Canada Paralympics Flagbearer
Sledge hockey team captain Jean Labonte will carry the Canadian flag at the Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games.
Labonte will lead 53 athletes into B.C. Place Stadium on Friday. The 9-days of Paralympics will end on March 21.
“I’m honored to be chosen as Canada’s flag bearer for what will be an amazing Paralympic Winter Games,” said Labonte. “We hope to make Canadians proud from coast to coast to coast when the Games begin on March 13.”
Labonte is making his fourth appearance in the Paralympics and led Canada to gold at the 2006 Paralympic in Turin. He has been a part of the national sledge team since 1996. He became team captain in 2007.
“Jean Labonte is a great choice to be Canada’s flag bearer at the 2010 Paralympic Winter Games,” says Bob Nicholson, president and CEO of Hockey Canada. “Jean is a true leader on and off the ice and a great role model for young athletes. We know he will do Canada proud as he leads Team Canada into B.C. Place Stadium on Friday night.”
This is the second-consecutive time that a sledge player has carried the Canadian flag at the Winter Paralympics Opening Ceremony. In Turin, Todd Nicholson, who will also compete at these Games, carried the flag.
Day 8 Paralympic Torch Relay
After warm greetings in Whistler on Monday, the Paralympic torch travels to Lytton and Hope in British Columbia Today.
A large crowd greeted the torch at Whistler. The resort will host a majority of the Paralympic events including alpine skiing, biathlon and cross country skiing.
Celebrations will take place at Lytton and Hope today. Both towns are popular among outdoor enthusiasts. Lytton, which is located at the convergence of the Fraser and Thompson rivers, is known as the "Rafting Capital of Canada" and "Canada's Hot Spot." Hope has two major parks that are a joy for hikers and fishers.
On Wednesday, the make its journey into Vancouver at Riley Park in the morning. In the evening, the torch will visit Maple Ridge, which is located 45 km east of Vancouver.
Ad Revue Gold
Media General said its eight NBC-affiliated TV stations surpassed expected ad revenue from the 2010 Winter Olympic by $600,000.
Media General previously expected ad revenue from the Games at $7 million but its stations generated $7.6 million, the company said in a release.
Media General's five NBC stations in Nielsen-metered-markets were No. 1 during the Games. These stations included WFLA (Tampa), WNCN (Raleigh,N.C), WCMH (Columbus, Ohio), WVTM (Birmingham, Ala.) and WJAR (Providence).
"The outstanding efforts of our sales teams generated strong revenues from local and national advertisers from Winter Olympics packages," said Marshall N. Morton, president and chief executive officer."All of our stations did a terrific job capitalizing on the opportunity presented by airing the Games. We were aggressive in promoting the unique value we bring to our local communities and their viewers, and we succeeded in retaining new viewers for our adjoining local newscasts."
Holland Bikes Missing
Richmond police are searching for 21 bikes, missing or stolen, that were used by staffers and visitors to the Holland Heineken House. Workers discovered that bikes were missing when they were packing the house after the Olympics.
The bright orange bikes were part of 400 on loan from the Dutch Railway Company. The bikes cost about $700 a piece.
Richmond police say the bikes have a unique appearance and are not available in Canada. Police ask people to keep an eye out for the bikes.
Remember 2010 Book Sale
Olympic enthusiasts can remember the 2010 Winter Games by pre-ordering or buying officially licensed books from VANOC. Publisher John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd is producing three books under the licensing of VANOC.
The official commemorative book of the 2010 Winter Games and Paralympics called With Glowing Hearts is set for publishing in late May. Pre-ordering is available through www.vancouver2010.com. The book will feature hundreds of pages of original imagery including pictures from the Opening, Closing and Victory Ceremonies
The newest book on shelves is A Path of Northern Lights: The Story of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Torch Relay. The books tells the story of the 106-day across Canada and includes a list of all 12,000 torchbearers. The 45,000 km relay was the longest domestic torch relay in the history of the Olympics.
A Path of Northern Lights joins O Siyam: Aboriginal Art Inspired by the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games on bookshelves. The coffee table book features artwork by First Nations, Métis and Inuit artists that was showcased at Vancouver 2010 venues. It was published last November
Japan to Step up Winter Program
Japan hopes to improve its performance at the Sochi 2014 Winter Games.
Japan won five medal in Vancouver but failed to capture gold. The performance left Japan in the shadow of Asian neighbors South Korea and China that won 14 and 11 medals respectfully.
"As Team Japan, we wanted to win a gold," said Seiko Hashimoto, chief of Team Japan, according to the Japan Times. "We would like to unite as one and grab a gold medal in Sochi."
Written by Sam Steinberg .
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