The respected Canadian journalist was diagnosed with cancer in November 2019; she had lung cancer that had metastasized to her spine and hip.
She died Wednesday morning in hospital at age 68.
In the same month as her diagnosis, Blatchford was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame. She could not attend the ceremony, but her award was delivered to her hospital room by Mayor John Tory.
In a statement at that time, Blatchford said the most meaningful work in her career was as a war correspondent reporting on Afghanistan, where she travelled in 2006-07.
(Her book on those experiences, Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army, won the Governor-General’s Literary Award in 2008. Blatchford also wrote four other non-fiction books and published two collections of humour columns from the Toronto Sun.)
Her first choice of war correspondent notwithstanding, Blatchford became a superstar of journalism through her coverage of crime and the courts. Her writing changed the face of court coverage.
According to lawyer Alan Shanoff, who vetted Blatchford’s columns in her days at the Sun, she pushed the boundaries of justice writing, pulling court coverage into the modern era and testing the rules of contempt. She added comment and opinion to what had been previously a dry recital of facts and events.
The Toronto Sun front page on June 18, 1992 featuring Christie Blatchford on assignment in Daruvar, Croatia with Canada’s peacekeeping troops.
“It took a brave person to push the limits, to challenge the law. And she was right,” said Shanoff.
“I often told her she would have made a great lawyer.”
The result was riveting reading that brought an audience right into the courtroom.
Blatchford worked for every major newspaper in Toronto: The National Post, the Sun chain, Toronto Star and The Globe and Mail.
Besides crime and the courts, she wrote everything from sports and politics to personal lifestyle stories.
Blatchford began her career at The Globe and Mail almost 50 years ago, starting while she was still a student and landing a full-time job in 1973 when she graduated from Ryerson. Within two years, she broke gender barriers by becoming a sports columnist at the paper. There were no more than about six women writing sports in North America at that time.
She moved to the Toronto Star as a general assignment reporter before taking a job at the Toronto Sun (in the lifestyle section) in 1982. She returned to writing news in 1988 and moved to the National Post in 1998. There was a return to the Globe in 2003, but she eventually went back to the Post in 2011.
She was born in Rouyn-Noranda, Que. on May 20, 1951. Blatchford, who has an older brother, and her family moved to Toronto when she was in high school.
Blatchford was a high-profile journalist from the beginning of her career until the end — she was known to take no prisoners on the page, although friends knew her flinty exterior hid a very soft centre. Blatchford was shy in person and cried easily, particularly over crime stories involving children or other vulnerable people.
Christie Blatchford reading the Sunday Sun.
Postmedia Executive Chairman Paul Godfrey recalled finding Blatchford weeping in the newsroom one night.
“She was at her computer, crying as she wrote up the murder of Jane Creba, the young woman shot outside the Eaton Centre. Christie was crying her eyes out, trying to write that story.”
Blatchford was a workaholic and wedded to journalism, but she was married twice, to Jim Oreto and then to David Rutherford (whom she wrote about as “The Boy” in many columns.)
According to Lorrie Goldstein, her close friend and colleague at the Sun, Blatchford had recently decided to work less and enjoy her free time more.
“I think she was happy, and that, at least, is something to be grateful for,“ said Goldstein. “Although 20 more years would have been perfect.”
THE BLATCHFORD FILE
Christie Blatchford was a newshound — she ate, slept and inhaled those breaking stories — and a woman of very strong opinions.
People either loved or hated her, but even her enemies seemed to respect her. Everyone who worked at the Sun was accustomed to the inevitable question that came after “Where do you work?”
It was: “Do you know Christie Blatchford?”
Her career was a series of high points.
*Blatchford was working at The Globe and Mail while still a student and was hired full-time in 1973. Within 18 months she was nationally known for her new role as a sports columnist.
*Over almost 50 years as a writer, she worked at all four major Toronto papers: The Sun, Star, National Post and Globe and Mail.
*She covered everything. Blatchford’s byline is on sports and Olympic coverage, lifestyle, humour, personal memoir columns, news, court stories, Toronto City Hall and just about anything else included in a newspaper. Crime coverage was her passion.
*She covered her first criminal trial in 1978. Blatchford eventually wrote a book (Life Sentence) about losing her faith in the criminal justice system, describing it generally as unaccountable. She was not a fan of many judges. She wrote about innumerable high-profile trials and the cast of characters involved killers Paul Bernardo, Russell Williams and Mohammed Shamji, for example, public figures such as Jian Ghomeshi and Mike Duffy, and victims including Rehtaeh Parsons and Randal Dooley.
*Blatchford wrote five nonf-iction books and two books of Toronto Sun humour columns. She got a lot of blowback in 2010 for her book, Helpless: Caledonia’s Nightmare of Fear and Anarchy and How the Law Failed All of Us.
Her account of what happened to a Caledonia family in conflict with Six Nations residents (and how the OPP didn’t help) drew accusations of racism and saw her talk at the University of Waterloo cancelled.
*Her media presence was huge. Blatchford had a voice on CFRB NEWSTALK 1010 Radio for years and was a welcome guest/commentator on television.
*She was recognized for her work. Blatchford won several Dunlop Awards, a National Newspaper Award, the Governor-General’s Literary Award for non-fiction writing (for the book Fifteen Days: Stories of Bravery, Friendship, Life and Death from Inside the New Canadian Army.) and the George Jonas Freedom Award. In 2016 she was a finalist for the Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing (for Life Sentence).
She was inducted into the Canadian News Hall of Fame in November 2019.
*Blatchford took up running in middle age and was finishing marathons in short order. That can stand as an example of her drive, determination, work ethic and general can-do spirit.
*She probably liked dogs more than she liked people. Blatchford used to bring her lovely dog Blux to the Toronto Sun newsroom; she probably had a dog or two after Blux roaming the National Post hallways with her.
Last September, Blatchford wrote an emotional goodbye to her dear bull terrier, Obie, describing him as “the one” special canine of her life.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says wholesale sales, excluding petroleum, petroleum products, and other hydrocarbons and excluding oilseed and grain, rose 0.4 per cent to $82.7 billion in July.
The increase came as sales in the miscellaneous subsector gained three per cent to reach $10.5 billion in July, helped by strength in the agriculture supplies industry group, which rose 9.2 per cent.
The food, beverage and tobacco subsector added 1.7 per cent to total $15 billion in July.
The personal and household goods subsector fell 2.5 per cent to $12.1 billion.
In volume terms, overall wholesale sales rose 0.5 per cent in July.
Statistics Canada started including oilseed and grain as well as the petroleum and petroleum products subsector as part of wholesale trade last year, but is excluding the data from monthly analysis until there is enough historical data.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) — Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa sustained a concussion for the third time in his NFL career, leaving his team’s game Thursday night against Buffalo after running into defensive back Damar Hamlin and hitting the back of his head against the turf.
Tagovailoa remained down for about two minutes before getting to his feet and walking to the sideline after the play in the third quarter. He made his way to the tunnel not long afterward, looking into the stands before smiling and departing toward the locker room.
The Dolphins needed almost no time before announcing it was a concussion. The team said he had two during the 2022 season, and Tagovailoa was diagnosed with another concussion when he was a college player at Alabama.
Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel said Tagovailoa would get “proper procedural evaluation” and “appropriate care” on Friday.
“The furthest thing from my mind is, ‘What is the timeline?’ We just need to evaluate and just worry about my teammate, like the rest of the guys are,” McDaniel said. “We’ll get more information tomorrow and take it day by day from here.”
Some players saw Tagovailoa in the locker room after the game and said they were encouraged. Tagovailoa spoke with some players and then went home after the game, McDaniel said.
“I have a lot of love for Tua, built a great relationship with him,” said quarterback Skylar Thompson, who replaced Tagovailoa after the injury. “You care about the person more than the player and everybody in the organization would say the same thing. Just really praying for Tua and hopefully everything will come out all right.”
Tagovailoa signed a four-year, $212 million extension before this season — a deal that makes him one of the highest-paid players in the NFL — and was the NFL’s leading passer in Week 1 this season. Tagovailoa left with the Dolphins trailing 31-10, and that was the final score.
“If you know Tua outside of football, you can’t help but feel for him,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said on Amazon following the game. “He’s a great football player but he’s an even greater human being. He’s one of the best humans on the planet. I’ve got a lot of love for him and I’m just praying for him and his family, hoping everything’s OK. But it’s tough, man. This game of football that we play, it’s got its highs and it’s got its lows — and this is one of the lows.”
Tagovailoa’s college years and first three NFL seasons were marred by injury, though he positioned himself for a big pay bump with an injury-free and productive 2023 as he led the Dolphins into the playoffs. He threw for 29 touchdowns and a league-best 4,624 yards last year.
When, or if, he can come back this season is anyone’s guess. Tagovailoa said in April 2023 that the concussions he had in the 2022 season left him contemplating his playing future. “I think I considered it for a time,” he said then, when asked if he considered stepping away from the game to protect himself.
McDaniel said it’s not his place to say if Tagovailoa should return to football. “He’ll be evaluated and we’ll have conversations and progress as appropriate,” McDaniel said.
Tagovailoa was hurt Thursday on a fourth-down keeper with about 4:30 left in the third. He went straight ahead into Hamlin and did not slide, leading with his right shoulder instead.
Hamlin was the player who suffered a cardiac arrest after making a tackle during a Monday night game in January 2023 at Cincinnati, causing the NFL to suspend a pivotal game that quickly lost significance in the aftermath of a scary scene that unfolded in front of a national television audience.
Tagovailoa wound up on his back, both his hands in the air and Bills players immediately pointed at him as if to suggest there was an injury. Dolphins center Aaron Brewer quickly did the same, waving to the sideline.
Tagovailoa appeared to be making a fist with his right hand as he lay on the ground. It was movement consistent with something that is referred to as the “fencing response,” which can be common after a traumatic brain injury.
Tagovailoa eventually got to his feet. McDaniel grabbed the side of his quarterback’s head and gave him a kiss on the cheek as Tagovailoa departed. Thompson came into the game to take Tagovailoa’s spot.
“I love Tua on and off the football field,” Bills edge Von Miller said. “I’m a huge fan of him. I can empathize and sympathize with him because I’ve been there. I wish him the best.”
Tagovailoa’s history with concussions — and how he has since worked to avoid them — is a huge part of the story of his career, and now comes to the forefront once again.
He had at least two concussions during the 2022 season. He was hurt in a Week 3 game against Buffalo and cleared concussion protocol, though he appeared disoriented on that play but returned to the game.
The NFL later changed its concussion protocol to mandate that if a player shows possible concussion symptoms — including a lack of balance or stability — he must sit out the rest of the game.
Less than a week later, in a Thursday night game at Cincinnati, Tagovailoa was concussed on a scary hit that briefly knocked him unconscious and led to him being taken off the field on a stretcher.
His second known concussion of that season came in a December game against Green Bay, and he didn’t play for the rest of the 2022 season. After that, Tagovailoa began studying ways where he may be able to fall more safely and protect himself against further injury — including studying jiu-jitsu.
“I’m not worried about anything that’s out of my hands,” McDaniel said. “I’m just worried about the human being.”
TORSBY, Sweden (AP) — David Beckham and former England coach Roy Hodgson were among the soccer dignitaries who attended the funeral of Sven-Goran Eriksson on Friday in the Swedish manager’s small hometown of Torsby.
Eriksson’s wooden coffin was covered in white flowers and surrounded by six tall candles and other floral wreaths as the ceremony began inside the 600-seat Fryksande church.
“It is a day of grief but also a day of thankfulness,” the priest, Ingela Älvskog, told those in attendance.
Beckham, who arrived by private jet on Thursday, greeted Eriksson’s 95-year-old father Sven and other family members with hugs inside the church before the funeral started.
Eriksson became England’s first foreign-born coach when he led the national team from 2001-06, and made Beckham his captain.
Eriksson, who also won trophies at club level in Italy, Portugal and Sweden, died on Aug. 26 at the age of 76, eight months after he revealed he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and had at most one year to live.
Some 200 seats in the neo-Gothic church from 1898 were reserved for his family, friends and players from his career in the football world, according to his agent. The remaining seats were open for the public, according to Eriksson’s wish, with a big screen set up outside the church where hundreds more gathered to watch the ceremony. The funeral was also broadcast live on some Swedish media websites.
The wooden coffin was wheeled in by pallbearers at the church Friday morning as fog wrapped Torsby — a town of about 4,000 people located about 310 kilometers (193 miles) west of Stockholm. Next to the casket was a photo of Eriksson on a small table. The floral wreaths included ones sent by FIFA and Lazio, the Italian team that Eriksson led to the Serie A title in 2000.
The ceremony began with somber piano and organ music, but later took on a more upbeat note with Swedish singer Charlotta Birgersson performing Elton John’s song “Candle In The Wind” and then “My Way” in a duet with Johan Birgersson, who later intoned the popular Italian song “Volare” after the family had gathered around the casket to lay flowers.
Beckham also visited Eriksson in Sweden in June to say goodbye. Others attending the funeral included the Swedish coach’s longtime partner Nancy Dell’Olio. Eriksson’s agent had said that guests from England, Italy and Spain were expected.
After the funeral, the casket was carried out of the church by eight men to the hearse. The guests then walked in a procession accompanying the coffin to a nearby museum where speeches and eulogies to the coach fondly known as “Svennis” were planned on an outdoor stage. A brass band played during the procession through Torsby, including the tune “You never walk alone” from the musical “Carousel” which has become the anthem of Liverpool, the club Eriksson supported since childhood.
The local soccer club Torsby IF, where Eriksson started his career in the 1960s, wrote on its webpage that “you also showed your greatness by always being yourself, the caring Svennis who talked to everyone and took the time, for big and small, asking how things were and how the football was going. We will miss you.”
