Coming this afternoon: why this guy is smiling

It was a big night for STERLING SCOTT last night.
We'll tell you why soon

Cam 'n Eggs: Mike Duffy and Rob Ford ***UPDATE WITH TORONTO STAR STORY AT 1 P.M.

(Ford and CTV reporter story)
 Mike Duffy and Rob Ford deserve each other — and, for all we know, they could be hiding out together somewhere in an undisclosed location.

MIKE DUFFY

They should be ashamed of themselves, not only for their recent actions, but also for wanting to cover them up.

Duffy is in hot water for the $90,000 cheque he received from, maybe, the prime minister’s office. Such a spicy situation for a senator.

Ford, the embattled mayor of Toronto, is under allegations he was with a few chums having a puff or two on the crack pipe.

Their situations deserve questioning on many levels. But perhaps the most compelling is they are both public servants. Their paycheques come from bank accounts that get deposits from taxpayers: in Duffy’s case federal taxpayers are paying the freight; in Ford’s case, it’s the taxpayers of Toronto.

Funny how both men chased reporters when they were seeking election.

Rob Ford

They won. But now they are being accused of wrongdoing and are avoiding reporters at all costs. Interestingly, Duffy has been on the other side of the camera many times chasing subjects who don’t want to talk.

That, clearly, isn’t fair. And the longer they remain in silent, the more questions will be raised.

We’ve seen it before. We’ll se it again.

But, somewhere, somehow, we should all learn from the disgrace others.

This time Mike Duffy and Rob Ford took the fall. The sooner they stand up and move forward, they can move on with their lives. And, sadly, ours too. 

CHRISTIE BLATCHFORD'S NATIONAL POST COLUMN (May 22) 

Cam 'N Eggs - May 21 - Celebrating Canadian hockey in the spring ... or not?

Maybe, it’s time Hockey Canada re-considered  Canadians participating in the World Hockey Championships.

The maple leaf hasn’t blown in the medal round since 2009 when Lindy Ruff was head coach. The magic didn’t reappear this spring: Ruff, axed from the Buffalo Sabres earlier this season, guided the Canadians to a fifth-place finish in Stockholm.

Fifth place, eh? Same result as last year.

But, we’re Canadians. Hockey is our game. We can do better.

Can we though, really?

The Canadian roster is players from teams who don’t make the National Hockey League playoffs.

Excuses for a sub-par performance don’t cut it. But perhaps the condensed NHL season took its toll on the Canadian players.

Not a very strong argument: eight NHL teams are still fighting tooth and nail in the post-season.

Maybe the World Championships could to re-scheduled to end of June so the Stanley Cup Champions could ... Fat chance, right?

We need a new approach. Finding that right approach is certainly easier said then done.

Canadians should not accept failing to make  the medal round for three years and counting.

Canadians deserve to celebrate a major hockey championship when it counts the most — in the spring.

The lone Canadian team left in the Stanley Cup won a thriller Sunday, beating the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 in double overtime

The Ottawa Senators won it at home in the nation’s capital.

And, so, hockey in Canada is still alive.

Time to bang the drum for Alberta's disabled

Perhaps the easy thing to do as we gather around the water cooler is to talk about the new downtown arena deal. It is the biggest story of the day, by an icing call and more.

It would also be the easy thing to do.

But, maybe starting today, some Albertans with disabilities cannot do the easy thing anymore. I am talking about people with disabilities that need to start speaking up against provincial government cutbacks.

I am one of them. And I know I have to do better.

Now over the half century mark, and with cerebral palsy, I really haven’t been a very strong advocate for my fellow brothers and sisters with disabilities.

I have gone on with my life, have been integrated in the workforce, and live in my own home in the community with services.

I am responsible for my own care and have the chance to control it.

I need to do more for others, and realize many people with disabilities are not as fortunate as I am.

There was protest Wednesday afternoon in front of the legislature from family members and people with developmental disabilities over $42 million in cuts.

They had signs and made statements because, sadly, nobody else does.

I am dating myself when I speak of the Alberta Committee of Disabled Groups of Disabled People, formed in the 1970’s. They were grass roots and were very vocal when news stories of provincial cuts to people with disabilities hit the headlines.

They are still around, known as Alberta Committee of Citizens with Disabilities.

GARY MCPHERSON

Why haven’t we heard them bang the drum on this?

The Premier’s Council on the Status of Persons with Disabilities was struck in 1987, a direct tangible result from the Rick Hansen Man In Motion World Tour coming to Alberta.

What is their position on the PDD cuts? Are they planning a statement?

When Gary McPherson passed away three years ago the disabled community lost a powerful voice.

To my mind, we need a leader; we need someone, some group, to speak up to government and create meaningful discussions so all Albertans with disabilities can live with independence and dignity.

We need an unified voice.

Let’s start building that today before the provincial government does more damage.

Ideas? camtait@telus.net is my email.

Cam 'n Eggs - Order No. 3: Dreams of laughter

 The shadows of dreams crawl in so many unsuspecting places, only to come to life, creating new journeys and opportunities.

Like Tuesday night, just after 7 p.m.

Along the west wall, silver-like in color, eight people paced up and down.

In their minds they went over every word, every sentence, every pause as

 many times as they could.

 And above the crowd noise, they played the joyous sound of people laughing. It would be music to the

 ears, and sound waves to their ultimate goal.

 When their name was called it was, absolutely, show time.

 For the past several weeks young amateur comics have been flocking to Rick Bronson’s Comic Strip in West Edmonton Mall.

 The Funniest Person With a Day Job has been running for the past several weeks. The second semi-final was held Tuesday night.

Contestants were …

•car jockey DANNY MARTINELLO

•J.P. FOURNIER Alberta Blue Cross Customer Service

•pastor DAN TAYLOR

•Former book store manager LIAM CRESWICH

•Blackberry Rep KEN HICKS

•waiter DAVID DEMPSEY

•waitress CLAIRE BELFORD

•warehouse laborer BRETT McCRINDLE

The winner takes home $1,000 cash, and the coveted spot to be the opening act for a concert series in

 the fall at the Comic Strip.

 Contestants are given tickets to family members and friends to laugh, cheer and lend support.

 The more noise the better. Because contestants are judged on several categories, but the biggest is crowd reaction. CTV News co-anchor Daryl McIntyre has been behind the judges table since the contest began April 9.

 He was joined Tuesday evening by Chris Durham from the Radio and Television Arts program at NAIT,

Carol Anne Devaney

 Carole Anne Devaney from Global Television wasp also a judge and the owner himself,

 owner himself, Rick Bronson.

RICK BRONSON

 The competition is sponsored in partly K-97 and Terry Evans of the Terry, Bill and Steve show was a very entertaining MC.

 In the end, three — Taylor, Dempsey and McGrindle — moved next week’s finals against Sterling Scott, Brandon Franson and Matt Lebucki  ... where dream of one will come true.

Cam 'n Eggs: Bryn tells us why Randy Carlyle is grumpy

 For those of us lucky to have Bryn Griffiths in our lives, we know how much he enjoys sitting back in his chair, folding his right leg across the other, tilting his head back and telling a story.

We enjoy it, too.

Bryn Griffiths

That’s what happened Monday afternoon when Bryn shared a few hours.  A seasoned broadcaster — television and radio — Bryn also worked as press secretary for the Winnipeg Jets in the early 1990’s.

He was responsible for the team’s travel. He did the same job for the Edmonton Oilers in the mid-1990's.

The topic came up in light of the Boston Bruins’ travel challenges Sunday night in Toronto. After losing Game 6 to the Maple Leafs, the Bruins had to overnight in Toronto because of a malfunction with their charter aircraft.

Picture of the Bruin aircraft found on Google Images

Bryn said flight crews start preparing the aircraft to leave just as the third period starts. He says when he was with the Oilers the rule of thumb was 45 minutes: the amount of time between the end of the game and when the team departed for the airport by bus.

“So, if you can’t go because of mechanical trouble, the team would get word from the flight crew by the end of the game so they can make other arrangements,” says Bryn.

That’s when press secretaries really make their money. They have to find hotel rooms for an entourage  of 50 … at 11 p.m. at night.

The Bruins ended up leaving for Boston at 9 a.m. Monday, some nine hours after the Maple Leafs had landed in Boston — 10 hours before game time.

Didn’t hurt them. The Bruins clawed back from a 4-1 third period funk to pull off a 5-4 win in overtime to win Game 7.

Bryn tells the story of when he was the Jets and they could not travel one night. And no hotels.

“We ended up staying the whole night at the airport,” says Bryn.

There were a lot of unhappy people that night, but guess who was the grumpiest.

“Randy Carlyle,” Bryn smirks, talking about the former Winnipeg Jet, now head coach of the Maple Leafs.

Chances are, though, not as grumpy as this morning, following Toronto’s collapse.

Randy Carlyle with the Jets

(Bryn Griffiths is now an account manager for Capital FM and K-97. Follow him on Twitter @BrynMightyMouth)