Canada

A dream had carried the boys so far from home, some 5,000 miles across the ocean to a cramped and dingy apartment in Philadelphia: a hope that ice hockey could change their lives. Ivan Pravilov could fulfill that dream, they were told. He could take them from the daily grind of post-communist Ukraine to the gleaming ice of the NHL. He'd done it before. He'd done if for Andrei Zyuzin, who went on to play for six NHL teams. He'd done it for Konstantin Kalmikov, a third-round draft pick of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1996.

Canada By Richard Ford Ecco. 432 pp. $26.99 There are two Richard Fords. Let's call them Richard Ford East and Richard Ford West. Richard Ford East starts a novel like this: "In Haddam, summer floats over tree-softened streets like a sweet lotion balm from a careless, languorous god, and the world falls in tune with its own mysterious anthems. " Richard Ford West, on the other hand, starts a novel in this fashion: "First, I'll tell about the robbery our parents committed.

Rick Nash scored the go-ahead goal to put Canada in the title game of the World Ice Hockey Championships with a 5-4 win over Sweden in Quebec City last night, setting up a championship showdown with Russia tomorrow. Sergei Fedorov scored the opening goal of the game and Evgeni Nabakov stopped 23 shots to lead Russia to a 4-0 win over Finland in the first game of the semifinal doubleheader. It will be the first time Canada and Russia have ever met with the world championship on the line.

ARE AMERICANS worried about the wrong border? Almost every day, there are news stories regarding the porous border between the United States and Mexico and the flood of illegal immigrants into our country. But an incident last month indicates we should be more concerned about the Canadian border. In early June, Canadian police arrested 17 Muslim suspects in Toronto, alleging that there was a plot to bomb buildings in Canada, including Parliament in Ottawa and the Canadian Broadcasting Corp.

Some politicians are promising they can deliver cheap drugs for Americans by copying the Canadian system. Beware - the silly season lasts until Nov. 7. The claim that pharmaceuticals are hugely cheaper in Canada is just plain wrong. Many drugs are much more expensive in Canada and generic prices are consistently higher. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development reports that prices for brand-name drugs are overall 23 percent lower in Canada. However, individual incomes of Canadians are 24 percent lower and the standard of living is lower.

Canada was famous for 15 minutes. There has to be something wrong with that. When Andy Warhol said that some day everyone will be famous for 15 minutes, he was talking about people, not entire countries. Canada is, by land mass, the second largest country in the world. That should be good for at least half an hour. Canada got famous for 15 minutes during its national parliamentary elections, mainly because the issue in the elections was whether to sign a free trade agreement with the United States, a country that is permanently famous to the point of distraction.

Last month, Assistant District Attorney Joel Goldstein made a promise to the Delaware County jury that convicted Victor Maturo of first-degree murder and sentenced him to life in prison. The South Philadelphia man had been accused of plotting with Thomas S. Vile to murder Vile's former girlfriend. "One day Vile will be caught, and I will go before a jury like this and ask that he be found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to death," Goldstein said. Last week, Goldstein came closer to fulfilling his promise when an administrative judge in Toronto ordered that Vile be deported from Canada.

This one was supposed to be a laugher, a sure ticket to the semifinals as a reward for the Canadian men's hockey team winning its round-robin group. And when Joe Nieuwendyk and Shayne Corson scored within the first 2 minutes, 13 seconds of Canada's quarterfinal game against Kazakstan yesterday at Big Hat, that notion was only reinforced. But when Kazakstan forward Konstantin Shafranov blasted a shot off the arm of goaltender Patrick Roy to cut Canada's lead to 2-1 at 3:46 of the first period, the Canadians suddenly and unexpectedly found themselves in a tight game.

Florida Panthers defenseman Jay Bouwmeester scored the winning goal, and Canada rallied to beat Sweden for the second straight year in the gold-medal game at the world hockey championships, 5-3, yesterday in Prague, Czech Republic. Canada has won the world title a record 23 times, tying the Soviet Union-Russia. The United States won the bronze medal earlier yesterday with a 1-0 victory in a shootout over Slovakia. It was the first medal at the worlds for the Americans since they finished third in 1996.

The Flyers' Eric Lindros had a goal and an assist to help Canada defeat Russia yesterday, 3-1, in Dortmund, Germany, and complete the preliminary round of the World Hockey Championships with a 5-0 record. Lindros, who had scored 12 points in the previous two games, leads the tournament with 16 points (10 goals, six assists). Also yesterday, Germany scored five times in the first period and held on to beat Team USA, 6-3. Paul Kariya, of the University of Maine, who was voted the top U.S. college player this year, had one goal and one assist.

Canada By Richard Ford Ecco. 432 pp. $26.99 There are two Richard Fords. Let's call them Richard Ford East and Richard Ford West. Richard Ford East starts a novel like this: "In Haddam, summer floats over tree-softened streets like a sweet lotion balm from a careless, languorous god, and the world falls in tune with its own mysterious anthems. " Richard Ford West, on the other hand, starts a novel in this fashion: "First, I'll tell about the robbery our parents committed.

WASHINGTON — Researchers say the U.S. approved more new medicines in less time than Europe and Canada in the last decade, challenging long-standing criticisms that the Food and Drug Administration lags behind its peers in clearing important new drugs. Between 2001 and 2010, the FDA's typical review of a new drug was about 15 percent faster than those by the European Medicines Agency and Health Canada, its foreign counterparts, according to a study published Wednesday by the New England Journal of Medicine.

TORONTO - Former media mogul Conrad Black arrived in Canada on Friday and was spotted kissing his wife, playing with their dogs, and roaming the grounds of his sprawling Toronto estate on Friday just hours after being released from U.S. prison. Black left a federal prison outside Miami early Friday after serving about three years for defrauding investors. Black, whose empire once included the Chicago Sun-Times, the Daily Telegraph of London, the Jerusalem Post and small papers across the United States and Canada, had returned to prison in September to finish serving his sentence.

Caroline Ouellette and Laura Fortino scored in the first period and Canada beat Finland, 5-1, on Friday to advance to the title game in the Women's World Hockey Championships in Burlington, Vt. Canada, seeking its 10th title and first since 2007, will face the United States-Switzerland winner Saturday in the championship game. COLLEGES: Former Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino notified the university he won't appeal his firing nor will he seek any of the $18 million buyout that was part of his contract.

NICE, France - Ice dance Olympic champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir of Canada took the lead after the short dance program at the figure skating world championships on Wednesday, relegating defending champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White to second place. Virtue and Moir, who clinched the worlds and Olympic double two years ago, posted a score of 72.31 points. Their American archrivals scored 70.98. At this year's Grand Prix final, Davis and White won, but Virtue and Moir bounced back to win last month's Four Continents - beating Davis and White for the first time since the 2010 worlds.

Doneil Henry and Lucas Cavallini each scored goals as Canada beat the United States, 2-0, Saturday night for its first win over the Americans since 1992 in the CONCACAF men's soccer Olympic qualifying tournament in Nashville. The Americans could have clinched a berth in the semifinals on March 31 in Kansas City, Kan. Those winners qualify for the London Games. Instead, they must beat El Salvador, a 4-0 winner over Cuba earlier Saturday, on Monday night to advance. New York Red Bulls forward Juan Agudelo has a torn meniscus in his left knee that will keep him out of the rest of Olympic qualifying for the United States, which cannot replace him on the roster.

THE ORLANDO Magic couldn't count on their outsider shooters most of the night. Fortunately, they could rely on Dwight Howard. Howard had 36 points and 13 rebounds, Ryan Anderson added 19 points and 13 boards, and the visiting Magic beat the Toronto Raptors, 92-88, yesterday. Orlando made just nine of 28 three-point attempts, but got a pivotal three from J.J. Redick in the final 10 seconds. "Our perimeter guys all shot the ball very, very poorly tonight, so trying to decide who you're going to have down there as the last man wasn't an easy call," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.

AS IT TURNS OUT, curling is about a lot more than racy calendars and handsome Canadian women. Beyond Lindsey Vonn and the requisite spandexed skaters, the lingering images of the 2010 Winter Olympics remain the Women of Curling calendar and determined Canadian skip Cheryl Bernard. Feel free to recall those images over the next 8 days at the 2012 USA Curling Nationals at IceWorks Skating Complex, the Delaware County rink in Aston, best known for hosting some of the best skaters and coaches in the world.

VANCOUVER, Canada - For years, Canada has had one of the most generous immigration policies in the world, welcoming tens of thousands of asylum applicants who say they are fleeing persecution in their homelands. But Canada's Conservative government has begun rolling up the welcome mat, stepping up efforts to track down and deport thousands of asylum-seekers whose applications have been denied. The clampdown is likely to be felt not just across Canada but in the United States.

Many soap fans - at least the ones with fast Internet hookups - are mourning the news that All My Children and One Life to Live will not enjoy second lives online after all. Personally, as much as I love both shows, I never thought transplanting them to the Web was a viable solution. If daytime dramas had grown too cumbersome and expensive for broadcast, how could the financials work in the cable-access atmosphere of the Web? In fact, with all the cost-cutting measures that Prospect Park, the new owner of AMC and OLTL, was exploring, fans should consider themselves lucky things didn't work out. They might not have been able to recognize their old favorites online.