Canadian sports trivia

I've gone to trivia night at a local pub a few times this summer. It's actually a lot of fun - playing trivia and hanging out with friends makes for a good evening. The game has eight categories of trivia, each with a particular theme. However, the one drawback is that if there is any category that is oriented towards American culture (federal politics, football, guns), I'm mostly useless.

Last week, though, I lucked out: there was a category devoted to Canadian sports trivia. For most Americans, the questions were probably pretty tough; for any Canadian who has lived in Canada for the past 20 years, they were dead easy.

1. Which MLB team had a mascot named Youppi?


2. What is the name of the now-relocated Montréal Expos?


3. Which Toronto Blue Jays player hit a home run to win the 1993 World Series?


4. What city did the Memphis Grizzlies move from?


5. To which American team did Wayne Gretzky famously move to from Canada?


6. Which NHL team has won the most Stanley Cups?


7. The Montreal Alouettes won the Canadian Football League's title last year. What is the trophy called?


8. Saskatchewan and Ottawa's football teams are both called what?

My team ended up getting all of the questions correct (I don't think my teammate knew most of the answers). I also ended up winning $5 off my meal by being the first to answer the bonus question: Which NFL team agreed in 2008 to play one regular season game each year in Canada? (I submitted my answer before the question was finished being read.)

A great night! It definitely makes up for the "Tennessee" category I had to put up with a few weeks back.

Redux: Who will light the Olympic Flame?

In true Canadian form, we couldn't just let one person light the Olympic Flame. However, all four lighters were great choices:

1. Catriona Le May Doan: One of my favourite Canadian athletes. A well deserved choice from the past decade. And she's a woman of the faith, to boot.


2. Nancy Greene: Canada's top female athlete of the 20th century, she won Canada's only two individual medals from the 1968 Grenoble Olympics, bringing home gold and silver. (The only other medal won was the men's hockey bronze.)


3. Steve Nash: I was surprised to see him in the final four, but it makes sense since he's a local boy, raised in Vancouver and Victoria.


4. Wayne Gretzky: The obvious choice. He's probably Canada's best-known athlete internationally, and he has done a lot to advance the popularity of hockey. A well-deserved, albeit unsurprising, honour.

I was hoping to see Betty Fox carry the flame; however, she was one of eight people carrying the Olympic flag into BC Place, so that's a pretty good compromise. There were some other good choices amongst the flagbearers: Julie Payette, Bobby Orr, Barbara Ann Scott, Roméo Dallaire, and Donald Sutherland. They also included Jacques Villeneuve and Anne Murray. (ahem)

Rick Hansen carried the flame into BC Place - a nice tribute to the man.

Hayley Wickenheiser, role model and inspiration to tens of thousands of young hockey players across the country, read the oath. Amazing choice.

Thankfully, they didn't pick some random kid to light the flame at the Olympics. They did at the Paralympics, though. Oh well.