69 he ran the 100 four nights before when he
hot-dogged the final 20 meters to set the world record.
Everyone thought he could've done better in the 100 had he run hard the whole
way, but the 200 has always been Bolt's favourite, the one he spent his life
on, and this time he saved the showboating for after the race.
"I've been dreaming of this since I was yea high," Bolt said. ``So it
means a lot more to me actually than the 100 means.''
After the unrelenting effort with a slight headwind in his face, Bolt sprawled
out on the ground, arms and legs outstretched, basking in the roar of the
Bird's Nest crowd and the glow of becoming, quite possibly, the greatest
sprinter ever.
Bolt's name now goes above, or at least beside, every great sprinter to ever
put on spikes.
He became the first man to win the 100-200 double at the Olympics since Carl
Lewis in 1984, and the first man to hold both records simultaneously since
Donald Quarrie – the 1970s Jamaican star whom Bolt said he always wanted to
pattern his running after.
He gets mentioned in the same breath with Johnson, as well as Jesse Owens and
any of the other six men to complete the Olympic 100-200 double. Nobody other
than Johnson had ever run a 200 in under 19.6 and nobody had broken 9.7 in the
100 before Beijing.
Bolt has done both, the only man ever to break the world record in both sprints
in the same Olympics.
Bolt is simply a different kind of runner – coiled power in his 6-foot-5 frame,
supposedly too big for success in the 100, but certainly built to run the 200.
"It's his anatomy," said Renaldo Nehemiah, the former world
record-holder in the 110-metre hurdles. "He's just blessed with an uncanny
frame, an uncanny quickness, a huge competitive heart. And he is having a good
time, which I think our sport sorely needs to see.''
Indeed, track and field could use a breath of fresh air after years of bad
news, bad characters and failed drug tests that have come close to turning the
sport into second-tier Olympic viewing.
There are cynics who believe Bolt might be too good to be true himself. But the
Jamaican insists he is clean, that he plays by the rules, that any improvement
he's enjoyed over the last few months has come courtesy of rededicating himself
to his training and staying off the dance floor he loves so much.
Before the race, track officials said he had been subjected to 11 doping tests
since the beginning of 2008, including four since July 27. None so far has come
back positive.
The man whose record fell was talking about Bolt's dominance, not his drug
tests, when it was over.
"Incredible," Johnson said. "He got an incredible start. Guys of
6-5 should not be able to start like that. It's that long, massive stride. He's
eating up so much more track than others. He came in focused, knowing he would
likely win the gold and he's got the record.''
Bolt's move out of the starting block isn't nearly as important in the 200 as
the 100, which makes the longer race more about raw speed. But a good start
certainly doesn't hurt. He got one this time, even if it was fifth out of the
eight runners. He burst out of the blocks from Lane 5 and overcame the lag
about a quarter of the way through.
He averaged 9.65 per 100 metres – faster than his 4-day-old record in the 100.
Bolt won the race on the eve of his 22nd birthday and a version of "Happy
Birthday" played over the public-address system as he took off his gold
shoes and wrapped the Jamaican flag around his shoulders like a scarf.
He did another hip-swivelling dance, then raised his hands and pointed toward
the scoreboard. A little later, he posed near the trackside clock – the
traditional picture that all world record-setters take. Bolt now has three of
them – this, the 100 from Saturday and the picture he took in New York in May when
he broke the 100 record the first time.
"You're back there giving it everything you've got – it's brutal,"
said Kim Collins, the 2003 world champ who finished seventh. "He's doing
it and making it look so simple. Michael Johnson did it, and it didn't look
that easy.''
It sparked a tremendous celebration in Jamaica, which improved to 3-for-3 in
Olympic sprints.
There was more for the island country to be happy about Wednesday night.
Shortly after Bolt finished, Jamaican Melaine Walker won the women's 400-metre
hurdles in an Olympic-record 52.64, finishing ahead of American Sheena Tosta.
More than an hour later, in a nearly empty Bird's Nest, the struggling American
team – the team with only three gold medals so far – took another blow when
Brad Walker, the reigning pole vault world champion, didn't reach the final.
All of that was mere filler on this night, though.
And while Michael Phelps and his record eight swimming golds may be The Story
of these Olympics, Bolt and his double world record sprints are a chapter unto
themselves.
Bolt's sheer dominance in the most basic tests of speed will not soon be
surpassed.
Unless, of course, he does it himself.
"As he gets older, physically more mature, he can only get faster,"
Nehemiah said.
Not that anyone would be surprised.
SPORTS TIDBITS
Jamaica's Walker Wins Gold In Women's
400M Hurdles
Source: www.thestar.com
(August 20, 2008) BEIJING–Melaine Walker of Jamaica has won the gold medal in the women's 400-metre hurdles in
an Olympic record time. Walker won in 52.64 seconds in Wednesday's final, with
Sheena Tosta of the United States taking silver in 53.70 and Tasha Danvers of
Britain third in 53.84. Walker's win came minutes after Usain Bolt completed a
sprint double by winning the men's 200 in world-record time. The hurdles final
was wide open with world record-holder Yulia Pechonkina skipping the Olympics
because of a heart problem, two-time world champion Jana Rawlinson out injured
and reigning Olympic champion Fani Halkia expelled after testing positive for a
steroid.
::MUSIC NEWS::
Hangin' with Kreesha
Source: www.swaymag.ca - BY: Lenny Stoute
(Summer 2008) Kreesha Turner is relaxing in her hotel room after a hectic week of making the
industry rounds of meet and greets, interviews and gigs as part of the North by
Northeast music and film festival. The Canadian songstress is in high demand as
she generates buzz for her upcoming debut album Passion, due to drop in early
August.
The multicultural beauty brims with confidence as she fields the usual
questions about comparisons to Rihanna, Aaliyah and Amy Winehouse.
"Hey, Rihanna is definitely a pop princess, so I don't mind being compared
at all," she says, laughing. "When I made my album, I wanted it to be
rooted in my mix of jazz and R&B backgrounds. But I also knew that I'm in
the same pop market as Rihanna, so I wanted it to be pop accessible. If I can
get anywhere near her success, I'll have done well." It doesn't hurt
Turner's chances now that she's as hot as Rihanna, more stable than Winehouse
and has been working long and hard at becoming a star.
Raised in Edmonton, Alberta, Turner didn't wait for a break to find her.
Instead she honed her musical skills and took acting and musical theatre
lessons, in addition to piano and guitar.
"I was around four or five when I got the bug to be a singer. In high
school, I was that girl who sang at all the school events and festivals,"
she admits. "I entered every contest and event, joined gospel and jazz
choirs, studied dancing and vocals, made demos, played every little gig I could
find, in any style. There's not a lot of R&B in Edmonton, but I got into
the active hip-hop scene. I was busy being a presence and learning about the
business, keeping it out there." Her big break came through Edmonton radio
station The Bounce 91.7 FM, a major force in urban music out west. Turner won
their talent contest and, at the resulting show, where she performed
"Bounce With Me," was a deejay friend who had the ear of Canadian
urban music mogul Chris Smith.
"The room was full of the VPs, the A&R and marketing guys (all the
Capitol heavies), but when Chris walked into the room, they knew who he was and
that he didn't fool around," she says. "Chris is the guy that
developed Nelly Furtado and Fefe Dobson. So down there, I don't think they even
care he's Canadian. If anything, it probably helped that Chris is a black
Jamaican-Canadian, like myself."
It also didn't hurt that the single "Bounce With Me" made appearances
on U.S. television shows like Gossip Girl, Entourage and Lipstick Jungle.
Her debut album Passion followed, which included collaborations with songwriter
Harold Lilly (Alicia Keys, Janet Jackson), producer Devo Springsteen (John
Legend, Aretha Franklin) and songwriter/producer Jon Levine (Philosopher Kings,
Nelly Furtado).
Her newest song "Don't Call Me Baby" is set to be released in North
America, and she recently finished shooting the video which will premiere in
the United States.
Her commercial for the single is simple yet profound. Standing still, Turner
simply says, "I'm black. I'm white. I'm Asian. I'm a lady. But please,
don't call me baby anymore."
Can you blame her? There is a lot to take seriously about Turner nowadays.
Listing people she would like to work with, Turner can't say enough about
Passion's producer Levine, Grammy-winning songwriter Lilly and another artist
who has turned confidence into superstardom.
"I'd love to get the chance to do something with Kanye," she says
excitedly. "Especially the opportunity to write with him."
With all those heavyweights behind her, a great sound and a career destined for
success, one thing is certain – you certainly can't call Turner
"baby" anymore.
Bill Passes In Response To Death Of Dr. Donda West
Source: www.allhiphop.com
- By Chris Richburg
(August 14, 2008) The death of rap superstar Kanye West’s mother has prompted the
approval of a new bill requiring hospital patients to take a physical exam,
before having elective cosmetic surgery.
The LA Times reports the California Senate passed the requirement on
Wednesday (August 13) with a vote of 37 to 1.
According to Sen. Mark Ridley-Thomas (D-Los Angeles), the measure, known as AB
2968, was in response to Donda West’s passing.
The former educator/author died last year from complications related to
cosmetic surgery.
Earlier this year, Donda West’s niece, Yolanda Anderson, and California state
Assemblywoman Wilmer Amina Carter (D-Rialto) introduced AB 2968 into the
state’s legislature.
For Ridley-Thomas, the tragedy comes as a wake-up call for patients and their
families to take steps to ensure a safe medical experience.
"Many of us are concerned about the quality of care extended to those who
receive elective surgery," the senator told the Times.
Donda West’s family believes that coronary artery disease would have been
discovered with a physical exam.
A coroners report found that heart disease and clogged arteries also played a
role in the scholar’s death.
Since West’s death, lawmakers and physicians around the country have lobbied
for more restrictions for patients undergoing cosmetic surgery.
R&B Music Producer Jerry Wexler dies at 91
Source: