Linden, who retired from the National Hockey League in 2008, announced today he is opening a fitness centre in Coquitlam this winter. Club 16 – Trevor Linden Fitness is scheduled to open in January 2011 in Eagleridge Place at 2635 Barnet Highway.

According to a news release, the facility will be a “welcoming, state-of-the art facility designed for the average person.” The release went on to say the atmosphere will be “friendly, the intimidation factor will be reduced and exercising and getting into shape will be fun.”

Linden plans to charge $15 a month and says it will be the lowest average membership prices in the industry.

Source ↑ www.vancouversun.com/…

V.c » When I heard Trevor Linden had an announcement about his post-hockey player career I was hoping it would be more exciting than this and that it would have something to do with the Canucks, but this isn’t actually nearly as lame as it first sounds. If it was just a ritzy fitness club appealing to Hummer drivers than that would be really lame, but the fact he plans to only charge $15 per month, that is awesome, that is a third the price of a community centre. I hope there is a Club 16 my neighbourhood soon.

The Whitecaps unveiled the club’s new look at a downtown press conference on Tuesday morning. The logo incorporates the white caps of the North Shore mountains, reflected in blue in the water. “I think it’s a true reflection of the city,” said CEO Paul Barber. It’s the sixth logo in club history. Vancouver joins North America’s top tier, Major League Soccer, in 2011.

Source ↑ www.theprovince.com/…

V.c » I see what they are trying to do with the mountains and the water and the ‘V’ + ‘W’ initials, but i’m afraid it just isn’t working for me. Too many straight lines and angles, not enough curves and soft lines. I could see it being used for the Vancouver Waterworks or something institutional or corporate but besides the FC nothing in it says anything about soccer. The name Whitecaps is great and the logo should reflect the name, there should be a surging tide in it somehow.

No Canada: What will it take for us to get back to a World Cup?

So here we are again. Canadian soccer fans in search of a team to follow for the globe’s greatest sporting spectacle.

Some will drape themselves in orange, because that’s what Grandpa always did when the Flying Dutchmen took the field. South Africa expats will swell with pride for the host Bafana Bafana. Many will back Brazil or Spain, simply because they admire the beauty in their game. And vast numbers will root for England — because everyone needs to suffer a little.

The sixth straight Canada-free World Cup kicks off June 11 — almost a quarter-century of missed opportunity since that famous run of 1986.

At least Canada will be represented this time, but there’s only so much joy in hearing K’Naan’s World Cup anthem, Wavin Flag, for the 200th time.

A chuckle, a sigh, or both greet the question — “Why aren’t we there?” — and that’s from those who have lived the Canadian game at the highest level.

The answer is not short; the solution not quick.

Source ↑ www.theprovince.com/…

V.c » I think most of the people I grew up with in Vancouver played soccer as a kid so why is it that Canada can’t produce at least a few world class athletes in that sport? We know we can do it in other sports, the recent Winter Olympics proved that. (Not to mention hockey.) Soccer might not be in our blood like hockey but there is certainly passion for it, I remember the mayhem back at Empire Stadium. There is thus no doubt that the problem is institutional starting with the leadership. I hope that one of these World Cups we can all join the party and cheer for Canada instead of leaving it to the Italians and Brazilians on Commercial Drive. In the meantime I will once again cheer for any team from Africa.

The first thing we need is for Edler and/or Bieksa to land a big hit on Kane and/or Toews and then we need Demitra and/or Samuelsson to blow a shot by Niemi and we will be on our way to winning the series in 6 games. Let’s just hope the refs don’t screw us. Or that our usual Canuckness takes over and we find a way to lose. Luongo is no Cloutier, that’s just not going to happen, it just smells different this year.

Anyway, Henrik Sedin winning the Art Ross trophy is awesome. The first Canuck in our 40 year history to have the most points in a season. His 112 points also broke Bure’s franchise record of 110 points in a season. Henrik probably won’t get the Hart trophy which goes to the league MVP, but that’s okay, that is very subjective and he is at the mercy of the eastern media who don’t see many Canuck games. He has the trophy for the scoring title and nobody can debate that even if Ovechkin did play 10 fewer games. It will be interesting to see if Henrik wins the Pearson award which is given to the best player according to the players.

I was at the game against the Flames on Saturday. Thank you Flames for playing pond hockey, but that was possibly the best Canucks game I have ever seen live. It was capped off by this beauty of a goal by Daniel Sedin.

Granville Street during the Olympics

Vancouverites, I think we can be proud of ourselves for successfully throwing a pretty seriously good party. There were a few hiccups early, such as the morons who broke the windows of The Bay during their protest, but thankfully there was no hooliganism let alone a riot like in 1994 the last time there was a hockey game of such importance in this city. Normally there is a pretty big yahoo quotient in this city during big events. Maybe the yahoos were still all downtown but they weren’t as concentrated, they were diluted because of all the tourists who were respectful of the city and made for a good vibe rather than a shit-show like Granville Street often is on any weekend evening.

There was worry, a niggling doubt, that it would be a little too Canadian, which is to say not nearly sophisticated or worldly enough to be as memorable and critically acclaimed as its Olympic predecessor in Beijing in 2008.

But it became clear, from the first few seconds of Friday’s 2010 Olympic Winter Games opening ceremony in Vancouver’s BC Place Stadium, that we needn’t have worried.

Turns out, Canada knows how to strut its stuff, from the glass, fire and ice and rain and thunder to a magnificent flaming cauldron, a stunning thematic spectacle that transformed BC Place Stadium into a winter wonderland to the superstar performers, like Bryan Adams and Sarah McLachlan and k.d. lang, to the ballet and tap dancers, to the aerialists to the brash young snowboarders who kicked off the event to the icebergs and fantastic fiddlers, to the moving aboriginal dancers in their glorious traditional costumes and falling snow.

Source ↑ www.vancouversun.com/…

V.c » The 2010 Olympic opening ceremony may have been a half hour too long, but it was pretty darn good. Many a great moment filled with lots of Canadians to be proud of. I would have to say that k.d. Lang singing Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah was the highlight of the night. My seven year old daughter sings that song so it has a special place in the family. Also, today we were driving down Davie Street and she was wondering why the garbage cans were painted pink so I tried to explain to her that sometimes boys like boys instead of girls and sometimes that colour represents … Then along came k.d. in her white suit and  having to explain that sometimes girls wear suits like boys and then again the questions and explanations about who likes who. I should have just said that fairies (no pun intended, she still believes in the fairy world) came along and magically turned the garbage cans pink just for the Olympics.

Anyway, the opening ceremony production crew must have been shitting their pants when the hydraulics on the cauldron apparatus started malfunctioning with Rick, Nancy, Catriona, Steve and Wayne all standing there with their torches ready to make a fire. Who wants perfection, from our flaws comes character.

Just like there was no stopping the torch relay there is no stopping the Olympics. Opening Ceremony goes tonight. Might as well enjoy the party, the bitching can commence when it’s time to clean up and pay the bill.

This was the scene at Broadway and MacDonald. I am guessing the bearer of the torch was Tracy Wilson, a former figure skater. It would have been fun to carry the torch, but I am glad wasn’t one of the people in the entourage who had to dance like a fool on a Coke truck trying to stoke the crowd.

Burrows gives Auger a WTF?

In a reasoned and impassioned speech that lasted precisely two minutes on HNIC’s After Hours, Vigneault knocked the CBC’s Ron MacLean for an incredibly one-sided segment he hosted which vilified Alex Burrows and exonerated Stephane Auger.

…

Then, Vigneault got at one of the real issues ignored by HNIC – the actual calls.

“There’s one penalty – the diving – which might be questionable but the second penalty is a phantom call,” Vigneault said. “The league talked about no reaction. Well, how about his reaction after the game. The emotion that was in his voice.

“You don’t make things like this up.”

Source ↑ www.theprovince.com/…

V.c »Ron MacLean and the whole tv-based media in the east have been a total joke when it comes to this issue. For some reason Burrows has a reputation of being a diver and a trouble maker, but two diving calls in almost 350 NHL games and 0 suspensions doesn’t exactly justify that reputation. Ron and his buds took that reputation and then also assumed the referee, Stephane Auger, could not bear any responsible because he is a professional and would never allow his ego, let alone his finances, to effect his impartiality. A ref would NEVER tell a player that he is going to get him. Power and ego would never go to a refs head. Yeah right. It is surprising however, that a ref would be stupid enough to tell a player they were going to get them when they could just do it and not put themselves at risk. Not that Auger really put himself at risk, knowing that the NHL would do nothing about it if Burrows spoke up about what he said because then the league would have to admit there might be integrity and impartiality issues with their officials and they would never, ever want to admit that.

The diving call in the game in question against the Predators is one thing as suspect as it is, but the interference call is total and complete BS, a phantom call if there ever was one. In the first period to the set the tone, okay. Lame, but okay. With four minutes left in the third period in a tie game. BS. Put Burrows in your teams jersey and then see what you think of it.

Auger better not be officiating another Canucks game any time soon. This story is not supposed to be about Burrows, it is about Auger and it seems that everyone who is not a Canucks fan has forgotten that.

Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo will play for Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics, it was announced this morning.

And Cranbrook native Scott Niedermayer of the Anaheim Ducks is the team’s captain. He is one of four B.C.-based blueliners on Team Canada, the others being Shea Weber (Sicamous), Brent Seabrook (Tsawwassen) and Duncan Keith (Penticton).

New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur and Pttsburgh Penguins netminder Marc-Andre Fleury are the other two goalies selected by executive director Steve Yzerman and his staff.

“We feel we have a team that will make Canadians proud,” Yzerman said at a news conference for the team’s unveiling.

Source ↑ www.vancouversun.com/…

V.c » Oh yeah, bring on the Olympic Ice Hockey. As Luongo is our local representative on the Canadian team they better play him in more than one token game against some lesser opponent or worse make him the third stringer as some of our eastern media have suggested. Guess they don’t ever stay up late enough to watch the western games. Sure he isn’t always perfect, but when he is on, he is seriously on. And need we remind  you of Luongo beating Brodeur 5-2 in New Jersey at the beginning of December.

Of course we will be cheering for the Canadian team the loudest, but it will also be great to see some of the other Canuck representatives; the Sedins who should have a prominent role with the Swedes, the pesky Kesler with the Americans, Salo and Erhoff with the Finns and Germans and of course Demitra, remember him, with the Slovaks. I wonder if Hansen will play for the Danes, do they even have a team at the Olympics?