French Open organizers scrap 25th anniversary ceremony for Mary Pierce as she can't attend
PARIS (AP) — A ceremony to honor Mary Pierce, the last Frenchwoman to win the title at Roland-Garros 25 years ago, has been scrapped because she can't attend, French Open organizers said on Wednesday.
The ceremony was scheduled to take place on Thursday between the women's semifinals at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament. But Pierce is unable to be there this week 'due to personal reasons,' organizers said.
Pierce's title at the 2000 French Open was the most recent in singles for a French player, male or female, at Roland-Garros. The 50-year-old Pierce also won the doubles title that year. Her other Grand Slam singles title came at the 1995 Australian Open, and she helped France win two Fed Cup titles.
The ceremony was supposed to celebrate the 25th anniversary of her title at Roland-Garros, as well as her 2019 induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, French Open organizers said.
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Toronto Sun
an hour ago
- Toronto Sun
'MIND-BLOWING': Ex-Barenaked Ladies frontman recalls performing with Brian Wilson
Published Jun 12, 2025 • 4 minute read Brian Wilson performs as part of Nissan Live Sets on Yahoo! Music in Los Angeles, Wednesday, July 30, 2008. Photo by Chris Pizzello / AP Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account TORONTO — When Steven Page penned an ode to musical visionary Brian Wilson, he never expected to share a stage with the Beach Boy, perform alongside him nor hear him sing 'Brian Wilson' to a roaring Toronto audience. But in the summer of 2000, Page says he felt an 'absolute dream come true' when all that happened during Wilson's tour stop with Paul Simon at Toronto's Molson Amphitheatre. Page says he knew Wilson had performed the song at previous concerts and expected to hear it, but not as the opening number. As news of Wilson's death broke Wednesday, Page looked back fondly at the memory of being in the audience while a musical hero sang Barenaked Ladies' 1992 hit 'Brian Wilson.' 'Every musician in Toronto was sitting around us, and they all kind of turned their head to look at me,' said Page, who later joined Wilson and Simon for the encore to sing Wilson's 'Love and Mercy' and the Beach Boys' 'Fun, Fun, Fun.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'And I thought, like, do I stand up and wave, or do I hide, or what do I do? I mean, just absolute dream come true.' Wilson's family posted news of his death to his website Wednesday. He was 82. 'Obviously, (I was) sad to hear that Brian had passed. It's been a tough couple years for him, I think, with his declining health and the loss of his wife, Melinda,' Page said. Page wrote the song 'Brian Wilson' when he was a 19-year-old student at Toronto's York University, drawing inspiration from his own struggles and eager to see more empathy in discourse about mental health in the music industry. Even though he named it after the much-lauded musician who faced highly publicized mental health struggles, Page says he was actually not a great fan of the Beach Boys before then, considering them 'lightweight and not as musically evolved.' He changed his tune after a classmate made him a mixtape. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Page said he always felt Wilson was depicted in the press as a 'rock 'n' roll casualty' and wanted to bring more empathy and nuance to discussions of mental health in rock music. 'Even then, as a teenager I could hear in the music this kind of struggle between light and dark and that really appealed to me,' said Page, who split with Barenaked Ladies in 2009. The tune became a hit for the band and a staple in their live set. Eight years after it appeared on their debut album 'Gordon,' Barenaked Ladies recorded an album at the same L.A. studio used to make the Beach Boys' classic 1966 album 'Pet Sounds.' Page says their producer at the time, Don Was, said he had a surprise for the band and introduced them to Wilson and his wife, Melinda. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Page says during that meeting, Wilson played them a recording of his rendition of 'Brian Wilson,' which appeared on his 2000 live album, 'Live at the Roxy Theatre.' 'It was amazing to hear this song that I wrote in my parents' basement when I was a teenager being sung by one of the most important composers in the history of mankind. Even if it was a joke, it was mind-blowing,' Page said. 'At one point where I sing: 'If you want to find me / I'll be out in the sandbox wondering where the hell all the love has gone / Playing my guitar and singing and building castles in the sun,' he changed it to 'playing my piano.' He just turned to me and said 'I don't play guitar.'' Page also recalls performing 'Brian Wilson' with the Barenaked Ladies at a pre-Grammy tribute celebration honouring Wilson in 2005, when he was selected as the MusiCares Person of the Year. The group performed an a capella-style version of the song and was the only act that played a song not written by Wilson. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Page said the Beach Boys' harmonies were 'hugely' influential on the Barenaked Ladies, which also boasted a five-man lineup. The Beach Boys, he said, gave the group 'a palette to choose from that didn't really exist in music without them.' 'On top of that, Brian's adventurousness in the studio — as far as choices of instruments, the way the songs can flow in and out of each other — those are the kinds of things that, as we matured as musicians, continued to excite. And still continue for me to excite and inspire me.' 'He really is one of the greats. He is like Beethoven and Paul McCartney all mixed together,' Page said. Randy Bachman, former Guess Who guitarist and Bachman-Turner Overdrive frontman, also played tribute to Wilson in a social media post where he referred to the Beach Boys as being 'like family' after playing several shows with the group in the '60s. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'They were the American answer to the Beatles. They wowed everyone with the songs, structures, vocals harmonies … We lost one of the greatest composers and messengers who took jazz harmony, put it to a Chuck Berry beat and made a new genre of music,' Bachman wrote. According to a post on his Facebook page, Wilson became an honorary citizen of Calgary in the city's famed white hat ceremony in 2011. Love concerts, but can't make it to the venue? Stream live shows and events from your couch with VEEPS, a music-first streaming service now operating in Canada. Click here for an introductory offer of 30% off. Explore upcoming concerts and the extensive archive of past performances! World Celebrity Sunshine Girls World Sunshine Girls
Vancouver Sun
an hour ago
- Vancouver Sun
London-bound Air India flight with more than 240 aboard crashes after takeoff
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Indian television news channels reported that the plane crashed on top of the dining area of a medical college hostel and visuals showed a portion of the aircraft atop the building. It was unclear if any medical students were present inside the building at the time of the crash. NOW - Air India plane, a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, crashed at the airport in India's western city of Ahmedabad. 'It appears there are no survivors in the plane crash,' Police Commissioner G.S. Malik told The Associated Press, Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. 'As the plane has fallen in a residential area which also had offices, some locals would have also died,' he added. 'Exact figures on casualties are being ascertained.' Modi called the crash 'heartbreaking beyond words.' 'In this sad hour, my thoughts are with everyone affected,' he said in a social media post. The airline said the Gatwick Airport-bound flight was carrying 242 passengers and crew. Of those, Air India said there were 169 Indians, 53 Britons, seven Portuguese and one Canadian. Faiz Ahmed Kidwai, the director general of the directorate of civil aviation, told AP that Air India flight 171, a Boeing 787-8, crashed into a residential area called Meghani Nagar five minutes after taking off at 1:38 p.m. local time. He said 244 people were on board and it was not immediately possible to reconcile the discrepancy with Air India's numbers. All efforts were being made to ensure medical aid and relief support at the site, India's Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu posted on X. The first crash of a Boeing 787 The 787 Dreamliner is a widebody, twin-engine plane. This is the first crash ever of a Boeing 787 aircraft, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. Boeing said it was aware of the reports of the crash and was 'working to gather more information.' Aviation consultant John M. Cox, the CEO of Safety Operating Systems, told the AP from Los Angeles that while the first images of the crash were poor, it appeared the aircraft had its nose up and was not climbing, which is one of the things that investigators would look at. 'At this point, it's very, very, very early, we don't know a whole lot,' he said. 'But the 787 has very extensive flight data monitoring — the parameters on the flight data recorder are in the thousands — so once we get that recorder, they'll be able to know pretty quickly what happened.' The aircraft was introduced in 2009, and more than 1,000 have been delivered to dozens of airlines, according to the flightradar24 website. Air India's chairman, Natarajan Chandrasekaran, said at the moment 'our primary focus is on supporting all the affected people and their families.' He said on X that the airline had set up an emergency center and support team for families seeking information about those who were on the flight. 'Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of all those affected by this devastating event,' he said. UK promises support British Cabinet minister Lucy Powell said the government will provide 'all the support that it can' to those affected by the crash. 'This is an unfolding story, and it will undoubtedly be causing a huge amount of worry and concern to the many, many families and communities here and those waiting for the arrival of their loved ones,' she told lawmakers in the House of Commons. 'We send our deepest sympathy and thoughts to all those families, and the government will provide all the support that it can with those in India and those in this country as well,' she added. Britain has very close ties with India. There were nearly 1.9 million people in the country of Indian descent, according to the 2021 U.K. census. The last major passenger plane crash in India was in 2020, when an Air India Express Boeing-737 skidded off a hilltop runway in southern India, killing 21 people. The worst air disaster in India was on Nov. 12, 1996, when a Saudi Arabian Airlines flight collided midair with a Kazakhastan Airlines Flight near Charki Dadri in Haryana state, killing all 349 on board the two planes. The crash comes days before the opening of the Paris Air Show, a major aviation expo where Boeing and European rival Airbus will showcase their aircraft and battle for jet orders from airline customers. Boeing has been in recovery mode for more than six years after Lion Air Flight 610, a Boeing 737 Max 8, plunged into the Java Sea off the coast of Indonesia minutes after takeoff from Jakarta, killing all 189 people on board. Five months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302, a Boeing 737 Max 8, crashed after takeoff from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, killing 157 passengers and crew members. Shares of Boeing Co. tumbled nearly 9% before trading opened in the U.S.
Winnipeg Free Press
an hour ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Man United completes signing of Brazil forward Matheus Cunha
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United completed the signing of Brazil international Matheus Cunha from Wolverhampton Wanderers on Thursday. The 26-year-old forward signed a five-year contract to 2030, with the option of a further 12 months. 'Ever since I was a child in Brazil watching Premier League games on TV at my grandmother's house, United was my favourite English team and I dreamed of wearing the red shirt,' Cunha said. United paid a reported 62.5 million pounds ($84 million) for Cunha, who is expected to be one of several signings for the fallen Premier League giant as coach Ruben Amorim looks to overhaul his squad following a woeful season. Cunha scored 17 goals for Wolves last season. The United attack had the fifth worst scoring record in the English top flight last term. 'All my focus is now on working hard to become a valuable part of the team, and helping get this club back to the top,' he said. United was 15th in the standings, its worst position since the Premier League era began in 1992. It also had its most losses in a Premier League season and recorded its lowest points total. The joint record 20-time English champion has gone 12 years without the title since last winning it in former manager Alex Ferguson's final season in 2013. Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. 'Bringing in Matheus was one of our main priorities for this summer, so we are delighted to have completed his signing so early in the window,' said Jason Wilcox, United director of football. 'He has proved his ability to succeed in the Premier League as one of the most exciting and productive forwards in England during his time at Wolves, and before that in Spain and Germany. 'He has all the qualities we are looking for as we seek to build a strong, dynamic and entertaining team capable of challenging for the biggest honors.' As well as Cunha, United is also interested in Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo, ___ AP soccer:
