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Home My WebLink AboutThe Times Advocate, 2006-02-22, Page 44 Exeter Times—Advocate Wednesday, February 22, 2006 =CNA Editorial Opinion e n = MISIM TIMES ADVOCATE PUBLICATIONS MAIL REGISTRATION NUMBER 07511 We acknowledge the Financial support of the Government of Canada, through the Publications Assistance Program (PAP), toward our mailing casts. Jim Beckett — Publisher Deb Lord – Production Manager Scott Nixon – Editor tirt Published by iroland Printing, Publishing Distributing& Ltd. 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850 Metroland Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6 • (519) 235-1331 EDITORIAL Can the men match the women? With the 2006 Winter Olympics wind- ing down, Canadian sports fans are still waiting to see if the men's hockey team can come together and repeat the gold medal success of the women's team, which defeated Sweden 4-1 Monday afternoon. Women's hockey has received criticism in the past because, up until this Olympics, Canada and the U.S. were the only two countries with any chance at winning gold. There was even talk of kicking women's hockey out of the Olympics until the other countries could make advances in the sport and become competitive. That may have changed last week when Sweden defeated the U.S. in the semi-finals in what can only be seen as a major upset. It may also have been the best thing to ever happen in women's hockey, as it gives the sport some legitimacy and shows the other coun- tries are getting better. Still, the dominance the Canadian women have shown in the sport is an extraordinary accomplish- ment. As for Canada's men's team, it remains to be seen how their Olympics will end. As of the writing of this editorial, there was much nervous hand - wringing after a pair of shutout losses on the weekend to Switzerland and Finland. In our arro- gance, we can't imagine losing to Switzerland; in reality we couldn't even score a goal on them. Against both teams, Canada looked like a collection of individuals who hadn't yet gelled as a team. But while there is cause for concern, there's no reason to panic yet — Canada usually needs a wake-up call in hockey tournaments, be it Phil Esposito's passionate plea to Canadian fans in the 1972 Canada -Russia series, or Wayne Gretzky's infamous press conference in the 2002 Olympics. For Canadians, men's hockey is the sport we become most passionate about, although there isn't the sense this time around that the world will come to an end if our men don't win gold. In 2002, the team was trying to break a dry spell of 50 years — now, Canadians have realized there are several countries worthy of a gold medal. After a slow start to the Olympics, Canada found itself near the top of the medal standings Monday night, tied for fifth place with 14 medals. There have been disappointments, such as speed skater Jeremy Wotherspoon's continued inability to shine at the Olympics, but for a country of our popula- tion, being tied with Russia for medals, and only one back of the U.S., isn't anything to sneeze at. My snowmobile season's slacking We're in the midst of the snowmobiling season—fun stuff. Sorry everyone, I'm really not that excited. I guess mainly because well, I don't have a snowmo- bile nor do I have any close friends who have one either. My family has owned one before, a couple of years ago. What a piece of junk! My dad paid $100 for the black stinky thing. I'm sure that was the problem right there. But he did mean well and what did I care? Never judge a book by its cover, right? Yes, my family and friends had a blast that winter. Until one day the brakes wouldn't work. My brother was driving and I was on the back. At least we were old enough to handle the sit- uation. My dad might be cheap or unable to pick a good machine but he always made sure we were safe. We'd never had brake issues before, although it wasn't much of a surprise. My brother jumps off— thanks a lot. I didn't even know there was a problem! So there I am heading towards a bush followed by a creek, great. Everyone's yelling for me to jump. Huh, you want me to do what? I jumped off Mission Impossible style (that's an exag- geration) and there she went right into the bush. Thankfully it didn't make it to the creek. Then there was this other time when my other broth- er took me snowmobiling with a different snowmobile. We have this dangerous hill beside our house called Dead Man's Gorge, Terrible name, I know. So what does my brother decide to do? He goes up the gorge with me on the back. Thankfully we made it, barely. And that is pretty much the extent of my snowmobiling experience. But I'd be lying if I said I've never had any fun. Actually I really have had some good times snowmobiling. It can be a lot of fun when done safely. The Huron OPP recently sent me some tips for a safe snowmobiling season; • Don't drink and ride; • Don't speed; • Watch the icy conditions which are unpredictable at times; • Be careful when night riding; • Protect yourself from the elements. Hopefully you'll take these into considera- tion, especially the snowmobiler who decided to race my car on Highway 21 about a month ago. Come on, how stupid is that? But I'll admit other then that one instance, I've had no problems around the area. And if I do get the chance to ride again at least I've learned one very valuable lesson—stay away from my brothers. NINA VAN LIESHOUT KICK THIS AROUND About the Times -Advocate Address & Office Hours Times -Advocate, 424 Main Street South, P.O. Box 850, Exeter, Ontario NOM 1S6. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. Closed on Holidays. 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For example, Jim Beckett's e-mail address is <jbeck- ett@southhuron.com> Our general e-mail address is ads@southhuron.com. The Times -Advocate Team Publisher Jim Beckett ext. 109 ADVERTISING Deborah Schillemore ext. 112 EDITOR Scott Nixon ext. 105 REPORTERS Pat Bolen ext. 113 Nina Van Lieshout ext. 107 CUSTOMER SERVICE Sue Rollings ext. 101 Kim Hern ext. 102 COMPOSITION DEPARTMENT Manager Deb Lord ext. 103/114 Heather Bilcke ext. 103 Kelly Gackstetter ext. 103 ACCOUNTING STAFF Anita McDonald ext. 104 Ruth Slaght ext. 106 Christina Scott ext. 108 MargPertschy ext. 111 Heather Clarke