Canadian Idol Results

Like Yogi said, it's deja vu again

To borrow a few words from the immortal Yogi, Lawrence Peter Berra, it's déjà vu all over again. Yes, Tee to Green -the most widely-read golf column in all of Elgin county -returns for its astonishing eighth season.

And by no means is that bragging. Frankly, it's astonishing the TPTB (the-powers-that-be) at the T-J continue to give this much space to guy that would be happy hitting 72 on nine holes, let alone 18.

But it's not like Peter Mansbridge would make a great Prime Minister and he covers politics. Actually, come to think about it, maybe Mr. Cynthia Dale would make a great PM? He knows a lot about hockey.

Not bad. Three thoughts and already we have the first tangent of 2011. We're off and running.

The first order of business is lifting TTG's self-imposed ban on discussing the merits and prowess of one, Eldrick Woods. And by prowess, we mean on the golf course. The TTG braintrust has a $5 wager with his father-in-law that Eldrick will eclipse Jack Nicklaus' all-time wins at majors record by 2014. The 35-year-old has 14 to the Golden Bear's 18. That's five wins in the next 15 with his first chance coming up June 16-19 at the U.S. Open. Drop me a line if you think he can do it. Heck, drop me a line if you think he can't.

And while Eldrick makes his run at history, local golf sensation Jace Walker has embarked on a professional career of his own. After golfing as an amateur the past few seasons, picking up an impressive three Early Birds along the way, the Bowling Green grad has turned pro and is actually swinging away this week at the Times Colonist Island Savings Open in Victoria, British Columbia where the top prize is $200,000. That's a lot of golf tees. We'll follow Iron Horse Walker all season long so stay tuned for what are sure-to-be some exciting results.

At ST. THOMAS GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB (519-631-4201), home course for the aforementioned, assistant pro Andrew Pearson tells us the pond and driving range projects at Union are on target for completion. The driving range, which grows five times bigger, should be in-play' by early August and the new pond, which has doubled in size, now graces the green on #18 and is basically complete. While it looks beautiful, the pond size was actually increased for irrigation purposes. It also makes one of Union's trademark holes more difficult for golfers looking to finish their round with a birdie. Or for some of us, a 10.

The men's league has also kicked off with its weekly starts. It's a year-long, team competition with varying results and point scoring systems, so it may be hard to follow along with its progress, but we'll try our darndest. On opening night, the men also honored Jack Pullen, Union's former head pro, who celebrates his 50th year as a CPGA professional. Huzzah to you, Jack.

A Canadian Idol Election starring the Liberal Party and the NDP

For the Liberals, the NDP, and the Bloc Quebecois to trigger an election costing $300 million to Canadian taxpayers, there has to be some reasonable chance of success.  The polls most favorable to the Liberals show a large Conservative lead.  Most polls show a tremendous Conservative lead.

Logically, therefore, having an election now is pointless at best, or suicidal at worst, for the Liberals and the NDP.

A lot can happen in an election, but by and large, it happens to all parties.  Elections are like the weather -- everybody is subject to it.  All parties will have trip ups, whether it's a rogue comment by an backbench MP, or a closeted skeleton of an obscure candidate (who never had a chance of winning anyway) suddenly seeing the light of day, and so on.  So unless there is a massive meltdown by one of the parties, the end of the election fight will likely see things end up where the polls at the beginning of the election said they'd end up.  Right now, that doesn't look good for the Liberals, and even worse for the NDP.

So I scratch my head, and try to figure out why the Liberals (and with somewhat less enthusiasm, the NDP) would try to force an election right now.

Then I look at the polls again, and they all say the same thing.  The Liberals and the NDP are closer to each other in overall support than either is to the Conservatives.  Take the Conservative Party out of the mix, and you have a God-honest election fight on your hands.

Now it makes sense.  For weeks, we've heard from the Liberals, and most recently from the NDP, about how they each will target the other party's voters.  Not on how they are targeting the Conservatives. 

There's going to be an election, but the Conservatives aren't invited.

Instead, it will be a Canadian Idol election, with the Liberals and the NDP as the two main contestants.   The Green Party will make an appearance, but the Green Party will be there for the amusement value only.  Who are the judges?  Voters who label themselves "progressive".  Michael Ignatieff and Jack Layton will each strive to outshine the other in showing how much they hate:

And so on. 

None of this will do a thing to entice people inclined to vote Conservative to switch their votes.  In fact, they will vote Conservative in droves, and this includes large chunks of Liberal voters.

Canadian Idol, Sass Jordan, Ben Mulroney, Jon Dore, Farley Flex, Zack Werner, Debra Byrd, an American Idol Christmas, Jake Gold

TV formats worldwide, localizing global programs

Programming reality, perspectives on English-Canadian television

How Canadians communicate II, media, globalization, and identity

Billboard