A chilling, very useful summary of how the American republic has been dismantled over the past eleven months. And a chilling checklist of where the UK under Farage, and Canada under Poilievre, will go.

Congratulations to our local MLA and Green Party of Ontario leader @mikeschreiner.bsky.social for his very plausible dancing, lolly-eating moose in the Canadian Nutcracker at the River Run Centre last night. A man/moose of many talents!

Beautiful. And hey, you can see my seats from here.

AI's new slogan for 2026: "Ensuring that no one believes anything anymore."

Not only that, but the Argonauts' game in Ottawa that afternoon was *almost* postponed! The fences and scoreboard were blown down, and the Argos' equipment truck arrived late, but come hell or (literally) high water, they were playing that game.

We are hiring! The Department of History at the University of Guelph seeks a tenure-track Assistant Professor in History of the Middle East. careers.uoguelph.ca/job/Guelph-A...

For the Argos, it was "Argonaughts". (For the Alouettes, it was "All Wets".)

This was the Argos' lot in life in the mid Sixties and again in the mid Seventies. They even had a season ticket holder advertise his tickets for giveaway in 1963, with a cash bonus "for taking them off my hands".

If you thought 2025 was a bumpy one, I regret to inform you that 2026's path has been well and truly crossed by a black moggy.

When we say "no, everything hasn't been digitized," I need you to understand that we really mean is that virtually nothing has been digitized. This is because the realm of primary sources that historians use is incomprehensibly large.

A big part of being a historian is being a detective! Who did this? Why? Where? Why does it matter in the grand scheme of things? You have to learn how to probe, how to uncover, how to read against the grain, how to find unusual sources, how to interpret those sources. How to piece together a puzzle

Turn. It. Off.

disinterested: having no stake in the outcome of, or conflict of interest in, a dispute or disagreement uninterested: not interested, bored, blasée, meh, whatever, don't care

Now, I wonder why someone who reads "illegal orders" and hears "my orders" would be trying to ingratiate himself to the military.

Great news for our department! Assistant Professor = Lecturer (UK)

Because land purchased by US companies automatically becomes the property of the US government, right?

The symbolism, in this age of epistemophobia and doing "your own research", could not be less helpful or more dangerous.

Spot the President.

Sometimes you see or hear something on the news, and you think, I must be asleep or something, because this can't be real.

I find all of this hard to believe. Don't get me wrong. I accept completely that what he says is true. But I cannot fathom what would make a person think threatening an athlete is a good idea. Is this gambling? <sigh>

🧠🧽

There isn't a single problem "solved" by edtech that couldn't be fixed with smaller classes led by well-paid teachers given real academic freedom

Do you work on sport & photography history - or one of those areas but have a great project idea that combines both? Come work with BOTH the amazing @phrc-dmu.bsky.social @ @icshc.bsky.social #sporthistory #photohist #skystorians 🗃️

And the least surprised demographic in the country is fans of Canadian football, who have spent the last fifty years rejecting its characterization as unnecessary and inconsequential compared to its US counterpart.

Yes indeed. But no investigation into how the media knew Ryan Dinwiddie was going to the Redblacks six weeks before permission was sought to speak to him, or how the conditions set on that permission - that the Argos would be given an opportunity to respond - were violated. 🤔

Wow. What a loss. Canadian sports history has lost a giant, whose body of work will forever enrich and inform our understanding of this country's sporting past and heritage. Condolences to Ann's loved ones, friends and colleagues.

A sublime moment in Canadian sportswriting, from October 1964 (talking about how the BC Lions, and not the Montreal Alouettes, managed to sign Quebecker Bob Swift).

Canadians of my generation remember Red Storey mainly as a hockey commentator and "old-timers" game referee. But before he made his name as a NHL referee, Big Red immortalized himself in a remarkable 15 minutes' work during the 1938 Grey Cup game.

As we seem to say weekly now, this man is self-evidently the least likely person on the planet - on any planet - to suppress documents that exonerate him.

Looking to book a speaker? I offer talks in the Greater Toronto Area based on my non-fiction books about wrongful convictions, bank robbers, scams + a WW1 war crime involving a Canadian hospital ship. Details natehendley.ca/presentations/ @dundurnpress.bsky.social @crimewriterscanada.bsky.social

Eep. Is it a coincidence that this report is coming to light shortly after McGill's announcement of its intention to axe a wide range of athletic programs?

Good man! And good pickup by @3downnation.bsky.social It's dumb, and it's sad, but this kind of thing does matter. So thank you Drake.

The dense clouds of rumour and obfuscation that have swirled around and around John Murphy, obscuring how he has or has not been involved in key personnel and other decisions, have been irksome for some time. Small wonder his apparent exit is no less murky.

Morris went on to coach the Argos to 3 straight Grey Cups in 1945–47, and served as their chief Canadian scout from 1956 until his death in 1965. In terms of total contribution to the Double Blue as player, coach and executive, I think Pinball Clemons is his only rival in 153 years of club history.

I often talk about the "Canadian cringe" in relation to the history of how Canadian football has been viewed. (A concept stolen from the "Caledonian cringe" discussed in Scotland.) Here's another example of that predisposition to doubt ourselves.

I thought Coach Miller handled that first "interview" very well. The lads were obviously very impressed by his (NFL) resumé; and by the fact he'd been listening to the show.

Don't miss new head coach of the @torontoargos.bsky.social, Mike Miller, tomorrow morning on #FirstUp at 9:00am! LISTEN LIVE: www.iheart.com/live/tsn-105...

We’re looking for recent PhDs from outside the UK / not UK citizens who are interested in working with @icshc.bsky.social for a #sporthistory postdoc application through the British Academy International Fellowship #skystorians 🗃️ networks.h-net.org/group/discus...

Not even believable. Indeed. Wikipedia tells me that "in 2006, Somalis in [Minnesota] accounted for $164–$394 million in purchasing power and owned 600 businesses". Was Obama POTUS in 2006?

So, we're about to watch the Trump administration simultaneously court martial one Admiral for obeying their illegal orders, court martial a second Admiral for refusing to obey their illegal orders, and court martial a retired officer for reminding troops not to obey illegal orders.

Congratulations to Coach Mike Miller, who, depending on how one counts, today becomes the 52nd (if old-style captain-coaches are excluded) or the 65th head coach of the Toronto Argonauts in their 153-year history. [N.B. 2026 marks exactly 50 years since the job was last held by a Canadian.]

Highest-paid until February (or possibly sooner).

Some topical Toronto media history

A big thank you to the Professional Footballers'​ Association for making us so welcome during our @icshc.bsky.social FIFA Master field visit this week and for allowing the class to learn more about the vital work being carried out to support both men and women's players in the professional game.

From the Nazi bird app.

One hopes that US military personnel now in doubt about whether to obey illegal orders are watching as these cowards, to protect themselves, throw the pilots under the bus who followed their orders to murder people in cold blood.

For Guelph, the equivalent response would happen at the Wellington Street bridge over the Hanlon expressway.

Beautifully executed - with a powerful, mind-expanding final line. I can't recall ever seeing our current socio-political state described this well before. For one thing, it explains the contribution of social media, with their capacity to shape what we think is "normal".