A12

TORONTO STAR

FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2011

ON OR0

Last day of the everywhere we fly sale.

All destinations come with an on-sale tag.

One-way fares from Toronto:

Destinations
From Only

Canadian
$

Destinations
From Only

U.S.

Destinations
From Only

International
$

69
Plus taxes

129
Plus taxes

149
Plus taxes

Hurry, sale ends today for travel on select days until April 20, 2011. Book today at westjet.com or call your travel agent.

*Book by January 7 (11:59 p.m. MST) for travel on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays until April 20, 2011. Fares on other days may be higher. Advertised fare for Canadian destinations reflects from Toronto to Quebec City. Advertised fare for U.S. destinations reflects from Toronto to Miami. Advertised fare for international destinations reflects from Toronto to Nassau (Bahamas). Taxes, fees and surcharges are extra where applicable. Fuel surcharge still applies to Air Miles redemption bookings. Advance purchase required. Seats at these fares are limited and may not be available on all flights. New bookings only. 100% non-refundable. Offer combinable with other fares. Flights may not operate on certain days. All fares shown are one way. See westjet.com for details.

Coach puts hockey row on ice

Hopes brouhaha over suspension a learning experience for young minor league players
KATE ALLEN
STAFF REPORTER

OTTAWA

Former U.S. ambassador has Lou Gehrigs disease

Paul Cellucci, the blunt-talking former U.S. ambassador to Canada, has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrigs disease. The former Massachusetts governor, 62, revealed Thursday he has the progressive and ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disease. Cellucci, whos maintaining a full work schedule as a lawyer in Boston, said hes experiencing some weakness but feels fine. Cellucci was named ambassador to Canada by then-U.S. president George W. Bush in 2001.
BRITISH COLUMBIA

PETERBOROUGHGreg

Walsh stood up on his minor league hockey teams bench Thursday night and screamed. Lets go, lets go, lets go! As his pink-clad Napa Auto Parts team rushed their rivals in black, the Austin Trophies, it looked a bit like their last mid-November matchup. Its not. A lot has changed between that game and this one, and Walsh is happier than he looks (and sounds). Its his first game back after being suspended by the Ontario Minor Hockey Association for pulling his team from the ice in protest of a racial slur lobbed at one of his kids by an Austin Trophies player last time they met. And when Andrew McCullum, the soft-spoken teen who received the barb sidles up to Walsh, his coach bops him on the helmet affectionately. Hopefully the kids took a learning experience out of this, Walsh said before the game as parents and coaches jostled him to welcome him back. Our job is not just to shove them on the ice. For McCullum, the media storm, his position at the centre of the maelstrom, and playing for weeks without a coach can be summed up economically: It sucked. The saga began at a Nov. 15 game between the two teams. McCullum and the player from the Austin Trophies scuffled on the ice and were sent to the penalty box, where they

AARON HARRIS/FOR THE TORONTO STAR

Coach Greg Walsh watches the final minute of play Thursday night. His suspension was detailed in the Star.

Two more men charged in rape of teen at party

RCMP say a code of silence among teens may be preventing police from laying more charges in what they believe may have been a gang rape of a 16-year-old girl at a B.C. rave party last fall. Police announced charges Thursday against two more men in the alleged sexual assault on Sept. 10, but said they cant pry enough evidence out of the witnesses for more charges. Photos and video of the alleged attack in the Vancouver suburb of Pitt Meadows, B.C., were posted on social media websites including Facebook.

were chirping each other, as McCullum remembers. Then, a game official heard the other boy call McCullum the Nword. The official told a referee, but since the referee didnt witness the infraction, no penalty could be given. The Austin Trophies coach benched his player for the rest of the period. When the player skated back on the ice next period without offering an apology, Walsh was incensed. The team agreed to forfeit the game they were winning, and were pulling off their skates before a twominute window to reconsider was up. The boy and two of his coaches later served three-game suspensions, and the boy hand-delivered a letter of apology. But according to a Hockey Canada rule on refusing to start play, any team official responsible for removing their team from the ice is automatically suspended pending a hearing. The rule is partially meant to prevent coaches from deep-sixing an entire game if they dislike a

call. At the follow-up hearing four weeks later, Walsh made his case to a panel of three OMHA executives. The panel had the discretion to either return Walsh to his team immediately, or suspend him for any length of time up to a year. Five days after the hearing, Walsh was informed by letter that the association had decided to suspend him for the rest of the playing season. He was stunned. At the time, Richard Ropchan, the associations executive director, said, We felt that it was appropriate under the circumstances, and that pulling a team from the ice carries serious consequences. Outrage followed swiftly. According to statements made by Maple Lodge Farms and Chrysler, two of the OMHAs three corporate sponsors, the companies urged the association to reconsider their decision. Three days later, OMHA executives scheduled an emergency board meeting and after nearly an hour of debate, the board voted to overturn the ruling.

The league would not provide an explanation for the reversal. Walsh called the Stars coverage of his ordeal instrumental in getting him back behind the bench. Ropchan also said the OMHA said it would review its penalties for using discriminatory language, saying the league had learned from this. The Greater Toronto Hockey League gives out indefinite suspensions for the use of racial slurs. The team is very close. They wear pink in support of team manager Tracey Groombridge, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and fought it off (her jersey says survivor.) The kids are glad to have him back, Groombridge says of Walsh. Justice prevailed. Everyone on the Napa Auto Parts team said winning wasnt the important part. But for the record, the game ended in a 2-2 tie. Though, maybe there are still a few more lessons to be learned: McCullum got ejected from the game in the third period for pushing from behind.

Candidate to stand up for older, white males

A candidate running to lead British Columbias NDP is standing up for older, white males. Former cabinet minister Harry Lali entered the race Thursday and immediately denounced gender quotas as discriminatory and called on white men to join his campaign. Lalis controversial campaign launch followed a debate about the NDPs gender quota rules, which could force out one of two party executives. As leader, I would welcome back older, white males into our NDP family, Lali said in a written copy of his speech.
ONTARIO

Russian players celebrated win in hotel bar

RUSSIA from A1

I dont think it was fair, Zislis said. They didnt want to listen to us. Zislis said the players celebrated their win with champagne nothing stronger in the locker-room. But the boys were caught on video in a hotel bar, grinning and hooting with beer bottles in hand. Russia scored five goals in the third period of Wednesday nights game, swiftly stealing a three-point lead from a stunned Team Canada. The game was the most-watched telecast ever on TSN. Surrounded by family and friends at the hotel bar, the team cheered multiple rounds of Russia! Russia! and Beat Canada! Beat Canada! The players, who partied well into the night, may or may not have slept before boarding a bus at the Adams Mark Hotel around 3 a.m. They were so drunk, they had to carry a couple of the guys onto the

THE CANADIAN PRESS

A young Russian player drinks a beer Wednesday following the teams victory over Canada. The team was not allowed aboard a flight Thursday.

bus, driver Curtis Hall told the Buffalo News. En route, Hall said some players honked his horn. One had trouble getting off the bus when they arrived at the airport and the driver

had to wait while the player made a slow exit. I was glad to get rid of them, Hall said. To ensure the safe operation of the flight, the crew of Flight 1266

denied boarding to 30 passengers who were travelling together and displaying unruly behaviour, said Delta spokeswoman Susan Chana Elliott. After getting booted off the flight, the team checked into a nearby hotel, where front-desk staff said they were sleeping it off. Team members are scheduled to return home on two separate flights Friday, arriving the day of the countrys Orthodox Christmas. On Twitter, many greeted news of Team Russias wild night with admiration. Dear Russian hockey players, getting kicked off flight because you were too drunk has left me thoroughly impressed, one Canadian tweeted. Another defended the tradition of the postgame party. (H)ockey players, Russian or Canadian, are hockey players not boy scouts or girl scouts for that matter.
With files from Associated Press and The Canadian Press

Alleged Tamil Tiger supporters granted bail

Two men who have been ordered extradited to the U.S. to face terrorism-related charges have been granted bail pending an appeal to Canadas top court. Suresh Sriskandarajah and Piratheepan Nadarajah are both wanted in the United States to stand trial on unrelated charges they provided assistance to the Tamil Tigers. The Court of Appeal for Ontario dismissed their appeals last month but released a decision Thursday granting them bail pending their applications for leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Star wire services