Archive for category Fun

Will Lucky Loonie help bring Canada gold again?

Feb 16

Posted by Mike Prawicki in Fun, Sports | 2 Comments

Trevor Linden can’t help but believe there might be something to the Lucky Loonie.

After all, the lucky coin didn’t exist at the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics, where Linden played hockey for Team Canada — and lost.

Fast forward to Salt Lake City in 2002, where a Lucky Loonie was buried at centre ice just before the opening of the Winter Games — and Canada went on to win gold in both men’s and women’s hockey.

“We didn’t have it in ‘98 and we didn’t win. I think it took the Lucky Loonie in ‘02 and I think they got in trouble after that whole thing, so I’m not sure how they’re going to make that happen again in 2010,” said Linden.

The legend of the Lucky Loonie is now firmly planted in Olympic lore and the Canadian Mint has produced a special Loonie for every Olympics since Salt Lake.

On Thursday, Linden unveiled the latest Lucky Loonie for the 2010 Winter Olympics, which features the official Inukshuk logo.

To wish Canadian athletes good luck, 10 million of these special coins go in circulation starting Friday.

“This is the fourth Lucky Loonie we’ve ever produced. It started right after Salt Lake City, so in 2004 [in Athens] and every Olympics since. I think it’s really gained in popularity, especially this year since the Games are in Vancouver,” said Christine Aquino, spokeswoman for the Royal Canadian Mint. “People see them as a symbol of good luck.”

Canadian ice-maker Trent Evans was the person responsible for burying the Lucky Loonie in Salt Lake. After the Games, it was removed and given to Team Canada general manager Wayne Gretzky, who then donated it to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

On Monday, the glass case containing the original lucky coin was opened for Canadians to touch to give Team Canada a boost. Don Cherry was the first in line to touch the loonie, followed by a thousand people in a single day.

As for whether anyone has managed to sneak a Lucky Loonie in the ice this year at Canada Hockey Place is anyone’s guess.

However, Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts has issued a challenge to all B.C. municipalities to plant loonies in their arenas. The city of Esquimalt on Vancouver Island planned to heed that challenge Thursday night.

“We hope it brings good luck to our athletes as they go for gold,” said Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins.

By Lena Sin, The ProvinceFebruary 11, 2010 lsin@theprovince.com

Tags: canada, hocky, loonie, olympic

The Cubs Scalping Their Own Tickets

Feb 15

Posted by Mike Prawicki in Fun | No Comments

On Monday morning at 10 AM CT, the Chicago Cubs began giving their loyal fans a chance to start buying tickets to regular season games early, but there is a catch. It’s the Inaugural Mastercard First-Chance Presale of seats for the 2010 season, giving fans a chance to buy tickets before they officially go on sale on Friday.

The catch is that the tickets are marked up 20 percent. So while you can wait until Friday to pay $54 for a bleacher seat to see a game at Wrigley Field against the hated St. Louis Cardinals, they may already be gone if you don’t take advantage of your opportunity to pay $64.80 for that same ticket on Monday morning.

Though if you use a Mastercard to buy that ticket, it’ll only cost you $61.56 thanks to that 5 percent discount after the 20 percent markup!

As you’d imagine, this promotion is getting some reaction from Cubs fans in Chicago that isn’t exactly positive. It’s seen as if the Cubs are scalping their own fans tickets, which, in essence, they are. Still, this isn’t exactly anything new, and though they may be going about it in different ways, the Cubs aren’t even the only team in Chicago to do this.

Tickets for White Sox games went on sale this past Friday, though Sox fans who were members of the Sox Pride Fan Club could begin purchasing tickets as early as last Wednesday. Now, the tickets they bought early were at face value, but that price didn’t include the membership fee to join the club, which can run you anywhere from $24.95 to $134.95 a year.

What exactly is the difference?

The fact of the matter is that baseball tickets, much like everything else in the United States, follow the laws of supply and demand. There is a demand for Cubs tickets that far outweighs the supply, so therefore, the price is going to go up. So while fans may complain about the 20 percent premium on the Cubs presale, it’s probably not stopping them from logging on to the team’s Web site this morning to buy them.

2/15/2010 11:31 AM ET By Tom Fornelli

Tags: baseball, chicago, cubs, mlb, scalping

1938 Dating Guide For Single Women

Feb 15

Posted by Mike Prawicki in Fun | No Comments

Apparently, the only keys to successful dating in the 1930’s for ladies were don’t talk too much, wear a bra, and don’t pass out in the middle of your date because you’re drunk.