Things aren’t so bad in Ottawa

You know what the best thing about the NHL playoffs is? The return of good hockey. No more bumbling stalemates between the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs with both teams coasting at half speed, trying to preserve their 1-1 tie for overtime where they’ll both be awarded a point they truly do not deserve. Finally we can watch hockey where the best team wins — not the team who screws up the least.

The Ottawa vs. Pittsburgh series was one of the more entertaining matchups the first round had to offer. Ottawa was eventually over-matched by the high-powered Penguins and their one-man scoring machine who wears number 87, but the series provided compelling, physical, high-scoring hockey which is exactly what NHL commissioner Gary Bettman needs to sell this game to Americans. This was the brand of hockey that can raise the profile of our nation’s favourite sport south of the border.

This is also the brand of hockey that could raise the profile of an Ottawa Senators team that overcame a lot more adversity than they were ever given credit for. Despite a year that saw the cards completely stacked up against them, Ottawa finished fifth in the East and, with some tinkering over the off season, should be in position for a deep run in the Eastern conference playoffs next season.

They started the season under the black cloud of the Dany Heatley trade — a circumstance of unbelievable athlete selfishness. Heatley demanded a trade less than a year after signing a six-year, $45 million contract extension with the Senators and coming off of his worst statistical season since he was a rookie. That didn’t do wonders for Heatley’s trade value.

Then, Senators GM Bryan Murray was ready to pull the trigger on a good deal with the Edmonton Oilers, only to have Heatley veto the move at the eleventh hour, sending Murray back to the drawing board. The Oilers had offered Andrew Cogliano, Dustin Penner and Ladislav Smid in return — three players that would have nicely complimented the Senators’ current talent.

Instead, Murray would end up shipping Heatley to the San Jose Sharks for Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second round pick in this June’s NHL entry draft. Cheechoo was an enormous bust, scoring just five times in 61 games with Ottawa, after which he was demoted to the minors. Meanwhile, Michalek showed promise, scoring 22 goals in 66 games before tearing a ligament in his knee, which ended his season.

Penner scored 32 goals and 63 points for the Oilers this year. Cheechoo and Michalek combined for 27 goals and 48 points. ‘Nuff said.

The Senators season didn’t get much better from there. The team made a splash in the free agent market, signing sniper Alexei Kovalev to a two year, $10 million contract. The 37-year-old Russian was counted on to provide the offensive output the team would be missing with the departure of Heatley, but he faltered, scoring just 18 goals and 49 points in 77 games. There’s no questioning Kovalev’s talent — before coming to Ottawa, he scored more than 100 goals in his four seasons with Montreal — but his play was uninspired and sluggish at best this season, and, like Michalek, he was injured for the playoffs.

Behind the bench, Cory Clouston achieved a rare milestone for the Senators — he lasted a full season as head coach. No easy feat, considering the death row of coaches that came before him: Craig Hartsburg (48 games), Bryan Murray (18 games) and John Paddock (64 games). When Clouston was brought in from the Senators farm team to replace Hartsburg midway through last season, he was seen by many as a place holder — a temporary replacement to tend the stables until the end of the season. However, he was brought back this year and has been a relative success. He took the Senators back to the playoffs after a one-year absence, lit a fire under Mike Fisher who had the best season of his ten-year career and turned the defensive pair of Anton Volchenkov and Chris Phillips into an elite NHL shutdown duo.

And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Senators season without a goaltending controversy. Pascal Leclaire was brought in late last season to assume the starting role, however his 09/10 season was derailed by injuries and inconsistent play. Cue backup Brian Elliott who stepped in and stole the number one spot, winning 29 of the 55 regular season games he started. Of course, Elliott’s wheels fell off at the worst possible time, as the young net minder allowed 14 goals in four playoff games, opening the door for Leclaire to reclaim his starting role. Leclaire was better, posting a 2.85 goals against average and .920 save percentage in three playoff games before the Senators were eliminated by the Penguins.

Considering the mountain of challenges they had to overcome in a tough 09/10 season, the Senators did pretty well for themselves with 94 points and a first round playoff series that saw them take the defending Stanley Cup champions — and favourites to repeat — to six games.

Next year is looking good too. The team has two good, young goaltenders, a physical edge (See: Neil, Chris or Sutton, Andy) and scoring in Fisher, Kovalev, Michalek, Jason Spezza and team captain Daniel Alfredsson. If the team can resign Volchenkov, the defence will be in good shape with him, Phillips, Chris Campoli and promising youngster Erik Karlsson. Not to mention Clouston who has proven he can coach at the NHL level. If Ottawa adds a piece or two via free agency in the summer, the team might not be far off from a deep playoff run — which is more than most other Canadian teams can say.

Done exams? Have a beer. (Or learn to knit.)

Exam season is almost over… which means you’re either really tired of studying, or have been done for ages and are now getting antsy for your friends to finish (I’m looking at you, English majors). Whatever the case, here’s a few more fun, cheap, and sufficiently awesome things to do in the near future.

Alanna Gurr

Alanna Gurr and The State Bird of Idaho, Opening for Daniel, Fred & Julie

Date: Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Time: 7pm
Location: Call the Office
Price: 8 bucks

I wonder if Alanna has exams right now. Whatever the case, this Western student is kicking off a night of absolutely delightful folk acts – with The State Bird of Idaho (aka Open House Arts Collective’s Paterson Hodgson) also opening, and Daniel, Fred & Julie (aka Daniel Romano of Attack In Black, Fred Squires of Shotgun & Jaybird, and Julie Doiron) headlining. If I wasn’t working that night, I would be there in a heartbeat. This show is bound to be magical. Check out the Facebook event here.

Handmade Festival

Handmade Festival

Date: Saturday, May 8, 2010
Time: 10am-4pm
Location: Central Library (251 Dundas St.)
Price: Free (but, you can buy stuff)

I got into a heated argument with some of my fellow editors the other nights on the merits of knitting. Let it be known: just because I don’t knit (or just can’t, hmph — happy now?) doesn’t mean I don’t respect it as an art form. Actually, I think it’s kind of cute. And maybe you will too after checking out the Handmade Festival, held by the city’s Handmade Collective, which celebrates handmade clothes, jewelry, knits, silk screens, photos, books, paintings, and more. There will be free (yes, FREE) arts & crafts workshops. Find out more on the Facebook event here.

This is a picture of beer.

Labbatt Brewery Tours

Location: Labbatt Brewery (150 Simcoe St.)
Price: 5 bucks

Labbatt founder John Kinder started making beer at this brewery 150 years ago. Coincidentally enough, that’s about how long exam season feels. Why not celebrate the end of exams (and avoid the awkwardness of Richmond Row being either deserted or filled with locals) with one of Labbatt’s two-hour brewery tours, complete with beer samples. Click here for more details.

Fans going overboard on Overbay

I get it, Toronto sports fans. You’re fickle. That’s why you cheer ridiculously when the Raptors score 100 points, entitling you to a voucher for a free slice of pizza that you probably won’t even redeem. That’s also why you boo Lyle Overbay pitch-by-pitch when he’s in the middle of a slump at the beginning of the season. It’s cool — you’re just not that bright.

The fact of the matter is, Lyle Overbay is not as bad as the boo birds at the Rogers Centre and the boobs on radio call in shows think he is. This is baseball — players slump. No one’s jumping all over Jays future franchise player Travis Snider, who is hitting .108 and slugging .243 this season.  If anything, Jays fans should be expecting far more power from Snider’s bat than Overbay’s. So why don’t they boo Snider at every at bat? His numbers are just as bad as Overbay’s.

A big problem with Overbay’s production comes against left-handed pitching. Overbay stopped hitting lefties two years ago — plain and simple. It doesn’t take much of a hitting coach to note Overbay hasn’t been the same against left-handers since John Danks broke his right wrist with a fastball on June 3, 2007. Clearly, the resulting spiral fracture and surgery Overbay had to correct the problem has affected his swing.

Before he was injured in 2007, Overbay hit .287 agaisnt lefties with a .472 slugging percentage. In 2008, after the surgery, Overbay hit just .215 against left-handers with a measly .255 slugging percentage. Those numbers got even worse in 2009 when he hit .190 and slugged .229.

This year? Overbay is 0 for 15 against lefties — a number that is absolutely killing his batting average (currently .080), which is the number most fans point to when criticizing Overbay’s performance this season. Take away those 15 at bats against lefties and his average goes up to .114. A point of reference? That would be the exact same batting average through Monday as New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixiera — who makes $20 million this year, by the way.

Why Cito Gaston insists on continually marching Overbay out against left-handed pitching at this point is beyond me. As I’ve said before, he has veteran slugger Randy Ruiz — who has hit at a pace of one home run per 12 at bats with the Blue Jays — on the bench who could easily sub in at first base instead of Overbay against left handers.

Gaston likes to stick with his guys, however, and won’t be working a platoon at first anytime soon. And even though I don’t agree with the move, I admit that it’s not the worst thing that could happen. This way Overbay can hit his way out of his slump, thus raising his trade value ahead of the July non-waiver trade deadline and giving Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos another chip to play with. Ship Overbay off to another team and clear the way for heavy hitting Jays prospect Brett Wallace to come up and get some major league at bats — nothing wrong with that.

Or keep Overbay until the end of the year — he is a free agent at the end of the season, after all. Eventually his numbers will improve and he’ll likely be a type B free agent, meaning the Jays will receive a compensatory pick when he signs elsewhere. And trust me, his numbers will improve.

Remember, last year Overbay was third on the Blue Jays in doubles, second in on base percentage and fourth in slugging percentage. His 16 home runs and 64 RBIs in 2009 were on par with Vernon Wells’ numbers (15 HR, 66 RBI) and Wells had almost 200 more plate appearances than Overbay.

Lyle Overbay is simply not a bad hitter. Sure, he won’t hit 30 home runs or 100 RBIs but a first baseman does not have to do that. One of the biggest misconceptions among fans is that the corner infielders must hit for power, your second baseman and shortstop can hit poorly as long as they play good defence and your centre fielder must be your leadoff man who steals bases. These are baseball stereotypes. Every team needs a good balance of contact, power and speed to be successful at the plate, but why do those attributes have to come from certain positions?

Who says the first baseman has to be a power hitter? That’s a ridiculous misconception. Overbay consistently gets on base, scores runs, moves runners along and works pitchers deep into counts. What’s not to like? If Jays fans got that from John McDonald, Alex Gonzalez, Jose Bautista or John Buck, they’d be over the moon.

I know you’re fickle, Toronto. But if you think Lyle Overbay is your biggest problem with the 2010 Blue Jays, you’re in for a long haul.

Chris Bosh has some tips for his boss

It’s fitting that the last image of Chris Bosh in a Toronto Raptors uniform fans will ever see was of the 6-10 power forward writhing in pain on the floor with a fractured nose and upper jaw, blood pouring from his face. After all, Bosh and Toronto fans have been headed for an ugly breakup for a long time now and someone was bound to get hurt.

Bosh is, of course, now officially an ex-Raptor. Not that I’ve talked to him about it or anything, but I’d say the likelihood of him returning to Toronto next season can be found on the back of his jersey — about 4%. I mean, just ask yourself: If you were Chris Bosh, would you stay?

Bosh has been Roy Halladay-esque since the Raptors season ended last Wednesday with a decisive victory over the New York Knicks which gave the team the distinction of finishing one game out of the playoffs instead of two. He’s answered all the questions, said he likes the city, insisted he hasn’t made up his mind and doesn’t know what the future holds, etc.  And, like Halladay, he said he wants to win — a prospect that isn’t particularly realistic in Southern Ontario at the moment. It took Halladay 11 seasons before he figured out it wasn’t going to happen in Toronto, forcing the Blue Jays to ship him to Philadelphia where he could hardly contain his excitement to have a chance at playing in the playoffs.
But give Bosh credit, he did lay out the factors that could make him consider returning. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the Raptors all-time leading rebounder and scorer said GM Bryan Colangelo must make changes to the current roster, convince ownership to spend in excess of the NBA’s luxury tax threshold and acquire an all-star player for him to play with. Fortunately, he stopped short of demanding the Air Canada Centre be renamed Chris Bosh Place. It’s noble of Bosh to give his boss advice on how to do his job — noble and severely misguided.

Don’t you think Colangelo would have done all of that by now if he could? Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment — who own the Raptors, the Maple Leafs, the Air Canada Centre, several condominiums and the wallets of Toronto sports fans — are certainly far from cash-strapped. If there was a premier free agent available who could elevate Toronto to a playoff team but force the Raptors to spend into the luxury-tax, surely Colangelo and MLSE would have brought him in by now. Playoff games in Toronto equal a big pay day, of course, and MLSE wouldn’t be silly enough to turn that down.

But there’s smart spending and there’s silly spending. And there have been few instances on the open market recently where it would make logical sense for the Raptors to open the vault to bring in talent. Especially in the NBA, you do not want to get weighed down by a mediocre player with a long, expensive contract.  Hedo Turkoglu immediately comes to mind.

So what else do you want, Chris? An all-star player to play with? Well, the problem is there just aren’t that many all stars in the league. At this year’s NBA all star game there were a total of 28 players — 10 starters and 18 reserves. Meanwhile, just six teams had more than one representative at the game — Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Denver, LA Lakers and Phoenix. A veritable who’s who of NBA playoff basketball year after year. There just aren’t that many teams with more than one all star and they happen to be the best of the best in the league — something the Raptors can only dream of.

Bosh is suggesting the Raptors put themselves in that group by acquiring another all-star caliber player, but he’s assuming that an all star would want to come and play in Toronto, a Canadian city with few opportunities for endorsements or American television exposure. Is it really a coincidence that Bosh — arguably the most underrated, under-appreciated and under-talked-about player in the league — just so happens to play in the oft-forgotten Northern market?

Sure, it’d be nice to bring in Lebron James or Dwyane Wade this off-season, but even the most naïve Raptor fan knows that’s wholly unrealistic. Do you really think Colangelo has been turning down opportunities to sign players of that caliber?

Bosh is as good as gone, which is fine. The Raptors will survive, rebuild around Turkoglu and Andrea Bargnani and hope to sneak into eighth place in the graveyard that is the Eastern Conference next year. But Bosh’s franchise advice is completely impractical and can also been seen as a shot at Colangelo’s team-building philosophy of recent years. Building a successful basketball team in Toronto is enough of a challenge — certainly Colangelo could do without Bosh’s advice.

Bored and (still) broke?

Here’s a few more fun things to do in the city this April. These’ll cost you a few bucks, but it’s still cheaper than a movie or night at the bar.

Aaron Lozynsky, playing at Grooves Records this Saturday

Tonight, April 16 at 9 p.m

Forest City Gallery Fundraiser – The FCG is hosting a fundraiser for artist Stacey Sproule’s upcoming performance-installation ‘Maidens, Spindles, and Mother-of-All’. There will be a chat with the artist as well as live musical performances. Cover is just 5 bucks.

Indie Showcase at the London Music Hall – Head to the London Music Hall lounge on Queens Ave. for some local bands starting at 9 p.m. Cover is only 5 bucks as well.

Saturday, April 17

Record Store Day at Grooves – Grooves Record Store is having a full day of live music at its Clarence St. location, with acts including Aaron Lozynsky, Sam Allen and Davita G. Drop by anytime from noon until 7 p.m. Click here for the full line-up.

Avatar, now playing at Western Film

Ongoing

Avatar at Western Film – If you’re like me and never bothered to see Avatar when it was all the rage, you can be sneaky and see it now at Western Film (minus the 3-D, unfortunately). Playing nightly at 7 p.m. from now until next Thursday. It’ll only cost you $4.20, and $3.00 on Tuesday.

Museum of Archeology – If you want to diversify your learning experience from nights spent cramming in Weldon, take a trip to the archeology museum. It’s only $3.25 for students, and has cool stuff like a reconstructed prehistoric Iroquois village.

Tiger’s out of his cage

At Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia yesterday, Tiger Woods answered his first set of questions from the media since the scandal surrounding infidelity broke last year.

“A lot has happened in my life over the past five months, and I’m here at the Masters to play and compete,” the golfer said to a room filled with media members yesterday.

The conference comes months after Woods’ public apology, where he spoke about his return to golf and the scandal surrounding him and his family. He took no questions at that press conference.

After an opening address yesterday, Woods apologized to fellow golfers for undue media attention. He then answered questions about his family and his return to golf. He called the “constant harassment” of his family one of the more difficult parts of the past months.

Reflecting on the practice round he played earlier that day, Woods said he received tremendous support from fans.

“I’ve made a conscious decision to try and tone down my negative outbursts. And consequently, I’m sure that my positive outbursts will be calmed down, as well,” he said.

“And that’s just trying to be more respectful of the game and acknowledge the fans, like I did today. That was just an incredible reception all day for all 18 holes. And show, you know, my appreciation for them. I haven’t done that in the past few years, and that was wrong of me.”

Woods is set to compete in the Masters this week.

— Stuart A. Thompson

Top 10 most popular sports articles of 2010

Not a single sports article made it into the top ten most popular Gazette articles of 2010. I know, it must be some sort of technological mishap. So I asked the Gazette‘s crack web team — see: Thompson, Stuart — to compile a list of the top ten most popular sports articles of 2010, based on unique hits to the website. Then I wrote insightful, occasionally rambly remarks to accompany them. Enjoy.

10. Mustangs keep playoff hopes alive

It was a tough season for the Mustangs women’s hockey team who lost ten games by just a goal on their way to finishing one point out of the playoffs. Head coach Paul Cook stepped down at the end of the season after accumulating a 53-99-21 record over his seven years at the helm. We were criticized for our coverage of the women’s hockey team here but I stand by our reporting. We cover the Mustangs — we are not their cheerleaders. It would be detrimental to our journalistic integrity if we wrote off poor play because the team ‘tried really hard’ or blamed officiating and bad bounces for losses. Some media outlets in this city and on this campus make a habit of that kind of unprofessional boosterism. Not the Gazette. Read the article.

9. Argos could be in play for Canadian QB

I wrote this blog ahead of the CFL’s annual evaluation camp in Toronto where several Canadian Interuniversity Sport athletes auditioned for jobs in the CFL. I felt that one of the three quarterbacks from the CIS had a pretty good shot at earning a contract with the Toronto Argonauts and, as it turned out, I was right — Danny Brannagan signed with the Boatmen the following Monday. Of course, Mustangs quarterback Michael Faulds was invited to the camp but had to sit out because he’s still recovering from a torn ACL which he suffered last season and played on throughout the playoffs. Whether a healthy Faulds would have earned a CFL contract at the evaluation camp remains — much like his future as a football player — up in the air. Read the article.

8. Men’s hockey off to semis

My fellow sports editor Daniel Da Silva wrote this recap of the Mustangs men’s hockey team’s opening round playoff series against the unnecessarily lengthily named University of Ontario Institute of Technology Ridgebacks. UOIT was a thorn in the Mustangs side all season long. They snapped Western’s 16-game winning streak in January, forced a shootout in the second-last game of the season and beat the Mustangs 2-1 at Thompson Arena in the opening game of the 2010 playoffs. The Mustangs got by UOIT in the first round of the playoffs but would eventually fall shy of their bid to return to the National Championships. Read the article.

7. Sixteen Things

This is the second of four of my blog posts to appear on this list which certainly bodes well for the Gazette’s increased web presence in 2010. This one dealt with the NHL’s participation — or lack thereof — at the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, the Toronto Raptors’ reliance on power forward Chris Bosh and the Toronto Blue Jays prospects for the coming season. If you ask me, it’s not my best work. Read the article.

6. Mustangs bury Guelph

This game story was written after a Mustangs women’s basketball mid-season game and for the life of me I cannot figure out why it is on the top ten list. I was lucky enough to cover the team several times this year and was always impressed with the commitment and hard work the girls showed on and off the court. Head coach Stephan Barrie is one of the most dedicated, caring coaches at this school and if you ever question the girls’ work ethic, just stroll down to their locker room post-game where you can find them running laps in the hall before they talk to the media or celebrate their victory. Read the article.

5. UFC spurs fresh interest in jiu-jitsu

One of our goals coming into the year was to cover the emergence of mixed martial arts on campus at Western, so you can imagine our excitement when Elton Hobson — a talented writer and MMA junkie — walked into our office this year looking to volunteer. Hobson wrote a three-part series on MMA in London, examining its connections to collegiate wrestling, the Western Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu club and…

4. Adrenaline powers London MMA boom

…Adrenaline MMA, one of London’s premier MMA training grounds and the home of six-time UFC pay-per-view veteran Sam Stout who has helped put London, ON on the MMA map. We sent Hobson to Adrenaline where Rowan Cunningham, who holds a 6-3 MMA record, showed our brave reporter the ropes, literally tying Hobson into knots. See the story for the photographic evidence and be sure to read the first and second installments of the series, as well. Part one. Part two. Part three.

3. Brannagan will have steep hill to climb

The Zwellin’ it like it is blog accounts for the bronze and silver positions on this list, starting with this blog that I wrote after Queen’s QB Danny Brannagan signed with the Toronto Argonauts. Brannagan’s signing was great news for the CIS and Canadian quarterbacks in general, seeing as it’s been 14 years since a Canadian started a CFL game under centre. But it will certainly be tough for Brannagan to crack the Argos roster out of training camp against Gibran Hamdan and Cleo Lemon — both former NFL QBs. Not to mention Dalton Bell who played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders last season. Read the article.

2. Fourteen Things

“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” I reckon Mark Twain and I would have gotten along just fine. Despite coming in at a healthy 1,664 words — a word count that would be considered blasphemy to most bloggers — this was the second most read sports piece of 2010. This one came during a particularly busy period in professional sports, with NHL teams wheeling and dealing, head shots coming to a front at all levels of hockey, the Blue Jays making a free agent splash and the tragic death of Brendan Burke, son to father Bryan who is the Toronto Maple Leafs President and G.M. I also have to give a hat tip to Gazette alumnus Elliotte Friedman whose blog inspired me to break up my own with numbers to make it more palatable for those with short attention… um, what was I talking about? Read the article.

1. Mustangs have high hopes for CFL

Rounding out the top ten is my story about three Mustangs football players — Josh Buttrill, Conor Elliott and Chris Greaves — who took part in the CFL’s annual evaluation camp in Toronto ahead of the CFL draft. The popularity of this story was due in big part to Twitter where the CFL — hat tip to Jaime Stein — and its fans picked up on it. It was an exciting year for the Gazette on Twitter and this story demonstrated how we can use the tool to expose our work to a readership well beyond Western’s campus. The fantastic, honest quotes I got from the guys didn’t hurt either. Read the article.

The Gazette’s favourite articles

So we’ve posted top 10 sports, A&E and overall stories for the year. Now it’s time for us to decide. Our Front Office — made of three full-time paid employees including the Editor-in-Chief — chose the best articles of the year and awarded them at an annual Gazette gala. Below you’ll find all the articles selected.

Excellence in Hard News

“Midterms prompt policy discussion” by Shreya Tekriwal, Oct. 29

While final exams give accommodation for students writing three tests within a 24-hour period, midterm season isn’t so easy. Students with crammed midterm schedules were dead in the water without help from Western. Shreya investigated the situation and provided a concise hard news recap to snatch the award.

Excellence in Colour News

“Slacktivism catching on” — Stuart A. Thompson, Dec. 9

A business in the US started asking Internet users to donate moments of their time to make a big difference. While writing the article, I learned that “microvolunteering” was part of a larger issue — slacktivism — which finds people joining Facebook groups more than volunteering. The article chronicled some of the ups and downs of slacktivism and picked up an award for colour news.

Excellence in News Features

“The Price of Power” — Mike Hayes, Jan. 29

During election season, Mike grabbed a few anonymous whistle-blowers to expose one big flaw in the elections process — reporting campaign spending. The USC requires campaigns to spend within an allotted amount, but candidates apparently go over this amount at will.

Excellence in Sports Writing

Josh Buttrill hangs his head in disappointment.

“Queen’s 43 Western 39, Vanier Hopes dashed” Arden Zwelling, Nov. 16

One of the most exciting football games in recent victory, Arden travelled to Kingston to cover this season-ending game between Queen’s and Western. It was the only sports story this year to grace the front page.

Excellence in Arts & Entertainment Writing

“Owen Pallett creates fantasy world on lastest album” — Maddie Leznoff, Feb. 23

This interview with Canadian song-man Owen Pallett caught much attention after it was published, partly due to a recent name change and album release getting loads of coverage in the popular and indie press. The timely interview was skillfully written by A&E Editor Maddie Leznoff.

Excellence in Feature Writing

“Comic Books – Why they aren’t just for your kid brother” — Meagan Kashty, Jan. 8

Possibly the most dashing cover of the year for a feature, Meagan’s profile on comic books and comic book collectors was a super article. Though lengthy, Meagan brought in a number of angles and sources to give the unusual topic some human interest.

Excellence in Special Issue Writing

“Adventures in Blind Date Land” — Jesse Tahirali — Sex Issue

Known more for his comics than writing, Jesse started venturing into the written word more than ever this year. As part of the Sex Issue, we set up editors on a blind date and force them to repeat the awkward interaction for the world to see. His unique and honest writing style gave this article a touching, hilarious vibe.

Excellence in Blogging

Cooking with Grace — Grace Davis

The one and only Grace Davis took into the blogging world with a video and recipe blog that garnered much attention. We even heard the blog was featured in a feasibility project by some business students as proof that an on-campus cooking show could work.

Bored and broke?

At this point in the year, most of us are spending all our time in Club Weldon and way too broke to go to a real club. But there has to be stuff to do in this town to get our minds off studying without breaking the bank. I’ve been doing some digging to find free (or nearly free) events happening throughout the exam season.

For starters, check out the London Tourism website ­­–– they have special coupon offers for places like Fleetway and Palasad. And keep reading for totally free stuff happening in April.

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Yoga in the Park

Did you know Lululemon hosts free yoga classes? I didn’t until a couple days ago. But I’m thrilled to hear there will be classes the next two Thursdays — April 15 in Covent Garden Market and April 22 in Victoria Park. They’re happening at noon, making it perfect midday stress relief (and a good chance to stretch out muscles made cramped by hours of studying).

For more info, head to: lululemon.com/londonontario/masonville

The Whipping Wind

Oh! Fest – Free Concerts

None of the Open House Arts Collective concerts happening throughout Oh! Fest (April 22-24) will hit your wallet too hard, with prices ranging from $7 to $12. There’s also a couple free shows for broke folks still hoping to see some up-and-coming bands. On April 22, The CFL Sessions and Jon Mckiel will be playing for free at Grooves Records. You can catch The Whipping Wind and Kite Hill the next day for free as well — same time, same place.

For more info, head to: ohfest.com

Cronyn Observatory (It's beside Alumni Hall, in case you were wondering.)

Stargazing on Campus

This could make for a cute exam season date and it doesn’t cost a penny. With the help of volunteers from the London Centre of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, Western is hosting some public events on campus at Croyn Observatory — including an open house on April 23 from 7-10 p.m. The night will start with a slide show presentation followed by a chance to use the facility’s big telescope to look at stars and planets and stuff. It’s super nerdy, and totally free.

For more info, head to: www.astro.uwo.ca/exploringthestars

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Know of some fun, free events? Shoot me an email.

JRMA award winners announced

Local artists were celebrated at the fifth annual Jack Richardson Music Awards last Sunday. The awards show, named after famous producer and former Fanshawe College instructor Jack Richardson, included performances from a variety genres including traditional folk to contemporary rock.

Among the winners was Hall of Fame inductee Amabile Choirs, which celebrated 25 years of performing this year. The choir was founded in 1985 and includes approximately 300 choristers from age eight to adult.

Also awarded was EMAC Recording Studios. The 30-year-old studio’s recent accomplishments include the Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan’s latest album and voice work with actor Christopher Plummer for the Pixar movie Up.

The full list of winners:

Blues/R & B – Chris Murphy Band
Country – Chris Hart
Bluegrass – The Dixie Flyers
Traditional Folk/Roots – Olenka and the Autumn Lovers
World Music – The Alfredo Caxaj Latin Ensemble
Contemporary Singer/Songwriter – Allison Brown
Rock – The Joys
Metal – (tie) The Jettison Commitment, Heaven Ablaze
Punk – The Alcohollys
Electronic Artist – Noise Level
Club DJ – Incredible Melting Man
Hip-Hop – Orlando Valencia
Jazz – John Noubarian
Classical (Voice) – Sonja Gustafson
Classical (Instrumental) – Joseph Lanza, violin 37
Classical (Choir/Choral) – London Pro Musica – Ken Fleet
Classical (Group) – Orchestra London – Timothy Vernon
Recording Studio – EMAC
Live Venue – The Aeolian Performing Arts Centre
Youth – (tie) Militant (John Paul II), Undying Promise (Central Elgin Collegiate Institute)
Contributor – Catherine McInnes
Fan Favorite (Original) – Ben G
Fan Favorite (Tribute/Cover) – Doug Varty – “Bryan Adams Tribute”

Top 10 Most Popular A&E Articles of 2010

This year was an interesting one to be an Arts & Entertainment editor. There were a few staff changes in first semester (challenging) and new web & blog capabilities (fun!). It also turned out to be the last A&E section ever, as our focus has broadened to encompass lifestyles articles in next year’s Arts & Life section. Check out what were the most read stories for 2010 in the Gazette’s final A&E section.

10. Burton’s Wonderland not-so-wonderful after all

#10: Alice in Wonderland's Mia Wasikowska

Readers must have enjoyed Eliot Hong’s review of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland remake. Eliot, however, didn’t really enjoy the movie — he only gave it 2.5 stars. Read the review here.

9. Exhibit depicts humans as true natural disaster

Who says no one reads stories on visual art? The ninth most-read story of the year goes to a little piece by Erin Ward on a cool exhibition at Macintosh Gallery. It was all about how humans are “natural disasters” through their colonialism, commodification and excessive consumption. Hippies everywhere rejoiced. Read it here.

8. Olenka and the Autumn Lovers play winter show

#8: Olenka and the Autumn Lovers - photo by Corey Stanford

We know, we know. We cover Oh! events a tad much. But that’s because we like them — and you all seem to like them too. Fabio Bondi scored an interview with Olenka Krakus and also the eighth most-read A&E story of 2010. Check it out.

7. Eight Grocery Shopping Tips for Students

Proof of why we’re expanding to encompass lifestyles articles: Grace Davis, sports-editor-turned-Gazette-resident-chef, wrote this practical piece about how to grocery shop, and it was re-tweeted and shared so much that it landed the seventh spot on our list. Hey, we all need to eat! Read Grace’s tips here.

6. Too cheap or not too cheap… that is the question

#6: Cheap chic versus brand name

My blog post comparing chic-cheap clothing with more expensive brand name options — that took me about 10 minutes to write — landed the 6th spot on this list. A similar article I did for the print version of the paper, which involved much more time and research, didn’t even crack the top ten. The people have spoken! Read the blog here, and check out the handy accompanying cost breakdown graphic by Stu.

5. Fashion Profile – Shikha Dilawri

The blog trend continues! Resident fashion blogger Nicole Venegas’ only fashion profile post took fifth place. Check it out here to see the fantastic outfits of a fellow Western student, Shikha Delawri.

4. Models strut their stuff for Haiti

A joint column on the UWO Style Society’s fashion show by all three of us A&E editors — Maddie Leznoff, Nicole Gibillini and myself — was heavily retweeted. Probably by UWO Style Society members. But no matter! We claimed the fourth most popular story of the year. Fashion reigns supreme again. Read it here.

3. Five Minute Mini Cake!

Adorable. Delicious. Quick. Not to mention microwavable. Everything about this cute recipe from Grace — and the accompanying video — is just lovely. It’s no wonder it gained some significant website traffic. Watch the video here.

2. Banana Peanut Butter French Toast

#2: Grace Davis makes peanut butter french toast on "Cooking with Grace"

Grace’s first food blog ever scored even more web hits. If anyone is questioning our shift to Arts & Life, this ought to be enough to persuade you, since “Cooking with Grace” took 2 of the 3 top spots for most popular stories of the year.  Watch this yummy video.

1. “Think Rich, Look Poor”

#1: Fashion blog takes top spot - Photo by Nicole Venegas

Nicole Venegas’ blog post about the UWO Style Society fashion show totally trumped our column (see above) on the same topic. Jam-packed with pictures, this post was not only the top A&E story of the year, but the third most read story on the website in general. Campus fashionistas have spoken: you like style & fashion stories. Expect more next year. To see more fabulous outfits on the catwalk, read the blog post here.

Crab Dip (or wrap!)

Picture this… You’re having someone important over: colleagues, grandparents, your significant other’s parents — take your pick. It’d be nice if you could impress them with your mad cooking skills, right? This appetizer tastes awesome and looks impressive. It’s easy, cheap, and when you add the word “crab,” it automatically sounds fancy.

Even if you aren’t hosting a fancy function, you can throw it in a pita or wrap for dinner.

My housemate, Alicia Trevisonn, is the one that shared this brilliant recipe with me.

Ingredients:

• 1 package of imitation crab meat
• 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese
• 1/2 red pepper
• chopped red onion
• Approximately 2 tablespoons of mayo
• salt and pepper
• garlic salt
• chopped cilantro (optional)
• crackers

In case you’re unfamiliar with what to look for when I say “imitation crab meat,” this is the one I used (brand doesn’t matter, this is just to give you an idea).

I found it in the seafood section of the grocery store

Directions:

- Chop the crab meat into little bits

- Chop onion, red pepper, and grate the cheese

- Combine all ingredients
- Microwave on high for one minute (until the cheese is fully melted)

- Serve immediately with crackers

The mixture can also be used for wraps or pita’s to make a tasty lunch.