News from around the world

1. Finally some good hockey news (besides the fact that the season has started). The city of Brampton, Ontario has named its new community centre after hockey star Cassie Campbell. The facility has a fitness center, pool, basketball courts, tennis courts, and of course, ice rinks.

2. From the "oh, you've got to be kidding me" department: over a quarter of British women surveyed said they avoid cycling because they fear helmet hair. No wonder there are big problems in Britain with women's physical fitness and activity levels. Other reasons for not cycling include fear of being seen without makeup and arriving to work sweaty.

But wait, it gets better. The reporter noted that women should not fear such things because cycling can be sexy. Proof? Olympic gold medalist in cycling pursuit, Rebeca Romero, posed naked recently in an ad for a sports drink.

That doesn't make cycling sexy. That makes nudity sexy--though not universally, I would add.

Besides cycling is sexy--even with clothes on! Because muscles are sexy and curves are sexy and using your body and watching other people use their bodies, watching muscles engage--it's all sexy. Well it's sexy to me anyway. But it shouldn't have to be sexy to do it. It feels really good too and if you're a bike commuter you're reducing your carbon footprint. So just get over yourselves or wear a bandanna or try some braids or a cute spiky haircut that you can just juge (did I spell that right??) after your ride.
3. Female ski jumpers are still fighting for inclusion in the 2010 Vancouver Games. Seventeen-year old jumper Zoya Lynch just became the 10th person on the suit against VANOC. No one from the IOC seems to be budging on this issue. This article, after it covers the addition of Lynch, basically rehashes what has been going on, gives the usual history, the same sides of the stories we have already heard. But, buried near the end, is something I think is pretty important and pokes a pretty big hole in the IOC's protestations about why it cannot possibly add women's jumping in 2010 (even though it would be super easy to schedule). IOC says not enough women competing yet; grow the sport, come back to us later. But men's and women's ski cross (I have no idea what that is by the way) is making its Olympic debut in Vancouver with fewer female participants than in ski jumping. Hmm....