The two people that I habitually follow in the Vancouver Sun are professional scarfer Mia Stainsby and serial elbow bender Joanne Sasvari, but after today’s Items that may grow up to be columns, Vol. XII, Chapter 13 , I’m also a sucker for sports anti-goon Cam Cole…
Maybe the reason the Edmonton Oilers are last in the Western Conference isn’t that they don’t like drafting, signing or trading for forwards over five feet tall or that most of their defencemen play offence or that they have a whole bunch of backup goalies but no starter.
Maybe the real problem is that they are as thick as bricks.
How smart do you have to be to figure out that if you pick a pretentious, expensive restaurant to take a party of 45 people, on New Year’s Eve of all nights — in Calgary of all places, as opposed to some city where you’re not, say, despised — the proprietors are apt to stick you with an obscene bill at the end of the night?
And once the inevitable happens, and you are faced with a $16,000 tab, how cheap does it make you look, professional hockey players with average salaries of $2 million a year, to argue and whine and threaten until you settle for $12,000, including tip — quibbling, in essence, over a difference of $200 for each of the 20 players in attendance?
Normally, when coaches say their players refuse to “pay the price,” they’re not referring to a restaurant bill, but if the skate fits …
Personally, I think any team from within the Northwest Division should have to pay a 30% autograt when visiting Vancouver, but again, that’s just me…
Rick Rypien, arguably the NHL’s best pound-for-pound pugilist, brings a rare elegance to his on-ice fist fights.
Photograph by: Lyle Stafford, Reuters, Vancouver Sun
By Cam
Items that may grow up to be columns, Vol. XII, Chapter 13
There are 6 comments
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hey bozo – just because they make more money than me or you doesn’t mean they deserve to be ripped off. do your research and you will see the restuarant is now under investigation by the liqour and food board of Alberta and may lose their license all together. you don’t piss off or rip off anyone who makes a minimum 6 figure salary. instead of a fabricated story of the Oilers being un-willing to over-pay just because of who they are, the owner is now in deep water for pulling a now failed publicity stunt…
http://www.thestar.com/iphone/sports/article/746215–after-8-000-in-booze-were-oilers-drunk
Well unfortunately the owner may get busted for serving drunk patrons. Welcome to Canada, where its illegal to get drunk on New Year’s Eve even if you don’t drive or its ok but will bankrupt the restaurant/bar in the process. Add that to skill testing questions online in order for adults to use fireworks once a year and it starts to make you feel really sad to live in this country. How about a “charter of rights” for basic freedoms in this country. The freedom to drink and be merry, the freedom to use fireworks. The freedom to drink in public spaces and on ferry rides. What’s wrong with a glass of wine with your meal when on the ferry especially for the walk on passengers or non drivers. Canada sucks. End of rant.
On the surface it appears like the Oilers were asses, but when the resto owner is reported to have “shopped” his story before going public, one has to wonder if it’s all on the up and up.
That said, Oilers suck.
The GM is going to have serious regrets over this one with the liquor inspectors duty boundto investigate.(the Proserve program went full tilt on the 1st)Proserve is Alberta’s Serving it Right. I Paused the video and the bill is reason enough with multiple shots rang in as one etc. If you are going to play a hand like this you should really think it through as I believe the blow-back is going to far outweigh the benifits.
Well it appears the restaurant jacked them on the bill. The proprietor spoke with the Oilers head office and the organization kindly agreed to pay the difference. I believe the balance being paid is going towards the Abruzzo earthquake relief fund.