Wow. In my life I've been to dozens of Blue Jays games, dozens of Maple Leafs games and dozens of Raptors games. I've been to Marlies games, Argo games and WWF cards. I've been to all of these live events in this city, but I've never experienced what I experienced this afternoon at BMO Field.

For over 90 minutes of play, everyone was on their feet singing, chanting, dancing, stomping and cheering. It was as if everybody was reading from the same handbook. When the players are introduced, the public address announcer just says the Toronto FC player's first name and we all yell their last name. At the 23-minute mark, we all sang a song for Danny Dichio, because he scored the franchise's first ever goal at the 23-minute mark. There were lots of customs and practices to obey.

The songs were awesome. There were songs for certain players, such as the spin on "Hey Jude" for Maurice Edu or the call and response between sections for Marco Velez. There were anti-Galaxy songs, such as the super catchy "F*ck Galaxy" and love songs for Toronto. There was a song to start things off, a chant to remind the opposition "this is our home", anti-Beckham songs and even "Seven Nation Army". My favourite songs were the anti-ref songs which we sang whenever a call went against us. There was even this French question we'd ask the section across the field and then they'd answer and we'd both do this dance. That one is tough to explain... but super fun.

In addition to the singing, chanting and dancing, there was also a soccer game. I was worried it would be a boring 0-0 game, but I actually got to see two Toronto FC goals and at least six other solid scoring chances. I was stunned by how dominant we were and how much offence there was. It could easily have been 5-0 for the good guys.

Thanks for the ticket, Elvis. I'm seriously starting to think I was wrong about this franchise. I didn't think a professional soccer team would make it in this city, but today I witnessed 20 thousand young, enthusiastic fans treat the event with all the ritualistic fervent of a religious gathering. This was their church, and there was no sign of impending apathy.

Here are dozens of photos I took this afternoon during my very first Toronto FC game as we beat the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-0.

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I'm still fairly new to Blackberry Nation. I primarily use my Blackberry to jump on the web and as a phone. I've never really used it to send text messages, but today it vibrated and when I picked it up thinking I had a phone call, I had such a message. "Dude - want to go to the TFC game today?"

It was from a number I didn't recognize, so I replied with three simple words. "Who is this?" It turns out it was my buddy Elvis and he had an extra ticket to this afternoon's game against the Los Angeles Galaxy at BMO Field. I've never been to a Toronto FC game at BMO Field, so I took him up on the offer.

It turns out there were a few rules. Firstly, he wanted me to know we'll be sitting with the rowdiest of the rowdy and there will be plenty of boorish behaviour and swears galore. No problem! Heck, I wouldn't want to watch my first soccer game in any other environment. Elvis also told me to wear red. This was going to be a problem.

I thought about every piece of clothing I own and absolutely none of it is red. I'm more of a black, blue and grey kind of guy. After going through everything, I finally found a shirt that will help me fit in. It's the 2007 Oasis Zoo Run shirt I got when I ran their 10k race last fall. It's red and it'll do.

I'm taking my camera and I'll be taking notes. Everyone I know who's been to a Toronto FC game raves about the atmosphere and experience. I'm starting to think it won't matter that I'm not a soccer guy.

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The NBA have their dream final. The Boston Celtics knocked off the Detroit Pistons last night setting up a Celtics-Lakers final for the first time since 1987. It will be the 11th time the Celtics and Lakers have met in the NBA finals.

Boston has dominated this rivalry, winning 8 out of 10, although the first was against the Minneapolis Lakers. I wasn't around for those great match-ups in the 60s, but I was there for Larry Bird vs. Magic Johnson in the 80s. The Celtics currently lead in total championships with 16 to the Lakers' 14.

Expect to see lots of Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor, Bill Cousy, Jerry West, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Kevin McHale, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Robert Parish and James Worthy footage over the next week. Heck, let's start right now. This is, after all, a dream final.

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I always liked Brother Bill when he was on CFNY Edge102. I was sorry when he left Toronto for Vancouver and lost touch with him after that. It turns out he's working at 99.3 The Fox in Vancouver and he now goes by his birth name, Neil Morrison.

Freddie P will be appearing on Neil Morrison's show every Friday, and he debuted there today. Here's the audio, complete with Canadian Thinker promotions.

The best part is when Fred keeps calling Neil Morrison "Bill".

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For us in Raging Storm, this is our first season playing in the comp division. There are dozens and dozens of slo-pitch teams playing in the RSPA and the comp division is for the best of the best. We got bumped into comp when we won the highest intermediate division last year.

We've played five games thus far, winning two, losing two and getting edged in extra innings once. On the surface that 2-3 record doesn't look horrible, but we've never worked so hard for those wins and we were hammered in a couple of losses. Yes, we're taking our lumps, but we're hanging in there.

The biggest difference between the intermediate divisions and comp is the calibre of the opposing batters. These guys and gals can hit. It no longer matters that we get good pitching and play wicked defense, they just blast the ball where we ain't.

In WKRP fashion, you're left facing the harsh reality. Excelling in this division would require an upgrade of parts, including yours truly, but are we prepared to break up the family. Of course not. Andy wasn't about to boot Herb and Les and we're not about to rip Raging Storm to shreds just so we can play with the big boys.

We'll just take our lumps... and try to hang in there.

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I'm submitting a song for SLS19 consideration. I'm submitting "Tessellate" by Tokyo Police Club.

I don't think it's as good as "Nature of the Experiment", but "Tessellate" grew on me. They got bonus points for being from from Newmarket, Ontario, but they didn't need 'em. These guys are gonna be big.

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We all love Radiohead's "Creep", right? Apparently, even Prince loves "Creep", and he recently covered the song at Coachella. The next day, YouTube clips of Prince's cover of "Creep" were super popular, but they were removed at the request of NPG Records who claimed a copyright violation.

The videos were shot by fans and the song belongs to Radiohead, yet it's Prince who had them removed from YouTube so fans couldn't enjoy them. The best part of this story is when Radiohead themselves stepped in.

In a recent interview, Thom Yorke said he heard about Prince's performance from a text message and thought it was "hilarious." Yorke laughed when his bandmate, guitarist Ed O'Brien, said the blocking had prevented him from seeing Prince's version of their song.

"Really? He's blocked it?" asked Yorke, who figured it was their song to block or not. "Surely we should block it. Hang on a moment."

Yorke added: "Well, tell him to unblock it. It's our ... song."

This begs the question, did Prince have the right to order YouTube to block a fan-shot video of him performing a song he doesn't own? And even if he does have that right, isn't it pretty shitty that he'd make that call?

Here's that performance:

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My favourite Moist songs

1. Push
2. Silver
3. Gasoline
4. Believe Me
5. Tangerine

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Luc Bourdon was 21. He was a promising rookie defenseman with the Vancouver Canucks who played on the Canadian team that won the gold medal at the 2007 world junior hockey championship in Vancouver and made the tournament's all-star team.

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Harvey Korman was 81. He was the tall, versatile comedian who won four Emmys for his outrageously funny contributions to "The Carol Burnett Show" and played a conniving politician to hilarious effect in "Blazing Saddles."

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I was reading the Toronto Star sports section last night when I came across the city's high school baseball team rankings. At the top of that list, ranked #1, is Michael Power / St. Joseph's High School, my alma matter.

This isn't a new phenomena. When I was attending the school in the early 90s, we were always ranked in the top ten, often #1. I've always loved playing baseball, so in my final year I tried out for the team.

It didn't take long to realize these players were in a different class. Many had scholarships to play in the States after graduation. At least one would be drafted by a major league team. They could all hit a ton, throw bullets and it all seemed to come so naturally to them. Meanwhile, I was pouring my heart into the game and, although I didn't stick out like a sore thumb, I didn't survive the final round of cuts.

A few months later I was somewhat validated when that team won the Bob Prentice Cup at SkyDome, making Michael Power / St. Joseph's High School the GTA baseball champs. If you're gonna get cut, it's best to be cut by the cream of the crop.

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Nothing is worse than a Stanley Cup final that's over in four straight. The exception to this rule, of course, is when your team sweeps, but I wouldn't know about such things.

The Pens had to win last night to make this interesting and they did just that thanks to a couple of goals from Sid the Kid. Those goals helped Patino surge into 2nd place in our pool.

For the rest of the story, visit http://www.torontomike.com/2008hockeypool.html.

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I wore my #9 Damon Allen 2004 Grey Cup Championship tee shirt today. I didn't wear it because Damon Allen was announcing his retirement today, that part was a complete coincidence, but I'm glad I had it on. Allen played in the CFL for 23 years and has more passing yards than any other player in professional football history.

I really like Damon Allen, a fierce competitor who could run like no other quarterback I've seen. In just five seasons as a Toronto Argo he sits second in club history in career passing yards (13,974), career attempts (1,713) and completions (1,051), career passing touchdowns (77), and once completed 13 consecutive passes in a game - the second-best streak in team history.

My only complaint about Allen is that he hung on a tad too long. I should have been writing this entry one year ago. Still, that's my only beef with #9. He had a stellar career.

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I share an MP3 from my collection every Wednesday. You have seven days to grab this week's MP3. Please right-click your mouse and select "Save Link As..." or "Save target as..." so you can download it to your PC before playing.

Emm Gryner - Big Bang Baby
My buddy and Raging Storm teammate Mike Kic turned me on to the sounds of Emm Gryner. On one album, she covered a bunch of songs to give them a feminine flavour. She called this album "Girl Versions", and this is an STP cover from that CD.

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I've got a bud who's been burying me in early Canadian rock these past few months. All good Canadians know "As Years Go By" by Mashmakan or "Oh What A Feeling" by Crowbar, but unless you remember the 60s, how would you know The Beau-Marks, The Ugly Ducklings or Motherlode?

I asked this friend to put together a mix of essential early Canadian rock listening for guys like me who need a crash course on everything before The Guess Who and Rush. He calls this volume one, with volume two to follow, and here are the 29 tunes on Early Canadian Rock: The 60s and 70s.

1. Little Darlin' - The Diamonds
2. Clap Your Hands - The Beau-Marks
3. Ain't Love a Funny Thing - Robbie Lane & The Disciples
4. Any Other Way - Jackie Shane
5. As Years Go By - Mashmakan
6. Better Watch Out - McKenna Mendelson Mainline
7. Big Town Boy - Shirley Matthews
8. Boom Boom - David Clayton Thomas & The Shays
9. Bring it Down Front - Jon-Lee & The Checkmates
10. Charlene - Richie Knight & The Mid-Knights
11. Daytime Night Time - Keith Hampshire
12. Fortune Teller - Bobby Curtola
13. Gaslight - The Ugly Ducklings
14. Got To Get You Into My Life - The Stitch in Tyme
15. Half Past Midnight - The Staccatos
16. Heartaches - Jayson King
17. Her Own Life - Grant Smith & The Power
18. I Would Be The One - Kensington Market
19. If I Call You By Some Name - The Paupers
20. If - Little Caesar & The Consols
21. It Was I - The Big Town Boys
22. Oh What A Feeling - Crowbar
23. Opportunity - Mandala
24. Shakin' All Over - Guess Who
25. The Stones That I Throw - Levon & The Hawks
26. Turned 21 - Fludd
27. Unless You Care - Terry Black
28. Walk On By - Bobby Kris & The Imperials
29. When I Die - Motherlode

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Back in January I updated you on my Toronto Blog Google Challenge. At that time I was 3rd when you Google toronto blog and I was gunning for first, despite the fact the blogs in 1st and 2nd were multi-authored and financed, in other words, professional blogs. I am but one man doing this for shits and giggles during coffee breaks, intermissions and commercials.

I just conducted the search and I'm pleased to report I've made further progress. I'm now ranking 2nd overall when you search for toronto blog in Google. That's out of 6,800,000 indexed sites, by the way.

I'll update this little challenge when I'm on top of the Toronto blog food chain.

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Sunday afternoon, as I roasted a hot dog over a blazing hot bonfire, I couldn't wait to slip it in a bun and chow down. Hot dogs might not be good for us, but damn it's one tasty food.

I've always loved hot dogs and sausages. Nothing tastes better after a ball game, hockey game or concert. When it's 2am and you're hungry, it's the perfect food. Hot dogs and sausages are Toronto's official street meats, and despite efforts to diversify our street food by adding samosas, souvlaki and spring rolls, the hot dog vendor will always be king in this town.

It's too bad they're so damn bad for us. If you're questioning the existence of an omnipotent, wholly good Lord, think about this: would a wholly good, omnipotent God make something so bad for us so tasty?

Related entries:

• The Manuel
• Hot Dog! Bad News Alert!
• I'm In Today's National Post

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YouTube user Retrontario frequently uploads fantastic retro-Toronto-centric gems. These clips never fail to bring back a ton of memories for me, so I feature them from time to time.

I was always a little old for YTV. It launched late in 1988 when I was fourteen years old and by the time The Zone debuted I was way too old to be interested.

I didn't watch The Zone, but I was familiar with it. It first aired in the early 90s and they had PJs instead of VJs. The first PJ and the only one I ever knew by name was Phil Guerrero who went by the name PJ Fresh Phil.

As you'll see in this clip, PJ Fresh Phil's co-host was Snit, a television with dentures. I knew PJ Fresh Phil in the real world as the guy I used to mosh with at The Phoenix on Monday nights.

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I'm submitting a song for SLS19 consideration. I'm submitting "Sleeping Sickness" by City and Colour with special guest Gord Downie.

I've written quite a bit about this song, but I've never officially submitted it for SLS consideration. Now, it's official. There's no official video yet, but you can hear this sweet song by clicking play below.

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I have memories from my childhood of my parents carrying in the groceries in paper bags. The groceries always came home in these paper bags and then, almost overnight, the paper bags disappeared.

Plastic bags became the norm. The economy grocery stores eventually started charging us 5¢ a plastic bag, but there were lots of plastic bags and no paper ones. For awhile, I missed the paper bags, but then I forgot about them.

Now comes word that the LCBO is phasing out plastic shopping bags at its retail outlets.

The plastic bag ban is part of a growing environmental movement that began in March 2007 when San Francisco became the first North American city to ban non-recyclable plastic bags made from petroleum products.

The Manitoba town of Leaf Rapids followed suit later that month, becoming the first Canadian municipality to block retailers from selling or distributing plastic bags.

Plastic bags dissolve over 1,000 years, according to the environmental research group Worldwatch Institute. The group says consumers around the globe dispose of 500 billion plastic sacs every year.

One day we'll talk about plastic bags the way I just reminisced about paper ones. It's all about environmentally friendly reusable bags. Once we get rid of these damns plastic bags we'll ban hand guns, hand gun clubs and cellphones while driving.

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Yikes, the young Penguins are getting schooled. If you're rooting for the Pens, there hasn't been much to get up about. In fact, it's been a dog with fleas.

In the pool, there has never been a closer race for second. Four poolies are separated by two points. I still think Patino's got the best shot, assuming Pittsburgh eventually gets on the board.

For the rest of the story, visit http://www.torontomike.com/2008hockeypool.html.

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Sydney Pollack was 73. He was a Hollywood mainstay as director, producer and sometime actor whose star-laden movies like "The Way We Were," "Tootsie" and "Out of Africa" were among the most successful of the 1970s and 1980s.

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At some point this year, I'll complete my sixth year of blogging. These past few years, as my SEO skills improved and my Google-fu strengthened, I've had a few kicks over how highly I'd rank for certain keywords. I still think it's pretty cool that I rank #2 behind Wikipedia when people Google Bill Barilko.

Earlier today, while browsing the referral log, I saw a visitor dropping by after Googling Tom Henke. Tom Henke, beloved Blue Jay and dominant closer for so many wonderful years. I wondered where I ranked when people Google Tom Henke.

I'm currently ranked #3, just behind Wikipedia and baseball-reference.com, a couple of major league heavyweights.

If you had told me twenty years ago I'd one day rank third when people search for Tom Henke... I'd wonder what the hell you were talking about.

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While I was cut off from the world, there was news from Kirkland Island, British Columbia. A human foot with its foot shoe intact has washed ashore.

In February, I wrote about the three severed right feet that had washed ashore near Nanaimo over the previous six months. Now we have a fourth, all in a ten month span, all right and all sneaker-clad.

Any theories out there?

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Every Monday I shuffle my entire MP3 collection in iTunes and list the first ten songs that played. Here are the ten tunes I heard today with a personal story about one of them.

1. Captain's Log / Space Madness - Ren & Stimpy
2. What'd I Say? - Ray Charles
3. Manhattan Project - Rush
4. You've Got Her In Your Pocket - The White Stripes
5. C'mon Girl - Red Hot Chili Peppers
6. Baby Please Don't Go - Big Bill Broonzy
7. Between Us To Hold - Hayden
8. What Have I Done To Deserve This? - Pet Shop Boys
9. Be My Baby - The Ronettes
10. The Living Dead - Phantom Planet

Let's talk about "Baby Please Don't Go". If you're like me, the version you first think of belongs to Van Morrison. Actually, it was a hit for the band Them, fronted by Van Morrison, but you're forgiven if you think of it as a Van Morrison solo.

That's one of three versions I have of this tune. In addition to the Big Bill Broonzy version I heard today, I have the original by Big Joe Williams. He recorded it way back in 1935.

Since then, acts from The Nuge to Aerosmith, AC~DC, John Lee Hooker and The Doors have taken a swing at this wicked Blues standard. When Morrison recorded the song with Them back in 1964, session guitar work was played by a then little-known Jimmy Page.

Now you know the rest of the story.

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Camp Woodland Trails has 19 campsites which are spread out over 275 acres of breathtaking landscaping. This weekend, my son and I stayed at Hickory Hills with his Beavers troop.

I remember these trips from when I was a Cub Scout, and it was as fun as I recall. The weather was fantastic as we went on a scavenger hunt, learnt how to use our compasses by orienteering, enjoyed a traditional spaghetti dinner, exhausted ourselves on the obstacle course, played plenty of soccer, told stories and jokes by the campfire, roasted marshmallows, made smores, went on a long hike and closed out with a wienie roast.

There were no computers, no televisions and no radios. It was just a jam-packed couple of days that James and I will never forget.

I do, however, have one complaint. Sleeping in a single room with 17 Beavers and their dads isn't easy. I counted at least three snorers and one dude, sharing the bunk beside me, cranked out his snores at about 140 decibels. I didn't think I'd ever fall asleep. Next year, I'm bringing my tent and sleeping outdoors.

I went nuts with the camera. Here's the Woodland Trails Scout Camp photoset and a few pics below.

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I didn't see or hear a minute of last night's game, but I did check up on the score on my Blackberry. If you're wondering what kept me from the Stanley Cup finals, I'll write about that later today.

In the pool, Patino and Alexi made moves to secure second spot. They've got a slight lead on Ryan. The race for second is going to be super close.

For the rest of the story, visit http://www.torontomike.com/2008hockeypool.html.

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Dick Martin was 86. He was the zany half of the comedy team whose "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" took television by storm in the 1960s, making stars of Goldie Hawn and Lily Tomlin and creating such national catch-phrases as "Sock it to me!"

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Slick Rick won't be deported back to the United Kingdom thanks to a pardon he received for the attempted murders of two men in 1991.

I collected the Rap Traxx compilations that came out in the late 80s and early 90s, and the best cut on Rap Traxx 2 was Slick Rick's "Children's Story". My brothers and I would imitate Slick Rick's delivery and rap this sucker all the damn time.

Here's the video for "Children's Story". It's still a great tale.

If you want to hear another classic Slick Rick song, look no further than this awesome version of "La Di Da Di".

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I just read that Dennis Lee is a finalist for this year's Trillium Book Award, Ontario's premier literary prize. Whenever I think of Dennis Lee, I think about the annual poem recital we had through grade three. Dennis Lee's "Alligator Pie" and "Garbage Delight" were ripe full of fun poems to memorize.

In grade two, I memorized and recited "The Owl and the Pussycat" by Edward Lear. I remember doing quite well and making it to the finals where we'd recite the poem in front of the entire school and parents and others. I just Googled the poem and read it for the first time in over 20 years, and damn is it unintentionally funny. If I were watching a kid recite this poem today, I'd be snickering my smart-ass face off.

O lovely Pussy!

The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat,
They took some honey, and plenty of money,
Wrapped up in a five pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"O lovely Pussy! O Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are, you are, you are,
What a beautiful Pussy you are."
Pussy said to the Owl "You elegant fowl,
How charmingly sweet you sing.
O let us be married, too long we have tarried;
But what shall we do for a ring?"
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows,
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose,
With a ring at the end of his nose.
"Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling your ring?"
Said the Piggy, "I will"
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon.
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand.
They danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon,
They danced by the light of the moon.

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The Stanley Cup finals start tomorrow night. In case you're living under a rock, it's the Pittsburgh Penguins vs. the Detroit Red Wings. I'll be strongly rooting for the Penguins, and here's the five reasons why.

The Streak
Freddie P touched on this neat little factoid and I dig it as much as he does. No team captained by a non-North American has ever won the Stanley Cup. In fact, all the Stanley Cup winning captains have been Canadian except for Derian Hatcher who captained the 1999 Dallas Stars. Lidstrom, captain of the Red Wings, would be the first European to lead his team to a cup win. It might not be politically correct, but I prefer captains and Conn Smyth winners to hail from Canada.

The Kid
I've been following the career of Sid the Kid since around the time I wrote this entry. Believe it or not, he's still only 20 years old. That's incredible, and it would be even cooler if he led these young guns to the holy grail.

Red Wing Fatigue
I used to hate the Red Wings when we shared a division with them. I watched game 7 of that 1993 series just last week and, even though I knew exactly what was going to happen, I was so damn happy Gilmour scored to tie it up late in the 3rd and Borchevsky scored to win it in OT. I'm tired of these guys, they've won enough, and without Yzerman and Shanahan, there's no reason to like 'em.

The Hat
I love watching elite players, and I loved watching Mario Lemieux. In the early 90s, when the Penguins were winning cups, they were the team I cheered for when the Leafs were out. I still have my black Penguins cap in the trunk of my car. It's the only NHL logo on a cap I own that isn't the Maple Leaf.

Gary Roberts
Who doesn't love Gary Roberts? He was our heart and soul, he retired and came back, he hasn't sipped from the Cup since 1989. Damn I want him to hoist Lord Stanley's mug one more time...

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JewelGurl tipped me off that there's now an official video for Weezer's "Pork and Beans". If you're up to date on your viral YouTube videos, you'll recognize a number of the faces in this vid, from Tay Zonday to Chris Crocker and Miss Teen South Carolina.

=w=

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My all-time favourite Bush songs

1. Comedown
2. Little Things
3. Glycerine
4. Everything Zen
5. Bomb

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For the past 16 months, frustrated owners of Prima TVs have found their way to this entry where they've shared their pain. If you follow this blog, you know I don't typically go off on a company for no good reason. I wrote that entry after countless calls to Prima where I couldn't get a human on the phone to save my life. I just needed to vent.

Today, after 195 unhappy comments, there was finally an official response from the company that supports Prima televisions here in Canada. I won't reproduce everything Frank Macri, VP Operations for PWW Service Inc., had to say, but he admitted things were shite and they're committed to getting better.

Most encouraging was his promise they're "adding staff to our call centre so that when you call, you’ll be greeted with a live person who can answer your questions". Really, this is what pissed me off in the first place. Nobody replied to my emails, nobody answered their phones and even the voice mailbox was full. I had an 11-month old busted television and nowhere to turn.

And yes, I can't help but wonder if my little blog entry that's so visible when people Google Prima had something to do with this.

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We're approaching $1.30 a litre for gas in this city. Seriously, the local gas station is selling regular unleaded for $1.27 a litre.

Four years ago this week, I was ticked at the fact we were approaching a buck a litre. I even have a note about the end of an era, the first time in my life I had to pay more than a buck a litre to fill up the tank. That's when I shared this little nugget.

I'm not yet a senior citizen, but I have an old timer tale to share. For a period of time in the early 90s, I drove a 1985 Ford Escort hatchback. I managed to drive this car for years without ever paying more than 50¢ a litre to fill 'er up. I still remember when I first paid more than a half buck a litre and how disappointed I was.

That's right, this old bastard drove for years without paying more than 49¢ a litre on gas. And we used to hike miles to work in 12 feet of snow, too. No foolin'.

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Toronto's public school board has approved an Africentric school in an empty wing of Sheppard Public School on Sheppard Ave. W. near Keele St. The school will open in September 2009. Canadian Thinker calls it "a sad day for Canada", but I don't think it's that simple.

Here's what Canadian Thinker says about Toronto's Africentric school:

Here it is, the year 2008, Toronto prides itself in being a multi-cultural city in a diverse country, yet we’ve buckled under to the politically correct again and allowed something to happen that is not only wrong, it’s downright embarrassing.

Everything that Canada stands for crumbles with this decision. Allowing segregation in our schools is nothing to be proud of. This is not progressive and it’s definitely not a solution for what ails black youth in the current school system.

This decision is not a kin to segregation. From The Star:

The Africentric grade school will seek to hire a number of black teachers and use a more global, less Europe-focused curriculum to engage more students of colour. It will be open to children of all backgrounds from anywhere in the city.

Unlike the freestanding model common in dozens of U.S. cities and urged by many local proponents, board staff drafted what it called a "made-in-Toronto" blueprint that will open in an unused wing of a larger underenrolled school.

It is a model Premier Dalton McGuinty has said he prefers to a school in a separate building, although he has made it clear he opposes any public school focused on one culture.

Children in the new Africentric school likely will enter Sheppard through the same front door, share a lunch room, playground and library and join the same after-school club and teams.

There is a 40% drop-out rate among black students in this city. This alternative school is a bold attempt to curb this trend. We, as a city, want all of our children to graduate high school.

It's not a "sad day for Toronto". It's a sad day for those who dismiss ideas simply because they don't gel perfectly with the multi-cultural vision we have of this city. It's not an ideal solution, but it's worth a shot.

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