T.J. Grant is a highly touted MMA fighter in the UFC's lightweight division. The Cole Harbour native is one of the guest speakers at the InspirationWorx Career Expo at the Best Western Glengarry in Truro on March 20th. I had a chance to talk to him this week about how he got interested in MMA, his career, and more.

The Christmas break is here for the Truro Bearcats, and what a start it's been. The team sits in second place in the Eastlink Division after plowing their way into first place early on and staying tehre for much of this season. Nationally, the team has been recognized in the CJHL's Top 20 rankings every week and was in second place in the nation for much of the season to this point, slipping to sixth in the latest list.

Normally the Bearcats Insider is about one minute long and gives a quick snapshot on how the team is doing as I chat with Head Coach Shawn Evans. This week's chat covered a lot of territory I couldn't get into the Insider, so here's the full audio.

Enjoy your holiday season and let's get set to cheer on the Bearcats again in January, hopefully in the Rath Eastlink Community Centre sooner ...

A day after the horrific events in Newtown, Connecticut it still doesn’t make any sense. There’s no way you can justify or put into words how someone can go on a shooting rampage anywhere, but especially at an elementary school. The death toll is 20 children and six adults, with the shooter’s mother another victim and the shooter himself as well.

As the coverage unfolded yesterday there were a few things that caught my attention and, frankly, pissed me off. I understand what the 24/7 news cycle has done for events like this and some of it just doesn’t feel right. I routinely saw interviews with children at the school, with reporters asking these poor kids what they saw, how they felt, and what they did.

I don’t care if the parents gave permission for the kids to talk (which they would have to, by the way); it’s wrong. These ...

Three weeks from today, we’ll be heading to the polls for the municipal and school board elections and I don’t know what to expect. You see, in our part of the province, people just don’t seem to care about local government. Alright, I can see that look you’re giving me. The one that says, “What are you talking about, we care!”

Look back at 2008. As a group, we don’t. Here’s the voter turnout for local municipalities and towns, from best to worst:
Parrsboro: 71.3%
Stewiacke: 70.8%
Springhill: 59.1%
Pictou County: 58.8%
Pictou: 55.4%
Oxford: 51.9%
Cumberland: 49.8%
Westville: 47.8%
Amherst: 47.6%
New Glasgow: 46.8%
Hants East: 45.5%
Stellarton: 40.3%
Colchester: 34%
Truro: 19.4%

So what can we take from this? It’s been mentioned before, but it bears repeating here: Truro had the lowest turnout in the province and it’s shameful to see a number so low.

Taking things from ...

The travelling road show that is the Truro Bearcats start their home season this weekend. The team, 4-0 on the year (all road games) and ranked 16th in the country open up their schedule at Colchester Legion Stadium against Campbellton. The Bearcats opened their season with a 2-1 win over the Tigers so they should have a good idea of what to expect Saturday night.

The team made a pair of moves this week. Woodstock, Ontario native and forward Paul Thompson, who registered 9 goals and 16 assists for Truro last season, has been dealt to the Dryden Ice Dogs of the SIJHL for future considerations. The Bearcats then added a defenceman, picking up Brandon McMartin from the Mississauga Chargers in the OJHL. McMartin, a 19 year old from Toronto, registered a goal and 7 assists in 27 games last season with Mississauga.

After finishing up the Bearcats Insider this ...