On March 21, 2012 the Toronto Raptors will take to the courts of their home game while wearing camouflage uniforms, a salute to Canada’s active military members. Coachs and employees for the team will also sport poppies on their clothing in support of the troops.

The game will take place against the Chicago Bulls and the uniforms (pictured above) will only be worn for that game.

Joseph Casciaro of Raptor Blog however doesn’t think the uniforms honor Canada’s troops in the right way, writing:

On Remembrance Day, you can wear a poppy, donate to various charities and legions, and do countless other things to show your support. But I’d bet that if you walked around in head-to-toe camouflage, it would be seen as unnecessary, and in fact, might even be seen as making a mockery of the whole day.

To me, this is the same thing, you don’t have to parade your team around in camouflage to prove that you care about the armed forces. Make no mistake, these uniforms will enhance the Raptors’ reputation as league laughing stock in some circles more than they will do any good for our troops and veterans.

I have to disagree with Casciaro in part, yes it is true that the team could use a more “modest” approach to honoring their troops, however the uniforms, as ugly as they may be, send a strong statement that raises awareness about the men and women who serve in Canada’s armed services.

Do you think the Toronto Raptors “remembrance” uniforms are gaudy and uncalled for or a nice gesture on the teams behalf?

Toronto Raptors To Honor Canadian Military With Camouflage Uniforms is a post from: The Inquisitr

Resident Evil actress Milla Jovovich took some time on Tuesday to visit an injured female extra in the hospital after the extra plummeted two stories to the ground when a stage shifted during shooting.

After visiting with the extra Jovovich tweeted:

“I jst [sic] saw akiko (who goes by April btw) and she’s in a lot of pain. She injured her back,”  and added “Thank god she’s moving her hands and feet and not in critical condition.”

Milla says she’ll continue to check up on the actress, one of 16 people who were injured during the accident.

“She’s a piano player. Her brother plays the violin. I promised her that I would come and see her every week while I’m here to give her support and strength in her recovery,” said Milla while adding, “I can’t believe she said she wants to come back and finish her part, she’s incredible.”

The accident happened at “camp evil” during a zombie chase sequence for the movie Resident Evil: Retribution 3D.

After the accident and her subsequent visit to the injured extra Milla Jovovich told her fans that most of the extras were treated on set and returned to their roles almost immediately following the two-story fall.

While a major disaster was adverted it still has to be a scary moment for any of those extras who plan to get back up on that platform to finish the interrupted scene, although I have a feeling better safety precautions will be taken the second time around.

Milla Jovovich Visits Injured Extra In Hospital is a post from: The Inquisitr

Toronto on Thursday took a huge step towards pushing puppy mills out of their city. Officials announced that pet stores can no longer sell cats and dogs that come from outside humane society, shelter or rescue groups.

The law was put into place for two reasons, first to end the cruelty that comes with puppy mills who often leave dogs sitting in small crates in their own feces all day long and to discourage residents from buying puppy’s and kittens as part of impulse buys, purchases which oftentimes lead to abandoned pets that fill up kennels at rescue agencies.

The vote to ban puppy mill sales was a unanimous decision with one official noting:

“We’ll never shut down puppy mills, there are all sorts of ways people will illicitly raise animals, but I believe this will limit animal cruelty in the city of Toronto.”

It’s a small victory in a big city one that animal rights activists are already now trying to have brought into their own cities where such laws often do not exist.

Do you think shutting down puppy mills at pet stores is a big win for animal rights groups in Toronto? Will people simply find new ways to purchase newborn puppies from other sources?

Toronto Officials Order Pet Stores To Stop Puppy Mill Sales is a post from: The Inquisitr

For fans of NFL style football north of the US border, you may want to advise Toronto City Councilor Doug Ford to shut the heck up. For the second time this lockout filled off season Ford has run off at the mouth about his city’s desire to land a NFL franchise by bad mouthing one of the 32 franchises in American cities. Ford has a point, Toronto is a far superior market to many in the States that feature a NFL team, but he is not doing his city any favors by continually running off at the mouth.

The first incident came a few weeks ago when he talked about the New Orleans Saints and really showed his ignorance of what was happening in the NFL world. This time he verbally attacked the Jacksonville Jaguars and their inability to draw north of what he claims is 20k fans per home game. The Truth is the Jaguars draw over three times that at every home game, and once again Ford is left looking ignorant of what is happening in the NFL.

More to the point he has likely made an enemy out of Team Teal, a very organized, dedicated group of Jaguars fans. As a guy who has run afoul of this group in the past I can personally say that Mr. Ford does not want this group coming after him. More to the point he should not be running off at the mouth like this when 24 other NFL owners will have to vote to give his city a franchise.

We have seen other sports leagues blacklist guys who have a tendency to run off at the mouth, and even though Ford will not own the team he is doing NFL fans in Toronto no favors. He should quietly get a plan in place, instead of making himself sound pretty stupid by spouting off at the mouth.

Toronto’s sloppy misguided courting of a NFL franchise is a post from: The Inquisitr

So Toronto, Ontario, Canada would like to have a NFL team of its very own. I think we all knew that already, but now the city has gone public with its desires to land a NFL franchise to call its own. There is even talk about them constructing a new NFL style stadium on the lake front to lure a team into relocation. While it is one thing to say hey we want the Buffalo Bills, who already play a game there each year, it is quite another to openly advocate for a team especially when that other team is the New Orleans Saints.

The Saints released a statement of their own, calling any idea of relocating to Toronto as Borderline Ridiculous. They have to play nice; I do not have that limitation. If a city wants a NFL team the very worst thing they could do is openly advocate for that in the press. It turns people off, turns off the league itself, and makes any potential moves very difficult. If Toronto wants a NFL team of its own, they really need to learn to keep their mouths shut.

With that being said Toronto would be an excellent NFL market. It is a city with about 2.5 million people, and many more in the surrounding areas. It is a so called Super City and a NFL team could thrive there for years to come. It is a much more attractive NFL market then say Buffalo, New York. I would also put Jacksonville, Florida on that list but Team Teal may take offense. Anyway we slice this a NFL team in Toronto is a good idea, but they should not be saying so in the press. Especially considering the recent history of the city of New Orleans.

Related Links:

• Joshua Lobdell.com

Toronto eyeing a NFL franchise of its own is a post from: The Inquisitr

New Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford, wants to dramatically increase the tourism to his city and he sees a NFL franchise as the best way to go about doing just that. Sure the Buffalo Bills play one game a year in his city but he envisions a Toronto NFL franchise as the center piece to bringing in a ton of tourists. Toronto is a big place, with some 2.5 million residents, but I wonder how successful a NFL team could be in this city. Sure teh Rogers Centre is a fine facility but it could not house a NFL team full time. On top of that Canadian football fans like their version of the game far better than the American one.

Ford readily admits the Toronto taxpayers would not publicly fund construction of a suitable NFL stadium. So this may be a non starter, but there are some rumors that the Ottawa Teacher’s Pension plan may be looking to sell the Toronto Blue Jays and that may just be the people who would invest in bringing a NFL team to town. The pension plan only wants to make money for its members and a NFL team is virtually a license to print money.

The Rogers Centre was built for baseball and I know the Bills play there as do the Toronto Argonauts of the CFL, but as a baseball stadium its seating is not designed for football and likely could not sustain a NFL franchise for very long. The trick to all of this would be new stadium construction and them to get the Bills or another team looking for a new stadium to relocate there.

Right now it sounds like a stretch, but it just might be a very good plan.

New Toronto Mayor wants a NFL team of his own is a post from: The Inquisitr

Do your Valentine’s Day plans include getting busy in a Burger King bathroom?

I read your mind, didn’t I? Romantic, but have you considered something a little more upscale? If the idea of bonking where you eat doesn’t make you want to puke and you’re in Canada, a restaurant called Mildred’s Kitchen scored a free press coup this week with an unorthodox Valentine’s Day promotion encouraging lusty patrons to get their rocks off in the restroom. The words “shag in our facilities” aren’t mentioned, of course, but careful verbiage on the restaurant’s website paints a clear enough picture:

On its website, Mildred’s asks: “Have you given any thought to moving beyond the bedroom?

“Check out Mildred’s Sexy Bathrooms throughout the weekend of Big Love. You get the picture.”

An owner of the restaurant confirms the innuendo, and the restaurant hopes to become one of “101 places to have sex before you die.”

“We’ve always had little trysts in our bathrooms,” says chef/co-owner Donna Dooher, pointing to lingering weekday lunches as a popular time. “We’re taking it to the next level on Valentine’s weekend.”

Local public health officials have no problem with the promotion either- they say the encouraged activities are “pretty much similar to the other human functions going on in there.”  Way to kill my libido and appetite for food in one fell swoop.

Restaurant encourages restroom quickies on Valentine’s Day is a post from: The Inquisitr

The images above show the source image and published cover of the Toronto Fun Guide. Can you spot the difference?

Toronto: so diverse they photoshop in the black people is a post from: The Inquisitr

It might not be America’s Most Wanted but the police force in Toronto Ontario Canada have been in the forefront of reaching out and using all the web tools available to it. A few years ago when trying to solve a murder of a 22 year old in a club shooting they posted a video to YouTube in the hopes that it would help identify the killers. Fast forward to today and we have things like the Toronto Crime Stoppers YouTube channel and Facebook Page.

Not satisfied with just those couple of options the Toronto Police department has setup a homicide website that will give people the opportunity to help with both current and old cold cases. While the site might not be the epitome of what we think social services site to look like it is definitely a beginning of an interesting way to get people involved.

From the main page of the new site you can select to look through a list of current unsolved cases, unsolved cold cases and a list of the Most Wanted in Canada. In all the available unsolved listings you will find at least a link to a Google Map of where the murder took place. In some cases they will also provide addition links to other information including any YouTube posting they have made relating to the case.

The Toronto Police have apparently been experiencing some pretty good solve rates using these additional sources of getting information – good enough to impress a recent Interpol conference.

Chalk one up for us Canucks.

Crowdsourcing cold case files is a post from: The Inquisitr