A News1130 reporter has been honoured by the BC Association of Broadcasters.

Some of the Saturday films will appeal to news junkies who no longer completely trust what they're getting from the mainstream media.

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has proposed creating a "broad popular front" ahead of Russia's parliamentary election, in an apparent attempt to counter growing public discontent with his political party and solidify support.

Finance ministers from several European countries met amid concerns over Greece and Portugal, as Greek and other European Union officials vehemently denied a German online magazine report that Athens was considering leaving the eurozone.

Jean Chretien is urging Liberals to support Toronto MP Bob Rae as interim leader of the decimated federal party.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett says a private gathering at an Arizona resort where Oprah likes to hang out was a great chance for the American billionaires who have pledged to give away at least half their wealth to meet each other, compare notes, eat and laugh.

A B.C. special prosecutor will recommend perjury charges against the four Mounties involved in the Taser death of Robert Dziekanski in October 2007, CTV News has learned exclusively.

A B.C. woman who went missing in Oregon seven weeks ago has been found alive in Nevada, but there's still no sign of her husband.

Darren Helm with the late goal in the 3rd period to send the series back to San Jose on Sunday night (8:00pm ET). Sharks still hold a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

from Mike Wise of the Washington Post, The Capitals’ problem is not the coach. That’s not why they got swept in the second round against an, on paper, underwhelming Tampa Bay club. The problem is the nucleus. Alex Ovechkin and his three co-stars are not ready yet. Some, such as Alexander Semin, may never be. In hockey, the term “boys” is used affectionately, as in, “Ovie and the boys.” But Ovechkin, Semin, Mike Green and Nicklas Backstrom are not boys anymore. They have been to a few rodeos, and they keep getting bucked off. The Capitals are becoming the Dallas Mavericks of the NHL. They have become that team with the heavenly regular season and the hellish postseason. read on

A line from Wings coach Mike Babcock’s post-game presser stuck with me and stuck with me good, summarizing the Red Wings’ elimination-staving 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks on Friday. Here’s what Babcock said to a few members of the press corps about their broaching of the retirement question with Lidstrom: “You guys did a real good job by talking to him about retirement yesterday, and answered that pretty good.” Lidstrom scored two goals, the Wings got goals from depth players for the first time in this series, they earned their literal and figurative bounces, their penalty-kill was finally good in limited action and while the Wings stopped skating in the 2nd and appeared gassed at times in the 3rd…The crowd picked their Red Wings up. The crowd at Joe Louis Arena did nothing less than a masterful, Datsyukian job of injecting the Wings with the energy and belief they needed to finally eke out a one-goal victory over the Sharks via a workmanlike goal from Darren Helm, and perhaps Red Wings Nation imbued the Wings with enough self-belief to ensure that Friday night’s game wasn’t the last one at the Joe.

from TSN, The City of Glendale wants to reach into its pocket to guarantee at least one more season of NHL hockey in Arizona. City council is set to vote on a propsal on Tuesday to renew the existing contract with the NHL for another year and cover up to $25 million in potential losses. “We are going to renew the contract with the NHL and put $25 million aside,” said Glendale city councillor Phil Lieberman. “There is already $20 million in our budget and we have to come up with another $5 million. The $20 million will be up for vote and if they use that up then another $5 million. So we will duplicate what we did last year. “I think it’s a good deal that allows us to find a better solution. We do not have a signed contract or agreement with (potential suitor Matthew) Hulsizer,” added Lieberman. “I think it may pass 7-0 or 6-1, all of us want to buy more time but I don’t know if we will find someone else.” continued

Boston sweeps Philadelphia tonight, Tampa swept Washington. Two hot teams who now have some time to rest before the series starts. Who do you like?

There is no doubt that the Boston Bruins deserve to be where they are right now and that is in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bruins were the better hockey team in their 4-0 series win over the second place Philadelphia Flyers. The Bruins had the better offense, defense and goaltending in showing their fans and the rest of the hockey world that this is a much different hockey club than last season and years past. Offensively, this Bruins’ club is extremely deep and has been so in this year’s playoffs. Guys like Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejci, Nathan Horton and Milan Lucic, who finally picked up sone goals in scoring two tonight in the Bruins’ 5-1 Game 4 victory, have all stepped up their games and have helped their club move onto the third round. Unfortunately for the Bruins’ offense, they lost Bergeron tonight in the third period after being hit by Flyers’ forward Calude Giroux. Hopefully, the team will not lose him for the long-term as Bergeron has been dynamite offensively (12 points), defensively, on the penalty kill and has also been absolutely terrific in the face-off circle.

The Pittsburgh Penguins understood the distinction between regular season and playoff hockey. They just didn’t have the firepower to finish off the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Washington Capitals had all kinds of firepower at the ready but still haven’t mastered the “next level” aspect of the postseason. That their offensive arsenal never fired in unison only exacerbated their issues resulting in a clean semifinal sweep by the Bolts. Now, with their opponent for the Eastern Conference Final officially set in the Boston Bruins, the Lightning will face their stiffest competition yet. Boston has both the guns and the gusto, as well as a feel for the pulse of the playoffs. Not that Pittsburgh and Washington weren’t (because it can be argued that both previous playoff adversaries for the Lightning, particularly the latter, underachieved to a certain extent in their respective series) but the Bruins are dangerous. And they possess the primo crease-keeper in all the NHL, in the eyes of many.

Of the teams that made the second round of the playoffs, no team has scored fewer goals in the playoffs than the Vancouver Canucks.  They have only 2.27 goals per game.  This puts them ahead of Pittsburgh and the New York Rangers but neither survived the first round.  In the regular season, only New Jersey had fewer goals per game than Vancouver has had so far in the playoffs.  In part this number is low because the Nashville series has been a defensive battle.  Vancouver has scored nine goals so far in 15 periods of hockey (4 games including three overtime periods).  Even in the Chicago series, Vancouver failed to score more than four goals in any given game.  In six of their 11 playoff games so far in the playoffs, the Canucks have been held to two goals or fewer.  This is alarming because the regular season Canucks led the NHL in goals.  Their game has changed in the playoffs and this is a negative change.

from Steve MacFarlane of the Toronto Sun, Think it’s fair to say that Nicklas Lidstrom retirement speculation should stop. So he’s 41. He sure doesn’t look it. “Looks like he took a sponge bath in the fountain of youth,” said Paul Bissonnette on the TSN panel Friday night. The Detroit defenceman contributed a pair of first-period goals to the Red Wings’ 4-3 victory in a do-or-die Game 4 to stave off elimination at the hands of the San Jose Sharks. “Lots of times when you get tot he end of your career you can smell it, because you can’t do the same things you used to do,” said colour commentator Ray Ferraro. Lidstrom doesn’t have that problem. continued plus many observations from both of the games tonight…

PREDATORS		CANUCKS
	AT

Time	Sat. 5:00 PM PST	TV	CBC, Versus, RDS
Series	3-1 Canucks	Last Meeting	4-2 Canucks
The Enemy	On The Forecheck	Scoring Leaders	Kesler: 3-8-11 Ward: 5-4-9

Predators	Category	Canucks
Lost 2	Streak	Won 2
3-2	< Road Record / Home Record >	4-2
-1	Goals For / Against +/-	-5
2.8 (8)	Goals Per Game	2.27 (14)
2.90 (10)	Goals Against Per Game	2.54 (5)
1.43 (3)	5 On 5 GF/GA	0.83 (10)
16.7 (10)	Power Play %	22.6 (5)
68.6 (16)	Penalty Kill %	84.1 (6)
30.7 (10)	Shots Per Game	32.4 (7)
30.1 (3)	Shots Against Per Game	30.3 (4)
66.7	Winning % When Scoring First	75
75	Winning % When Leading After 1	75
66.7 (1)	Winning % When Trailing After 1	0
80	Winning % When Leading After 2	100
366 (1)	Hits	254 (5)
118 (9)	Blocked Shots	129 (7)
49.5 (10)	Faceoffs %	51.5 (5)
15.2 (12)	PIM's Per Game Average	10.8 (4)
NHL.com

What a glorious, no, frustrating series to watch. Please end it. Not a good idea to go back to Nashville for a Game 6.  Maybe the Canucks will stop blowing leads. Maybe the Sedins are going to break out. I don't think Ryan Kesler can continually carry this team. Yes he can.

FINISH THEM!

LINKS

-No Jerred Smithson for the Predators in Game 5 (The Province). He took an elbow to the snout from Kesler in Game 4 and was bleeding like a gutted pig. Something more is wrong there. Big loss for the Preds. That's their 3rd line checking center. The pesky dude was averaging 14:18 of ice time and led the team in the faceoff circle (58.3%). Pine-rider JP Dumont draws in.

-Preds frustrated? Weber and Suter wearing out? (The Province)

-"To me he's been like (Hall of Famer) Mark Messier."-Barry Trotz on Ryan Kesler (via TSN). Now Trotz needs a hero. But he'll be holding out for a hero till the end of the night.

-The strengths and weaknesses of Pekka Rinne (On The Forecheck). A must-read.

-The Preds are finished? Kaput? No way! (On The Forecheck).

 

PROJECTED FORWARDS DRESSED

CANUCKS

Daniel Sedin-Henrik Sedin-Alexandre Burrows

Mason Raymond-Ryan Kesler-Christopher Higgins

Raffi Torres-Maxim Lapierre-Jannik Hansen

Mikael Samuelsson-Cody Hodgson-Tanner Glass

PREDATORS

Martin Erat-David Legwand-Joel Ward

Sergei Kostitsyn-Mike Underwood-Patric Hornqvist

Colin Wilson-Nick Spaling-Jordin Tootoo

JP Dumont-Blake Geoffrion-Matt Halischuk

STARTING GOALTENDERS

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WHO IS HOT / COLD

CANUCKS

HOT

-Ryan Kesler: 3 goals and 4 assists in his last 3. The beast has awoken!

-Christian Ehrhoff: 1 goal and 4 assists in his last 2 games.

-Henrik Sedin: 1 goal and 2 assists in Game 4. Finally.

COLD

-Maxim Lapierre: 1 assist in his last 21 games.

-Tanner Glass: 0 points in his last 22.

-Jannik Hansen: 0 points in his last 9. Tertiary scoring? NEED IT.

-Mikael Samuelsson: 1 goal and 2 assists in his last 13.

-Mason Raymond: 0 points in this series.

-Raffi Torres: 0 points in his last 14. Tertiary scoring? NEED IT.

PREDATORS

HOT

-Martin Erat: 3 assists in his last 3 games.

-Nick Spaling: 2 goals and 4 assists in his last 6 games. Impressive kid.

-Joel Ward: 5 goals and 4 assists in his last 9. Dangerous.

-Ryan Suter: 1 goal and 2 assists in his last 3.

-Cody Franson: 1 goal and 1 assist in Game 4.

COLD

INJURIES

CANUCKS

-F Manny Malhotra: eye, out for playoffs

PREDATORS

-F Steve Sullivan: knee.

-F Matthew Lombardi: concussion. Out all season

-F Cal O'Reilly: broken fibula, may return in this series.

-F Marcel Goc: shoulder

-D Francis Boullion: concussion

 

VIDEO

History Slays The Dragon. You gotta see this:

The KesLORD:

Title of the post brought to you by the Beastie Boys "No Sleep Till Brooklyn":

 

The image below was created by SteveNux and I had to get it into a preview because it is boss:

If you’re planning on buying a condo in BC, you should understand how the strata property act works and what it governs.

The Strata Property Act applies to every type of strata development. The same legal principles that govern, for example a 500 unit apartment complex, apply equally toa  100 unit industrial warehouse strata, or a ...

A Strata is a Strata – Did You Know? is a post from: Vancouver Real Estate-Vancouver Homes For Sale

Like the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood iteself, the writers were multi-faceted and impossible to pigeonhole.

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The number crunchers at TransLink had predicted a deficit of $84 million in 2010, but instead managed to pull out a surplus of $16 million. The money will go into rainy day fund.

A study has been launched to find what impact the new bike lanes in downtown Vancouver have had on businesses along those routes. Findings will be made public in July.

Rita Chretien, who along with her husband Albert went missing while travelling to the States back in March, has been found alive in Nevada.

32-year-old Surrey man arrested Friday in connection with four attacks. The latest robbery happened in Coquitlam when a woman was rear-ended, got out of her car, then was beaten by the other driver.

The RCMP wants the public to know about a high-risk sex offender released from federal prison on Friday and now living in Chilliwack. Audrey Black has been known to offer babysitting services.

VANCOUVER - The Nashville Predators need a hero, says coach Barry Trotz.

VANCOUVER - Finishing off the Nashville Predators sooner rather than later is the priority for the Vancouver Canucks.

Vancouver-area lawyer and former school board trustee Eleanor Gregory has expressed support for Eby.

Published by Pop Sandbox, 104 pp, softcover. The Next Day is comic book about suicide. More specifically, it's about four individuals and their failed suicide attempts. On the surface, that doesn't

Vancouver housing advocates say they’re planning a campaign over the next month to press for year-round funding of temporary homeless shelters in the city.

Alexandra Samuel will be one of the speakers at the seventh annual Northern Voice conference.

While some people, myself included, had been getting on Ryan Kesler and the Sedin twins for not scoring, a funny thing happened. Both Henrik and Kesler got a goal but Henrik’s was an empty netter. Kesler, on the other hand, decided to shut up all his doubters and score three goals in the past two games and had back-to-back three point games in Games 3 and 4 against the Nashville Predators leading the Canucks to a 3-1 series lead. Told you I'd score... (photo courtesy of Getty Images) Those were his first back-to-back three point games since February of 2009. [...]

So, tonight could potentially see the end of 2 more 2nd-round series, with the Canucks and Predators being the only series where there wasn't a sweep.  Some people see this as a bad thing for Vancouver since being the only team not to finish the 2nd round by sweeping their opponent shows them as weaker.  I don't agree with this, mainly because of the matchups and results in the other series.  For example, San Jose and Detroit went to OT twice already in 3 games so far, and all their results have been 1-goal games.  San Jose is lucky to be leading 3-0.  Our series is very similar to this, with the only difference being that Nashville got a lucky bounce in OT that Detroit hasn't had yet.
Before I go off on a rant, here are today's games:

4:00 pm PDT Sharks vs Red Wings Game 4.  As I said above, the Sharks are leading the series 3-0, but the first 3 games were much too close to show a true dominance.  Viewable on Versus and TSN.

5:00 pm Flyers vs Bruins Game 4.  Last year, with Boston up 3-0, this was the point where the Flyers started their historical comeback to win in 7 games.  However, having that happen 2 years ago between the same teams in the same round?  It would truly be historical if that kind of luck came about again.  Viewable on CBC, Versus and RDS.

Go drama.

As we all bask in the glow of the big 4-2 victory yesterday in Game 4, the Canucks return home to try and close out the pesky Predators tomorrow night.  What a fantastic feeling it is to be a Canucks fan right now, as this team just seems to have grown so much this season, and even a bit moreso since dispatching the Blackhawks in Round 1.  One of the coolest things about watching this Canucks team from Winnipeg is seeing how important some of the ex-Moose have become.  

Ryan Kesler, Alex Burrows, Kevin Bieksa and Alex Edler are all major pieces of the Canucks core, and all of them spent time down here in Winnipeg with the antlers on their jerseys.  Arguments could be made that Jannik Hansen, Mason Raymond and even Cory Schneider belong in that group, and current role players like Cody Hodgson, Alex Bolduc, Rick Rypien, Victor Oreskovich and a number of others have spent time on both rosters.  It is very encouraging to know that our farm system is churning out quality hockey players, and that the Manitoba Moose play an integral part to the process.

Speaking of the Moose, Game 5 goes tonight (8:30 ET/5:30 PT) between the Manitoba Moose and the Hamilton Bulldogs at the MTS Center in a series that is currently tied at two apiece.  After losing the first two games in Hamilton quite handily, the Moose have stormed back and taken last two games and now look to head back to Hamilton with the series lead.  Listen to the game live on CJOB here.

 

What makes these two wins even more impressive is the fact that the Hamilton Bulldogs had absolutely owned the Moose this season.  After taking the first two of the 8-game regular season match-ups in October, the Moose dropped the final 6 encounters, including the final two home games of the regular season that cost them valuable points and home-ice advantage.  And after dropping Game 1 (4-1) and Game 2 (4-2) in Hamilton to start this series, an 8-game losing streak against the Bulldogs was staring them right in the face.  

The Moose, however, have proven resilient during these playoffs.  After already storming back from a 3-1 series deficit to defeat the Lake Erie Monsters in Round 1, the Moose came home and held serve in both Game 3 (5-4 win) and Game 4 (2-1 in double OT) to show Hamilton that they won't be an easy out.  So now we have an all-important Game 5 that goes tonight at the MTS Center, and it should be a beauty as they are opening up the upper deck to fill the barn.

• The double-overtime winner in Game 4 was a beauty, as Jordan Schroeder laid out a nifty saucer pass to Mario Bliznak, who roofed the one-timer past Drew MacIntyre at the 11:54 mark of the fifth period.  The goal can be viewed here on Moose TV - you will need to select the video from the collection on the right.  It appears that Schroeder has woken up, as he scored his first goal of the series in Game 3 and then set up the winner in Game 4.
• Eddie Lack stopped 43 of 44 shots in game 4, and Mario Bliznak had a goal and assist to lead the Moose to victory.  Guillaume Desbiens added the other goal.
• While Game 4 was a low-scoring affair, Game 3 was the exact opposite with 9 goals scored.  It also featured the turning point of the series, as the Moose trailed 2-1 with less then a minute to go in the 2nd.  However, the aforementioned Jordan Schroeder scored at the 19:25 mark to tie it up, and then something amazing happened.  Hamilton forward Ryan White took an interference penalty at the 19:59 mark, and with 1.9 seconds left on the clock the Moose scored on a bang-bang play.  Marco Rosa won the draw and Sergei Shirokov hammered it home before the buzzer.  The teams traded 4 goals in the third period, but the Moose took the 5-4 victory.
• The top line of Sergei Shirokov, Marco Rosa and Jason Jaffray each scored a goal, and the trio combined for 7 points in Game 3.  Mark Flood added two helpers, while Alex Bolduc opened the scoring for the second time in the series.
• Game 2 started off well as Kevin Clark scored 2:43 into the game, but Hamilton responded with 4 straight to put the game out of reach.  Chris Tanev managed to score one in garbage time, but the Moose lost 4-2.  Tanev assisted on Clark's goal to finish with 2 points in the loss, and Lack stopped 27 of 30 shots.
• Game 1 also started off well as Alex Bolduc scored 5:10 into the game, but it was the only goal the Moose could muster as once again the Bulldogs reeled off 4 straight goals to win 4-1.  Travis Ramsey and Mark Flood assisted on the Bolduc goal, while Lack stopped 33 of 37 shots in the loss.
• Marco Rosa is tied for second in AHL Playoff scoring with 15 points (5 goals and 10 assists) in 11 games, while Sergei Shirokov is tied for 12th with 9 points (6 goals and 3 assists).

Conference vibrated with the energy and originality of young participants -- and an overall sense of hope.

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Chemicals toxic to fish and suspected of causing cancer in humans up by 40 per cent in river sediment in past decade, scientist says.

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Provincial reports warms that climate change will mean a one-metre rise in waters by 2100.

Benjamin Hughes was speeding alongside a BMW on Highway One near First Ave when it crashed into a pole in 2006. The BMW crashed, killing four young men inside.

Special prosecutor will charge four officers involved in Robert Dziekanski Tasering at YVR in 2007.

The Gang Task Force found several high-end guns in their home on Anderson Ave. near Lougheed and Blue Mountain. Those guns include a semi-automatic rifle, a pump action shot gun and a semi-automatic Uzi.

Trending Topics is a new column that looks at the week in hockey according to Twitter. If you're only going to comment to say how stupid Twitter is, why not just go have a good cry for the slow, sad … Continue reading →

VANCOUVER - A big gain on stock sales and higher copper prices helped Quadra FNX Mining Ltd. (TSX:QUX) post much higher earnings in the first quarter.

The Vancouver-based copper miner with operations mainly in Canada, the United States and Chile, said it earned US$168 million or 88 cents per share in the three months ended march 31. That compared with US$55 million or 55 per share in the same 2010 period.

Revenues were US$268.8 million, up from US$197.5 million.

"The higher earnings in the current quarter were driven by a $134-million pre-tax gain on the disposition of Gold Wheaton shares, higher average copper prices and the inclusion of the Sudbury operations following the merger with FNX," the company said in a release.

These factors were partially offset by lower sales volumes from its Robinson and Carlota operations, however.

Adjusted earnings for the first quarter totalled $51.8 million or 27 cents per share, compared with $55.3 million or 56 cent the previous year.

On the Toronto Stock Exchange, Quadra FNX stock was down 31 cents at $13.76 Friday afternoon.

VANCOUVER - A man who shot his former boss to death at a staff Christmas party has been sentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole for 15 years.

Eric Kirkpatrick was convicted last December of second-degree murder in the December 2008 death of Ben Banky.

The 63-year-old arrived with a gun at the company Christmas party the day after he was fired from TallGrass Distribution, a natural-health products supplier in Vancouver.

Terrified workers ran screaming from the building after the gunman opened fire at the party, but nobody else was injured.

A two-hour standoff ensued, as police convinced Kirkpatrick to surrender.

His lawyer had argued he was mentally ill at the time of the shooting but the Crown contended Kirkpatrick was after revenge.

The Crown had asked the court to set parole eligibility between 18 and 22 years, but the judge said the fact that Kirkpatrick was diagnosed with epilepsy several years ago may have played a psychological role in his crime, a mitigating factor in sentencing.

The judge also found, however, that Kirkpatrick murdered Banky, 40, in a cowardly and senseless execution-style killing.

During his trial, court heard that Kirkpatrick had a history of conflict in previous workplaces, including swearing at supervisors, slamming and kicking equipment and shoving a co-worker.

Kirkpatrick testified in his own defence that he wanted revenge, but never intended to kill anyone.

He said "all hell broke loose" when he showed up at the Christmas party toting a shotgun, and that he planned only to destroy hard drives and even thought of burning the company down, although he says other workers would lose their jobs.

When he entered an office, Kirkpatrick said he found Banky on the floor yelling "Don't shoot me." Kirkpatrick said he fired a shot that went through a wall and when he looked in the office again, Banky wasn't moving and a woman screamed, "You've shot him."

Kirkpatrick said he poked Banky with his gun and fired two more rounds into him, saying he felt blank and thought of suicide, but instead called police.

His defence lawyer said Kirkpatrick was not thinking right because of medication he was taking for his epilepsy, combined with the devastating recent death of his wife.

There is an automatic life sentence for second-degree murder. The minimum parole eligibility is 10 years, while the maximum is 25.

Banky's former partner, Michael Breach, said he feels the sentence fits.

"Given the nature of Canadian law, I think it's ... very reasonable," he told a Vancouver radio station.

Kirkpatrick, in red prison garb with long grey hair and a long beard, stared straight and showed no reaction as he learned his sentence, never once looking back at former colleagues seated in the gallery. (News1130)

COQUITLAM, B.C. - B.C.'s Gang Task Force has seized a cache of guns and related paraphernalia from the home of a Coquitlam couple, and turned their child over to the care of relatives.

Sgt. Shinder Kirk says the 36-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman were taken into custody as a result of an ongoing firearms investigation.

He says officers found four handguns, several semi-automatic weapons including an Uzi, a pump-action shotgun and a quantity of ammunition, as well as a silencer and several high capacity magazines.

Kirk says the couple has no readily identifiable link to any particular group, but investigators believe the weapons would have ended up in the hands of organized criminals.

He says the Gang Task Force has seized 137 firearms so far this year.

I doubt cats would have given Stephen Harper a majority.

Talented young artists breathe life into a script that leaves you wanting more.

Perhaps one of the better newspaper front pages we've seen in recent years.

The report says planning should be based on an estimated one-metre global sea level rise by 2100.

The vocals were a little iffy the last time the glam-rock legends were in town.