Toronto

The Globe and Mail, a respected national Canadian newspaper, has run an absolutely sensational and jaw-dropping investigative story chronicling the shady lives of the immediate family of Toronto Mayor Rob "Laughable Bumblefuck" Ford, including his brother, City Councillor Doug Ford. The Globe piece details how Doug Ford was allegedly one of the top drug traffickers in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, supplying the lower-level dealers in the region and running with a notorious gang, many of whose members ended up junkies and were arrested for habit-feeding property crimes. The piece also discusses Randy Ford, who was also allegedly in the drug trade, and who was arrested for his part in a kidnapping, allegedly over a drug deal. Ford's sister, Kathy Ford, is alleged to have ties to the Canadian chapter of the KKK, and to have been involved in spectacular, drug-related violent incidents. Finally, the Ford brothers' close advisor, David Price (heretofore known as Rob Ford's former coach), is described a Doug Ford's former drug-dealing partner. Rob Ford has been in the news since last week's revelation that both the Toronto Star and Gawker claimed to have been shown a video in which the mayor of Canada's largest city smokes crack cocaine, passes racist remarks about the kids on the football team he used to coach (he's been fired from that job) and calls Liberal Party leader Justin Trudeau (son of Pierre Trudeau), "a fag." Ford has been refusing to speak to the press or answer questions -- apart from a few cursory denials -- ever since, and I think this prompted the Globe to go digging in his past to see if there was anything in his history or family that suggested he might be involved in hard drugs. I'm guessing Ford wishes now that he'd just had a press conference. In recent years, the Ford family home has become known for the annual barbecue, attended by hundreds of neighbours and a Who’s Who of Conservative luminaries – including Prime Minister Stephen Harper and federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. But in the 1980s, the finished basement at 15 Weston Wood Rd. was one of the many places Doug Ford did business, the sources said. “Justin” recalled descending to the basement on one occasion to buy hash from Mr. Ford, and on numerous other occasions watching as it was sold. He said he couldn’t recall exactly how much hash he purchased that day, but that it was enough to require a triple-beam balance scale – the kind used in most high-school science classes. Normally, street-level dealers in that era relied on Pesola scales, the compact tubes often used by fishermen to weigh their catch. “If you went over [a quarter-pound], you had to go up to the three beamers – because you could get up to a few pounds on it,” he explained. As a dealer, Doug Ford was not highly visible. Another source, “Tom,” who also supplied street-level dealers and has a long criminal record, said his girlfriend at the time would complain, whenever he was arrested, that he needed to be more calculating “like Doug.” Mr. Ford’s approach, sources said, was to supply a select group that in turn distributed smaller amounts across Etobicoke. Globe investigation: The Ford family’s history with drug dealing [Greg McArthur and Shannon Kari/Globe and Mail] (Thanks, Charlie!)

Laura Crosta Who: Rachael Yamagata What: American singer-songwriter who has been mining topics of heartbreak and, well, heartbreak for three albums and numerous EPs over the past decade. Why: Having given her 2012 Heavyweight EP a physical release this year, she's embarking on the "Dealbreaker Heart" tour to promote it. When: Tuesday, June 4, 2013 Where: The Mod Club in Toronto (19+) Who else: Mississippi neo-soul artist Sanders Bohlke Read MoreBlog: ChromewavesRelated: CONTEST Allen Stone @ The Mod Club May 11, 2012CONTEST Aesop Rock @ The Mod Club July 30, 2012CONTEST Beth Orton @ The Mod Club September 30, 2012RT Contest! See Beth Orton at the Mod Club, September 30The Joy Formidable and Always at The Mod Club in Toronto

The Blue Jays have called up Thad Weber to take Sean Nolin's roster spot. Thad has pitched once for the Bisons since being picked up for waivers from the Padres. He went 2.2 scoreless innings for Buffalo. Nolin has been optioned and is on his way back to New Hampshire. UPDATE (Minor Leaguer) It appears that Thad Weber may have been brought up to start next week vs. Atlanta. Looks like one of Ramon Ortiz or Thad Weber starts Wednesday in Atlanta. #SNBlueJays @sportsnet — Jamie Campbell (@SportsnetJamie) May 25, 2013

Of the 21 richest countries in the world, Canada ranks third from the bottom when it comes to the number of paid vacation days its workers receive.

Buried in his Friday evening notes from Boston, MLB.com’s Jordan Bastian had this “quote to note” from Indians utility man Mike Aviles about manager Terry Francona: “I had numerous guys ask me, ‘What’s Tito like as a manager?’ I’d say, ‘I promise you, you’ll never want to play for anybody else.’ And it’s no disrespect to anybody else. That’s just the type of person Tito is. Once you play for a guy like Tito, you kind of get spoiled.” Aviles, 32, also played with Francona in Boston during the team’s much-ballyhooed collapse in late 2011. After beginning his professional career with the Kansas City Royals, he was dealt to the Sox in a deadline deal that season. He batted .317 in 38 games down the stretch when Francona ended his Boston tenure with a 7-20 September run that led to no playoff appearance. In the offseason, Francona was shown the door in Boston. With regular playing time, Aviles had a career season under one-year manager Bobby Valentine in 2012. This past offseason, Aviles then was traded for manager John Farrell to Toronto and, just two weeks later, was dealt again in the Esmil Rogers trade over to Cleveland. Francona had arrived the previous month, thus sparking the impromptu and excited manager-player reunion. Aviles is batting .280 in 31 games this season with 5 doubles and 3 home runs. He has appeared in games at five different positions, with his flexibility greatly assisting the oft-injured and very surprising club so far. [Related: Indians 12 Red Sox 3: Tito’s Revenge Tastes So Sweet]

Video: Roble Regal - "Toronto Times" Courtesy Breaking Ground. At 19 years old the world is your oyster, but very few are truly pearls. Roble Regal is one of them. The Toronto native raised between Canada and America is far from your average hip hop recording artist. Experimenting with vocals and a wide range of deliveries, this aspiring artist meets musicality with powerful, well thought out, and conceptual lyrics.

There’s no denying that Bruins fans have a reason for concern after Thursday’s overtime loss to the New York Rangers. With a 2-0 lead in the second period, the B’s looked destined to sweep a Rangers squad that had their share of issues prior to Game 4. But a series of blunders that started with Tuukka Rask’s gaffe on Carl Hagelin’s backhander left many fans scratching their heads. It’s no secret that the Bruins have not fared well in closing out a series. Claude Julien is now 7-13 in closing situations. Rask, who backstopped the Black and Gold during the Flyers collapse in 2010, is 2-8 with a 3.20 goals against average and a .890 save percentage in series clinching scenarios. All of this is a reason for concern. But, there’s no reason for The Hub of Hockey to panic, at least for the time being. The two teams resume their series this afternoon at the TD Garden for Game 5. And while the Rangers might have a little momentum after Chris Kreider’s overtime winner, the Bruins are still in the driver’s seat. After returning home, the Bruins had a loose mentality after practice on Friday. They still know there’s work to be done, but there’s no reason to be disappointed with another chance to clinch the series. It’s a situation the B’s have been in before, including their first round series with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and they aren’t rattled by it. “There’s no panic here. Had we been outworked and not been there at all, we would be talking differently here. But we didn’t get outworked, and all it was, as a team, we didn’t execute as we have been,” Julien said after Thursday’s loss. “We have to go home and play a better game.” After Kreider scored his game-winner, some fans and talk-show radio hosts, including Michael Felger, were quick to compare Thursday’s Game 4 loss to the defeat against the Flyers in 2010. Those comparisons are completely misleading according to Rask. “I don’t even want to compare. It’s a totally different team,” said the Finnish goalie. “We beat Philly the next year, 4-0, and went on to win the Cup, so lots of things have happened and we’ve said all along that we don’t want to look at the past too much. We like to live in the moment and focus on the task at hand.” While Rask is still between the pipes three years later, the two teams are completely different. Unlike the Philly series three years ago where injuries to David Krejci and Marco Sturm hampered them, young defensemen Torey Krug, Matt Bartkowski and Dougie Hamilton (despite his blunder on Kreider’s winner) have done a solid job replacing an injured blue-line core of Andrew Ference, Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden. Moreover, youngsters like Hamilton and Tyler Seguin took responsibility for Thursday’s loss. And that’s an encouraging sign as Julien and company look ahead to Game 5. “I think the one thing our guys have been is they’ve done a great job being accountable,” Julien said. “Acknowledging it is certainly a great thing because it means they know what needs to be done and then, from your end of it, you make the correction and then they show confidence in them and they’re going to go back and redeem themselves.” If the Bruins play like they did in the first three games of the series – and through the first period and a half in Game 4 – then there’s a good chance they’ll be waiting to shake the Rangers’ hands to symbolize the end of the second round matchup. A loss, however, would really put the fan base on edge a little more. And that’s something the Bruins don’t need – even if they eventually wind up claiming the series in six or seven – with the Pittsburgh Penguins awaiting the winner of this series in the Eastern Conference Finals. “We want to rally

Juice! Juice, please, Saturday. And then some news: the Ford family history with illegal drugs, Rob Ford denies allegations and ends no confusion, the elephants denied boarding, Metrolinx revenue tools unveiled, and a warning for Fast and Furious fans. Start your weekend off right with some light, festive reading, like this lengthy tale of the Ford’s family history with illegal drugs. The Globe and Mail, it seems, has been looking into the family’s background and came up with tales of Doug Ford allegedly being a major player in Etobicoke’s hashish scene in the ’80s. In fact, says the Globe, pretty much all the Ford siblings have alleged ties to the illegal drug trade. After more than a week of relative silence, Mayor Rob Ford held a press conference yesterday and flatly denied allegations he’d smoked crack cocaine. Then he just resumed saying Rob Ford-esque things about taxpayers and working hard for the City and it was like none of that mess had ever happened. Except not, because a lot of councillors don’t know what to think any more. They are not alone. Metrolinx is set to unveil their financing plans on Monday, but the Globe got a jump on them. The paper is reporting that a sales tax increase and a parking fee levy are the centrepieces of the plan to drum up money for transit expansion. They need to drum up $34 million with this plan. So, good luck. The Toronto Zoo’s elephants are still in town, and it looks like they’ll be staying the summer. National Defence has turned down a request for transport planes to move the elephants to California. So see them in their wildly inappropriate home at a Canadian zoo while you still can! And for those moviegoers not feeling too emotionally raw after seeing Fast and Furious 6 this weekend, for those that instead feel emboldened by Vin Diesel’s steely gaze and Paul Walker’s lightning hair, the police are actually warning people not to get ideas from the movie and start stunt driving around town. Got that, boys and girls? No imitating the driving from an elaborately choreographed movie. And no shaving your head and looking askance at cars and people, either.

They won’t save rock and roll by themselves but they’ve managed to save themselves from what could have been an emotional letdown.

Laura CrostaWho: Rachael Yamagata What: American singer-songwriter who has been mining topics of heartbreak and, well, heartbreak for three albums and numerous EPs over the past decade. Why: Having given her 2012 Heavyweight EP a physical release this year, she’s embarking on the “Dealbreaker Heart” tour to promote it. When: Tuesday, June 4, 2013 Where: The Mod Club in Toronto (19+) Who else: Mississippi neo-soul artist Sanders Bohlke supports How: Tickets for the show are $16.50 in advance but courtesy of LiveNation, I’ve got two pairs of passes to give away for the show. To enter, email me at contests AT chromewaves.net with “I want to see Rachael Yamagata” in the subject line and your full name in the body, and have that in to me by midnight, June 1. What else: Ithaca.com has an interview with Yamagata. MP3: Rachael Yamagata – “You Won’t Let Me”