Readable, teachable news.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Women’s soccer superstar Christine Sinclair has won the 2012 Lou Marsh Award.
The award is given out each year to Canada’s outstanding athlete. She is the first soccer player to win the award.
Sinclair, 29, is from Burnaby, British Columbia; she is captain of Canada’s women’s soccer team.
She led Canada to a bronze medal at the 2012 London Olympics.
She played a spectacular tournament, scoring an Olympic-record-setting six goals.
A judge has ruled that the mayor of one of the largest cities in North America has to step down.
Toronto’s Mayor, Rob Ford, has been removed from office–in other words, forced to stop being the mayor.
The judge’s decision takes effect two weeks from now. That’s when Ford must be out of his office.
Ford was elected in 2010 and had another two years to go, in his term as mayor.
Ford was found to have violated “conflict of interest” laws.
That’s because when Ford was a councillor, he raised some money for the football team he coaches, using City Hall stationery.
The city’s integrity commissioner — the person who advises elected officials about ethics — told Ford he had to give the money back. Ford refused.
When he became mayor, Ford asked council to reverse the decision.
In other words, he asked councillors to vote to let him keep the money and not have to give it back. Ford also voted in that vote.
The judge said that the mayor voting in this way was a conflict of interest.
On Sunday night, Canada celebrated a great game and a big anniversary.
It was the 100th anniversary of the football championship that decides who takes the most important prize in the Canadian Football League — the Grey Cup.
Across the country, and all over Toronto, Canadians were cheering for the Toronto Argonauts or the Calgary Stampeders.
At noon on Sunday, fans converged on Varsity Stadium in downtown Toronto for a “fan march,” a big parade of Canadian football fans.
The Argos’ mascot, Jason, bounced around the crowd giving people high-fives.
The Stampeders’ mascot, Ralph, made his way through the mostly Toronto crowd.
But it didn’t matter who you were rooting for–the real celebration was about the game itself.
“The only play is the next play,” the coach for the Argos told his team before the big game.
At the same time, in the other dressing room, the coach for the Stampeders reminded his team that, “one word — team — is why we’re here.”
Excitement is building as Canadians everywhere are getting Grey Cup fever.
The fever is particularly high in Toronto. Not only will the game be played there, but the Toronto Argonauts are one of the teams vying for the championship.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the Grey Cup championship, which decides which Canadian Football League (CFL) team is the best.
It is played between the winners of the CFL’s East and West Divisional playoffs.
The Toronto Argonauts are set to play the Calgary Stampeders on Sunday.
The winner will take home the trophy known as The Grey Cup.
Toronto was the site for the first Grey Cup, back in 1912.
The 2012 game will also be played in Toronto, at the Rogers Centre.
It’s unusual for the city hosting the Grey Cup to also have their team playing in the Grey Cup.
The last time Toronto won the Grey Cup while playing at home was in 1952.
Toronto’s mayor, Rob Ford, is in the middle of another controversy.
It happened last week. He was on the field with the high school football team he coaches, the Don Bosco Eagles.
The coach of the other team got into a confrontation with the referee.
Police were called in to deal with the situation.
That’s where the situation gets confusing.
The police called the Toronto Transit Commission. Police asked the TTC to send a bus to the field to pick up Ford’s team.
Unfortunately, that meant kicking passengers off two buses—stranding them in the rain—and sending those then-empty buses to the field to pick up the high school football team.
The mayor said when the buses didn’t show up promptly, he called the head of the TTC and left him a message.
Football quarterback Peyton Manning’s comeback season continues to develop.
Manning missed all of last year with a serious neck injury.
He is back in the National Football League (NFL) and playing quarterback for the Denver Broncos.
Manning has accomplished much in his career.
He has been a four-time NFL Most Valuable Player and a Super Bowl winner.
Last Monday he had a night to remember, adding to his historic NFL career.
In any sport, referees sometimes make mistakes.
After all, no one’s perfect.
But major league football teams have been irritated by the unusually high number of bad mistakes made by the referees these days, including a bizarre call on Monday night.
The National Football League (NFL) is using stand-in refs.
The league’s usual referees are in a contract dispute and are unable to reach a new collective bargaining agreement.
So the NFL has brought in replacement refs that aren’t as well trained or as experienced.
And they’re making some bad calls.
On Monday night, there was an especially poor call made by a ref that directly affected the outcome of a game.
England loves soccer. English soccer teams play in the Premier League (PL).
Two of the biggest soccer teams in the PL are two of the bitterest rivals: Manchester City, known as “Man City” and Manchester United, known as “Man United.”
Last weekend, one of the most exciting games in the PL took place… and it came down to the final moments. It was a game that would decide who took home the cup.
If Man City won its game against the Queens Park Rangers, Man City would end up with more points than its rival, Man United. In that case, Man City would win its first PL championship in 44 years.
However, a win wouldn’t come easy.
Ralph Wilson Stadium – the home field for the Buffalo Bills football team – seats more than 70,000 people.
If the Bills do not sell every last ticket to a home game, the game is not shown on TV.
This is a rule put in place by the National Football League (NFL). It’s called a “blackout rule.” TV games are “blacked out” – not shown – if the stadium is not full.
Football fans are pretty excited in Denver, Colorado this week.
That’s because football superstar, Peyton Manning, has decided to join the Denver Broncos.
Manning is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. He is the only player in the NFL to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) four times.
Because he’s so good, the 35-year-old could choose just about any team to play for. He chose the Broncos because he thinks they can win the Super Bowl. He wants another Super Bowl ring.
