Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 5, 2005, Winnipeg, Manitoba WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2005 FOUNDED IN 1872 � A B ZFBS(*$ Drawing City dogs first blood ride to rescue Yankees, White Sox, Caring canines bring cheer
IN7INNIPEG.
!#()%6!OUTSIDEOF7INNIPEGWWWACHIEVAMBCA Cards win as to young hurricane victims playoffs open on Gulf Coast C1, C5 B1 NIGHT By Wayne Scanlan and Pierre LeBrun OTTAWA � After 17 months and 15 days, the National Hockey League emerges from the darkness tonight in what it hopes will be a blaze of glory. New rules, a fan-friendly game, saner contracts � they�re all part of the NHL�s post-lockout renaissance. For the first time in league history, all 30 teams are in action on Opening Night. Canadian hockey fans have looked forward to the evening ever since the NHL and its players signed a new collective bargaining agreement in July, ending a long and bitter labour dispute. �Canadian hockey fans are the greatest fans,� Ottawa Senators defenceman Chris Phillips says. �They may be upset at how it all went down last year, but they�re still fans of the game and want to watch it.� Every fan in all 15 buildings tonight will be hand�ed a replica Stanley Cup as a souvenir. In truth, it�s an olive branch, masquerading as Stanley. But only one city will get to raise a Stan�ley Cup banner tonight. The Tampa Bay Lightning and their fans have waited more than a year for the traditional celebration. They defeated the Calgary Flames in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final in June 2004. The NHL hasn�t played a game since due to the lockout of players by the league�s owners. Continued Please see HOCKEY A4 After 519 days of silence,
hockey fans ready to roar
In Toronto Randy Turner TORONTO � A Japanese couple is the first to score: Two front�row seats to the Toronto Maple Leafs season opener tonight against the Ottawa Senators. But when approached by an out-of-town reporter on their purchase, on the street outside the Air Canada Centre, a language barrier was soon erected. �They�re my customers from Nagano,� said a man called Johnny, who conducted the sale. �You�re making them nervous.� Johnny has been a pretty busy boy. Hawking hockey tickets in Toron�to, the mecca of the Canadian game, can be a profitable endeavour, what with the fanaticism for the Maple Leafs. But starve the nation of Tie Domi and Mats Sundin for an entire season, then open the doors, and the blue and white will be crashing through. But Johnny, not in the mood to provide his full name, isn�t so sure. �It�s been 519 days, right?� said Johnny, who clearly has been keeping score. �That�s the last game they played here. The (East�ern) Conference semifinal against Philadelphia, May 5. The Leafs lost 3-2 in overtime.� Continued Please see TURNER A4 Puck drops on TV Tonight�s return
of hockey is as
close as your
television:
. Ottawa Senators at
Toronto Maple Leafs,
7 p.m., TSN
. Phoenix Coyotes at
Vancouver Canucks,
9:30 p.m., TSN Back on ice . Winnipeg fans are hungry for hockey A5 . NHL raises curtain with big names in starring roles C1 . CBC stickhandles to get Hockey Night back on the air C4 . All eyes are on Sidney Crosby�s pro debut C4 . Winnipeg�s Cam Barker makes the grade with Hawks C4 . Your complete opening-night NHL rosters C6 Community mourns little girl who left us too soon
Lindor Reynolds Inside
Complete index on page 2 ing about surviving day to day to think about stolen from her. IN order to die, 11-year-old Kathleen calling their city councillor with such a minor Like mushrooms after a rain, stuffed ani-Beardy had to reach a tree tall enough complaint. mals popped up yesterday on that sandfor a hanging.
The little girl, no stranger to ingenuity,
Yesterday, in a ritual that is played out gravitated to one of her inner-city neighbour�every time a child dies tragically � as if hood�s many eyesores. there is any other way for a child to die � This one is a mound of sand, boards and friends, neighbours and strangers gathered garbage, a pile just high enough that a des�at the death site to pay tribute to a lost little perate little girl could clamber up, attach her girl so despairing, so bereft, she could think puppy�s leash to a lower branch and end her only of the oblivion of suicide. precious life. Her dad had been arrested in front of her, The mound should have been cleared up a she�d been teased and bullied by other kids. year ago, but that�s how it works in neigh-And, possibly the hardest blow for a child bourhoods where people are too busy worry�already reeling, her new puppy had been It�s parka time! The forecast calls for 10 cm of snow today with high winds. But warmer weath�er is predicted for Thanks�giving weekend. Top News A3 Concerns over Katz Crocus help sought Some councillors are call-The Manitoba Federation ing for the city auditor and of Labour has asked provincial ombudsman to experts to devise plans for examine the mayor�s role the troubled Crocus fund to in bridge eatery vote. save it from liquidation. City B1 Business B7 mound. They were all well-used, a little grub�by and time-worn. They were the toys that Kathleen should be cuddling up with tonight, gaily yellow Winnie the Pooh bears and soft, fuzzy teddies. There was a Good News Bible, solace, one can only hope, for a family now sorely lacking in the belief of brighter days ahead. Continued Please see LITTLE GIRL A6 Audioslave rocks Audioslave, formed out of the ashes of two �90s rock institutions, created a storm surge of energy last night at the MTS Centre. Late review D4 The Weather / C16 Say it ain�t snow! Rain mixed with snow. Wind NE 30-80 km/h High 2 � Low -1 GARBAGE DAY 3 / SCHOOL DAY 4 Find BREAKING NEWS at winnipegfreepress.com THIS WEDNESDAY�S JACKPOT IS A DAZZLING $ est. 8 MILLIONwclc.com Kathleen Beardy, 11, was in despair over her father�s arrest and the theft of her new puppy. FAMILY PHOTO