A Supreme Court decision last week appears to pave the way for doctor assisted suicide to become legal in Canada. This landmark ruling will, certainly, change the way people live out their final days. This is one issue I can’t really say, conclusively, what side I’m on. I see valid arguments both ways. I think if the law is carried out as intended, I have no particular issue with it. However, I foresee a slippery slope once lawyers get involved to poke holes in the legislation. Could it, one day, be legal for a doctor to help a depressed person end his/her life? What about someone who is paralyzed? I am nervous about the wording of the legislation and how it may play out down the road.
Charles Manson was supposed to get married last week, but his license expired and there has been no ceremony. According to news reports, his would-be bride (who is about 55 years younger than him) had a plan to marry the lunatic killer and then make money off him after he dies through putting his corpse in a glass enclosure and then charging money for other creeps who may want to view it. Manson, meanwhile, is said to have no interest in marrying the woman and was milking her for a few odd gifts that she was bringing him. It should also be mentioned Manson feels he’s going to live forever, so the joke is on her.
The Winnipeg Jets have drawn me back to the NHL. I don’t seem to have much interest in other teams, but when the Jets are on TV, I’m in front of the set. The issue last week where Dustin Byfuglien threw Evander Kane’s tracksuit in the shower and then resulted in Kane opting for elective surgery on his shoulder is getting a tremendous amount of attention from analysts league wide, some of whom are blaming Jets players for disrespecting Kane as a teammate by putting his clothing in the shower. This is what happens when you let media people, who have never been around elite team sports, do national reporting. They say these ridiculous things and then the public believes them because they aren’t around the athletes either. For me, this was an issue that was simmering for quite some time and the track suit was the final straw. It wasn’t an isolated issue. Kane’s teammates had had enough of him and that was the final message saying so. If anyone other than Kane is to blame, it’s General Manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, who failed to recognize he had a dressing room full of players who wanted Kane out. Kane, for his part, has also asked for trades in the past and Cheveldayoff hasn’t complied. I’m sure Cheveldayoff is afraid of what Kane may be for another team, but you can’t worry about him fulfilling his potential. You have to worry about what’s best for your own team and that is removing Kane permanently.
There have been a number of examples of teams who have removed a star player and not added anyone of significance to replace him and then the team actually plays better. The Toronto Raptors are a good example of that. They dealt Rudy Gay midway through last season and have been an elite team ever since. The SJHL Estevan Bruins have been a top team since sending Darcy DeRoose to Kindersley earlier this season. Flin Flon, last year, played better after Brett Boehm went to Yorkton. The Seattle Seahawks had their year turnaround as soon as Percy Harvin was dealt to the New York Jets. This doesn’t mean the players are bad apples, it simply means they don’t fit in with the current environment. In Boehm’s case, the Terriers don’t win without him. It worked for both sides and now he’s back in Flin Flon and is fitting in just fine with a different group of guys. The Winnipeg Jets, by the way, have played two great games since Kane announced he was going for surgery. Heck, they even had Jim Slater centring the third line Sunday night and still scored five goals.
My Twitter feed had a few tweets on Sunday about Brandon area curler Mike McEwen, who lost in the provincial men’s curling championships and will not be at the Brier. McEwen, it is alleged, blew off local media (he did do an interview on Sportsnet because they are more important, I guess) and also skipped the closing ceremonies because he was too distraught over his loss. Here is my thing: if you can do an interview with Sportsnet, you can do an interview with the local guys who have pumped you up as being someone special for the last twenty years. Skipping the closing ceremonies is inexcusable. Fans pay to attend these events and not being a part short changes them for what they expect. As someone who used to work in the Brandon media, I can tell you that Mike McEwen’s dad was a frequent caller to the CKX TV sports department to promote his son (and, justifiably so) who was one of the world’s best junior curlers. We did our best to give him air-time and emade some exceptions in doing so.
