Latest from Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Citizen
2 hours ago
- Ottawa Citizen
Rachlis: Canoeing was a challenge, but that aside, adult summer camp rocked
Like many campers, I headed off to summer camp — the quintessential Canadian experience — earlier this month, with a mixture of excitement and apprehension. Article content Sure, I had three friends going with me, but would I get along with the other campers? Would I be able to do the activities? It had been awhile — the late 1950s and '60s, in fact — since I'd been out to sleepover camp on a school bus. Article content Article content Article content This time, camp was a Women's Weekend Getaway being held for the first time at the site of the Y Outdoor Centre in Dunrobin, Ont., and we were car-pooling. My three friends and I had been sent a list of clothing to bring, similar to what kids receive, and we also got the same Camper Code of Conduct. What was missing on the list of what to bring for older campers like us was our prescription medications, hearing aids and chargers, and Tylenol Arthritis. Article content At the Friday evening welcome meeting, we went around a circle saying each of our names and the age of our 'inner child.' Then we played conversation challenge games outdoors, exchanging mixer questions like, 'What was the best advice you were ever given? What do you want to be doing a year from now that you haven't done before?' We also all crammed onto a large wooden teeter-totter, and shuffled in a line on a rope on the ground to sort out our names alphabetically, then sort birthdays by day and month, using hand signals. Article content Article content Acting like kids, again Article content Article content There was constant chatter; everyone seemed excited to be there. The 25 of us included young mothers enjoying leaving their kids at home, and us, wanting to act like kids again. And we did. Article content We decorated 'wood cookies' — circular slices of wood — with our names, and painted motivational slogans on rocks to distribute randomly. Article content Canoeing was a bit choppy: a kayaker towed me and a friend back to shore when we kept paddling in circles. Archery was equally not of Olympic quality, but fortunately no one was hurt. I eschewed the climbing wall and high ropes, though for many it was the highlight.
Ottawa Citizen
4 hours ago
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Flames take lightning-quick Potter with 32nd overall pick
Any conversation about Cullen Potter is going to start with his speed. That's inevitable. Article content Drafted by the Calgary Flames with the final pick of the first round, 32nd overall, Potter might just be faster than any other player whose name got called on Friday night. Article content 'His speed is electric,' said Flames GM Craig Conroy. 'He's fast, quick, electric, he's got hockey sense.' Article content Article content Article content Article content But they say you can't teach speed, and Potter's got it. Article content The son of four-time U.S. Olympian Jenny Potter – who won a gold, two silvers and a bronze medal with the Americans – the newest member of the Flames might have the 'fastest skater' title locked up if the organization ever brings their Super Skills Competition back. Article content 'I think my strongest asset is definitely my speed,' said Potter, who is listed at 5-foot-10 and 183 lbs and is a leftie. 'Speed and skill and tenacity and compete are what I do best. Article content 'I think the best players in the world have a lot of speed. Just looking at McDavid and MacKinnon and those guys, just being able to use my speed and hands at the same time is really important, and I think that's what the best players in the NHL do.' Article content Article content Article content Nobody is expecting Potter to be one of the best players in the world right away, but the early returns on his college career have been extremely encouraging. Article content Despite being only 17-years-old for a good chunk of his freshman year at Arizona State – he turned 18 on January 10 – Potter netted 13 goals and added nine assists in 35 games. He also put up four goals and four assists while playing for the U.S. under-18 team. Article content Conroy and the Flames scouting staff watched it all, and were thrilled about getting a player with his upside so late in the first round. Article content 'When you look at him, you think 'Where is he going to be?' ' Conroy said about playing against older competition in the NCAA. 'It would be like stepping into the American League right away, you're playing against me. That's what I think is so impressive for him. To see him play with the U18s, I thought he was noticeable every shift and it was the speed that caught my attention.'
Ottawa Citizen
5 hours ago
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Alouettes aren't the same team without injured QB Davis Alexander
The Alouettes better hope Davis Alexander, their 26-year-old starting quarterback, is a quick healer. They're simply not the same team without him. Article content And unless Alexander recovers quickly from the hamstring injury he suffered June 19 at Edmonton, this team is in serious trouble. Article content Through one game, at least, McLeod Bethel-Thompson isn't the answer, despite everything he has accomplished in his career. As good and as accurate as the 36-year-old was in practice during the week, he was unable to duplicate any of that against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' swarming defence on Friday night. Article content Article content The Alouettes suffered their first loss of the season and were badly outplayed in this ugly 35-17 setback before 20,911 Hamilton Stadium spectators. Article content Article content Perhaps it was the effects of three successive road games catching up to Montreal? But, more than likely, it was the absence of Alexander that derailed a team that started the season with a 3-0 record. The Ticats, coming off a bye in the schedule, won for the first time in three games — and exposed the visitors in the process. Article content The Als, who entered this contest having scored a CFL-leading 105 points, failed to penetrate Hamilton's end zone for more than 55 minutes until completing an eight-play, 64-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown pass to Cole Spieker. Article content Until that point, Montreal's scoring consisted of three Jose Maltos field goals and a Joseph Zema punt single. Bethel-Thompson and the Alouettes couldn't score a touchdown despite scrimmaging from the Hamilton 4 in the third quarter. Article content Article content There was no chemistry between Bethel-Thompson and his receivers. Tyson Philpot, who should have been counted on heavily because of the absence of injured Austin Mack, didn't make his first catch until just before halftime. Indeed, that was the first time Bethel-Thompson attempted a pass to him. Article content Spieker was Montreal's leading receiver, with six receptions for 57 yards. Tyler Snead also had six catches, producing 55 yards. Charleston Rambo, arguably the Als' most-dangerous deep threat, had five receptions for 49 yards, while Philpot had four catches for 41 yards. Article content Montreal's longest passing play was 17 yards — a feat accomplished three times, by Spieker, Snead and Philpot. Article content When the Alouettes decided Alexander was their quarterback of the future, they traded Cody Fajardo to Edmonton last winter for Bethel-Thompson, a two-time Grey Cup champion who has passed for more than 17,000 yards and 94 touchdowns in his career.
Ottawa Citizen
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Ottawa Citizen
Skies clear just in time for magic Blue Rodeo show at jazz fest
Article content The skies cleared just in time for Blue Rodeo. Article content Of course, they did. It's the magic of the Montreal International Jazz Festival, but it's also the magical ties that bind this Toronto band to their fans ici. The forecast all week insisted there was a 90- to 100-per-cent chance of rain at 9:30 on Friday night, but the folks at MétéoMédia clearly haven't been listening to the Five Days in July album often enough. There was no way the big free outdoor Blue Rodeo show at the jazz fest was going to be rained out. Article content Article content And the fans knew it. The crowd stretched all the way back to Ste-Catherine St. and anyone who stayed home because of the forecast will be kicking themselves when their friends tell them how inspirational this soirée was. Article content Article content By the time Jim Cuddy got to belt out Try, the very first Blue Rodeo hit, as the encore and sitting at the keyboard, there was no getting away from the fact this was one of the great Blue Rodeo shows here. Article content I mean not that there have been any Blue Rodeo shows much less than life-affirming. I was there Friday night with my daughter Devan reminiscing about the epic Blue Rodeo shows we'd seen at Théâtre St. Denis and Place des Arts. Friday, they ended with Lost Together and if you weren't choking up just a little bit, then you just don't love this thing called rock'n'roll. Article content You could see Cuddy and fellow lead singer Greg Keelor were just loving this as much as the audience. Article content Article content 'Merci beaucoup,' Cuddy said, near the end. 'Nous adorons Montréal.' Article content Later, Cuddy said: 'We'd like to thank the rain for taking a little break for us and mainly we'd like to thank you for coming out in spite of the weather.' Article content Highlights included an incredibly intense take on Diamond Mine with Keelor rocking his vocal hard, a brilliant Trust Yourself with thousands singing along, and the anthems Til I Am Myself Again and Hasn't Hit Me Yet, which were just as great as you might imagine. Article content I bumped into promoter Rubin Fogel, who was talking about how the first show they did in Montreal was at Club Soda in January 1988, back when they were hardly known here. A year later, that was no longer the case.
Ottawa Citizen
7 hours ago
- Sport
- Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa Senators get their man Logan Hensler at No. 23 in NHL draft
Article content It was worth the wait for the Ottawa Senators and Logan Hensler. Article content Steve Staios did a little wheeling and dealing before making the club's first-round pick on Friday night. Article content Article content Scheduled to select No. 21 in the first round of the National Hockey League draft, the club's president of hockey operations and general manager delivered on the possibility of moving the selection to get another asset in return. Article content Article content Minutes after the Senators were put on the clock, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman pressed the big red 'Trade Alert' button to confirm Ottawa had traded its pick to the Nashville Predators for the No. 23 overall selection and the No. 67 pick in the third round. Article content Article content Staios had indicated he was willing to move back if he was able to get another selection, and it was clear the club felt it could get Hensler, a right-shot defenceman who attends Wisconsin University. Article content Hensler, 18, a 6-foot-2 blueliner, had two goals and 32 points last season at Wisconsin. His responsibilities grew over the year. He is strong at both ends of the ice. Article content 'It's a dream come true,' Hensler said. 'I'm happy to go to a great organization. I'm really happy with where I landed, and I'm super excited to get started.' Article content Comedian and actor Tom Green, an Ottawa native, made the selection on behalf of the Senators. He was in the bowels of the rink to make the pick, and Green will host the Canadian Country Music Awards in September. Article content Article content The league opted to go with a decentralized draft this year. The Senators had their draft table set up in the club's dressing room. That's where Staios was surrounded by his closest advisors to make the pick. Article content Chief scout Don Boyd was confident heading into this night that the Senators would get a strong prospect who would play in the league down the road.
