But coming into the 2010 OUA football season, one thing is clear — this year’s competition is truly a crapshoot. Five of the ten…. errr nine teams have a legitimate shot at advancing to the Yates Cup, which is why the myriad of preseason rankings that currently litter the internet are kind of incredibly pointless.

So in lieu of irrelevant rankings based on silly things like talent, coaching or personnel, I’ve accumulated rankings based on optimism — ordered from those with the highest aspirations going into the season to the teams wallowing in despair.

As Larry Dobrow — whose awesome weekly MLB  power rankings and MLB optimism index are the inspiration for this experiment — put it, “think of it as a power rankings for your feelings.”

So here it is — your first ever OUA optimism rankings, along with selected notes and an optimism measure which I assure you is entirely arbitrary and based on absolutely nothing.

Photo by Jeff Chan

All photos courtesy of the incomparable Jeff Chan.

Ottawa Gee Gee’s — 96.4 — Aggressively confident

• The Gee Gee’s are singlehandedly keeping Ottawa bus drivers in business with their annually atrocious travel schedule. They get a bit of a break by drawing a date in Kingston and a bit of a kick in the teeth by opening their season in Windsor. It’s only 800 km…
• Of course, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. The Gee Gee’s went 4-0 on the road in 2009 but just 2-3 at home including their 27-15 playoff loss to McMaster.
• Tough to pinpoint why, but the Gee Gee’s have under-performed the last few years. Will rookie head coach Jean-Philippe Asselin — who, at 27-years-old, could probably play on this team — help shake them out of their funk?
• QB Brad Sinopoli is suddenly the most experienced pivot in the league after the three musketeers (Faulds, Brannagan, Dunk) moved on. He had a quietly impressive season — 11 touchdowns, 2084 yards — in 2009
• The team will field a starting lineup made up almost entirely of fifth year players — I guess they just like education that much…
• I’d love to make more fun of the Gee Gee’s here, but I’m struggling — this team actually looks really good.

Wilfrid Laurier Golden Hawks  — 90.2 — Firmly undaunted

Dillon Heap and head coach Gary Jeffries. Photo by Jeff Chan.

• This could be trouble. Taurean Allen is off to the CFL, Chime Ihekwoaba is gone to the NFL and Courtney Stephen is lost to the NCAA. Suddenly one of the scariest defences in the league doesn’t look so frightening.
• What they do have is a nifty training camp video featuring the Remember the Titans — “Are you sure football is fun!?!?!?” —  ‘run up and down the stadium stairs workout.
• Dillon Heap returns with his Tasmanian devil routine on kick returns. He’s easily the most exciting returner in the OUA.
• Meanwhile, University of Waterloo deserter Dustin Zender crosses University Ave. to join the Golden Hawks receiving corps and take some of the weightoff the shoulders ofHeap and Shamawd Chambers .
• No wonder the quarterback position is such a big question mark for so many OUA teams this year — Laurier is hogging all of them. They have three quarterbacks (incumbent Luke Thompson, last year’s second stringer turned starter Evan Pawliuk and NCAA transfer Shane Kelly) who can easily play well in this league. Someone’s not going to be happy with their playing time in that locker room.
• Not much to see on defence but if your ridiculously loaded offence can score 50+ points a game, what does it really matter?
• Slot back Vince Luciani has easily the best twitter account in the CIS. Never underestimate the value of street cred.
• Running back Mike Montoya and his Jersey Shore arms bench pressed 225 lbs 40 times at the CFL’s evaluation camp last year. Of course those wel-sculpted guns don’t really help when it comes to holding onto the football — he had more fumbles than touchdowns last season. But when you lead the league in rushing I suppose it doesn’t really matter.

McMaster Marauders — 88.7 — Discreetly promising

• There is legitimate reason to be optimistic here. The Marauders kind of resemble the 2009 Queen’s Gaels — a solid core of cohesive veterans who have been playing together for years. Add a division weakened by losing its top three quarterbacks and it could be a perfect storm for a McMaster run in the playoffs this year. Seriously…
• Sometimes it’s easy to forget that CIS football players are also full time students enrolled in anywhere from three to five courses per semester. Apparently Marauders cornerback Cody Lynch forgot about that too — after being named the OUA rookie of the year in 2009 he promptly flunked out of school.
• Marauders kicker Andrew Waugh was 9 for 12 on field goals last year which apparently wasn’t good enough to stop McMaster from recruiting kicking wizard Tyler Crapigna who may just be the next Rob Maver. Nice knowing ya, Andrew.
• Head coach Stefan Ptaszek’s name may be hard to pronounce, but he’s one of the craftier coaches in the OUA and hasn’t had a losing record in the regular season since he took over in 2006.
• The Marauders are probably regretting whatever they have done to scorn the OUA schedule-maker — they play Queen’s, Laurier, Western and Ottawa in their first four games.

Western Mustangs — 85.3 — Cautiously optimistic

Donnie Marshall (7) chats with his father and head coach Greg Marshall, left, and his predecessor Michael Faulds, right. Photo by Jeff Chan.

• Michael Faulds, who carried the team — sometimes on just one leg — for the past five years, is gone — off to York to pursue a career in coaching.
• Who will step up to fill the void? Donnie Marshall, the coach’s son? Ben Rossong, the incoming east coast phenom?  Jack Fairs, the former Mustangs basketball, hockey and tennis athlete who also played both ways for the football team and is currently the Mustangs squash coach? Okay maybe that last one is a stretch. But nevertheless, intrigue!
• Defensive Lineman Mike Van Praet is healthy — well, as healthy as you can be at 300+ pounds — and was recently described as a “dyke” by the London Free Press. Ummm… sure! UWO will just be happy if he can fill the void left by Chris Greaves who now plies his trade for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
• Running back Nathan Riva will be busy. If he can run for 200 yards a game like he did in the playoffs last year then maybe this team has a chance! Look for timeless head coach Greg Marshall — he’s still got it! — to call his own number and take over the running back duties if Riva falters.
• And as I write that Riva tears his hamstring in training camp. Panic! Does anyone have Da’Shawn Thomas’ cell number?
• Lil’ Wayne fan and occasional Gazette model John Surla — the 2009 OUA defensive player of the year — still patrols the secondary at TD Waterhouse, which is bad for opposition running backs but good for trash talk enthusiasts.
• WR Brian Marshall — son of head coach Greg, brother of QB Donnie, nephew of 80’s era FB Blake, not related to former Golden State Warriors small forward Donyell — joins the team as the Marshall brood’s plan to turn the Mustangs into a family business continues to evolve.
• Thanks to the wisenheimers at Waterloo, the Mustangs now open the season with three games in 11 days.
• My office is on the campus of the University of Western Ontario so be my guest and question this, but I think this Mustangs team is being seriously under-rated in pre-season polling.

Queen’s Gaels — 83.1 — Basking in the glow

• The good news is they’re still technically the national champions until November 27. The bad news? They lost the entire core of their team. Minor detail…
• Last season the Gaels’ offensive line was a lot like the mother hen at the bar on Saturday night — nothing was getting through that. But with several new faces this season, things could get rather uncomfortable for the Gaels quarterback…
• Oh yeah, who the hell is going to play quarterback? Justin Chapdelaine would seem to have the inside track, but he’s going to have a steep learning curve. He was sacked three times in the extremely limited action he saw last season. A point of reference? Danny Brannagan — who took 98% of the snaps — was sacked just five times all season…
• Whoever gets the call behind centre will certainly have some targets to throw too. Devan Sheahan, Blaise Morrison and Chris Ioannides will spread defences like butter.
• The defence is Osie Ukwuoma’s unit now, I guess. But when your best defensive player past him is probably sophomore Frank Pankewich, we may have a problem.
• I will say this — Ben D’Andrea, Alex Daprato and Stephen Laporte picked up their games defensively in the 2009 playoffs when it counted. Especially in the Vanier Cup.
• Of course the biggest advantage for the Gaels is Richardson Stadium, the dilapidated grassy abyss… I mean… football field they play on. They haven’t lost a regular season game at home since 2007.

The Gaels offensive line was their mother hen in 2009. Photo by Jeff Chan.

Gryphons — 73.4 — Shaken resolve

• Good news for people who like bad news — the Gryphons lost easily their three best players from 2009 in QB Justin Dunk, K Rob Maver and OL Ryan Bomben.
• Standout running back Nick FitzGibbon is still around but past him things get real iffy on the offensive side of the ball which is traditionally a strength for the Gryphons.
• True story — Dunk is the sports editor for the Guelph student newspaper The Ontarion this year. Objectivity is overrated anyway…
• We are talking about optimism here and, quite frankly, second year QB Chris Rossetti doesn’t inspire confidence in anybody.
• Conventional wisdom says defence wins football games so respect to the Gryphons for thinking outside the box by not fielding one. This is easily still one of the worst defensive units outside of metropolitan Toronto. They allowed an astronomical 490 yards per game last season.
• Another true story — At last year’s homecoming game, the nor’ westerly wind caught the cloud of marijuana smoke that hung over Guelph campus and blew it down onto the sidelines of the Western Mustangs. The Gryphons were almost able to beat their suddenly timid and hungry foes, but Western held on for the 41-39 win. Good try, fellas…
• Incoming Head Coach Stu Lang — who won hearts when he said he would coach the team if they only paid him a dollar — brings two full time coordinators with him who should help over-complicate things for this young Gryphons squad.
• New coaching staff, same atrocious defence, young yet underwhelming offence — this is a team just trying to tread water

University of Toronto Varsity Blues — 60.3 — Gaining courage

• Oh, silly U of T. Investing all of your money into academics and research instead of athletics. Idiots…
• The Blues are actually fairly excited about their backfield this year. Really, no joke. Walter Cariazo — who is deceptively speedy — returns to battle for snaps with University of Toledo — like, the NCAA division one University of Toledo — transfer Chris Weiland and prized recruit Keema Nnawuchi.
• Here’s a reason for optimism: They have the Neate Sager bump. The CIS guru — and unabashed Queen’s supporter — actually picked this team to finish 3-5 and earn the sixth and final OUA playoff spot.
• Here’s a reason to forget about that optimism: the team does not have a defence. They gave up 500 yards per game last season and didn’t make a single significant addition to the unit in the off season.
• Andrew Gillis is back behind centre. Surely he’s familiar with the playbook but it doesn’t really matter when half your snaps just turn into scrambles anyway. If only he had some semblance of an offensive line we could actually see what it’s like when he passes the ball.
• The Varsity Blues are kind of like Entourage — Any given week you might get a good surprise individual performance but as a whole it’s pretty bad.

Windsor Lancers — 42.1 — Secure with own inadequacy

• Wait, these guys still have a team?
• Kinda like how standing next to the pimply kid with the lazy eye in class pictures always made you look better by comparison, not much attention has been paid to the Lancers’ futility in recent years because, well, York and Toronto are just a bit better at being terrible.
• The Lancers made absolutely zero sense in 2009, only managing to beat the putrid York Lions by three points and allowing Waterloo to shut them out 49-0, while at the same time losing to McMaster by just a point and putting up a good fight against Ottawa in the final week of the season. Why don’t things ever just happen the way they’re supposed to in this league?
• Say what you will about the Warriors, they certainly make things interesting. They managed to lose to McMaster in overtime last year when they blocked a field goal and returned it for a touchdown only to have the play negated by a blocking penalty, giving McMaster a single point and the win.
• I really, really want to mention a couple notable incoming players for this season, but it’s just a wasteland of poor recruiting and misused resources.
• Their perceived advantage in American recruitment — Like Brett Favre’s retirement and hangover-free beer — was unfortunately just too good to be true.
• There is a very real possibility that this team could drop below Toronto if they don’t get their act together. And that’s something I never thought I would write.

York Lions — 24.9 Soul-crushing despair

• Optimism? What is this optimism that you speak of?
  

  York quarterback Nickolas Coutu. Photo by Jeff Chan.

• True optimists will tell you that, like Shania Twain in a basement elevator, the Lions can only go up from here. Unless they somehow get worse this year — which is actually a possibility…
• Last season the Lions defensive strategy basically consisted of trying to hold the opposing team to under 50 points — a feat they only accomplished in half their games…
• The last time York won a game? September 29, 2007 when they beat the University of Toronto 21-20 in a barn burner that saw both teams punt for more yards than they collected offensively. We’d all like to pretend that debacle never happened, but until York wins again — don’t hold your breath — it’s a part of history…
• The season should get off on the right foot — the Lions chose to play their only preseason game against perennial Vanier Cup favourites Laval for reasons that can only be explained as masochistic.
• Unless they can figure out how to multiply his DNA and begin farming an army of football players in his mold, it’s doubtful that former Mustangs QB and CIS all-time leading passer Michael Faulds can save this offence as its new coordinator.
• But look on the bright side, not many teams boast offensive coordinators who are better athletes than the majority of the team. So they’ve got that.

Waterloo Warriors — 2.9 — Awkwardly lingering

• Waterloo looks to challenge this year with a good core of returning players plus a talented class of incoming recruits. They’ll have strong contributions from…
• What’s that? They arrested who? And the school did what? For the entire season? Oh… This is awkward….

If you’re starting to get a little panicky about summer almost being over, distract yourself by picking some beautiful summer blueberries and trying this dish out!

Ingredients:

- Approximately 4 cups of blueberries

- 1 heaping cup of oatmeal

- 1/2 cup of flour

- 1/4 cup of brown sugar

- 1 tsp of cinnamon

- 2 tbsp of coconut oil, margarine, or shortening

Directions:

1. Thoroughly wash blueberries

2. Pick through the blueberries, removing stems and any rotten blueberries.

3. Place the blueberries in a strainer and let them drip dry.

4. Preheat oven to 350.

5. Using wax paper or paper towel, grease a deep dish baking pan with margarine, coconut oil, or shortening.

6. Spread blueberries in the pan

7. Measure one heaping cup of instant oatmeal (or 4 packets of oatmeal). For a healthier option, use rolled oats.

8. Measure 1/2 cup of flour – either all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, or spelt flour.

9. Combine ingredients.

10. Measure one teaspoon of cinnamon and add to ingredients.

11.  Measure 1/4 cup of brown sugar and pat down in measuring cup. For a healthier option, 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of chicolin stevia mix.

12. Thoroughly mix ingredients.

13. Measure 2 tablespoons of either margarine, coconut oil, or shortening. We used coconut oil.

14. Using a spoon, begin mixing the coconut oil in with the dry ingredients. Use your hands to squeeze the ingredients together to create a crumble.

15. Evenly spread the crumble over the blueberries.

16. Cover the crumble with a lid or tin foil and bake for 30 minutes. Once the blueberries start bubbling, remove the covering for approximately 10 minutes to brown the top. Be careful not to burn the top.

Serve warm by itself or with yogurt, ice cream, and tea. Enjoy!

Feel free to comment or follow me on Twitter.

Live blog:

11:51 am

We’re on to new business. No new business. Motion to adjourn. All in favour? Meeting fizzles to a close.

Thanks for following this live blog. Comment below or follow me on Twitter and let me know what you think.

11:48 am

We originally reported that the gym renovation would end in November. Then they presumed it would start early July for an end date in December, according to Tomlinson. Now it’s pushed back to February.

Obviously this conflicts with promises made about the gyms being available this year.

I wonder how students will react to this.

“I predict that students will be very frustrated with this,” Rygier says.

There will also be a naming contest. Can I predict the “Purple Lounge”?

11:41 am

Note: The difference between budgeted amount and actual amount is $ 648,595.76 and this represents only the project-to-date amount. This is not the difference between what they expected to pay and what they’re actually paying. This just represents what they haven’t purchased yet, but that they will pruchase.

The process of Western negotiating with the contractor took four weeks where construction couldn’t happen.

The demolition crew that the contractor subcontracted wasn’t qualified to do all of the work specified in the gyms. There’s some removal of material that needs to be handled by specific crews. The contractor acknowledges that they screwed up and they’re finding someone to do it. Removing some of that material won’t happen until they find a new team to do the work, which could cause some delays and will increase the cost.

“We don’t oversee the project. We oversee the people that oversee the project. We have no power over the situation,” Rygier says. “We acknowledge, as we understood, that there will be some cost increases from this.”

11:31 am

Now the big question on everyone’s mind. Now that they’re doing it for probably a loss, will they be cutting corners?

“The answer is patently no,” Rygier says.

There’s a giant book that specifies everything they have to use, including what nails and screws they need to use. Tomlinson and others are down there watching that they won’t cut corners. The likelihood of getting “shoddy” renovation are very low, Rygier says.

The contractor understands they’re in a loss position and their entire margin has been shaved. What typical happens now is that if anything changes about the project, the contractor will only relent after the USC pays a premium.

“We don’t intend to change anything,” Rygier says.

11:29 am

Okay, we’re onto the gym renovation. This will be a lot of information. I’ll try to keep up.

The USC got a bunch of bids and one was extremely lower than they expected. USC policy is to take the lowest bid. “The bid was significantly lower and that’s usually because there was a mistake in the bidding process,” Rygier says.

The contractor did leave some things out of the bid, but nothing that was needed.

This is where it gets dramatic.

The contractor was interested in pulling out of the project but due to some technicalities and legalities, they can’t without paying a “bid bond.” Western wouldn’t allow them to to turn down the project without surrendering that amount of money.

If they do the project, they would do it for a loss (but just about break-even). Western thought they would give up the bid bond and walk away. Western forced the contractor to make a decision to ahead with the project or give up the bid bond.

The contractor went in favour of doing the project rather than surrendering the money.

11:25 am

Paul Tomlinson arrived a few minutes ago. He’ll make sure the USC has that name registered. Wellington suggests getting the domain name. Tip: Someone should buy it right now and resell it to the USC.

11:23 am

It’s official. Mustang Alley will be renamed the Purple Store.

11:21 am

Me, taking a picture of the meeting. Photo courtesy of Ely Rygier.

Touché, Ely. A photo of me taking a photo of the meeting.

11:16 am

He also cautions the executive and The Gazette on how discussions are characterized. There’s a difference between casual talks and serious ones. I’ve reported on both here, I hope you can tell the difference.

11:13 am

“If we’re going to hold things back from students, there should be a good reason,” Bortolin says.

One criteria is if it could adversely affect the corporation. It’s a broad criteria you could apply to anything if you really wanted to, Bortolin says. He advises the USC use it sparingly.

Some examples:

• The gym renovations. They were in negotiations, so they don’t want to say what their budget is and contingencies are, because it undermines their position with the contractor.
• The USC budget in its draft form is confidential. We saw some of this yesterday at the Town Hall staff meeting. Usually this relates to someone’s salary. It’s also a topic for the finance committee, which is confidential.
• If a discussion or decision “hinges” on a confidential matter then the entirety of it is. You don’t want to publish something about an incomplete decision, he advises.

Bortolin is working with the USC through the summer and will be doing some part-time work come September when he starts law school.

11:07 am

Will Bortolin

Will Bortolin’s talking about how to make meetings public vs. confidential. They’re going to move “in camera” items to the end of the meeting. “In camera” is latin for “in chambers,” Bortolin explains.

My tip: If you want people to come, don’t host your meeting in the board room. It’s a tiny room and the door’s closed. (But it’s OK, council chambers are under massive construction.)

I’m trying to get a picture of the room up but it’s taking a long time to send to my email.

11:03 am

They’re looking at speakers for this year. “I want Stephen Colbert so badly, he’d be awesome,” Tithecott says.

11:01 am

The executive retreat is tomorrow. I thought they just went to California? But this one is “a lot of work,” according to Tithecott.

Mike’s also meeting with the new London police chief and Project LEARN soon.

Mike’s interested in writing a monthly column for the London Free Press. Seriously? Not sure where this idea comes from.

10:57 am

Mike’s the mentor for all residence leadership floors. Two at Saugeen and one at Perth. Mike will go once a month and talk to RAs and frosh.

For execs, Mike wants them to take on about five students for mentorships. First-year students who want to get involved in the USC but who couldn’t get on council. It’s very preliminary.

The laptop sharing program. They’re looking at different schools and the models. There’s rent-to-own programs, sign-up for a month. They’re looking for the best option. They’ve already bought laptops. I remember calling out Mike on this during the campaign and predicting it wouldn’t happen. So kudos for getting this far.

The Key To Western, another platform point, is coming and may be called the USC for Dummies. Should be ready for P-Fest, aka Purple Fest, aka USC Week.

10:53 am

USC President Skywalker

Mike’s working on getting late night bussing.

He met with Western President Amit Chakma recently. They talked about conciliatory phase with UWOFA, the faculty union. They’re in talks right now. If UWOFA rules “no board,” it’s a strike position, then the USC will have to start preparing for that.

10:50 am

TAs have a “cultural diversity sessions” but it’s not mandatory. If this new TA training happens, it may be an option instead of mandatory. Still in the preliminary stages, though, Kerr says.

10:48 am

Scott Kerr, the quiet one (and VP campus issues)

Ally training is now mandatory for all sophs, thanks to Mark, Kerr says. USC executives, staff, Student Life to take sexual violence prevention and awareness training in preparation for introducing that to sophs as well.

There’s something called a “Sport Services Centre” that’ll open for at the beginning of school or close to then. New carpet, new painting.

Work study position for a women’s resource centre. Kerr says work study students are great because they apply to a program and “get free people working for us, essentially.” It’s true and a good idea in my opinion.

More mandatory training, like discrimination and awareness training, may be coming for TAs.

Another blue light is coming on campus. These lights are used for emergencies — you’ll see one at the bottom of Talbot Hill. They cost $ 30,000. “It’s worth every penny if you ask me,” Kerr says.

10:40 am

Justin Mackie, VP student events

Justin is apparently in charge of the official Twitter account. “We have a Twitter account and the first tweet is coming soon!” he says. “I’m still learning the tweeting lingo. [...] Everyone has those crazy numbers signs and then a word.” He seems unsure about Twitter.

Charity Ball applications are in and they’ll review them in September, deciding on a charity in late September.

I should also mention that Ely said they’ll be renaming Mustang Alley into the Purple Store. I’ve decided the USC owns a creativity equation that goes like this:

• Purple + any word in the English language = great idea

These include:

• Purple Door
• USC Purple Week
• Purple Palooza
• Purple Store

Know of any others?

10:36 am

Nicole Fassina

Nicole’s report.

They’re hiring a YouTube intern. No explanation on what that is exactly, but the USC has been hiring interns all over recently. They have a social media intern in Student Life right now.

Also interesting, the USC is getting a new website! They’ve met with a local company who does website redesign. They want a cleaner version of the website ready for O-Week. They’re passing around screenshots of this new website. Looks slick.

I wrote a scathing column against their last website idea, a free contest where students submitted finished designs to be converted to HTML. I predicted the USC would quickly look for a permanent solution, making the designer’s efforts (and the benefits from having it online) a fleeting comfort. Surprise!

10:31 am

Ely also says Spoke manager wants to turn the bar/restaurant into more of a “sports bar.” Calls the idea interesting.

The Spoke has gone through changes year after year at the USC. We wrote a feature on these changes and decided in an editorial USC execs should trust the managers and leave they’re ideas out of it.

10:27 am

Executive reports. First to go: Ely Rygier, VP finance.

He’s building an FAQ of 20 most commonly asked questions. How to make a ledger, how to make a budget, how to apply to grant funding. He’s trying to “pump up” grant funding. He gets a bunch of emails from clubs about getting grants.

Also trying to get council finance training going. “It will actually happen this year. There’s no doubt in my mind.” Councillors will take a placement test to decide which level they’re start at — beginner to advanced.

10:23 am

Meeting called to order. I have a handout with Gym Renovations information, including detailed budget vs. actual. They budgeted for a bunch of items like Security Systems, ITS, Surveys, Furnishings, Event Furniture, which are all listed as zero dollars under the actual lines.

10:20 am

In attendance:

• Mike Tithecott, president
• Pat Weiler, executive assistant
• Ely Rygier, VP finance
• Nicole Fassina, communications officer
• Justin Mackie, VP student events
• Scott Kerr, VP campus issues
• Will Bortolin, intern
• Cathy Clarke, GM
• Mark Wellington, student life manager
• me

10:18 am

Nicole Fassina and Justin Mackie compare suntans, insist I live blog it. President Skywalker walks in and it looks like we’re ready to start.

10:10 am

These used to be called “Board Meetings” when USC executives were called board members. Now they’re called executive meetings.

…

Alright, there’s not much to report right now. Still waiting for everyone to arrive.

10:04 am

Here’s the room, featuring Pat Weiler, USC executive assistant. USC GM Cathy Clarke is also here. Mike calls, says the meeting will start in 10 minutes.

10:01 am

It’s 10 a.m. but there’s no board members here. Only one former board member: Will Bortolin, last year’s VP campus issues.

9:58 am

Meeting is in Room 307 of the UCC, also known as the board room.

9:54 am

Here’s the agenda for today:

1. Call to Order
2. Adoption of Agenda
3. Approval of Minutes
4. Comments from the Chair
5. Presentations
6. Executive Reports
7. Matters for Discussion
8. Executive Council Rules of Procedure
9. Matters for Approval
10. Renovations Update
11. New Business
12. Adjournment

9:45 am

Sorry I couldn’t live blog yesterday’s USC “Town Hall” meeting. I was told it was a staff meeting, not exactly a town hall, and that caused no real problems for me. Here’s a picture of USC President Mike Tithecott giving an address yesterday in front of his presumed idol, Abe Lincoln. Picture courtesy of Ely Rygier, VP finance for the USC.

How green is Western?

Staffers from the Physical Plant Department will present their findings about Western’s greenhouse gas emissions on Thursday morning.

We will be live blogging the presentation here at 11:15 a.m. on Thursday, August 11. Check this page for instant updates.

Powerpoint Presentation:
GHG – General Public VF – Rev

12:04 pm

A nice touch at the presentation: glass mugs for coffee, real plates for sandwiches and fabric napkins. They take this sustainability thing seriously.

11:58 am

Presentation is over. Now it’s time for lunch.

Thanks for joining me on this live blog. It was an interesting experiment. I’m hoping to use this preparation for more important live blogs in the future, like breaking news conferences or the like.

One major recommendation for reporters: double up. I had a really hard time following the presentation and getting information down. It all happens very, very quickly.

What did you think of the live blog? Let me know in the comments below or on Twitter.

11:55 am

Audience members asks about conservation. In summer, his building is too cold. In winter, it’s too hot. I can agree — the Gazette office is always freezing cold.

They’re doing some investigation into this, but it doesn’t sound like AC overkill is immediately on their radar.

11:53 am

One category the researchers measured was air travel. They did this because there’s three scopes, starting very close with direct emissions and working out toward emissions they’re causing, but not directly.

Airlines use their emissions as scope one. Western counted it as scope three.

When it comes to reporting to the government, they only need to count scope one.

11:51 am

How does Western stack up?

Compared to population, U of T produces 3.01 metric tonnes per year. By the same comparison, Western has 2.97 metric tonnes per year. So we’re not doing too bad.

11:50 am

These recommendations are kind of all-or-nothing. It has to be integrated and collaborative. Otherwise it’s not enough.

11:48 am

Western departments need to share information on emissions with Physical Plant and keep records to help develop best practices.

11:44 am

Western should reduce the number of vehicles using fossil fuels, possibly replacing with hybrid cars or simply using fewer vehicles. They can also cut down on car emissions by reducing travel “by using Internet, videoconferencing, Webinar, or satellite links.”

11:42 am

Western should also develop programs to reduce end-user consumption. In the end, it’s the end user that controls energy consumption at Western. We’re looking at you, staff and students.

11:41 am

One recommendation is to install automatic lighting control system. Check out our article on the WSRC’s 24-hour lighting problems.

11:39 am

With these results (which I tried to keep up with… there were many results) they have a bunch of recommendations to reduce the carbon footprint.

11:38 am

Main emissions sources:

1. Natural gas — 54.7 per cent
2. Purchased electricity — 30.4 per cent
3. Air travel — 3.1 per cent
4. Student commuting — 2.6
5. Distillate oil — 2.3 per cent
6. Staff and faculty commuting — 2.3 per cent
7. Chemicals and refrigerants — 1.3 per cent

11:35 am

There are three scopes in the study. The first, direct emissions, involves energy used from “stationary combustion,” of which 96 per cent were from natural gas.

Not being a environmental science student, this is all a little over my head.

11:33 am

In the study they’re presenting today, they included almost all the facilities at Western, except parking lots and some other property like the Research Park.

11:31 am

Interested in following more on Western’s physical plant department? They have a blog.

11:30 am

Voluntary programs include the Campus Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventories, a calculator that takes into account a number of possible emissions.

11:29 am

Western, like any entity in Ontario, is held to two mandatory greenhouse gas (GHG) emission program. Environment Canada requires Western to report anything greater than 50,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Ontario Ministry of Environment requires reporting for anything over 25,000 tonnes.

11:24 am

Syed Zaidi, seen on left, explains the purpose of the presentation. Green House Gases include carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. A little sulphur hexafluoride has a very large impact, he says.

11:21 am

Presentation begins with Syed Zaidi and Mary Lopez, physical plant environmental coordinators.

11:15 am

Still waiting for the presentation to start. Attendance passes 12 people.

11:09 am

Arrived a little early. By “food will be provided” they actually meant “food and coffee.” Why did I get that Tim Horton’s? People are trickling in.

11:00 am

Heading to the carbon footprint presentation in Rm. 37 of the UCC. If you’re around, come by. Follow updates live here.

Ever taken the five-hour Via Rail trip from Toronto to Montreal? It’s not exactly an invigorating experience.

Some pass the time testing the arm rest’s structural integrity. Some plot revenge on

the seat-reclining oaf ahead of them. Some just sleep.

Toronto Argonauts offensive lineman Rob Murphy gets all xenophobic on the internet.

The story goes like this. On the Argonaut’s train ride to Montreal last week for the team’s inevitable drubbing — it was only 41-10 this time — at the hands of the league-best Alouettes, Murphy chose to bide his time on twitter, freely sharing his opinions of our country’s storied francophone heritage. He’s since deleted the tweets, but once upon a time they read like this:

“At train station… Pumped to be smelling foreigners this early in the A.M. They smell less offensive this way… little known fact.”

Followed shortly thereafter by…

“Ok… the novelty of riding on a train thru Ontario and “Frenchland” has worn out… get me off this damn thing!!!!”

After the ensuing backlash, Murphy — who has since made his twitter account private, meaning only those who he approves can follow him — defended himself on the social network, saying he was just trying to be funny.

“Obviously my recent tweets have gotten blown out of proportion. […] I’m sorry if I offended anyone by my recent comments. I was JOKING around.”

Both the Argos and the CFL don’t seem to share Murphy’s, um, unique sense of humour. They both fined the 33-year-old under the league’s social media policy, making Murphy the first player to be punished under the act.

Were Murphy’s comments, say, offensive? Sure. Misguided? Of course. But they weren’t unlike anything else that’s freely available on Twitter and, in a larger sense, the internet. The web is ungoverned and — in most areas of the world — uncensored which means it has the dubious ability to turn into a global dumping ground for all the world’s sexism, racism, homophobia and good ol’ general hate. It’s not a particularly good thing, but it is what it is. The positives of the internet far outweigh the negatives.

The problem with Murphy’s case is that he’s a professional athlete. He’s not just representing himself — which would make it okay for him to be as offensive and disparaging as he pleases. He’s representing the Toronto Argonauts, the Canadian Football League and Canadian football itself. You just can’t say whatever you want.

That’s why the league instituted its social media policy last season as more and more of its athletes began experimenting with twitter. Any comments players make on twitter are considered public and subject to discipline. The league also took the step of banning players’ twitter usage from 20 minutes before a game until 20 minutes after the game.

What the CFL would like to protect here is the romantic idea that the locker room at half time looks like Any Given Sunday.

It’s a nice image. Players huddle around each other, nervously clenching water bottles with nary a smile in the room — focusing purely on the game and what to do in the second half.

The CFL certainly doesn’t want fans to think that when players enter the locker room the first thing they pick up is their Blackberry — not their playbook.

But it’s clear that minds may be wandering in game. Saskatchewan’s Tad Kornegay tweeted during halftime of the 2009 Grey Cup and several athletes from other sports (Charlie Villanueva and Shaquille O’Neal to name a couple) have taken to their smart phones during down time to keep themselves — and, of course, all of us — entertained.

And what we have right there is the fine line that professional leagues like the CFL must tread. The positives that come from having their athletes participate in the world of social media are too large to ignore. Allowing players to interact with fans and show their personalities outside of post-game clichés is an exceptionally good thing — especially now that everyone and their arrogant cat have Twitter.

But it’s increasingly hard for leagues to control their athletes’ public image when they are free to roam within social media. And any league executive will tell you that in professional sports, public perception is absolutely paramount.

Figuring out how to walk that line makes the art of what and when to tweet still a bit tricky for the CFL and its athletes. The good news is that several current stars (Avon Cobourne, Arland Bruce, Byron Parker) and even a couple former ones (Damon Allen, Wally Buono) have figured it out.

As we carry on in the social media era there will surely be more public missteps — rule number one of professional sports is that athletes will do silly things. But the CFL knows twitter is a good thing for their league and don’t be surprised if they start encouraging more of their athletes to open accounts.

Let’s just say that players shouldn’t skip the ‘right and wrong times to express xenophobia’ session during media training.

E-mail Arden at arden@westerngazette.ca . You can also follow him on Twitter at @ArdenAtGazette

This is a great meal to whip up if you have any leftover chicken sitting in your fridge. Keep  in mind the ingredient measurements aren’t strict — feel free to sprinkle on as much of whichever ingredient you’d like, making sure that you can still easily fold the quesadilla without anything falling out.

Ingredients:

• Half a can of black beans
• Bunch of cilantro
• 2 green onions
• Approximately 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese
• Approximately 1 cup of chicken
• 3 tortilla wraps

Directions:

1. Wash and chop cilantro and onions.

2. Dice chicken.

3. Grate the cheese.

4. Using a strainer, thoroughly rinse the black beans.

5. Using a non-stick pan, set the element at a medium heat. Once heated, place the first tortilla in the pan.

6. Sprinkle the ingredients on one side of the tortilla, starting with the cheese.

7. Once you have sprinkled all of the ingredients, fold the tortilla in half and lightly press it together. Flip the quesadlla once it has browned (probably about 1-2 minutes). Cook on the other side until cheese has melted, being careful not to burn the tortilla.

8. Using a cutting board, cut the quesadlla into four pieces.

I suggest sprinkling any leftover onion and cilantro on the quesadilla then serving with salsa and salad for a complete meal. Many people like to dip quesadilla’s in guacamole and sour cream as well.

A couple notes today — one from the pros and two from close to home.

Jose Bautista

Well this has worked out well, now hasn’t it.

Acquired by former Blue Jays general manager JP Ricciardi in 2008 for a player to be named later — the player turned out to be switch-hitting catcher Robinson Diaz, who is now a minor leaguer treading water in the Detroit Tigers organization — Jose Bautista can’t be labeled as anything less than a smashing success.

Currently leading the league in home runs on Wednesday morning  with 30 — he’s probably smacking a couple more right now as I write this — Bautista has the most dingers of any professional baseball player since last September. More than Ryan Howard. More  than Mark Teixeira. More than Alex Rodriguez. You get the point.

That’s why the Blue Jays have to get rid of him. Soon.

If Jose Bautista is still on the Blue Jays roster after the July 31st non-waiver trade deadline, the Jays will have made a huge mistake.

Look, by all accounts Bautista is a really good guy and a fantastic comeback story, but everyone and their escaped boa constrictor knows that the guy is hitting way over his head. Eventually, his production will slow down and return to his career norms. Remember, he’s never hit more than 24 home runs — he did it in 2oo5 in double-A — in any season at any level in his career. The time to cash in on Bautista’s inflated value is now when his stock is through the roof — before it comes crashing back down to earth.

Bautista turns 30 this year, which is typically the age where power number decline. The exceptions to that rule come, of course,  during the steroids era when, well, you know how that story goes.

No matter what any of the mouth-breathers who phone radio call-in shows say, the Blue Jays are not going to contend this year or next. If Jays general manager Alex Anthopoulos is savvy, he’ll trade Bautista now for quality young ball players who can help the team down the road when it’s ready to challenge for a playoff spot.

Noteworthy Mustangs

Aa always, your Western Mustangs are hard at work over the summer, training for their upcoming seasons and participating in events around the continent.

Unfortunately we only had one summer issue this year — sorry, I couldn’t stop the frisbee thing — so we weren’t able to shine as much light on their goings-on as we have in the past, but here’s a couple stories you should check out.

Jacqueline Rennebohm, a visually-impaired Mustangs track and field athlete, set a Canadian record in the 200m at a track meet in Windsor earlier this month with a time of 28.6 seconds, besting the previous record by more than two milliseconds.

The second-year social sciences major — whose eyes can only detect colour and motion from objects five feet away — works with a running guide and competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as a paralympic swimmer.

Taylor Stewart, a London native, won a bronze medal at the 2010 IAAF Track and Field World Junior Championships last week.

The 19-year-old, entering his first year at Western, lept 7.63 metres to secure the medal.

I’ve been hearing about Stewart around London for some time now and everyone who sees him compete thinks he’s going to be a star. He’s one to watch this year.

E-mail Arden at arden@westerngazette.ca . You can also follow him on twitter at @ArdenAtGazette

Guacamole is a healthy snack that can be eaten with chips or put on sandwiches or wraps. Another bonus is that avocados have many nutritional benefits, including minerals like potassium, calcium, vitamin C and K, folic acid, sodium and dietary fibers. Delicious and nutritious!

Ingredients:

- 4 avocados

- Bunch of cilantro

- 1 lime

- Salt

* Make sure to wash the first three ingredients before using them.

Directions:

1. Cut avocados in half around the pit. Twist both sides of the avocado slightly then pull apart. Remove pit.

2. Scoop avocado out of the skin and into a bowl.

3. Mash the avocados with a fork or potato masher until smooth.

4. Using a citrus press or your hands, squeeze lime juices into the bowl. Mix well with avocados.

5. After you have washed and finely chopped the cilantro (see pictures of preparing cilantro here), combine with other ingredients.

6. Add salt to taste (about 1 ts.).

7. Pour guacamole into a serving bowl then push a pit into the centre. Cover the pit up with guacamole (Note: the pit helps to prevent the guacamole from turning brown).

Serve with chips on its own, or with salsa, a jicama cucumber snack and a watermelon chiller. Enjoy!

Said the Whale

I was really excited for Said the Whale.  It was the first band I saw Friday night at Dundas Square and they definitely met all my expectations. The vocals were impeccable and the indie band had great on-stage chemistry. If you haven’t already listened to their most recent album Islands Disappear, you should. A trip to their MySpace is all it will take to get you hooked.

http://www.myspace.com/saidthewhale

Wavves*

I don’t know what it was. Maybe the fact that I was running on four hours sleep, or that I compared them heavily the act that followed, but Wavves* were not my cup of tea.  Their performance at Lee’s Palace Friday night sounded screechy and the music itself reminds me of the type of cliché noise-punk band that I would have pretended to enjoy in high school. Not to mention, they dragged out their introduction for much too long. When they did finally start to play, I quickly realized their musical and lyrical quality just wasn’t up to par with the rest of the bands I saw.

http://www.myspace.com/wavves

Japandroids

Next on our list was the highly anticipated Japandroids. What blew me away most was how this two-man band managed to make it sound as though there were five members on stage.  All they had was a guitar and a drum kit, but this Vancouver band maintained the crowd’s full attention and they sounded awesome. The mosh pit that formed during their first song was in full force for most of the set.

http://www.myspace.com/japandroids

DD/MM/YYY

These guys are no strangers to NXNE, so, naturally, I was looking forward to hearing them play.  But I wasn’t entirely impressed — actually, I wasn’t even a little bit impressed.  Their mid-day performance on Saturday was mediocre and boring enough to make me ditch the stage and go shopping. Enough said.

http://www.myspace.com/ddmmyyyy

Hot Hot Heat

We dodged the festivities in Little Italy to get to the Mod Club Friday night to see Hot Hot Heat — a band that has perfected the art of performing. You might remember the catchy tracks like “Goodnight Goodnight” and “Middle of Nowhere” off their earlier albums.  Although music of their latest album Future Breeds is not quite as upbeat as previous albums, their main riffs in their new songs like “21@12” are still quite catchy and well-produced. Their performance was highly energetic — even though lead singer Steve Bays admitted to being extremely hungover from the night before. This was definitely my favourite set of the festival.

http://www.myspace.com/hothotheat

Jane Vain

If you are looking for something that has an electric-indie feel to add to your iPod, I’ve found the band for you. This wasn’t one of the bands I originally planned on seeing and to be honest I had never listened to them prior to NXNE, but I was impressed by how good they sounded live. This Montreal-based band interacted with the audience and the lead female vocal was full of angst and defined the term indie rock — without the use of words.

http://www.myspace.com/janevainsmusic

Overall, I was satisfied with my NXNE experience. I was fortunate enough to see some well-formed musical acts, and although I didn’t catch some of the major headliners like K-OS or Iggy and the Stooges, there was no shortage of talent in most of the bands I did see. There was definitely too much to cover in a short amount of time, but, nonetheless, well done NXNE.

Correction: This was changed from “The Wavves.” 07/11/10