Hawk On Fire

Roy Halladay is a legend in Toronto. Over his 16 Major League seasons - 11 of which were with the Blue Jays - the pitcher won two Cy Young Awards and was an eight-time All-Star. This morning, it was devastating to read that at the age of 36, the "Doc" was hanging up his cleats . Halladay was one of the best pitchers the Jays ever had, posting a 148-76 record and 3.43 ERA while in Toronto. He was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies in 2009, but Blue Jays fans never lost their affection for him, cheering him  even when he returned to pitch against Toronto. And clearly, Halladay never lost his affection for Toronto. In a heartwarming move, earlier today he signed a one-day contract with the Jays that will allow him to retire as a member of the ball club that he holds so dear. Once a Blue Jay, always a Blue Jays. And that's how Roy Halladay wants to be remembered. Read the story here . -Drew

If you haven't noticed, hashtags are everywhere. Well, everywhere online. Nowadays, they’re almost unavoidable. What began as a means of sorting out what's being tweeted at the moment on Twitter has now grown into something more; becoming punch lines on Facebook statuses, daily news and even during your favourite TV shows. In other words, what started out to be a social media trend has progressed into something more meaningful - a communication system that allows you to view a topic of discussion just by searching a key word. Need the next Miley Cyrus hit? Hashtag search "Miley" and you'll find a flock of tweeters tweeting a tweet about her most recent smash hit or her latest break-up. But is this just a trend or are hashtag messages becoming a part of our everyday lifestyle? Yes. It's gotten to the point where artists are naming their songs with hashtags. Will.i.am has a song called "#thatPOWER" and Mariah Carey has a song called "#beau...

It's sad to see a dog pass. It happens every time. Every 8 to 12 years, your best friend is taken away from you. The hardship is unbearable. I hate seeing this happen, but time takes its toll. Chance, my dog, for eight strong years, passed away tonight. If you've ever seen him, you would have thought he was way past his time. And this is more than just a simple loss. This is like losing a family member. Chance was like a third brother to me. He was a major part in the past 8 years of my life. He was my go-to for daily exercise, my excuse for not finishing my homework, and my playful pet that always had a mindset for not letting go. You could say "good boy" or "hey Chance!" and he would always give that friendly growl. You would walk into the house, and you could hear his chain as he ran to greet you at the door. When he was wagging his tail, you knew he was just as excited as you were. I'll miss going to the park and playing catch with him. A...

This isn't a joke. This is sports. And this is sports at its worst. The Toronto Blue Jays have not won a game since the All Star Break last week. That's a 6-game losing streak. That is not what Toronto, or even Canada's baseball team wanted. It's pathetic. It's literally rock bottom. If you're a Blue Jays fan like me, you're asking yourself, when will this end?! The media isn't helping, the player-only meeting didn't help and the season is being made a disgrace. The trade deadline is coming up, but how much more damage can Alex Anthopoulos do to the Jays knowing his career is on the line when October comes around? It seems there's always going to be a different excuse and a different individual to blame as to how the Blue Jays will lose the next game. Whether it be the pitching, the lack of offence or blowing the lead, which all three have ran their course in the last two series, the Jays are not the team they were shaping up to b...

(Photo via Sportsnet ) No greater NHL playoff drought was longer than the Leafs'. But the wait to see them in the post-season is finally over. No, seriously. The Toronto Maple Leafs have a shot to compete for the Stanley Cup. Trust me, this has been cross-referenced, verified, and triple checked, and I'm probably just as amazed at everyone else right now. And never mind the 46-year Cup drought. Leafs Nation is just happy to be contending for a playoff spot To put it into perspective, consider the following list of either far-fetched or excruciating facts that will give you a sigh of relief. The last playoff game featuring the blue and white took place on May 4, 2004 at the Air Canada Centre and ended in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the second round. Interesting to note, 38-year-old, (now 47), Ed Belfour got the start for the Leafs. He played his last NHL game six years ago and is now in the Hockey Hall of Fame. It was impossible t...

It's the home opener. The team takes to the ice. Crowd cheers. The music plays. The announcer comes on the PA, "...And here are your North Bay Trappers!" The game starts. The play goes back and forth. The game reaches 1st intermission. No goals. No goal song. 2nd period begins. Both teams take to the ice, still awaiting the first goal. The ref then calls a penalty. Break in play = time to play a track. Play resumes. 2nd period comes to a close. Still no score. Both teams hit the ice for the final period of play, anticipating their first goal. Music plays. Gets the crowd cheering, clapping, waving and singing along. But how does the DJ know what song to play? One method I have always gone by: Just go by your ears and ask: what does this moment need; how can I express this moment through music; how can I establish the atmosphere with sound...etc. One knows when to play a good crowd-cheering song. With minutes to go, the opposing team scores. No song. No cheer. Onl...

  Today, I started my 2 month placement at TVCogeco North Bay, and well, my day got off to a fast start, there are few things to mention:  Weather and sports are not made up daily. Wait for open spot when parking. Stare at driver long enough until he moves his vehicle from the parking spot. Never park where CTV vehicles park. Do not shove the other media person's mic out of camera view. If given opportunity to ask 2 questions in a row during a media scrum, take it, consider yourself a hero. It takes more time to render than it does shooting all the footage. Internships are not always about coffee and doughnuts, although, that's how the day started. Harvey's and Tim Hortons are good places to eat every now and then. Even though the "Great Canadian" burger at Harvey's says it's the "Great Canadian", it's really the "Great American".  Don't bring a lunch and say you didn't bring a lunch. Do not refer to the mayo...

(Photo via: Times Colonist ) RCMP near Victoria are looking for a nasty prankster who spray painted graffiti on a man's face and torso while he was passed out drunk. West Shore RCMP say the 48-year-old man has no clue who attacked him and wasn't partying with anyone that night. The man's face and torso were sprayed pink, with black graffiti tags painted over the pink paint. Sgt. Max Fossum says they've already had one tip and are hoping others may follow in an attempt to lay assault charges against those involved. Fossum says the man was attacked while sleeping under an overpass on the Old Island Highway last week. Fossum says he's seen a lot of party pranks where police were called, but this was a nasty, toxic assault that someone thought was funny. **UPDATE** Thanks to a tip, police have “a possible suspect” in the case of an intoxicated man who was spray-painted with graffiti while he was passed out, said West Shore RCMP Sgt. Max Fossum.

The Harlem Shake trends thrived over the weekend. Just to keep you up to date, I've posted above the one video you need to see to truly understand it. If you're just discovering this new trend, in the first week of February, a viral video dance phenomenon took place. Dubbed "The Harlem Shake" ... It seems pointless and stupid, but the more you watch, the more it grows on you. There are countless others. Just search "harlem shake" on YouTube. TSN SportsCenter Breakfast Television Toronto Trend Hunter The Wall (North Bay bar) Slenderman University of Guelph Matt & Kim   All together now! View more on YouTube .

(Photo via @BlueJays) Now it's time for some baseball. The greatest sport of them all. The bleachers have emptied; confetti cleared off the Superdome floor. The lights have been turned off (for real this time) on the football season for another year. This means one thing: baseball is coming back, and earlier than anticipated. Sure, snow may still be on the ground here in the city, and we're still below zero, but it's not stopping us from getting excited about seeing the summer sport make a return. But down in Florida and Arizona, teams are gearing up for an early start to Spring Training because of the World Baseball Classic next month and while all teams don't actually start playing Spring Training games until late February, in a week's time, it will be the first time this year the players meet their teammates. For baseball fans, like myself, it has been a long and eventful winter. Three months of free agent signings, trades and retirements. We stuffed our brai...

With every Christmas comes a new year. And it's time to get this one started! Hats off to 2013 and please make this the greatest year yet!