Free Republic

The American squad was a patchwork of college players from the Northeast and the upper Midwest under the direction of coach Herb Brooks. They completed their improbable run to the gold medal on Sunday, Feb. 24, with a 4-2 victory over Finland at the Olympic Fieldhouse in Lake Placid, N.Y. But the movement truly began two days earlier when the U.S. squad stunned the hockey universe with 4-3 victory over the Soviet Union. The CCCP crew was considered the greatest amateur hockey team ever assembled and equal to any NHL franchise.

Canada may be known for producing the very best poutine on earth (and for arguing vehemently against anyone who says otherwise!), but it would appear as though we're no match for our neighbours to the south when it comes to eating the stuff. This was proven amidst a cacophony of curds, gravy and fresh-cut fries on Saturday afternoon during the fifth annual World Poutine Eating Championship in Toronto. Considered to be the largest eating competition in Canada, the annual Smoke's Poutinerie-sponsored gorge-a-thon drew approximately 1,000 spectators to Toronto's Yonge-Dundas square this weekend — many of them eager to join in...

Speaking as a misfit unassimilated foreigner, I think of Thanksgiving as the most American of holidays. Christmas is celebrated elsewhere, even if there are significant local variations: In Continental Europe, naughty children get left rods to be flayed with and lumps of coal; in Britain, Christmas lasts from Dec. 22 to mid-January and celebrates the ancient cultural traditions of massive alcohol intake and watching the telly till you pass out in a pool of your own vomit. All part of the rich diversity of our world. But Thanksgiving (excepting the premature and somewhat undernourished Canadian version) is unique to America....

NEW YORK (AP) -- Fervently anti-war, Carlos Delgado quietly carried out his personal protest this season, refusing to stand when ``God Bless America'' was played at ballparks across the majors. Most fans never saw him disappearing up the dugout tunnel or staying on the bench. And even teammates who disagreed with the Toronto slugger's political stance accepted his right to call the United States' invasion of Iraq ``the stupidest war ever.'' This week, though, a lot more people noticed. The Blue Jays played at Yankee Stadium for the first time this year on Wednesday night. It's the only park in...