What’s better than championship sports anthems? Championship sports anthems recorded in round 2 of the playoffs! Meet ‘Pesky Back,’ the Ottawa Senators-themed parody of Justin Timberlake’s ‘Sexy Back.’ Nothing says “we’re the team for this year” quite like a song from 2006!

Here is another ditty… The folks at CTV Morning Live Ottawa do another video to help cheer on the Ottawa Senators as they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in Round Two of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs!

Here is the song. I apologize in advance.

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“Boston Strong” emerged as a motto for a city shaken by the terrorist bombings at the Boston Marathon. You may recall seeing that ribbon projected onto the ice during the incredible mass-singing of the Star-Spangled Banner before the 4/17 Bruins/Sabres game or hanging around while David Ortiz declared Boston “our f**king city.” It’s not about politics, and it’s especially not about sports … it’s about coming together and soldiering through any adversity forced upon you by the sickest people in the world, because you’re strong, and that’s all you can be.

I reiterate, it is not about sports.

Canada did not get that memo. Please direct your attention to Monday’s NHL Easter Conference quarterfinals game 3 between the Boston Bruins and the Toronto Maple Leafs, wherein a Leafs fan though it would be totally kosher to bring a Boston Strong parody sign. Again, just so I can make sure I’m typing this correctly, a hockey fan thought it would be awesome to make a parody ribbon and announce that “liking the Toronto Maple Leafs” is stronger than “rebuilding your city after an act of terror.”

Here you go:

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In a story that is absolutely not funny, a Canadian parachuting instructor died when he went for a solo jump after a day of taking out first-timers. Investigators aren’t sure exactly what happened to him.

“Everything was good, parachute opened great. He was doing the John [Scott] thing — he flies a very small, fast parachute — and he just missed on the bottom end,” said [skydiving site] Eden North owner Lyal Waddell on Sunday.

Zazulak said that the RCMP are still investigating the cause of Scott’s death and have seized his equipment to determine whether there was any sort of malfunction. They are also speaking to witnesses.

“Nothing appears suspicious at this time,” she said. “However, we do want to find out what happened. With any sudden, unexplained death we need to totally rule out that there might be anything suspicious at play.” (via CBC News)

While “a skydiver died skydiving” is sad news, it’s not the kind of thing we normally write about at With Leather. “Did someone involved do or say something stupid,” you may be asking, “to justify this story’s inclusion on the same day as a Ryan Lochte bonerjam?”

Yes. Someone did.

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In Canada, we don’t have a lot of the best things. We have great things, sure, and definitely better things (‘sup Healthcare, I’ll see you for free later…or whenever I want), but the best? Our cable providers suck. Our cellphone technology and data rates are laughable. We pay exorbitant fees for basic, limited internet access, and when Brock Lesnar said being in Canada was like a third-world country, it wasn’t about our healthcare – he was just excited to find a full series torrent for ‘Dharma and Greg’ and got mad that it would take him a week to download it.

As Canadians, two immediate things we can point to and definitively say yeah, eff you world, they’re ours and they’re the best, are Jay Onrait (the funny man) and Dan O’Toole (the best straight man in the biz. Also very funny). Like Peter Mansbridge, or basically any mid-to-top level Canadian female curler, they’re the best in the world at what they do, and what they do is Sports Broadcasting.

And now we don’t even have that.

It was announced today that Canadian’s favourite television personalities would pack up and move to some sunny little western berg you call Los Angeles for a brand-spankin’ new gig at Fox Sports. And there’s nothing I can do but lie on the couch, weep, and watch Rogers Sportsnet, the Canadian equivalent of self-harm.

Onrait and O’Toole will continue hosting Canada’s most-watched sports news program, SPORTSCENTRE, until late June.

“It is with mixed emotions that all of us at TSN and Bell Media bid farewell to Jay and Dan. They have made remarkable contributions to TSN and have helped solidify SPORTSCENTRE as Canada’s clear choice for sports news,” said Phil King, President, CTV Programming and Sports. “I’ve been working with Jay and Dan since the beginning, and their success is a testament to the exceptional talent and original productions that have become a hallmark of Bell Media. I’m sure Jay and Dan will thrive on U.S. television and endear themselves to a whole new legion of fans.” (via TSN)

I beg of you, America, be good to them. Follow them on twitter. Listen to all of their podcasts. Treat them with kindness, shower them with praise, and don’t forget to rub Dan’s belly before an evening broadcast. He likes that.

As an introduction, please accept one of the many “Best of” compilations that can be found on YouTube. But I ask, how do you choose the best part…of a rainbow? How to you bottle a sunny day? To know Jay and Dan is to love them. Little snowbirds, take me with you when you go.

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Update: Canada has surpassed the United States in the aerospace industry. Thanks a lot, Obama!

Dozens of skiers in Quebec, Canada, take part in a world record attempt, performing a 30 person mass backflip on skis. The participants hold hands as they jump and all land neatly. This is their second attempt at the jump at Mont Saint-Sauveur in the Laurentian mountains.

There’s so much to love about this clip. How low the skiers have to go to pull off a 30 person backflip, how they kinda look like somebody’s stitches when they’re in the air, the wonderfully-Canadian responses from the crowd (“whoa ho!”) and my favorite, the SNOWMAN MOUNTAIN. We should turn every snowy hill into a snowman. This should not be optional.

Get your shit together, America. We should be prepping for the 31-man backflip launch right now. Don’t let the onset of summer keep us from being the best in the world at everything. Well, everything useless.

[video via SportsTV]

Niklas Hjalmarsson of the Chicago Blackhawks suffered a great indignity on Monday night … not only did he have to sit in the penalty box, he had to watch the Vancouver Canucks Green Men pull off a terrible magic trick. Sorry, Niklas, next time we’ll try to get you tickets to Celine Dion. (via NIS)

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Links

Bro Shares Harrowing Tale Of Being Stuck With One-Night Stand During Boston Lockdown |UPROXX|

Here’s A Bunch Of Pictures Of Daenerys Set To Van Halen’s ‘On Fire’ |Warming Glow|

Reese Witherspoon Is Super Sorry, Y’all |Film Drunk|

Hey Everyone, Look At How Edgy Rihanna Was Being At The Heat Game! |With Leather|

Why ‘Futurama’ Should Go Exclusively Online |Gamma Squad|

13 NBA Players You’d Want On Your Side In A Fight |Smoking Section|

Why Do NFL Player’s Hate America? |Kissing Suzy Kolber|

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