Gavin Baggs is competing in his 4th Canada Games, with no signs of slowing down
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Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hockey Canada sexual assault trial judge says onus of proof for the charges has not been met
LONDON, Ontario (AP) — An Ontario judge is delivering her ruling Thursday in the sexual assault trial of five former members of Canada's world junior hockey team, saying she did not find the complainant's testimony to be credible. Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia said the Crown cannot meet its onus of proof for the charges in the case. She is still reading the reasons for her decision and hasn't officially ruled on the charges against each player. Michael McLeod, Carter Hart, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube and Callan Foote have all pleaded not guilty to sexual assault in an encounter that took place in a London, Ontario, hotel room in the early hours of June 19, 2018. McLeod, who prosecutors allege was the 'ringleader' that night, has also pleaded not guilty to a separate charge of being a party to the offense of sexual assault. The players, who are now between the ages of 25 and 27, were in London at the time for a gala and golf tournament marking their championship victory. Protesters gathered outside a packed London courthouse on Thursday morning, holding signs that signaled support for the complainant. ___ AP sports:
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Prosecution did not prove case in Canada hockey sex assault trial: judge
Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia will deliver her verdict in front of what is expected to be a packed London courtroom (Peter POWER) (Peter POWER/AFP/AFP) Prosecutors did not prove that five Canadian professional hockey players committed sexual assault, a judge found Thursday, ruling that evidence provided by the female complainant was neither "credible or reliable." The accused -- who all previously played in the National Hockey League -- stood trial over allegations they assaulted the woman in a hotel room following a June 2018 celebration for a national men's junior team. Michael McLeod, Alex Formenton, Dillon Dube, Carter Hart and Callan Foote denied wrongdoing, insisting the accuser -- whose identity is protected -- consented to a variety of sex acts in a London, Ontario hotel room. "Having found that I cannot rely upon the evidence of (the complainant) and then considering the evidence in this trial as a whole, I conclude that the crown cannot meet its onus as on any of the counts before me," Superior Court Justice Maria Carroccia told a packed court room. ADVERTISEMENT "I do not find the evidence of EM to be either credible or reliable," the judge further said. The complainant, 20 at the time, met McLeod at a bar in London before having sex with him. That initial encounter was not at issue in the trial, which focused on events that occurred after McLeod messaged a team-wide group chat asking if anyone was interested in a "three-way." Prosecutors argued the players engaged in sex acts with the complainant without taking steps to ensure her consent. Defense lawyers said the woman willingly participated and only made the assault allegations after regretting her choices. Criminal trials in Canada are often decided by a jury, but the case shifted to a judge-only trial after two juries were dismissed. An initial police investigation into the allegations produced no charges. ADVERTISEMENT But subsequent media probes revealed Hockey Canada, a governing body, used funds from subscription fees paid by ordinary families for a $3.55 million CAD ($2.6 million USD) out-of-court settlement with the woman, forcing the resignation of Hockey Canada's leadership. London police re-opened the case, and brought charges against the players last year. The case, which focused on the evolving definition of consent under the law has been one of the most closely-watched in recent Canadian history and sparked debate about culture in hockey, the cherished national sport. bs/bgs
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
The D'Amore Drop: Yes, wrestling has to evolve with the times, but are we pulling back the curtain too far?
The D'Amore Drop is a weekly guest column on Uncrowned written by Scott D'Amore, the Canadian professional wrestling promoter, executive producer, trainer and former wrestler best known for his long-standing role with TNA/IMPACT Wrestling, where he served as head of creative. D'Amore is the current owner of leading Canadian promotion Maple Leaf Pro Wrestling. I'm really intrigued by WWE and Netflix's new show "Unreal," which premieres next Tuesday. It promises to take viewers inside the booking room and show exactly how the sausage is made — or at least, how they want you to think it's made. From what I've heard, it won't be a pure documentary, if such a thing even exists. Like many 'docuseries' these days, it's going to be a bit of a work. That is just the reality of modern production. Being a fly on the wall doesn't just happen, not over and over. Producing compelling TV means the fly needs to be on this wall, at this moment, to capture that conversation. You can't rely on luck or have 100 crews on 100 people all the time when you're spending Netflix money. Still, I think it'll be a hit. The appetite for behind-the-scenes content in wrestling is bigger than it's ever been, and "Unreal" looks tailor-made for that audience. The big question is if it can do what 'Drive to Survive' did for Formula One and bring in a brand new audience. But here's the difference: F1 is a real sport. The more you understand it, the more exciting and dramatic it becomes. With wrestling, I worry the opposite is true. Pull back the curtain too far, and the drama in the ring starts to feel flatter — not deeper. Because wrestling is supposed to be mysterious. That's part of the magic. Yes, I am just about self-aware enough to get that I am here writing a weekly column for Uncrowned — offering opinions on current storylines, casually using terms like 'heel' and 'work,' while also saying I'm uneasy about a TV show that openly exposes the business. In fact, I am actually contradicting myself way worse than that… For my own promotion, Maple Leaf Pro-Wrestling, we produce a YouTube series called "Beyond the Ring" that goes behind the scenes. We show backstage footage, even of opponents — who are at each other's throats on-screen — relaxing together off-camera. And when I ran TNA with Don Callis, we pitched parent company Anthem a show called 'Behind The Booking Room Door' which was similar in concept to what Netflix is doing. So … I guess what I'm saying is this: Wrestling has to evolve with the times. No one can hold these changes back or put the 'it's not a sport' genie back in the bottle. But that doesn't mean we can't still feel a little nostalgic for the way things used to be, y'know? The insane PCO vs. Dan Maff war from Maple Leaf Pro is now on YouTube. You really should check it out. I'll never root against TNA. I put too much blood, sweat, tears and money into that company across two long stints. But as most of you know, my relationship with TNA ended about 18 months ago. So, watching them pull off their biggest show ever with Slammiversary last Sunday was bittersweet. It's wild to see guys in baseball caps doing podcasts claiming the TNA/WWE relationship 'all started' six months ago with Joe Hendry's appearance at the Royal Rumble. Ahem. TNA champion Mickie James — and her championship belt — entered the Royal Rumble three and a half years ago. That's when the critical TNA/WWE relationship began. Having AJ Styles appear in person on a TNA show was a lovely moment. (I say 'in person' because he appeared at the 20th anniversary Slammiversary via video, with the WWE's blessing, but... y'know). TNA is the house that AJ Styles built. He was the one we could point to, when everyone was saying 'TNA is nowhere near as good as WWE,' and say 'Yeah? Well, WWE has no one even close to THIS guy!' It made sense for TNA to use AJ's appearance to pass the X-Division torch to Leon Slater. Leon has a massive future, both in TNA and, eventually, AEW and/or WWE. Y'know, we discovered Leon during a TNA tour of the UK four years ago. He was a teenager, but like with Seth Rollins, who was also a teen when I met him, it was obvious Leon had 'it.' We'd heard about him, booked him on the tour, but he was even better than his reputation suggested. We signed him as soon as we watched him wrestle — and here he is, making me look like a genius when all we did was recognize HIS genius when it was right in front of us. Something's been bothering me. Everybody knows Tony Khan grew up with money. So why is he the one who understands that most families can't afford to spend over $1,000 on one night out at the wrestling? I know everything costs more these days, but I hate to see WWE become something only those with big disposable incomes can attend live. Months ago, I advocated in this column for a 'wait and see' approach when John Cena's heel turn with The Rock wasn't followed up on by WWE. And while I'll always ask fans to give the bookers and talent time to tell their story, six months after Cena's turn, we have to say that the turn hasn't been maximized. Even allowing for the fact that nothing will ever eclipse Hulk Hogan's 1996 WCW turn, and that John's promo work has been strong, it just hasn't hit like it could have. It's going to be very interesting to see if WWE turns John again next week at SummerSlam during or after the match with Cody Rhodes, and how they send him off into the sunset over this next (and final) five months of his career. The whole industry is watching to see how the first-ever two-night WWE SummerSlam is received. Turning WrestleMania into two nights made sense. Those shows were stretching to seven hours. Even the most diehard fans were getting worn out. But the two-night SummerSlam? I'm not sure this one was organic. This feels like a revenue move by TKO. That said, the cards look good. We'll see how it delivers. One of the best moments at Slammiversary was Moose handing off the X-Division torch to Leon Slater. I've got a lot of friends in TNA, but Moose is basically family. Frank Trigg, the UFC Hall of Famer, once called me and said he had a buddy who wanted to get into wrestling. Said he was an offensive tackle in the NFL. Told me, 'Just work out with him.' I was expecting some big farm boy, 360 pounds, built like a fridge, but instead this athletic monster walks in. He was ripped, fast, and within five minutes I knew he was going to be a star. Sure, there have been times I wished he were normal-sized, just so I could reach up and throttle him. Like I said, family. He's been to Thanksgiving dinner at my mom's house, the Canadian Thanksgiving. We were watching football. Moose was surprised that 'American' football was played on Canadian Thanksgiving. My mom, already smitten with the big lump, gently said, 'Well, honey, it's Sunday. That's when NFL games are played.' And Moose, mouth full of turkey, looked up and said, 'Oh? It's Sunday in Canada too?'
