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) 

A sign of a great day!

Friends,

Enjoy the day!

Please check back soon for neat stuff, including what makes Sterling Scott so funny.

Tait@noon - a parting gift for Mayor Mandel - UPDATED WITH PICTURES

In many ways, the time seems right.

 Stephen Mandel announced just seconds after 11 a.m. Tuesday he will not run for a fourth term. Now, the downtown arena project is set in stone, thanks to last week’s city council ratifying the agreement, Mandel feels it’s time to retire.

Maybe, he doesn’t have the strength — physically and mentally — for another monumental project, namely the downtown arena project.

But he’s 67. It’s time, perhaps, for him to share some time with his family. Maybe travel. Or walk in Edmonton’s river valley, look all around him, and feel the pride of the city help build.

Mandel goes out on top, with many wanting him to run for another term — one he’d probably win.

The big question now is who will guide Edmonton come fall when the next civic election rolls around.

But let’s not worry about that today.

Let’s celebrate and honor a man who has shared his vision with us; a man who has shown compassion, toughness and boldness.

Mandel deserves a parting gift, something that will mirror his work as mayor.

Maybe, a new road around the downtown arena. Call it Mandel Way.

Because that’s how he made Edmonton grow. 

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.

Today's Timely Tune - May 17

(We love news. We love music. We try to put them together to make a point)



Councillor Kerry Diotte announced Thursday he is planning to run for the mayor's job in the fall.
Mayor Stephen Mandell was talking about Diotte's tweetng and, .. well, here you have a look.


THE NEWS

THE TUNE

Cam 'n Eggs: May 17 -The Scheetz Shuffle for a great cause

  

Radio personalities, like television anchors and newspaper columnists, have gifts. The obvious gift is their voices

And if they can tell a story, they are even more gifted.

Throughout Edmonton many members of the media have shared their talents with many charities to raise funds and awareness.

Everyone of them deserves our admiration.

They are simply driven by the genuine desire to help others and continue to make a difference.

People like CISN-FM’s Chris Scheetz. In 2002, Scheetz lived in a tractor for five days and raised more than $150,000 for drought stricken Alberta farmers.

Two years ago when town of Slave Lake was ravaged by forest fires, Scheetz asked listeners to contribute household items for people that need them. During a 48-hour period three semi-trailers were plumb full of items and rolled into Slave Lake.

Scheetz is at it again this week.

He set out to walk 250 kilometers to raise funds and awareness for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

He’s going asking people to go online and sign up for the Drive For Life Contract: a pledge saying you will not drink and drive and will not text and drive.

For every pledge for the Drive For Life Contact, $1.00 will be contributed to MADD. The event is sponsored by Mayfield Toyota and LA Z Boy Furniture Galleries.

Scheetz started the journey Monday and headed west to Evansburg. Heturned south and went to Drayton Valley before looping back. Scheetz has walked 50 km a day.

Sometime around 4 p.m. today Blackjack’s Roadhouse in Nisku.

When he gets there news reporters might very well ask him why he embarked on such a journey.

But really, there’s no need to ask: Scheetz just followed his heart

.

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.

Today's Timely Tune - (UPDATED STORY: 8:45 P.M. May 15

(We love news. We love music. We try to put them together to make a point.)

Photograph: SHAUGHN BUTTS, Edmonton Journal

There's a demonstration this afternoon about the government's $42 million cuts to programs supporting Albertans with disabilities.
Here is the Edmonton Journal's website story.


And here's the Timely Tune

If you have another suggestion for a song please email camtait@telus.net

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.

Today's Timely Tune - May 14 - The downtown arena and ...

(We like news. We like music. Hopefully, they make sense!)


Yet, another arena story from the Edmonton Journal's Gordon Kent about Wednesday's special meeting...

LOOK, MOM! NO INK STAINS

...and the timely tune

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)

Topical Timely Tune - May 13

(Editor's note: We love news. We love music. We're going to try to combine both.)

The provincial government announced Monday it will introduce legislation to force a four-year labour deal for teachers.

PLEASE CLICK HERE FOR THE EDMONTON JOURNAL STORY





Today's Tune ...

Cam and Eggs, Order No. 1: (CORRECTED) Will Edmonton Oil King head coach Derek Laxdal walk down the long hallway again?

(This post ran Monday with incorrect information about the contracts of Edmonton Oil King coaches. Read Journal sportswriter Evan Daum's story from Tuesday's paper!)

There’s a hallway in the bowels of Rexall Place, just up a slight ramp from the Edmonton Oil King dressing room, that leads to a dimly lit room on your right hand side. Sportswriters gather for post-game interviews from head coaches.

After a win, coaches strut in the room with an extra stride in their step. After a loss, the long hallway can be almost endless for a coach, each footstep echoing off the wall at almost a deafening volume.

Oil King coach Derek Laxdal knows the feeling.  After every game in Edmonton of the Western Hockey League championship series, he has walked down that hallway to answer questions from reporters.

DEREK LAXDAL

The coach will probably walk down the hallway very soon  — perhaps this week, even — just past the interview room for a meeting in the office of Bob Green, Oil Kings general manager.

There will be a lot for Laxdal and Green to discuss following  a 5-1 loss to the Portland Winterhawks in Game 6 of the WHL championship series. The Winterhawks won the best-of-seven series 4-2, ending the Oil King’s rein of defending champions.

 Green will have questions:

•what went wrong with the Oil King’s powerplay which could not be ignited, and didn’t score a single goal in 31 chances over the series — and, perhaps most importantly, surrendered two short-handed goals on a four-minute powerplay in Sunday’s first period;

•where was the intensity Sunday, after that terrific Game 5 Friday in Portland — a hockey fan’s dream to watch — that saw the Oil Kings give it all they had, and pull a 3-2 overtime win out of the fire to force Game 6? Sure, the Oil Kings outshot Portland 27-24 Sunday, but the Edmonton just didn’t seem to have it. Was the tank empty … and, why?

•Henrik Samuelsson took an undisciplined slashing penalty in the last 90 seconds of Game 4, which didn’t allow Edmonton a chance to pull their goalie for an extra attacker in a 2-1 hockey game. Was Samuelsson’s penalty or an isolated instance? Or was that exchange Laxdal and Samuelsson had after the game a sign of a bigger issue?

•captain Griffin Reinhart and veteran Trevor Cheek were injured. What did that take away from the team?

BOB GREEN

And others will probably be asked, including why the Oil Kings are not making a repeat performance in the MasterCard Memorial Cup later this week in Saskatoon.
Laxdal will have to answer to the GM and also address questions about the future, namely his. (Here's the information I had wrong) My sources say Laxdal is at the end of his three-year deal so his answers to The Boss will no doubt hinge on whether or not he wants to return to the Oil Kings.

He has had success in Edmonton: two appearances to the WHL championship final in three seasons and one championship.

But could there be a pro job calling Laxdal’s name, perhaps even with the Edmonton Oilers as an assistant?

And let’s not forget Laxdal’s assistant Steve Hamilton, also at the end of a three-year deal. Hamilton is head coach material, absolutely.

Derek Laxdal has walked down that long, narrow — sometimes haunting — countless times. Only time if he will continue to do so.

In The Nic of Time — Chapter 2: Cartoons soothe reality

A little over two months ago my grandson Nicholas found the cartoon show Phineas and Ferb when he was going through a very challenging period of his 10-year-old life.

The show gave him great solace.

Nic asked his grandmother — my wife Joan — to PVR every episode, which she did. We began watching Phineas and Ferb back to back, and within days, Joan and I could sing the show’s theme song, word for word.

Phineas and Ferb is a delightful show about two brothers who finding interesting, and fun, things to do on their summer vacation. They build things and take wild adventures — showing the magic of a powerful mind and its of the imagination.

The show has a wonderfully, zany sub-plot with Doctor Heinz Doofenshmirtz — my favorite character because of his all-over-the-map personality — and his nemesis Perry the Platypus, who always foils the good doctor’s somewhat off-the-wall evil plan.

The Dr.: A personal fave

At the end of every episode, somehow, the plots collide  and erase the antics of Phineas and Ferb, much to the disappointment of their sister Candace just before she is about to show their mother what the brothers have done.

The show is deep-rooted with music, good music.

Nic re-watches many episodes, but there’s one he watches over and over. He especially re-winds a song Candace sings to her mother, and Nic watched it countless times last week.

Joan and I paid close attention to Nic in the last few days, with Mother’s Day approaching. We knew it might be difficult since his mother passed away in early March.

Our grandson Nicholas

Nic has been very strong. He has handled the situation with courage and only a few times has he openly cried in front of us.

But on Friday, as he was watching Candace sing, tears were in his eyes.

“I wish,” he said, not letting his emotions take control, “Mommy could hear this song.”

I know, Nic, she does.  

Game 6 on Mother's Day: Let's hope Edmonton Oil King fans celebrate both

If you watched Game 5 of the Western Hockey League championship series Friday night, chances are you just might be unwinding right now.

Wow: what a hockey game, packed with skill, excitement, action … and, if you are an Edmonton Oil King fan, great celebration. Forward Michael St. Croix scored in the first overtime period to give Edmonton a 3-2 win over the Portland Winterhawks, giving the Oil Kings another day. Portland still leads the best-of-seven series 3-2, but St. Croix helped force Game 6 which faces off Sunday at Rexall Place when the clock reaches 4 p.m.

And, if you wattched Friday’s game from Portland on SHAW TV or on whl.ca, you may have heard a comment from broadcaster Peter Loubardias.

I sure did. He made sense, absolutely, when he challenged Edmonton hockey fans to get out and enjoy Game 6.

Because it seems Edmonton fans have not embraced the Oil Kings defending their WHL championship series this spring. Let’s have a look:

•10,947 fans in Portland at the Rose Garden for Game 5 Friday

• 8,400 fans were at Rexall Place for Game 4 Wednesday in Edmonton

•8,513 were at Game 3 Tuesday at Rexall Place

(Source: whl.ca)

Questioning why Edmonton hasn’t fully supported the Oil Kings defending their WHL crown is, certainly, worth debate.

They are providing entertaining hockey. And, one would think, putting an entertaining product on the ice does more than billboards, bus ads, radio and television spots.

Yet, it hasn’t.

Although the Edmonton Oilers did not make the playoffs, there was a lot of hockey played since January. Funny how that happens when a labor dispute holds a season hostage.

Are we hockeyed out in Edmonton? Are we disappointed the Oilers, who had so much promise going into the season, fell by the wayside?

Or, sadly, are we starting to take the new success of major junior hockey in Edmonton for granted?

Surely, we’re not.

Friday’s game was a fabulous example of young men putting it all on the line: skill, determination, blood, sweat, tears — whatever it takes — to be champions.

Game 6 will have all of that and more.

We all should embrace and celebrate the journey the Edmonton Oil Kings are on — especially on such a meaningful Sunday as Mother’s Day.