Canada

Former Massachusetts Gov. Argeo Paul Cellucci, 65, died Saturday of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. His death was announced by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where Mr. Cellucci spearheaded an effort to raise funds for ALS research after publicly revealing his diagnosis in 2011. Mr. Cellucci was elected lieutenant governor in 1990 and became acting governor in 1997 when his predecessor, William Weld, resigned to pursue an ambassadorship.

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.

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.

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.

THE U.S. MEN'S HOCKEY team saw stars on the red, white and blue flags waved by fans during yesterday's gold-medal game against Canada. The Canadians saw stars, too. Cheering from the stands. Topping the list was Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who showed up to witness his country's overtime win over the U.S. He even won a case of beer thanks to a bet he made with President Obama. White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama wagered a case of Yuengling that the U.S. would win. Harper put up a case of Molson.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Argeo Paul Cellucci, 65, died Saturday of complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. His death was announced by the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where Mr. Cellucci spearheaded an effort to raise funds for ALS research after publicly revealing his diagnosis in 2011. Mr. Cellucci was elected lieutenant governor in 1990 and became acting governor in 1997 when his predecessor, William Weld, resigned to pursue an ambassadorship.

Most people can agree that this year's 5-4-3 Union team is better than last year's 10-18-6 edition. So just improving on last year won't be enough. This is a team with the potential to earn one of Major League Soccer's five Eastern Conference playoff spots, and anything less should be considered disappointing. With 23 games remaining, the Union hold the fifth and final playoff spot in the East. But it's way too early for scoreboard watching. Still, the Union are 3-2-1 on the road.

TORONTO - A video purportedly of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford smoking crack has caused an uproar in Canada. Ford on Friday called the allegations "ridiculous. " The video has not been released publicly, and there is no way to verify whether it is authentic. Reports by gossip website Gawker and the Toronto Star said it was taken by a man who claimed he had sold crack to Ford. The Associated Press hasn't seen the video. The conservative mayor of Canada's largest city refused to take questions Friday.

TORONTO - A Palestinian convicted of hijacking an airliner in Greece in 1968 has been deported from Canada 26 years after entering the country using an alias, the immigration minister said Monday. Jason Kenney said the case "made a mockery of Canada's generosity and our fair immigration system for 21/2 decades. " The minister said Mahmoud Mohammad Issa Mohammad made a false refugee claim in 1987. The government learned a year later that he was a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and had participated in a terrorist attack on an El Al airplane in which an Israeli citizen was killed.

AMANDA KESSEL scored the winner early in the third period and the United States beat Canada, 3-2, in the gold-medal game of the women's world hockey championship on Tuesday in Ottawa. The sister of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Phil Kessel moved in on a two-on-one and roofed a shot over goalie Shannon Szabados at 3:09 of the third. Brianna Decker and Megan Bozek had the other goals for the U.S. team, which got two assists from Kendall Coyne . Courtney Birchard and Caroline Ouellette scored for Canada.

Team USA was down by 3-2 in the eighth inning against Canada on Sunday when Adam Jones doubled in the tying and go-ahead runs en route to a 9-4 win that sent the Americans to the second round of the World Baseball Classic. The United States finished Group D play at 2-1, tied with upstart Italy, which lost to the Americans, 6-2, on Saturday. In other WBC action Sunday, Venezuela beat Spain, 11-6, for a win that means very little since the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico finished ahead of both in Group C, which some wags have called the "Group of Death.

Ordinarily, we at Touch 'Em All stay away from novelty sports like the World Baseball Classic, but when the Romans win their second game in a row - on a mercy ruling, no less - we have to write something. Italy routed Canada, 14-4, Friday in Phoenix to improve to 2-0 in group play. The game was called after Italy scored five times in the eighth to make it a 10-run game. Italy takes on Team USA on Saturday. The Italians are the reigning European champion, so it's hard to malign their victory - even if they did began as a 100-1 choice to win it all. By the way, Italy's only other win in the classic came in 2009 . . . against Canada.

Mexico played Canada in the World Baseball Classic on Saturday, and as you might suspect, a hockey game broke out (with a strong element of Broad Street Bullies thrown in), followed by a bit of soccer hooliganism from the crowd in Phoenix. Good thing these two usually have the United States to separate them. Oh yeah, Canada won in a romp, 10-3, essentially eliminating Mexico from the tournament. It all started when Canada catcher Chris Robinson bunted for a hit in the top of the ninth, with a six-run lead.

LONDON - Despite six decades of free medical care and widespread health campaigns, Britons are among the unhealthiest people in Western Europe, a new study says. International researchers analyzed the country's rates of sickness and death from 1990 to 2010 compared with those of 15 other Western European countries in addition to Australia, Canada, and the United States. Experts described the U.K. results as "startling" and said Britain was failing to address underlying health risks in its population, including rising rates of high blood pressure, obesity, and drug and alcohol abuse.

Defender Omar Gonzalez returned to the U.S. national team lineup after a two-year absence in Tuesday's 0-0 tie with Canada. The 6-foot-5 Los Angeles Galaxy defender started at center back in the exhibition game, among 11 changes U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann made from November's 2-2 tie at Russia. Gonzalez was on a backline with three players making their national team debuts: right back Tony Beltran , center back Matt Besler , and left back Justin Morrow . AZ Alkmaar's U.S. striker Jozy Altidore was the target of racist chants during a Dutch Cup quarterfinal against second-tier Den Bosch.