Team Canada

By Rachal Fleury

Behind every team of Canadian athletes at a Paralympic Games is a team of dedicated individuals known as the “Mission staff.”  These volunteers donate their time with one common goal in mind: to ensure Canadian athletes have the best possible experience at the Paralympic Games, both in and out of competition.

Approximately 120 Mission staff, including coaches, medical staff, team services officers and a media team, will accompany Canada’s 151 athletes (including eight guides) to the 2008 Paralympic Summer Games in Beijing from September 6-17.

At the helm of the Missionstaff are Chef de Mission Debbie Low and Assistant Chef de Mission Gaetan Tardif.

Chef de Mission Debbie Low

Low has been on the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s Missionstaff at nine Games and was Assistant Chef de Mission at the Athens Paralympic Games in 2004.

She has been involved in amateur sport for 20 years and is currently president and CEO of the Canadian Sport Centre Ontario. Previously, she served as executive director of Paralympics Ontario, and as director of sport for Toronto’s 2008 Olympic and Paralympic bid.

Low was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario, and is the mother of two teenage girls.

Assistant Chef de Mission Gaetan Tardif

Tardif is participating in his fifth Paralympic Games as a member of Canada’s Mission staff. He was a team doctor in Sydney and Athens, chief medical officer in Salt Lake Cityand Torino, and is now Assistant Chef de Mission for Beijing. He has also been named Assistant Chef de Mission for the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver.

Tardif was born in Chicoutimi, Quebec. He attended medical school at the University of Laval and continued his education at the University of Ottawa (U of O), where he specialized in rehabilitation and sports medicine. He went on to work at the Ottawa rehab hospital and opened the U of O sports medicine clinic before moving to Toronto in 1998 to head up that city’s rehab hospital (which had merged from four hospitals into one). He is currently vice president of Patient Care and chief medical officer at Toronto Rehab.

Tardif lives in Toronto with his wife, who is also a doctor, and their two children. As Chef and Assistant Chef de Mission, Low and Tardif have made several trips to Beijing ahead of the Games and are impressed with the breath-taking venues and ahead-of-schedule preparations.

“Beijing 2008 will be an important part of Paralympic Games history, with many firsts and many triumphs to be had,” said Low.

Tardiff added, “Beijing is as well organized as any Games I have ever seen and is as well prepared as any Games I have ever seen. Torino started landscaping their Games venues after the Games ended. Beijing started landscaping (two months) ago!”

Their Beijingvisits haven’t been all business though, and both Low and Tardif have staked their claims to fame in the Chinese capital. Low had a brush with stardom when she squeezed herself into a picture with Jackie Chan at a Games rally (he had his arm around her shoulder) and Tardif has been known to cut a mean deal in the silk market.

With less then two months to go until the Games get underway, Low and Tardif are very excited about their upcoming time in Beijing. However, they are also a bit apprehensive about missing a major milestone back home while they are gone, as both their first-borns will be heading off to university for the first time.

But despite what’s happening at home, Low and Tardif are focused on the job they have to do and on doing it well. Tardif is anticipating not only a good showing from Canadian athletes, but from the Canadian Mission staff as well.

“I’m looking forward to the excitement of watching the athletes do well, but am equally as proud to bring together this group of volunteers and watch them work well as a team,” he said. “This Mission staff has good chemistry. We’re very cohesive and work well together.”

For Low, the Games will be a culmination of a lot of time and hard work.

“By the time I get to the Games I will have been working on them for two years,” Low said. “The journey to Beijing 2008 has been about physical, mental and spiritual preparation. It has been about making sacrifices and training hard, and now it’s time for all the hard work to pay off.”

Low, Tardif and the rest of the Mission staff leave for Beijing at the end of August.

By Mary Beth Walker

The 143 athletes – 80 men and 63 women – named Tuesday to the Canadian team heading to the Beijing 2008 Summer Paralympic Games this September are aiming to propel Canada to a top-five finish.

The team is a solid blend of medal-bearing vets, including swimmer Benoit Huot, and determined new faces, such as rower Steve Daniel. Huot recently broke the world record that he set seven years ago in the 200m backstroke, and Daniel, a retired soldier, was introduced to sport for the physically disabled at the inaugural Soldier On Paralympic Sport Summit in May 2007.

Canada’s women’s goalball team and men’s wheelchair basketball team are vying for their third-straight gold medal.

For Paralympian Shauna Marie Whyte, who has competed as a Nordic sit skier at the last two Paralympic Winter Games and makes her Summer Games debut in hand cycling, Beijing is about athletic excellence.

“These are true athletes,” Whyte said of Paralympians. “These are athletes who train not just for the extrinsic value of sport – for the money, for the sponsors – but they train because they love their sport.”

Canada will compete in 17 sports: archery, athletics, wheelchair basketball, boccia, cycling, equestrian, fencing, goalball, judo, powerlifting, rowing, wheelchair rugby, sailing, shooting, swimming, table tennis and wheelchair tennis.

The athletes will be supported by eight guides and 120 coaches, medical staff and other support team members.

The Canadian team of 143 athletes going to Beijing is the same size as the team Canada sent to the last Paralympic Summer Games in Athens in 2004. Canada finished third in Athens, and third also in Sydney in 2000.

CPC President Carla Qualtrough noted though that with more countries competing and competition intensifying, winning medals is becoming harder.

About 4,000 athletes from 145 countries are expected to participate in the Beijing Paralympic Games. The number of countries participating at the Summer Paralympic Games was 136 in Athens and 125 in Sydney.

Wheelchair racer Chantal Petitclerc noted the growth of the Paralympic Movement worldwide has also resulted in increased awareness of Paralympic sport and Paralympic athletes.

“This will be my fifth and last Paralympic Games. Things have changed a lot over the 20 years I’ve been training. Back then, one out of every two days when I was training, people would stop their cars at the side of the road and ask me if I needed to be pushed up the hill outside my hometown of Saint-Marc-des-Carrières. They didn’t know that I wanted to climb the hill on my own,” recalled Petitclerc. “That doesn’t happen anymore. I was on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve [in Montreal] this morning, and after my performance over the weekend, I had six or seven cyclists who stopped to congratulate me on my world record. That shows that things have changed enormously in 20 years, and that Paralympic sport has taken the place it merits and that we’re recognized as athletes first.”

The Canadian team was announced by the Canadian Paralympic Committee at media conferences held simultaneously on July 8 in Vancouver, BC and Montreal, QC.

“I am forecasting a stellar performance by Canada’s Paralympic athletes at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Summer Games in China,” said the team’s Assistant Chef de Mission, Gaeten Tardif.

Whyte added, “Life is a lot bigger than the podium. It is also about inspiring other people. Excellence isn’t just about the podium. It’s about our everydayness.”

To view the list of the full 2008 Canadian Paralympic Team heading to Beijing this September, visit the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s website at www.paralympic.ca.

Straight from The On Deck Circle.net—by Blake Murphy

On Monday, it was Lebanon who fell, 89-67, to Canada in Men’s Basketball. On Tuesday, it was New Zealand falling 90-63. This Friday and Saturday, it will surely be both teams again. Canada stands a good chance of walking away from the three-team Jack Donohue International Classic with the title, in fact.

Yes, these are just exhibition games, tune-ups for something much more important, but Team Canada Basketball has reason to be optimistic nonetheless.

After this four-set of exhibition games concludes on Saturday, they’ll head to Germany for exhibition games on July 9 and 11. These, too, are tune-ups for something greater.

In Greece, from July 15 to July 20, Team Canada Men’s Basketball has the chance to qualify for the Olympic Games. It is a goal that eluded this country in 2004, after a 7th place finish in 2000, and one that the FIBA World Rankings don’t feel Canada deserves. Canada is ranked 17th of the 213 ranked countries, and with only 12 teams qualifying for the Olympic tournament, Canada should rightfully be an odd team out.

But that ranking is indicative of an old program, an old coach, an old attitude. Nobody will ever talk negatively about the job Jay Triano did at the helm, but the coaching change to Leo Rautins signalled a new direction for the Canada Basketball program as a whole. Now, with a qualifying tournament at their feet and an Olympic berth in their grasp, it is up to these 12 men to give Canada’s national basketball program new hope.

Today, in light of the exhibition tournament presently going on, I’d like to simply introduce you to the 12 men representing our country. As the qualifiers near closer, rest assured the coverage here at The ODC will be greater and in more detail, as our boys look to topple Korea and Slovenia in group play before heading on to an elimination-style playoffs.

Head Coach Leo Rautins
You may know him more as Chuck Swirsky’s color man on Raptors broadcasts, but Leo has strong basketball pedigree, too. One of the greatest players in Syracuse basketball history, Rautins was the first Canadian ever drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft, going 17th to Philadelphia in 1983. Rautins is the youngest senior men’s national team player in history, playing at age 16, and is in the Canadian Basketball Hall of Fame.

While his coaching experience is limited, this is a man who knows the international game and has a great passion and vision for this squad.

Joel Anthony, PF/C, Miami Heat
Anthony, at 6’9”, 260lbs. and hailing from Montreal, is a bruising combo big-man who burst onto the scene with Miami towards the end of last season. His combination of rebounding and tough defense makes him an imposing presence in the middle.

At the University Of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) he was named Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Year, finishing second in the NCAA with 2.9 blocks per game in his final season. Anthony is one of the leaders on the floor, boasting one of the most impressive skill sets on the team.

Jermaine Anderson, G, Germany
Anderson is a Toronto Native from Eastern Commerce high school. He went from there to Fordham University, where he posted a tidy senior season line of 15.6-3.7-3.4. With 39 games of international experience, he’s one of the more polished players on the team at age 25. He currently plays for the Walter Tigers Tubingen of the German ‘A’ League.

Rowan Barrett, G, France
The oldest player on the team at age 35, Barrett is a true journeyman. Hailing from Scarborough, he played at St. John’s University and had non-roster stints with the Raptors and 76ers before playing in Spain, Argentina, Cyprus, Greece, Israel, and Italy. He last landed in France, playing with ES Chalon-sur-Saone, and he’ll play the role of de facto veteran on this young squad. He also leads the team in scoring through two exhibition games, a trend that is likely to continue.

Samuel Dalembert, C, Philadelphia 76ers
Obviously, Dalembert is the most recognizable of the bunch here as the only player with more than a year of NBA experience. Sammy D, hailing from Haiti but obtaining citizenship through his time growing up in Montreal, is a scoring and shot-blocking threat in the middle at 6’11”, 250lbs.

A former 1st round pick, Dalembert has grown into a serious double-double threat at the NBA level, averaging 10.5-10.4 last season with 2.3 blocks per game. He should be the most impactful player and defensive backbone for this team, as few teams have centers that can bang with the Seton Hall product.

Carl English, G/F, Spain
You may remember that I had the chance to interview Carl a while back, and his message shone through clearly – this team is ready to compete, and he’s ready to help lead the way. One of the best scoring options on the team (he scored 18 against Lebanon), the Patrick’s Cove, NFLD native may also be one of the most experienced players. He has had tryouts with Indiana and Seattle after a career at Hawaii University, and now leads the way for Spain’s Kalise Gran Canaria.

Olu Famutimi, G/F, Arkansas Rim Rockers
Famutimi, a Toronto native out of the University of Arkansas, is still just 24 years old and still has NBA hopes after a strong season in the D-League (11.5-5.4-1.7).

Famutimi probably shouldn’t have left Arkansas after just one year of college, missing opportunities with Philadelphia and San Antonio afterwards, but his game and attitude are such that he should eventually be noticed by NBA teams. This tournament marks a platform for him, so look for him to have more great showings like his Player of the Game performance against the Tall Blacks.

Levon Kendall, PF/C, Greece
Everyone’s favorite Pittsburgh Panther, Kendall is a Vancouver native that presently towers over the opposition with Panionios BC in Greece. Kendall, 6’10”, has played for the national team for over five years now, based primarily on his strong play at Pitt, where he averaged 5 points and 4.2 rebounds.

Kendall once dropped 40-points in an Under-21 game against the U.S., and though he won’t be relied upon that heavily in this tournament, his wealth of experience with the international game should be helpful.

Tyler Kepkay, G, University of Utah
One of the more intriguing players on the team because he’s still in the NCAA, the Vancouver native made some noise with 7.5 points a night at Utah last season. Freshly turned 21, Kepkay is the youngest player on the team and was likely the 12th man on this roster, but he should see plenty of time in the exhibition bouts to prove his worth. Oh yeah, and he idolizes and models his game after Steve Nash. Not a bad role model, I guess.

Juan Mendez, F, Israel
You may remember Mendez from his NCAA tourney run with Niagara from a few seasons ago, and many hoped he’d be the next Canadian in the NBA. The Montreal native didn’t achieve that goal, but has spent three seasons in Greece and Israel honing his game, looking to improve a resume that sees him as one of just 99 players in NCAA men’s history with 2000 points and 1000 rebounds. Mendez’ scoring and rebounding will be important for the team, especially against Slovenia in the first round of the qualifying tournament.

Andy Rautins, G, Syracuse
Leo’s son, Andy is technically from New York but holds citizenship anyways. Coming off an ACL injury sustained in the Tournament of the Americas in 2007, Rautins is looking to get his game back before his senior season at Syracuse. Don’t think Andy’s here just because Dad is the coach, though, as he’s been a member of the team since 2005 and has shown strong 3-point range at the college level. If Rautins is healthy, his scoring and range could be a real plus.

Dave Thomas, F, Australia
One of the only senior members of the team, the 31 year old Thomas plays for the Melbourne Tigers of the Australian League. He has an NCAA Championship from Michigan State and a Best Defensive Player award from the Aussie League, meaning this Brampton native should mesh well with the defensive-oriented front court this team boasts.

Jesse Young, F, Spain
The 28 year old Peterborough native spent this past season toe to toe with Carl English in the Spanish ACB league, playing for MMT Estudiantes. He played at George Mason University for four years (before the Cinderella hype), where he averaged 14.6-8.4 and 11.6-8.5 in his last two years. At 6’10”, he is another big body with loads of international experience to throw in the mix for Canada, should he crack the rotation.

Aaron Doorenakmp, F, Carleton
Not on the 12-man roster, Doornekamp apparently played in the JDIC match against New Zealand Sunday (I didn’t have a box score to confirm at the time of writing). Doorenkamp would have the distinction of being the only CIS player on the team, though I believe he’s still expected to be on the reserve roster come tournament time.

Technically, he’s done four years, so I’m not sure he’s still officially a player for the Carleton Ravens, but as the reigning CIS Player of the Year, rest assured he could contribute if needed.

---

If these first two games have been any indication, you can expect Leo Rautins to go a little deeper on the bench, with maybe only Young and Kepkay (and Doornekamp) not playing certain games. Obviously the roles could change, but look for Barrett, English, and Famutimi to be the offensive leaders while Dalembert, Anthony, Kendall and the rest of the defensive oriented big men to give Canada one of the strongest interiors in the tournament.

Don’t worry about the thin analysis here, there’s much more to come closer to tournament time!

Straight from The On Deck Circle.net—by Blake Murphy

By Rachal Fleury

A lot can happen in four years.

That is why women’s goalball player Amy Alsop says there isn’t a lot of pressure for the Canadian team to win its third-straight Paralympic gold medal at the Beijing 2008 Summer Paralympic Games.

"Four years is a long time," she said. "It’s not like we’re defending something that happened last month or last year. We’re going to go out there and do the things we need to do to be successful. We’re going to take it one game at a time."

The Canadian women’s goalball team is ranked first in the world heading into Beijing and is led by veterans Alsop, Contessa Scott and Nancy Morin. The threesome, all two-time gold medalists from Sydney and Athens, are joined by Athens gold medalist Annette Lisabeth and first-time Paralympians Amy Kneebone and Shawna Ryan.

Goalball is a fast-paced Paralympic sport played by athletes with a visual impairment. Played three on three on a volleyball-size court, players track the ball by sound as they defend blistering shots upwards of 80 kilometers per hour.

As a new member of the team, Ryan stated she doesn’t feel extra pressure either.

"I’m working with such a talented group of girls and I have so much confidence in them and in my ability to work hard," she noted. "We have the attitude that we start out every game strong, and every game is played with the same intensity no matter what. I just want to do everything I can to not only support the team, but also contribute to a third time win."

Ryan was introduced to goalball by Alsop when they met at a social function five years ago. They both live in Saskatchewan. Intrigued by the "wacky" sport Alsop had described, Ryan decided to check it out.

"It was very confusing, but very fun," Ryan said of her first goalball practice. "I’d never experienced anything like it before in my life."

Now, just a few short years after taking up the sport, she is heading to the Paralympic Games to compete.

"It’s all happened so fast," Ryan said. "I’m excited and honoured to be involved with such an elite group. It’s becoming more and more real as we get closer to leaving."

For Alsop, playing a role in Ryan reaching the Paralympic Games is a bonus.

"I feel so great that I will have been instrumental in someone getting involved in sport and getting to the Paralympic Games," said Alsop. "To think that I had a hand in getting Shawna there is very, very cool."

Alsop is also excited about seeing Ryan and other newcomer Kneebone experience the magic of the Paralympic Games.

"If everyone has gone before, it isn’t something new anymore," she stated. "When you see a couple of teammates experience it for the first time, it is like you’re experiencing it for the first time."

And despite the fact that one-third of the six-member team are Paralympic first timers, Alsop feels the team’s chances at a three-peat are good.

"Each time we go (to the Paralympic Games) the competition gets tougher and tougher, but based on our last training camp, I’m quite confident we’ll be able to contend," she said.

Ryan will have a big personal following in Beijing as her husband, mother, sister and brother-in-law will be cheering her on. Alsop, on the other hand, has told her family and friends to stay home.

"No one’s been there the past two times and it’s worked out pretty well," she said. "Why mess with a good thing?"

The biggest competition for the Canadians is expected to come from the Chinese and the Americans.

By Mary Beth Walker

Archer Kevin Evans is a straight shooter when it comes to talking about the introduction of the open compound category of archery at the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games this September – he couldn’t be more enthusiastic.

"I am very excited about being a part of a new category in the Paralympics and hope that everyone out there will see how great this division is and hopefully this will also be a new category for the Olympics in 2012," said Evans. "Canada has some very talented archers in this division with three world champions in the last two years – not to many countries can say that."

In 2006, Doris Jones won the Junior Female World Champion; in 2007, Dietmar Trillus won the Male World Champion; and in 2007, Evans won the IPC Male World Champion.

Evans has been involved in archery for almost 25 years. Eight years ago, he lost an arm in an industrial accident.

Shooting a bow was one of the first things he can remember wanting to do following the accident. He used archery to help in his recovery, and began competing shortly after.

His passion for archery was sparked when he hunted, but he says his enthusiasm for the sport of archery continues to grow with each competition.

"My goal for Beijing is to do the best that I can, and be happy with wherever I finish," said Evans. "I have been competing for the last five years and making it this far has already been a dream come true. Finishing on the podium would be the icing on the cake."

Evans earned his spot on the Canadian team going to Beijing at the 2008 Federation of Canadian Archers (FCA) team trials, held May 31 to June 2, 2008 at Woodlands Park in Toronto, in conjunction with the Ontario Spring Classic.

He shot against Bob Hudson (Leoville, SK) and Robert Cox (Winnipeg, MB) in a competition that was so close that trials points were tied right down to the final three arrows. In the process, Evans shot an unofficial IPC world record for the round with a score of 118.

Canada earned the right to have an archer compete in Beijing in the open compound division at the World IPC championships in Korea last September thanks to Evans who won the gold medal in that competition.

Beijing will be his first Paralympic Games, and China holds a special interest for Evans.

Going to Beijing will give him an opportunity to see where his grandparents came from. Also, he is looking forward to bringing his family along with him. He normally attends most international competitions on his own.

He has been preparing for Beijing by continually participating in high-level competitions and will continue to do so leading up to the Games.

Before he lands in Beijing, he is set to compete in France, Great Britain and the United States.

Evans will be joined at the Beijing Games by two other Canadian archers: Lyne Tremblay, of Magog, QC, in the ARW2 women’s recurve division, and Norbert Murphy, of Vaudreuil-Dorion, QC, in the ARW1 men’s compound division.

By Rachal Fleury

The traditional gift for a 10-year anniversary is tin or aluminum.

But Canadian visually impaired runner Jason Dunkerley and his guide*, Greg Dailey, plan on celebrating their 10 years as running partners with gold.

The pair is gearing up for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China from September 6-17. They currently hold the Canadian and Parapanamerican records in the T11 800m and 1500m events, and brought home silver medals in the 1500m from the Sydney and Athens Paralympic Games. (The 800m race isn’t run in the Paralympics in the T11 category).

Their 10-year partnership is rare for runner and guide pairings, who Dunkerley says usually end after two or three years.

So what keeps the fire burning for these two?

Their long-distance relationship –Dunkerley lives and trains in Ottawa and Dailey lives and trains in Toronto – a five-hour trip by car.

"It’s definitely not conventional and not what people would typically do," notes Dunkerley.

The Courtship

Dunkerley was born blind due to a genetic condition. He began running in high school in Hamilton, Ontario, and went on to run at the University of Guelph, which has one of the top athletics programs in Canada.

Dailey, who ran at the nearby University of Toronto, was approached to guide after Dunkerley qualified for his first international event and needed a steady, committed partner to work with. The pair had international success right from the get-go, so it didn’t make sense that they stop running together, even when Dunkerley moved to Ottawa after completing his degree.

So, for the last several years, Dunkerley and Dailey have trained separately, getting together every couple of months in the winter and more frequently during a Games year in preparation for the summer track season.

"We pick up where we left off very quickly because we have such a history," says Dunkerley.

For Dailey, the distance has helped him stay inspired.

"Running is much more of a single person sport, but having an outlet that can make it a team sport has really helped to keep me motivated," says Dailey. "It has created new and more challenging goals in this sport for me."

Both Dunkerley and Dailey also credit their success to the Ottawa Lions – where Dunkerley trains – for creating an ideal training atmosphere for Dunkerley.

Beijing and Beyond

The Beijing Paralympic Games will have a special significance for the pair, considering Dunkerley is lucky to be competing at all. In 2005, hewas hit by a car while running along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa and suffered a fractured skull and a broken leg. But he has bounced back, and he and Dailey had their best season yet in 2007.

After Beijing, Dunkerley and Dailey will sit down (like they do after every track season) and decide whether they are up for doing it for another year.

"It’s hard to think of stopping," says Dunkerley. "However, I’ve always thought it would be nice to stop when I was at or near my best. I admire the athletes who recognize when they are there and do not hang on too long."

But that discussion is off the radar for the time being as the pair for now has bigger fish to fry. Besides a gold medal, Dunkerley and Dailey have a couple of other major goals in mind.

"I want Jay and I to break the two-minute barrier in the 800m and the four-minute barrier in the 1500m," says Dailey. "This would be a world record!"

And people say long-distance relationships don’t work…

*Some visually impaired runners run with a guide. Both runners hold onto a rope tether as they traverse the track. Runners compete in categories based on their level of vision. T-11 runners have zero vision, T-12 runners have up to 5% vision and T-13 runners have up to 10% vision. T-11 runners run with guides while the T-13 runners race without guides.

By Mary Beth Walker

It may not seem like much time to get anything done, but for Canadian Paralympic swimmer Benoit Huot, 2.21 seconds is just enough time to break a world record and reflect on seven years of dedication and training.

In 2001 at 17, Huot set the former world record for the men’s 200m backstroke in the S10 category at 2 minutes 19.48 seconds. Seven years later, now 24, Huot raised the bar again, setting a new goal for swimmers across the world to strive to surpass. On May 24, at the German Open swimming competition in Berlin he completed the race in just 2 minutes 17.27 seconds – 2.21 seconds faster than his previous record.

Huot went into the race with his mind set on achieving a personal best time and to thereby break his world record. Needless to say, he was happy with his performance and the fact that he can swim faster now than when he was 17.

"It’s an amazing chance and experience to break a world record," said Huot who has broke many records in his swimming career, and currently holds three world records including in the 200m IM and 800m freestyle. "Every time it’s always special and you can never get use to them."

Huot plans to keep up the momentum and to continue to break his own personal best times. He has set the bar high for Beijing.

"I want to go to Beijing and have 100% best times. I am swimming six individual races and I want to (swim) six best times out of those six races," he said. "The only time I had 100% best times in a swim meet, it was when I was 14 years old."

In the last two Summer Paralympic Games combined, Huot has collected eight gold and four silver Paralympic medals.

He is looking forward to having the opportunity to, once again, swim against the best swimmers in the world.

"I am really lucky and fortunate to be able to represent my country and do well for it. That’s a lot of fun!"

Leading up to Beijing, the Canadian Paralympic swim team will compete in the Can-Am Games in Victoria this July.

Canada will be sending a team of their top 21 swimmers with a disability – 15 women and six men – to the Paralympic Games this September.

The Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games run September 6 to 17 in China.

Canada held its own against five-time soccer world champions Brazil. The Brazilians 3-2 triumph over Canada was a friendly in front of 47,052 at Qwest Field.

Robinho scored the eventual game-winning goal in the 63rd minute as he dominated events, looking to stake his claim for a place on the Brazilian Olympic squad.

With the game tied at 2-2, Canadian midfielder Julian de Guzman tried pass the ball back but mistimed it. A fatal mistake quite similar to what lead to the Pato goal against Sweden a short while ago.

Robinho did the rest from there, pouncing on the ball and dribbling past goalkeeper Pat Onstad. The superstar then drilled the ball in the back of the net for the winner.

Brazilian coach Dunga credited both teams for a tightly contested match.

“The game was very tough, very difficult. They were playing with many players behind. The field wasn’t very helpful for velocity and speed, but it was a tough game.”

Brazil opened the scoring in the fourth minute of action. Robinho split Canadian defenders just wide of the box in brilliant fashion before dropping a pass to Diego. Diego then beat Pat Onstad low on the far left side to give the South American contingent a 1-0 lead.

The lead didn’t last long, as Canada answered six minutes later when Tomasz Radzinski sent a high ball into the box from 35 yards out on the left side. Forward Rob Friend out-jumped goalkeeper Julio Cesar, who should have done better, and headed the ball into the back of the net to even the score at 1-1.

Canada had opportunities to take the lead against Brazil. In the 24th minute, Friend played a through ball from midfield to Issey Nakajima-Farran, who raced past a pair of Brazilian defenders to gain control of the pass. Nakajima-Farran was all alone with the keeper, but his chip shot slipped wide of the open goal.

Friend helped give Canada another scoring chance in the 32nd minute. Dwayne De Rosario carried the ball down the right-touch line, easily driving past the Brazilian defender  before delivering the ball to Friend inside the penalty box.

The Canadian forward neatly dropped a pass to Julian de Guzman, who fired a shot from 20 yards out that the keeper punched wide.

Despite the pressure from Canada, it was Brazil who scored again before halftime.

Running down the left touch line, Gilberto took a pass from Robinho and then sent a left-footed cross into the box. Luis Fabiano headed and scored from six yards out; Brazil 2-1  heading into the break.

Canada evened the score in the 56th minute after de Guzman took a loose ball 30 yards from the Brazilian goal, and on his second touch fired a shot into the back of the net from 25 yards out.

3-2 it ended in favour of the world giants, though, as Robhino's goal not 10 minutes later would be the last.

Brazil continues its two-match tour of the United States with an upcoming match against Venezuela next weekend in Boston.

Pascal Leclaire went 4-0 with a 92.52 save percentage and a 2.00 goals against average and collected a shutout.

His roughest game was the semi-final contest against Sweden where he gave up four goals and many juicy rebounds. Overall, he had a very solid tournament.

There is a nice one on one with Rick Nash on TSN.ca.

So what's next for Ken Hitchcock and the Columbus Blue Jackets? The players will no doubt take some much needed rest and coach Hitchcock will certainly take a day or two to catch his breath. Hitch will then head back to Columbus to get to work on next season.

On the docket will surely be a complete breakdown of last season. Potential trades and unrestricted free agents will certainly be discussed as well.

I'm sure he will also check in to make sure his players are sticking to their assigned off-season conditioning programs.

Hitchcock will have a series of long talks with Columbus GM Scott Howson about the direction of the team. 

Hitchcock will certainly examine Columbus' top prospects too.

It is certainly a key off-season. It may be a make or break it one for the franchise.

The grunt of the work will happen over the next few weeks when the spotlight shines the darkest.

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Penguins for making the Stanley Cup Finals.

This is going to sound like sour grapes, but damn them. A team that was a Cup contender when the Jackets entered the league went to be the worst team in the league for a four to five year stretch to almost being relocated.

Now they have Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc Andre Fleury, Ryan Whitney, Jordan Staal as their last five of six round draft picks and a new arena on the way.

Meanwhile the Jackets continue to toil in mediocrity.

The Jackets have sucked but just didn't suck enough to get the no brainer draft picks and sure as hell didn't have luck on their side during the Crosby-stakes or any draft lottery for that matter.

Instead, we've got Rostislav Klesla, Pascal Leclaire, Rick Nash, Nikolai Zherdev, Alex Picard, Gilbert Brule, Derick Brassard and Jakub Voracek.

There is only one legitimate superstar out of the bunch.

Leclaire is finally showing that franchise potential. Klesla will be no more than a top 4 defensemen. Nash is the only legit superstar who desperately needs some help. Zherdev is an enigma. Brule and Picard have bust written all over them. Brassard and Voracek look promising but we've heard that before.

Again, sour grapes.

There are a lot of "what ifs" in that group. What if we took Vanek or Phaneuf over Zherdev? What if we took Kopitar instead of Brule?

The Picard year was horrible for everyone outside of top 2 but damn what if we could have finished one spot better and won the lottery like Washington did and the rights to draft Alexander Ovechkin?

I could play this "what if" game all day but it doesn't do us any good now. Doug MacLean dug a real deep hole of shit for this franchise and we can only hope Howson/Hitch can dig it out. The problem is what if they don't?

A player who could be the steal of the 2007 NHL Draft, Drayson Bowman of the Spokane Chiefs, is currently the leading scorer in the Memorial Cup.

After scoring a hat-trick and an assist while leading the Chiefs to a win in their opening game against Belleville on Saturday, Bowman came back with a goal and an assist to help his team secure a 2-1 victory against Kitchener on Sunday.

Bowman has been Spokane’s leading scorer throughout the year, as well as in the playoffs. He scored 42 goals and had 40 assists in the regular season, 11 goals and 9 assists in the playoffs, and now has 4 goals and 2 assists so far in the Memorial.

The Carolina Hurricanes drafted him in the third round last year. Someone give the scouting staff a raise.

Next up for Spokane is Gatineau on Tuesday night.

In other news, Team Russia beat Team Canada for the gold medal in the IIHF World Championships on Sunday.

Canada held a 4-2 lead going into the third period, but the Russians came on strong to tie the game in regulation and scored a power-play goal in OT to win it. Ilya Kovalchuk had the game winner.

It must have been tough to lose at home for the Canadians, but give the Russians credit. They had a heck of a tournament. For a recap and a few short interviews, (including Cam Ward), check here.

Speaking of Russia, it’s been reported that John Grahame signed a contract to play in Russia next year. I’m not sure exactly how those Russian contracts work, but I think the player can opt out, (up to a certain point), if they can sign an NHL contract in the meantime.

Either way, the writing was on the wall that he wouldn’t be coming back to Carolina. Best of luck to Johnny.

Uriah Heep