Category: Sports

Connecting Dots?

Several months ago Host Co. of the Pan Am Games gave the Hamilton Tiger Cats $100 million to build a new stadium provided Hamilton kicked in another $50 million. The Pan Am $100 million was supposed to go towards a Pan Am Athletics Stadium. This deal was brokered by the newly minted Mayor Bratina. There will be no athletics in the Ti Cats Stadium. The monies supplied by Hamilton helped drain its Future Fund. A private entertainment complex does not meet any of the Future Fund’s criteria. It was hard to understand how a both sources of cash for the Ti Cat stadium came from sources that should not to go towards such a project. A few months later, without consulting the elected council,  Mayor Bratina announced that Hamilton will pursue all day GO Service instead of LRT, and disbanded the LRT workgroup.  This allowed our Premiere to state the following:

“That was the No. 1 ask of the city,” McGuinty said. “We’ve had some important conversations with the mayor, and this is their priority. Which made it our priority. Over time, we can enter into other discussions about things like the LRT.” Link

So now instead of fulfilling a $1000 million promise of paying Hamilton’s rapid transit bill, Hamilton will instead get $7 million in funding for GO Train service. It gave the provincial government an easy out from a billion dollar promise to Hamilton. Metrolinx recommended the Hamilton LRT, earmarked $850 million for it, and is presently shovel in ground for $9500 million in rapid transit development in Toronto.

Would a mayor actually betray his own city so completely just to get his beloved Tiger Cats a stadium? I don’t know but he used to work for the Tiger Cats. I  still don’t know, but  he is publicly endorsing the provincial candidates who’s butts he saved…. Link

Risk For Real

This picture totally reminds me of playing the game Risk. I recall we altered the game so that aliens randomly attacked countries. Eventually the aliens became so powerful that  all us Imperialistic nations of Risk had to band together to fight the green horde. Since we had weakened each other so much before the aliens arrived, every country, and eventually the world succumbed to the alien onslaught. I think there is a lesson to be learned here.

Endless Discrediting to the point of absurdity.

I Is Different Then Him

Dear pardons and waivers Canada it is not likely I will  even look at your site because you cannot even bother to proof read your advert. It is ‘different than’ not ‘different then.’ Lawyers or paralegals that lack this kind of attention to detail are not going to be looking after my pardon. Otherwise I agree that a guy with a tattooed face and a criminal record is no different than me at all.

While I am at it. Bucket list Hamilton should be called F*cket list Hamilton. None of the images ever relate to Hamilton, except for this picture of a carp from Cootes Paradise.

Passive Aggressive House

The Flatt House renovation is progressing nicely. Kathy is skinning the exterior of the 100 year old building to increase the R value of the walls to 50 and the roof to 100. All windows are being replaced with triple glazed energy efficient ones.  The three new openings on the top floor are positioned with southern exposure and will become the ‘solar furnace’ for the house. Combining these elements with a sophisticated air circulation system will create a building that does not need a furnace in the winter. This style of construction is called Passive House. Passive house retrofits are rare in Canada. Kathy is an engineer who has trained in both Germany and Chicago with  Passive House International. If the house passes muster she will earn her Passive House Consultant certification, and the unique concepts of this retrofit will be adopted by others. Of course Kathy gives tours (kathygarneau AT gmail.com).

How To Vote 2011

There is an online site called Vote Compass where one can get an idea of which party to vote for depending on answering a series of skill testing questions. Unfortunately for me I am closest to voting for the Bloc Québécois, which is not running a candidate in Hamilton Ontario. The compass creates a lovely graph for you to visualize where you fit into the spectrum.

7th Site of the the 7th Site

A well seasoned ticket holder of the Hamilton Tiger Cats reacts to the news that his team may well be headed out of the municipality of Hammer town. The Cats have set a CFL record by declining more free venues  than any other team in football history. Well the Ticats may have found their desired site. The Palleta business family group has a triangular plot of land and a $30 million dollar investment lined up. However it is in the neighbouring municipality of Burlington.  The proposed location is reasonably close to a GO station, and visible from the 403 highway. I don’t imagine that there will be a rapid transit link in my lifetime, but that is what city building is all about. Moving the Ti Cats to Burlington is a is a fair trade. Hamilton looks after Burlington’s social welfare load,  and now Burlington can look after the region’s sportainment welfare load.

The important thing is that the Cats are moving to Burlington (maybe), and they will definitely need a new logo and mascot.  I have taken the liberty of proposing two new ones below. Please allow me to introduce the Palleta Pussy Cats or the Burlington Bob Cats. The Burlington Bob Cats  represents an homage to the man who saved the team from certain government bail out. The Palleta Pussy Cats will allow the team to garner fans from the elusive and exclusive market of 6 to 11 year old girls.

The Palleta Pussy Cats Football Team The Burlington Bob Cats Football Team

The Brat Suggests More Sites

Our Mayor Elect, Roberto Bratina, is very lovingly referred to as the Brat. I was listening to the Brat on CHCH TVs wonderful website and he said that other TiCat stadium sites could still be considered if Longwood and Aberdeen does not work out. There is a very public drop dead date of 1-Feb-2011, at which point other municipalities will be in the running. The Brat’s reasoning is sound. If other cities are going to start scouting sites (Oshawa, Mississauga etc) then why can’t Hamilton? So if we are still gonna build a house for TiCats then lets build it somewhere less worse than Long and Abbo or Confederation park. I am of the personal opinion that West Harbour should be for housing and more housing.  I don’t like lists and I like playing with GIMP, so here is my pictoral pitch for Kay Drage Park.