GuelphTribune.ca

Gryph cagers visit Laurier for playoff tilts

nbekavac — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:36:25 +0000

The University of Guelph Gryphons men’s and women’s basketball teams both visit Wilfrid Laurier Wednesday night for opening round OUA playoff games.

Both Guelph teams are the sixth seed in the OUA West, and both Laurier squads are the third seeds.

The men (8-14) enter the playoffs on an eight-game losing streak. They dropped a pair of games at Lakehead (20-2) on the weekend.

Guelph visits Laurier (16-6) Wednesday at 8 p.m.

The women’s Gryphons (10-12) split a pair of games at Lakehead (10-12) on the weekend.

Guelph visits Laurier (13-9) at 6 p.m. Wednesday.

OLOL gets last laugh

nbekavac — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:51:55 +0000

Our Lady of Lourdes
makes school history
with thrilling title win

By Ned Bekavac
Guelph Tribune

It may not have been pretty, but it sure was pretty darn entertaining.

“Too crazy,” said Max Raab, moments after he and the Our Lady of Lourdes Crusaders won a thrilling District 10 senior boys basketball final against the Centre Wellington Falcons on Friday night at the University of Guelph.

“It was crazy. I could hardly sit down all night,” said Lourdes coach Scott Robinson.

“It’s unfortunate someone had to lose that game,” said Falcons coach Jeff Brubacher.

While the championship game had its share of sloppy moments – lots of travelling calls, several missed free throws in key situations – the two teams went toe to toe like two prized fighters, with neither having a major advantage in points at any point in the game.

But something had to give, and it took overtime for Lourdes to squeak out a 47-45 victory that gave the school its first ever District 10 senior boys basketball title.

“It was just back and forth,” said Raab. “We knew they were gonna come out and fight. We had a rough game at points, but we battled through it.”

The game, played in front of a few hundred loud fans who grew more lively with each passing minute, featured a surprise finalist in the Falcons. In the semifinals, Centre Wellington, who were fourth in the regular season with a 9-5 record, knocked off the John F. Ross Royals, who were in first with a 13-1 mark. (Lourdes was second with an 11-3 record.)

Robinson said he was a tad concerned heading into the game, given most people expected Ross to be there.

“I was worried we’d be overconfident, but I don’t think we were,” said Robinson.

With the score tied 39-39 in the fourth quarter and fewer than 10 ticks left on the clock, Lourdes had the ball under the Falcons’ basket for an in-bound play.

Much of the crowd was on its feet, anticipating an exciting conclusion. The ball went to Lourdes’s Sharieff Peru, who took a quick shot and missed. There were still 5.5 seconds to go, which was plenty of time for the Falcons to try to win their first ever senior boys basketball title. After a timeout, the Falcons got the ball to Tim Francis, who had a pretty good look from three-point land. His shot was in the air as the buzzer sounded, but it didn’t drop and overtime would be needed.

With time winding down in OT and Lourdes holding a 47-45 lead, the Falcons again held the ball – and their destiny – in their own hands. But a late shot by Reid Goindi missed and Lourdes was able to grab the rebound – and its first ever D10 title.

Robinson, who said the tilt was “probably one of our sloppiest games of the year,” said his team’s deeper bench may have been the difference in the late going.

“I saw some crazy stuff tonight. But I just knew if we stuck to it, they would tire because we’re deeper. And you could see that happening in the fourth.”

Said Robinson: “These guys deserve it. We worked hard all year and we’ve beat some of the best teams in the region.”

For Centre Wellington, losing by two points was particularly cruel. In the final moments of the first half, the Falcons’ Wade Uhrig hit a shot that looked like it may have been released before the buzzer sounded. But it didn’t count.

“At the end of the half, I said to the refs: ‘I’d love to have instant replay,’” said Brubacher, with a laugh. “I thought it was good, but we’re not blaming the ref. That’s the way it was.”

On what he told his players after the loss, Brubacher said: “They’re disappointed right now, but we talked about how you handle defeat is as important as how you handle victory. They can keep their heads up high.”

Raab was named game MVP for Lourdes while Goindi earned the award for the Falcons.

• • •

The senior champion Our Lady of Lourdes Crusaders are: Joachim Allera, Liam O’Regan, Chris Watson, Mike Finoro, Max Raab, Terrick Peru, Stephen Gade, Evan McLaughlin, Jordan Trimble, Kevin Roche, Anthony Joaquim, Ben King, Ryan Bilodeau, Andrew Chapman, Taylor Fraser, Sharieff Peru. Coaches: Scott Robinson, Mike O’Rourke, Marion Reidel.

Royals untouchable

nbekavac — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:46:13 +0000

Just as the Centre Wellington Falcons started to give the undefeated John F. Ross Royals a run for their money in the District 10 junior boys basketball finals Friday, a steal by Ross’s Mo Hussien stole the momentum from the Falcons and gave it back to the Royals.

And the rest was history.

The Falcons opened the second half of the final with a flurry, taking mere moments to cut an eight-point halftime deficit down to four. The underdog Falcons, who were 10-4 on the season, had the ball and they were looking to make a further dent into the lead held by the mighty Royals, who were 14-0 in the regular season.

But Hussien had other ideas as he plucked the ball from the Falcons’ hands and raced in for an easy layup. Ross would go on a 10-1 run after that layup and would hold a double-digit lead the rest of the game on their way to a 45-35 win that gave them the championship and a perfect D10 season.
Hussien was named Ross’s game MVP while Josh McEachren took the honours for the Falcons.

The victorious Royals are: Mo Hussien, Harris Cornett, Michael Thomsen, Tommy Yanchus, Kyle Schroeder, Jake Grant, Jeremy Morales, Vlad Vamanu, Daniel Street, Andrew Folkerson, Greg Schwan, Mobin Binawa, Nathan Earley, Simon Vandevorst, Caelen Ahluwalia. Coaches: Charles Douglas, Brendan Higgins, Chris Muller. Managers: Ellie Marianai, Rowan Bourdeau.

How sweep it is for Celtics, Lions

nbekavac — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:39:12 +0000

The Bishop Macdonell Celtics soared to the District 10 senior girls’ volleyball title Saturday by sweeping the John F. Ross Royals
3-0 at the University of Guelph. Set scores were 25-18, 27-25, 25-21.

Ross was first in the regular season this year with a 13-1 record. Bishop Mac was second at 12-2.
The teams went 1-1 against each other in the regular season.

Kira McKillop was named Bishop Mac’s MVP of the match while Kayla VandeKemp took the honour for Ross.

The championship Bishop Mac team is made up of Sky Patteson, Jenna Caravaggio, Kira McKillop, Emily Nespolo, Julia de Lange, Michelle Reynolds, Arlaina DeJesus, Emily Simpson, Katie Howard, Emily Tonin. Coaches: Melissa Misurka, Luc Renaud.
• • •
The St. James Lions took less than an hour to finish off the Centennial Spartans to win the District 10 junior girls’ volleyball championship Saturday. St. James won swept the tilt 3-0 (25-18, 25-4, 25-13).

The Spartans were missing several regulars in the match, including Christina Mereg, who injured her knee in pre-game warmups.

St. James was first in the regular season with a 12-2 record and Centennial was second with an 11-3 record.
The teams went 1-1 against each other in the regular season.

Chelsey Gazzola was named MVP of the match for St. James and Natalie Turnhout earned the award for Centennial.

The championship St. James team is made up of Julia Toscan, Natassja Woodard, Donna Zen, Chelsey Gazzola, Alyssa MacCormack, Chelsea Martin, Danielle Nagy, Victoria Rebellato, Emma Price, Laura Krizan, Rachel Pontes, Mikayla Morrison. Coaches: David de Burger, Tristan Pearce, Jennica Graaskamp.

Gaels take wrestling title

nbekavac — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:34:44 +0000

The Guelph CVI Green Gaels won the overall team title in their home gym at the District 10/4 wrestling championships last week.

The Gaels earned 108 points overall at the event. In second was Centre Wellington with 96. In third was John F. Ross CVI with 93.

Earning gold medals on the boys side at the event were: Riley Mackenzie (Centre Wellington), Cody Sheppard (Centre Wellington), Harper Jacob (John F. Ross), Nigel McGee (Lourdes), Brandon Coulter (Centre Wellington), Elvir Uzunovic (GCVI), Sultan Kaker (Ross), Sam Morgan (Ross), Jessie Wiggins (Ross), Sean Broadbent (Ross), Derek Beyer (Norwell), Tony Nguyen (GCVI), Amadeus Pinske (Norwell), Brad Karns (Centre Wellington), Kealyn Coghill (Walkerton), Emin Spahic (GCVI).

First place finishers on the girls side: Christine Grafe (Lourdes), Mathuraa Pawaneshwaran (GCVI), Jenna Leslie (Centre Wellington), Lindsay Whiting (Centre Dufferin), Cierra Carere (Lourdes), Nicole Hare (Lourdes), Joanna Styles (Centre Dufferin), Breanna Piccalotto (Ross), Rebecca Matheson (Orangeville), Tamara Lockhurst (Westside), Agatha Bartoszewicz (GCVI), Anna Stark (Centre Dufferin), Stacey Craig (Norwell).

The CWOSSA championship takes place Wednesday in Delhi.

The accidental anti-bullying crusader

cclark — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:50:23 +0000

By Jessica Lovell
Guelph Tribune

Lynne MacIntyre didn’t set out to become an anti-bullying crusader, but when her son became a victim of bullying, she soon found that she had become a crusader.
The local woman has hopes of being part of a provincial task force on bullying, but while she’s waiting for one to form, she is not sitting idle. Instead, MacIntyre is gathering together representatives from a variety of community organizations for the Guelph Anti-Bullying Coalition to co-ordinate local efforts to fight the problem.
“I think that more can be done in the schools, but we can never eradicate bullying if we expect the schools to do it alone,” she said.
An employee in the city’s human resources department, MacIntyre stepped outside of her official role last week when she attended a meeting of the city’s community and social services committee meeting to request support for the coalition. Though she was nervous to speak from her position as a mother rather than as a city employee, MacIntyre felt the meeting went well. “There is the support of council,” she said. “The city recognizes that this is an important issue.”
The issue came to the fore for MacIntyre because her son was being bullied at school.
When he was in Grade 8 and trying to decide whether to go on his class trip to Quebec – a trip he ended up missing out on – she asked him to write out the pros and cons of going. What he wrote instead was a poem.
The touching work made its way into the Mercury and onto the radio when MacIntyre went on the Roy Green Show to talk about bullying. From there, MacIntyre found herself invited to meet with Education Minister Laurel Broten.
The meeting inspired her to move forward with a local collaboration against bullying.
“I want to make something positive out of what has been a horrific childhood,” she said.
So far, she has brought together representatives from the public school board, Guelph Police, Trellis, Family and Children’s Services, the John Howard Society and more. At last week’s committee meeting, she hoped to secure some city representation.
Although she didn’t get a firm commitment from the city, she was encouraged by the words of support from those in attendance.
“They did see a connection between the community well-being initiative that is underway and what we’re trying to accomplish,” said MacIntyre after the meeting.
What the coalition hopes to accomplish is an overall culture of social responsibility, not just in schools, said MacIntyre.
“We can’t expect that children are coming into the school system being taught manners, respect and empathy,” she said.
Those things need to be taught in schools and paralleled in programs outside of school too, she said. Within the schools, she’d like to see more consistency in the application of the legislation that deals with violence and bullying in schools.
“My goal as a mom, what I want to do for him, is ensure that schools understand what the rules are,” she said.
At the same time, she hopes the coalition can set community-wide expectations to address bullying.
“If we become one voice, we will be very effective,” she said.
MacIntyre’s son is in high school now and has been doing better since January, she said, but that doesn’t make her any less committed to the issue.
“There’s lots of work to be done,” she said. “There’s nobody immune to bullying. We’re all potential victims.”

Cost-cutting times are here

cclark — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:48:53 +0000

You can dispute the causes, but it’s become clear that Ontario’s public finances are in dire shape. Recommending harsh medicine is Don Drummond, the economist picked to come up with fresh ideas for dealing with the province’s financial woes. His report has set the stage for a dramatic Ontario budget in March, with a tough federal budget also set to come down this spring. We’re reminded of the mid-nineties, when former Liberal finance minister Paul Martin was slashing the budget to deal with a chronic federal deficit and former premier Mike Harris was slashing in Ontario.
Drummond, though, says the fiscal challenges faced today by Ontario are unprecedented in the post-war years. So perhaps the 1990s comparison doesn’t go far enough.
Several observers said during last fall’s campaign that the Ontario election, at bottom, was about which party the voters trusted more to be in charge of deep cost-cutting that would inevitably come. The start of this cost-cutting ordeal has now arrived, it seems. And in Ontario it’s complicated by the fact that the Liberals – unlike the Ontario PCs and the federal Liberals in the mid-’90s – don’t have a majority government. The politics of the situation are going to be fascinating to watch.
Drummond doesn’t appear to think much of the educational reforms that Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government has touted so highly over the years, such as lowering class sizes in elementary schools and bringing in full-day kindergarten. But what could really put McGuinty on the spot is Drummond’s call for him to cancel the new 30 per cent tuition grant for post-secondary students unless the overall post-secondary budget can be kept to a 1.5 per cent rise. The U of G’s Central Student Association panned this rebate – one of the Liberals’ main election promises last year – when it was officially launched in early January, saying it isn’t fair because most post-secondary students in Ontario won’t qualify for it.
Guelph MPP Liz Sandals says the “very extensive and very thoughtful” Drummond report will be useful in helping the Liberal government balance the provincial budget by 2017. Wellington-Halton Hills MPP Ted Arnott says the report shows years of overspending by McGuinty has put Ontario in a big mess. Who do you trust?

Legacies to take pride in

cclark — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:47:27 +0000

Instant gratification. Conspicuous consumption. Built-in obsolescence. I won’t say these are today’s values, but rather they are today’s practices.
It seems everything has to be in the now, with little consideration for what it means for the future. Ever-growing suburbs in Guelph are an example. Not built to last, but made to sell. I understand the economics. These homes are affordable.
However, you get what you pay for, and all I can think of are east end residents who have nice new homes but nary an amenity. This is not particularly practical or neighbourhood-like, especially when there’s the 20-minute drive required for a quart of milk.
What of the plazafication of our fair burgh? We have so much land to spare, we see malls and plazas sprout like weeds. Non-descript one-storey structures, their waste of space is matched only by the size of their parking lots. I understand the desire for commercial choices, but how many cash-now-pay-later or tanning salons or pizza joints do we need?
None of the above are enduring, or built to last. The ’burbs, plazas and malls of today will be comical dinosaurs one day.
All of which leads me to where Guelph has spent gigantic amounts of money on a new city hall. It has a new skating rin and space in front now known as Market Square. Toss in another $13 million or so for the transformation of the Loretto Convent into a museum. And, what of the yet-to-be opened $8-million transportation hub? None of this is cheap.
However, as much as we enjoy the above today, flash-forward 50 to 100 years from now. I believe that all of the above will stand the test of time.
Today we are thankful that Guelph’s forefathers had the vision to build the grand old city hall, Church of Our Lady and many, many fine stone homes, among our many attributes. They have stood the test of time. It’s their legacy.
While today car is king and urban sprawl is the norm, this will not always be. The world will be a vastly different place half a century from now. One only need look to Europe to see where North America is ultimately headed.
Market Square officially opened this past weekend. Guelph Civic Museum hosts its grand opening later this week. The transportation terminal opens this spring. And, one day there will be a new main library downtown.
While built-in obsolescence may be the norm these days, Guelph has positioned itself well for the future. We have built and preserved enduring legacies that we can be proud of today. More significantly, though, they will be appreciated in the future.

cclark@guelphtribune.ca

It’s a mosque not a church

cclark — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:43:27 +0000

Regarding your article on the Muslim Society of Guelph buying the Guelph Community Christian School to turn it into an Islamic “church” (Tribune, Feb. 14).
I would like to bring to your attention that a church is a place of worship for the Christians, and as such there is no such thing as an Islamic church. The correct terminology here should have been an Islamic mosque, as the mosque is the place of worship for the Muslims.
It is extremely important to get the terminology right if we are to get rid of ignorance of the different cultures and religions.
Riaz Damji
Guelph

In awe of so much goodness

cclark — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:42:30 +0000

Is there any reason to be optimistic today? While parents wonder if their children will find a steady job with benefits, union leaders lie awake pondering the question, “How can I keep the employer from replacing full-time workers with contractual workers – with no benefits?”
There will always be someone who needs the job. So what happens when they retire with no pension? Will the government come to their rescue?
What thoughts plague an employer? I don’t know. Could it be, “How can I make more money for the shareholder?”
And into this plethora of questions, life has thrown yet another one. What would cause an anonymous person, from another province, to just donate one of their kidneys? What’s in it for them?
This question has perplexed me for a week now since my sister in Saskatchewan flew to Winnipeg to receive a kidney from a live donor.
The family is very thankful to the Saskatchewan and the Manitoba Kidney Foundations for this wonderful gift and especially to the live donor, but I just don’t get it.
The anonymity must remain, but surely there must be some way to show our thanks – to pay it back; no, to pay it forward. Perhaps this was how it began – by paying it forward.
Many prayers and healing thoughts were sent to the operating rooms of my sister, Elizabeth, and her donor – most of them via heaven and a strong contingency from Guelph. Thanks to all.
My sister and the donor are doing very well, and though I can’t donate a kidney, I’m looking at the possibility of donating part of my liver. (They tell me it grows back.)
Whatever happens, I am nonetheless still in awe by so much goodness on earth.
Francie Niekamp
Guelph