Top 9 Hurdles for Toronto as a Top Tier Active City

In one week, I’ve seen a preponderance of headlines about Toronto slipping as a top tier active-minded sports city.

From Chris Bosh’s flight to Miami, the Argos poor home opening attendance (20,242), the Jays struggles (trading of Gonzalez and 29th place team in home attendance), the missing allure of the Honda Indy and the Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup win making the Maple Leafs the longest suffering team in the NHL.

Let’s also not forget Toronto’s love-hate relationship with the bike, our fabled public transit and infrastructure issues and previous failed bids for 1996 and 2008 Olympics, FIBA 2011 and a 2nd professional hockey team within its environs.

The Fan 590 has been covering the issue of Toronto: the frustrated sports city all week, with its typical over-the-top editorial and catering to the views of lowest common denominator – the phone-in listener.

Let’s peel the layer on this sports onion. Equal blame can be shared all around, it’s part of the reason why we’ve launched Generation Go – to counteract the apathy and negativism about active life that can emanate from this city.  Before we get to the good, we believe the top 9 hurdles for getting over this hump and returning to life as a thriving sports city are:

1. We’re Just Too Damn Expensive

With so many things competing for our entertainment dollars, 4 out of 5 teams have priced themselves out of the market. The Leafs have the 3rd priciest ticket in all of major league sports at $114.10 and the 2nd worst record. The Jays have the 14th priciest ticket in the MLB with 2nd last attendance.  The Raptors are the 8th priciest ticket in the NBA.  Even comparably well-priced for value TFC, has a 36% premium to its footie cousins. The direct cost itself may not be the death knell for a big city like ours but when you consider $25 parking, $11 beers, mercenary souvenir vendors and pedestrian food, you feel jobbed. When you further consider the facilities and the stoic in-game experience with the Jays and the on-field and winning experience of all the others, this represents plain poor value. Not surprisingly, the grassroots choose to flock to the alternative – a never ending set of film festivals, street festivals, restaurants and live music that represent better value, hollowing out a grassroots following for all of these teams which leads to…

2. The Corporate Office Lacks Soul

Although the stated figure for MLSE, is that only 8% of their tickets are corporately owned, a much larger percentage are likely owned by individual business people. If you’ve ever seen the scalped tickets for a Leafs or Bills in Toronto game, you’ll know these people don’t embrace full attendance. One of the most embarassing sights in sports is watching the early games and early period empty seats in full camera view at the Leafs games. Look for the most empty corporate boxes at Jay games and you’ll realize that the price of tickets and concessions has left live attendance to the price insensitive, que sera sera ambivalent fan occupying the best seats in the house. You don’t have to take my word for it – listen for the decibel level and attention focus at a Red Sox Fenway game versus a Jays Rogers Centre game. Would Spike Lee in NYC stand for it, would Jack Nicholson at Lakers games? Winning would likely change this ambivalence, but do you want your core live sports attendee to be a fair-weather fan?

3. One of The World’s Most Connected, Gadgeted Cities

Toronto is one of the more web connected and social networked cities. We were one of the first to jump on Facebook and are a top ten Twitter city. Anecdotally, Toronto-area hosueholds have also embraced the mobile icon – the iPhone and the living room icon – the Big Screen TV, in proportionately larger numbers.  With Toronto being UFC’s top pay per view and digital markets, there’s proof that we like our sports entertainment in our own environments. We simply like to immerse and socialize ourselves in entertainment and with rare exception our key sports teams have failed to embrace and take a leadership role here.  With the offing of 3D TV and other exciting mobile and virtual offerings, what’s the incentive for anybody under 35 to travel downtown, pay $400 and watch sports live as a broadly shared experience?

4. Urban Sprawl

We state that there are 5 million people in the greater Toronto area and 8 million people within a 1 and 1/2 hours drive of Toronto (under normal circumstances), but how realistic is the idea for individuals to brave the gridlock with their families and take an 8 hour diversion out of their life? Toronto tied with Moscow as the worst decliner on global city commuting and traffic and a good percentage are putting off recreation as a consequence. Never mind that a good chunk of these people don’t identify with Toronto as their home team (look at the number of Messi jerseys in Woodbridge and Yankee hats in Oakville). Teams have done no small favours by abandoning support of shuttle trips into town from other cities which were so common with the Jays in the 80′s and 90′s. Even within a declining media like TV, ratings for Toronto sports events have stabilized, it’s the commute that has suffered.

5. Facilities Crisis

Closing swimming pools, fights over ice, and higher fees for parks and recreation use are emblematic of the crisis. Only 12% of youth are getting the recommended levels of physical fitness in their day to day lives, and when usage goes down so does overall engagement. Further evidence? Less and less Canadians are getting outside to see our famous vistas. We are raising a nation of obese kids and as much as tech-enabled activities such as gaming and networking have benefited, active life has suffered. So where the spirit for sports lives – in local neighborhoods, Toronto suffers. Grassroots and Olympic potentials need to leave Toronto to find the facilities they need. The truth is – fat kids care less about sports and active life and so will their kids, and so on, and so on. It’s a facilities-led death spiral. Perhaps we should rethink the equation of spending $1 billion on a  G20 party and redress this equivalent sin.

6. Dearth of Participation Events

Given our facilities issue above and other ancillary issues – civic engagement for sport, traffic, pollution – Toronto is not very good at hosting grassroots sports events. A top flight marathon, bicycle race or swimming meet doesn’t exist in this city. Only the Robbie Tournament provides a large footprint for grassroots sports as the largest international soccer tournament in the world and not surprisingly, soccer participation is up 70% as a favoured active form of participation over the last 15 years in this city.  Active life needs to be less about funding pro sport and more about getting amateurs and youth involved in this city. If we’ve learned anything about hockey in the U.S. during the 90s, it’s that if you get a stick in the hands of kids, they’ll end up watching the pro version.

7. Toronto News media – Playing Gotcha

Toronto media may just be representative of our overall culture at large but they are shockingly negative. The other day, on one of the local e-newsletters from a top print newspaper, fully 11 out of 15  articles had a negative suasion – this on a day after the lead home team had won and a sports weekend full of interesting stories. Sportsnet and Fan590 have a notorious set of critical blabbermouths that have a particular disdain for amateur sports. Do we wonder why our amateur and junior sports gets ignored and for that matter, our pro executives and coaches wall the plank  well short of what might be considered average tenure, failing to build anything of longevity or substance?  It took a miracle job of Vancouver to turn our popular media minds around on the Olympics.  Even the biggest homer couldn’t have predicted a winning record for the Jays at this point, and yet we still hear cries for Gaston’s head and wait and see about the inexperience of GM Anthopolous. C’mon, get happy, fifth estate.

8. Toronto Team Mismanagement

This town is crying out for a champion – over the last five years, none of the top 6 team sports have provided a champion – that’s 0 for 30. Bad news for a big market. The team we care about the most has not won a championship since most of use were born (1967 Leafs). Enough. John Carver. John Ferguson. Tim Johnson. Mo Johnston.  Isiah Thomas. Rob Babcock. We have deserved better coaches and management. On the eve of Steinbrenner’s death, it’s important to ask, beyond the Gillick and Beston years, have we ever had an officer of team that exuded winning? Whereas the Teacher’s Fund and Rogers may exude corporate steadiness, they don’t have a winning soul. For all their faults, give us your Mark Cubans, Jerry Jones or Mike Illitchs that show us they care. Not my style of hockey, but I can look past your need for truculence Brian Burke, if you keep showing a pulse for Toronto, winning and hockey in the same sentence.

9. Ethnicity

Controversial, but we’ll state it anyway. As much as ethnicity is a boon to culture, the economy and a strong metropolis in general, when it comes to sports,  it may be an issue and that’s not the new immigrant’s fault, that’s ours. Three big reasons: 1) many of the ethnicities arriving in Toronto – don’t have a background or appreciation of sport or physical fitness, witness example; our schools and organizations have failed to embue and work against this, 2) many of the ethnicities don’t feel a kinship with Toronto teams or the sports that we play; leagues and teams need to step up for their commitment here for their own long term survival and 3) given the wider range of sports a mosaic of ethnicities play, it becomes tougher to stream fanship and commonly shared interest into what we might call core sports, CBC has done a good job in particular investing in hockey -in Punjabi, but with cricket being the sport of choice for India and swimming/Table Tennis/Badminton rivaling the top sports in China, being a diverse city taxes an already stressed infrastructure and feeling of shared sports ethos.

We could add a poor appreciation for university sport, lack of sports scholarship, poor corporate investment and government incentive for active life interests, crumbling and uncooperative public transit, a lack of galvanizing event like the Olympics, poor corporate sports marketing/media efforts, a health care system focused on treatment not prevention and a lack of celebrating our own, but that would be adding fuel to an already large  fire.

Next week, we’ll produce the top 9 things to celebrate about Toronto’s active life scene. In the interim, gripe away.

An Open Letter to Chris Bosh and NBA Players – 10 Things You Need to Know About T.O.

Dear Chris,

So you’ve decided to move onto Miami and join Lebron Wade. Thanks for the seven years. It was your negotiated right, so enjoy it.  Don’t gloat too much, with the money left over you may be passing to guys like these. Yikes just checked salary cap issues, it’s likely guys more like these.  Should be fun to know when you’re coming back – I believe NBA schedule is out in August. And why know more cornrows?  This really is a full makeover.

As much as you leave us with a big gaping hole at power forward that Linas Kleiza won’t fill, like any organization, if you don’t want to be here, it’s better that you’re gone. Bye bye. Plus I may add, outside of Beijing, your defence was suspect for an interior bonafide #1 player – see Gasol, Howard and Garnett for the real deal in under-the-net play. Don’t think buddies Wade or James will tolerate it for too long when they see it every night. Just sayin’.

The fact that this was likely your plan all along and could have been brokered a year ago leaving Toronto with at least a few spare parts is another story, but so be it – Colangelo will wear that one.

I will neither clap or boo when you visit Toronto next year, and show a bit more class than you have during this public negotiation.  For the most part, you were a pretty decent guy with a bit of personality and will be missed locally – I fear I might be in the minority opinion here.

To you and the rest of the NBA player circuit, there is a larger question here and a gaping need to be addressed – Toronto is not the “insert destitute city here” place that ESPN likes to consider it. We do not have the ravaged environment of New Orleans, we do not have nearly as much futility as the LA Clippers and we do not have the “one horse town” culture of Oklahoma. C’mon Chris speak up and tell your brethren the truth – we make most NBA cities look like amateur hour.

I know – for some of this debacle and image battering, Toronto is to blame. We really should stop cow-towing to American media and overpaid, under-performing players who believe Toronto is a leisure resort where they can hang out for a couple of years. Sorry you had to play with O’Neal and Bargnani. Beside them, you are a walking version of Bill Russell defensively. I say let’s stand on our own two feet T.O. from now on – demand performance, accountability and use some northern cowboy swagger.

To the rest of your tribe Chris, your NBA player tribe – are they out of their minds (which given guys like Arenas and Artest, that may be the answer),  if they can’t conceive of Toronto as a top 5 destination to consider when their contract is up. I’ll tell you why:

- Myth #1 – Lack of Media Exposure – we are the 4th biggest media market in the US – only behind New York City, Los Angeles and almost neck and neck with Chicago – Miami doesn’t even compare under any basis – if you like your ego fed, you’ll get it here.

- Myth #2 – Climate – we do not snowboard in summer, nor do we freeze out in winter – in fact, one of your desired destinations Chicago has notoriously tougher winters and New York City and Boston had a lot more snow than us this last year.

- Myth  #3 – Fan Support – there were only 4 teams in the top half of the league in attendance and with losing records – Toronto Raptors was one of them – New York, Detroit and Golden State were the others – win or lose we have always been in the top half, heck we haven’t had a big championship in this town since 1993 and still support the big three teams with either high viewership or packed houses (the Bills in Toronto is an aberration – would any right-minded American watch the Jay Losman-led Bills lose to the Chad Pennington-led Dolphins?).

- Myth #4 – Treatment of Players - the facilities, stadium and practice arena are beyond reproach – from what I hear, they are some of the best in the league and are located downtown not near some big box mall like most cities, have a look.

- Myth #5 – Quality of Life – you may think of us as the poor cousin to America and sure you may have to put up with another anthem before games (which is better than the US one by the way - just ask Letterman), Mercer ranked Toronto as having the 15th best quality of life in the world – no US city is close (San Francisco is first at 29th) , in another study by The Economist we are ranked the 5th most livable city in the world (again no other US city beat us) we’re safe, we’re clean, we’re educated and cultured – can you say all those things about Houston, Utah or Washington …ahem, no.

- Myth #6 – Canada – we had our coming out party at the Olympics and hopefully we aren’t going back. With the Grizzlies and Supersonics gone, by playing in Canada – you immediately get 33 million fans, no other team has an unshared base of popular support. Plus, Canada is ranked #2 in the world as a country brand- god damn it ballers, people like us.

- Myth #7  – We’re all boring white guys – think again, that’s right we’re more diverse than Miami, Los Angeles and NewYork ; we’re actually the most diverse city in the world. Translation – better restaurants, better culture, better experiences, more worldliness and better platform to be noticed internationally. Even if you don’t care about culture – remember Dream Team, this game is international now – there are more basketball fans in China than the population of the US – sponsorship ching-ching emanates from T.O. more than it does from the deep south.

- Myth #8 -Second Fiddle to Another Sport - you’re right, by coming to Toronto, you will play second place to hockey …and oh just like nearly every other market in the US where basketball plays second louie to football and competes with the college game too. In fact, according to Harris, men’s pro basketball is only America’s 6th favourite sport and is on the decline in established markets. Add to the fact that a Canadian James Naismith invented the sport and another Canuck has won your MVP award twice over the last 5 years, and it really is a shallow argument.

- Myth #9 – You can’t be a Star in Toronto – look all I have to say is two words – Vince Carter – he was never the best player in the league, he was certainly not the most dedicated, likable or the best role model, yet there he was gracing the front covers of SI, the EA Sports package front cover and was the top All-star vote getter 4 years running … with a Raptor jersey on. I could also suggest that Chris Bosh was roving reporter for the Tonight Show and NBA’s viral hit, playing out of our sleepy hollow of Raptorland.

- Myth #10 – We are ungrateful – trust me  Hedo Turkoglu would have been skewered in Philadelphia for his disappearing act last year, Vince Carter’s dogging it would have received no soft love from Celtics fans and Rafael Araujo’s ineptness would have been booted out of the Mavericks building well before his past due date. Let’s not forget no shows Kenny Anderson, aging Hakeem Olijuwon, borderline insane Rob Babcock, self-destructing Isiah Thomas and apparently gravely ill Alonzo Mourning who miraculously got better and played 5 more years when let go of his Raptor contract. We have a legit reason to hate this team and league , one playoff round win in 15 years is not enough. It’s not the city of Toronto that is ungrateful, it’s Raptors management and NBA culture that shows us no love. We boo former players because we care and don’t like our intelligence insulted. Ask Doug Gilmour or Joe Carter, how much they enjoyed their time here. Winning and trying still count for something.

I haven’t even mentioned that with Bosh, now you gone with, we have cap room and are prepared to spend. Given pro basketball player’s looser vices, it should be noted, we don’t tolerate guns (so you won’t be stupid enough to get in trouble), we “look the other way” on marijuana offences, our beer is stronger and lap dances are de rigeuer in our gentlemen establishments.

So come on hoopsters, show us some love and respect (and a bit of skill and effort would help too). As polite about to be very angry Canadians, that’s all we ask. Chris, enjoy the mugginess of Miami – I hear it’s 32 degrees and raining for the next 4 days, perhaps not the best time to leave but maybe you’ll stay inside and tweet all day.

Sincerely,

Generation Go, on behalf of Raptor’s fans everywhere

The Toronto Tourist Run (13.7km)

If you’re looking for a good run across Toronto, here’s one I did last Sunday that should function as our “Welcome to Toronto” invitation for the fit and visiting. It’s a loop run but start it wherever you want, I put pedal to pavement beginning at the foot of Queen and Roncesvalles.

In running across the nearly 14km, I count upwards to  17  different attractions/districts of Toronto west of Yonge mentioned blow and pictured above and even though I’ve lived here my whole life felt enriched by the amount of new stuff I noticed:

- starting over the Pedestrian bridge over the Gardiner, stop for a few brief seconds and peer at the cityscape and the speeding cars coming toward you below

- manage to get over the bridge, and you’ll see the famous Palais Royale – a refurbished dance hall and music house since 1932

- continue past the Boulevard Club and Argonaut Rowing Club on the somewhat improved Martin Goodman portion of the Waterfront Trail

- keep following past Ontario Place, the Molson Amphitheatre, The Exhibition and Windshare’s 91 metre high windmill

- continue to Battery Park past the 50 tonne granite Inukshuk dedicated by Pope John Paul II

- watch the slumbering ducks and boats in summer around Coronation Park and HMCS York

- sniff out for signs of civilization as you see some Porter airplanes take off from the controversial Island airport and the houses bordering Little Norway Park

- now you’re on Queen’s Quay – a beehive of activity in Summer (not so much in winter)  – peer out onto Lake Ontario sihouetted by Toronto’s Music Garden, HTO park, Power Plant, Harbourfront Centre and Queen Quay terminal – we’re finally getting this part of the city developed, beautified and people living down here

- make a sharp left turn at the foot of Bay St. at the west side of the Westin Harbour Castle and where the ferries shuttle passengers and tourists over to Ward Island, Centre Island and Hanlon’s Point

- continue up Bay under the Gardiner past the Air Canada Centre – home to professional sports teams – the Maple Leafs, Raptors and Rock  since 1999, a building framed by our previous post office art deco facades

- up Bay, you will find more money per square foot than anywhere else in Canada, for the narcissist like myself – watch your jogging stride in the gold plated windows of the Royal Bank plaza, take in the history of Union Station and continue up Wellington

- make a left and lumber down Wellington Street and stroll past our glassed in music hall – The Roy Thomson Centre and the back of CBC’s massive building

- glimpse a quick left down John St. and peek at the Rogers Centre (formerly Skydome) then veer right and head up John St. to spot the centre of Toronto’s night life and music culture at Queen – personified by the CityTV building at Queen St.

- make a left and feel like you’re doing an aerobic shopping trip through the chains and occasional independents of Queen West – as well as my favourite musci venue The Horseshoe and The Rivoli

- keep moving along Queen to the gentrifying artsy part Queen West West and stride past the magnificently renovated Drake and Gladstone hotels as well as fitness outposts Downward Dog Yoga, fresh for Life, the CAMH sprawling grounds and Trinity Bellwoods park

- keep pushing it under the Queen and Dufferin bridge to a more earthy crustier Parkdale – and spot the occasional new gallery, household/art studio and antique place that dots itself along the improving strip

- finish up at what once the southern outpost of the heartland of Polish and Ukrainian Toronto at Queen & Roncesvalles – take your choice of brunch/coffee meccas of the west end – Mitzi’s, Easy or Cherry Bomb and relax in the small parkette Beaty park overlooking Sunnyside Beach and across from the TTC stockyards…you deserve it.

Here’s  a mapped out description of the run – best to complete over the weekend and off peak season (summer days) – given the fight with pedestrians for space across half the run, enjoy:

Top 9s – Future Outdoor Classics

Now that another successful NHL Outdoor Classic is in the books, our thoughts turn to where else could this game be played? More than the Stanley Cup or All-Star game – nothing galvanizes interest in hockey across North America on a one-day basis like this game (my lord, it was even trending well on twitter yesterday).

Let’s take inventory – they’ve done Pittsburgh vs. Buffalo in Rich Stadium, Montreal vs. Edmonton in Commonwealth Stadium, Detroit vs. Chicago in Wrigley Field and now Philadelphia vs. Boston in Fenway Park.   So where to next? Here’s are our top 9 suggestions:

1. The Big Apple Game – Central Park, New York City – The Rangers vs. The Islanders

Forget Yankee Stadium and its $30 hot dogs, why not have a game in the freshest air of New York smack dab in Central Park. If  1.7 million people are willing to see a Garth Brooks concert here, surely hockey could establish a similarly large beachhead on the media capital of the world.

2. Old Time Pond Hockey – The Rideau Canal, Ottawa – The Senators vs. The Leafs

The Battle of Ontario is back on and this time on the world’s longest ice rink and UNESCO Heritage Site. Ottawa is also the historical home to Lord Stanley – whose donated cup from 1892 is the most recognizable trophy in sports and given to the NHL champions each year.

3. The Cheesehead Legends Game – Lambeau Field, Green Bay – The Wild vs. The Black Hawks

If you are going to have something called the Heritage Classic each year, don’t you have to doff a cap to your football cousins and host a game at Bart Lombardi’s shrine. Imagine the same guys going shirtless at wintry Packer games coming out for hockey – pure tailgating magic.

4. The Michigan/Ohio Grudge Match – Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor – The Red Wings vs. The Columbus Blue Jackets

9 years ago, the Michigan State Spartans hosted the largest outdoor hockey match ever played until then with their cross-state rivals - the dreaded Michigan Wolverines. Result -  they overfilled the stadium with over 74,000 puckheads for a college hockey game . This time, we would bring back the ghosts of Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler and have Ohio square off against Michigan in the much bigger 107,000 seat “Big Hosue” Michigan Stadium.

5. The Hammer & Sickle Game – Red Square, Moscow – Ovechkin’s Washington Capitals vs. Kovalchuk’s Atlanta Thrashers

What better way to provide international detente then to host a game in the middle of Moscow with two of NHL’s most exciting players. Check out the sitelines here too. Plus, you know Putin would want to put on a good show.

6. The Olympic Game – Whistler Village, British Columbia – Vancouver Canucks vs.Calgary Flames

1988 Olympic host meet 2010 Olympic host in one of the most idyllic winter settings on the planet.

7. The Obama Game – Washington Monument, D.C. – Washington Capitals vs. Philadelphia Flyers

The pool in front of Washington Mounment is a perfect venue for the ice classic – having Lincoln preside over the game provide a distinctive US stamp of approval on the game south of the border.

8. Hockey Goes Hollywood -  L.A. Coliseum, Los Angeles – Los Angeles Kings vs. The Anaheim Ducks

Believe or not, there was an outdoor exhibition game held between the Kings and Rangers back in1991 at Caesar’s Palace in Vegas. Have a read on the hijinx they had to overcome.  Where there is a will there is a way-plus with 18 years of additional technology- there has to be a way to do it.  Just imagine Hollywood’s reigning elite (Nicholson, the Baldwins, Cruise, Denzel, and that annoying cast from Twilight) coming out to watch a game of shinny in LA Kings classic colours.

9. The Roch Carrier Home and Home Rivalry – Rogers Centre, Toronto  and Olympic Stadium, Montreal, Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Montreal Canadiens

The cradle of hockey in the civilized world  – these two have been sparring for the last 80 + years against each other with a very popular NFB cartoon “The Sweater” speaking about hockey as religion in these parts. It’s shame that the sheen off the “Heritage” idea is taken off by holding these in semi-domed stadiums – but imagine a Friday night game in one city followed by a Sunday afternoon game in the other. The most patriotic Canadian event since our new flag in 1967.

Polar Bear Swim Toronto

Photo courtesy Rick Bogasz

Get your mid-winter swim gear on and prepare to watch all your parts shrink and puff up as you ring in the new year by a “dash of insanity”.

For the brave of heart, here’s where to ring in no, rather take the plunge into a new decade just a little bit differently:

The Polar Bear Swim Club (in support of Habitat for Humanity) Sunnyside Park – 11:30am registration and 12:00pm dip – free blanket for all participants

Polar Bear Dip (in support of World Visions) Coronation Park, Oakville – 12:30pm-3pm – dip at 2pm sharp – the 25th anniversary of Canada’s biggest

Clarington Polar Bear Swim (in support of Sick Kids) – Newcastle Waterfront – 2pm dip – 10th anniversary – first 80 pledgers get a prize pack

If you start to like this a lot, there is a slightly insane group who likes to do this winter round too.

Forecast calls for scattered flurries and -2 degrees Celsius, although with a slight wind and few clothes on, who knows what that will really feel like.

Some smart advice ahead of time:

• Footwear you can wear in the water
• Towel(s)
• Blanket(s)
• Warm clothes to wear before and after the dip
• A friend to help should you require assistance
• A good place to shower and scrub off Lake Ontario afterwards
• if any medical condition puts you in doubt, consult a doctor or merely gawk and donate

Gen Go Picks – Canadian Olympic Hockey Teams #1, #2 and #3

Every 4 years, it’s a ritual rite of passage for every Canadian to second guess the Olympic Canadian brass for their picks of the Olympic men’s hockey team.

When the baseline expectation is that Canada will win the gold medal – it does leave a glass empty feeling about who should have made the team and who should have been left off.

Well, at Generation GO – we have not only complied the stats and stated our thoughts on the Yzerman’s first team but also that of our own second and third.

Seeting some of the intangibles aside, the real misses I see are not tapping Washington’s Mike Green vs. the chosen Brent Seabrook,  Brad Richards or Mike Cammalleri vs. the chosen Patrice Bergeron and Dustin Penner vs. Brendan Morrow. However, it’s splitting hairs and even if you did choose differently, at most these players are going to see 12-14 minutes per game if not just sit in the press box.

Based on our rosters below, Canada could easily field three gold medal teams in the Olympics, here are there cumulative year-to-date stats and rosters:

Canada’s Players. G…. A ..PTS..+/-..Shots..GW..Ave Minutes Per Game
Team Canada #1 246 422 668 110 2107 36 22:18
Team Canada #2 199 362 561 94 2063 31 20:55
Team Canada #3 181 309 480 17 1503 20 20:00

Canada’s Goalies W Save% GAA SO
Team Canada #1 66 0.917 2.28 6
Team Canada #2 28 0.900 3.00 4
Team Canada #3 35 0.910 2.74 0

Read more… »

The Generation Go High Park Scamper 7.14km

A misty Christmas day and suffering from some cabin fever between two Christmas parties – what better time for a run.

Thank goodness for John Howard, Toronto’s first city planner, who protected High Park, Toronto’s 400 acre urban green oasis from the developer’s crane rising up around the city’s west end- it’s full of scenic and undiscovered spots. And it’s also one of my fave runs. Even on a damp miserable Christmas day, I was accompanied by more than a few, cheery joggers, itinerant walkers, adventuresome dog walkers, shinny players and families sneaking out for a fresh air break.

In an attempt to retrace the Harry’s Spring Run (scheduled for Saturday, April 3rd, 2010) , we trailblazed our own quick jaunt into High Park that we’ll now break up into 9 parts for your convenience:

The Downhill Start – start at the top of Spring Road hill near the main north entrance to High Park – enjoy the road that snakes through the east side of the park, plenty of dog lovers here just don’t jog alone here late at night

The Deerpen Climb – thighs aching, breath getting short…this is one of two big climbs you’ll be making today – admire the yaks, bison,llamas, goats and sheep as they watch with idle amusement – it smells like a farm too – weird I know, but I love that hay-tinged dung smell

The Loop East Side - catch a breath and travel along High Park’s main artery road and wonder about the hordes of people that descend on the park’s theatre, baseball diamonds, swimming pool, concessions stands and tennis courts and chuckle as parents take their kids out for their very first skate

The Loop West Side – this one is a quickie downhill, just watch for cars who zoom into the park not realizing the 20km per hour speed limit, in summer, be prepared to be gawked at as the park tram guides tourists, families and more sedentary people

Grenadier Pond - easily the most scenic part of the park – admire the biggest floral Maple Leaf this side of Ottawa, the grizzled fishers casting lines from the outcropping deck and romantic strollers, oblivious to the history and the nature conservancy of this beautiful area

The Southern Queensway Bend – listen to the din of cars from the Gardiner Expressway and Lakeshore Boulevard to the south as Canada Geese fly overhead, dutifully obey or astutely ignore your only traffic light on this entire run and proceed back onto a path that brings you back into the bucolic charm of the park

The Playground Garden Trail – travel along the winding path as its enveloped on both sides by big trees, spot the ducks in the reclaimed pools to the right and ponder the usually busy Adventure Playground and it’s gothic turrets, swings, slides and apparati. Note, in a pinch – grab a water from the hot dog vendor that usually birddogs outside of the playground entrance

The Sprng Road Climb – a gradually undulating climb followed by a mean hill to finish off. This is usually the ending of most organized runs in the park and usually espouses cheers. This time, only chriping dogs greet me. Oh well, I know I accompished somethingf.

The Sprint Bloor West Finale – you may be breathless from the hill or surrounding, but civilization and Bloor West awaits only a couple of hundred metres ahead, say hi to the police cars that usually perch at the front entrance of the park , usually waiting their next emergency call and feel guilt-free about the fresh air and scenery you’ve just stolen from the Toronto’s top park.

And for the Apres Run – here are our top 5 choices for after-run fun…

- two Starbucks situate just 5-10 minute walk or a 1-2 minute drive west of the park. Latte it up! or this time of year, a hot chocolate or cider might do!

- Bloor West is filled with great neighbourhood bars, grab a pint at the Swan and Firkin, a burger and ale at the English Griffin or a lager and chat at Mackenzies. Sure it’s two steps forwards, 1 step back fitness wise – but you have to have fun sometime.

- Shoes are down to a threadbare sole? Need a gear pick me up? Both Running Room and New Balance are along Bloor West as well..thankfully, Running Room also has outlined 38 runs that their club treks through year round

- Cross training is your thing – stroll past Wheels of Bloor for the sick looking Cervelos in the window, or RPM Spinning and Gravity Studio for a boutique gym and community of Bloor West activities.

- The refurbished Grenadier Cafe offers up good breakfast, lunch and snack fare situated right in the middle of the park (on the southern loop of the main road), to the west of the park – Sunset Grill offers up a hearty breakfast, Cobb’s Bread and Bread and Roses have great pastries and Dr. Generosity and Villa have a great dinner menu for the showered up and redressed – grab a book from the theatre-now-turned local Chapters and settle back for the rest of the day west end style.

From time-to-time, we’ll be documenting our runs, rides, paddles, hikes and urban adventures, let us know if you’d be interested in submitted your own traipses through the city at chiefsherpa@gengo.ca

The Genesis of the Toronto Maple Leafs – Opening Day 1960-2010

Records

1960 -  35-26-9  1970 – 29-34-13  1980 – 35-40-5  1990 – 38-38-4  2000 – 45-27-7-3  2010 – TBD

Goals Scored/Against

1960 – 199-195   1970 222-242   1980 304-327 1990  337-358  2000  246-242  2010 – TBD

Coaches

1960/1980 – Punch Imlach 1970 – John MacLellan 1990 – Doug Carpenter 2000 – Pat Quinn 2010 – Ron Wilson

Prospects

1960 – Carl Brewer 1970 – Ernie Moser 1980 – Laurie Boschman 1990 – Scott Thornton 2000 – Luca Cereda  2010 – Nazem Kadri

Goalies

1960 – Johnnie Bower  1970 – Bruce Gamble 1980 – Mike Palmateer 1990 – Allan Bester 2000 – Curtis Joseph 2010 – Vesa Toskala

Defence

1960 – Stanley, Horton, Brewer, Baun, Kelly, Rheaume

1970 – McKenney, Horton, Quinn, Glennie, Ley, Dorey

1980 – Salming, Turnbull, Burrows, Hotham, Quennville, Mulhern

1990 – Iafrate, Kurvers, Ramage, Richardson, Marsh, Curran

2000 – Kaberle, Burrard, Yushkevich, Cross, Karpotsev, Markov

2010 – Kaberle, Komisarek, Beuchemin, Schenn, Exelby, Van Ryn

Centres

1960 – 1st line – Pulford, Armstrong, Duff   2nd Line – Mahovlich, Harris, Olmstead  3rd Line – Stewart, Wilson, Ehman 4th Line – Regan, James, Hampson

1970 – 1st Line – Keon, Ellis, Pulford 2nd Line – Ullman, Henderson, Selby 3rd Line – Walton, Armstorng, Harrison 4th Line – Oliver, Smith, Clancy

1980 – 1st Line – Sittler, Anderson, Williams 2nd Line – Boschman, Paiement, Hickey 3rd Line – McKechnie, Saganiuk, Maloney 4th Line – Gardner, Ellis, Martin

1990 – 1st Line – Damphousse, Leeman, Osborne 2nd Line – Olczyk, Marois, Clark 3rd Line – Fergus, Franceschetti, Reid 4th Line – Daoust, Kordic, Pearson

2000 – 1st Line – Sundin, Thomas, Hogland 2nd Line – Perrault, Korolev, Berezin 3rd Line – Antropov, Johnson, Valk 4th Line – Adams, Domi,  McCauley

2010 – 1st Line-Grabovski, Ponikarovsky, Hagman  2nd Line – Stajan, Kulemin, Blake  3rd Line -Mitchell, Stempniak,  Hanson 4th Line – Primeau, Mayers, Orr

GO Experience : A bit of Urban Infiltration with Keri, The Canadian Explorer

While the city is abuzz with activity to the North and West, there is a piece of industrial-meets-green in the Portlands of Toronto along Unwin Avenue that’s just waiting to be discovered.

A half century ago, the Hearn Generation Station teamed with energy, pounding out 1200MW of brute coal-and gas-induced force in its three football field-long building. Strange fact, it was suggested before it’s later conversion to natural gas, that the building was largely responsible for smog during the 1962 Grey Cup.

Well time has moved on and my good friend, Jacqueline Kerouac-esque video blogger  and intrepid adventurer Keri, The Canadian Explorer asked me to join her on a surprise  revisit to “the land that time forgot” on the eastern waterfront.

Walking into the decaying hulk of a building, conjures up images of History Channel’s “Life AfterPeople” – this industrial landmark has truly not been untouched except for us wayward trespassing souls since 1983. Inspired by Toronto’s pioneering Ninjalicious (who succumbed to cancer in 2005) and his storied site Infiltration.org,  it seems silly for such wonderful buildings to go to waste, so we decided to infiltrate. Read more… »

Generation Go Profile: Michelle Di Rocco

Who are you and what makes you tick?
I am an avid cyclist, adventure traveler and thrill seeker.
I am inspired by the journey and discovery that comes with travel to distant, exotic, little-trodden places. Adventures are best when they push physical and emotional limits – some of mine include jungle-trekking in Malaysia, ziplining in Costa Rica, snowshoeing in Yosemite and hiking the Adirondacks among others.

Your motto: Pain is weakness leaving the body.

What parts of active life do you participate in? Cycling, hiking, camping.

What is your favourite ride near the city? Leslie Spit is a great reprieve from the bustle of many of the city trails. It’s close to where I live, and I can go full-out without worrying about running anyone down!

Your favourite place: I have experienced too many great places to choose just one….so I’ll answer by saying that my favourite place to cycle so far would be the Cabot Trail. It’s very scenic and a good challenge!

Your favourite time (season, day, week, event): Autumn. Fall colour is unbeatable and the cool crisp air makes for great cycling and hiking without the smog

Your favourite website/magazine: VeloNews

Your active role models/heroes: Lance Armstrong of course!

Your guilty pleasure: Cupcakes – any and all flavours

Your cause: Multiple Sclerosis

Your next active goal or commitment: The MS Bike Tour. On August 15/16, I will join in the fight against multiple sclerosis and cycle 200km riding from Brampton to Waterloo return.

What would you like us to do:

Please post a link to my webpage where people can make a donation to the Bike Tour. http://www.urlzen.com/q8c  . Together we can conquer this disease. Anything you can spare makes a difference.

Generation Go – Looking for a Few Passionate Active-ites

Beyond our current editorial, writing and photographer team of 25, we are looking for some passionate active-ites that are up for the random interesting experiences. In short, we are looking for male and female George Plimptons.

Who’s George Plimpton you ask?

Back in the 60s and 70s, the witty Plimpton was an acclaimed novelist. Despite his urbane Harvard upbringing, he was attracted like a magnet to a range of professional sports.

Despite gangly frame and physical shortfalls, Plimpton documented his weekend enthusiast-turned -pro exploits in books Paper Lion (as a backup Detroit Lions quarterback),  Open Net (as a fill-in Boston Bruins goalie),  The Bogey Man (trying to sty alive on the PGA tour), Out of My League (pitching to an all-star squad of major league baseball players)  and Shadow Box (sparring three rounds with Archie Moore and Sugar Ray Robinson). He also tried his hand as circus tightrope performer, bridge player and petrified tennis player.

Interestingly, he was a good friend of Robert Kennedy and was credited with wrestling his assassin Sirhan Sirhan to the ground.

In short, he was one of the very first participatory journalists, many decades before blogging became in vogue.

Well, Generation Go now wants you oh budding Plimptonians. In Toronto (and soon to be Vancouver), we are looking for some fledgling bloggers, participating activie-ites who have a “try anything once attitude”.

We have already setup some of our early George Plimptons as:

- whitewater rafters
- skydiving thrillseekers
- pole dancing savants
- mixed martial arts masters

So what’s your about to be discovered passion?

Let us know your interests, commit to writing a few photo-essay posts, interview the key players and participants and we’ll set you up with the best in and and around the city.

Get in touch with us here with your interest, schedule and ability to write, photograph, participate and interview.

Generation Go Photo of The Day – Cherry Beach in Blazing Summer

Go Photo of The Day: The Base of Yonge St.

Only 1896 kilometres to go…

Go Photo of the Day: Coupland’s Canoe

Taken from the Gardiner near Spadina.

GO Photo of the Day: Going Segway in the Distillery

GO Photo of the Day: 1:48pm The Boulevard Club & The Tall Ships

The Tall Ships set sail on Lake Ontario.