A12 H TORONTO STAR H FRIDAY, JANUARY 7, 2011 ON OR0 OTTAWA Former U.S. ambassador has Lou Gehrig’s disease Paul Cellucci, the blunt-talking former U.S. ambassador to Cana- da, has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease. The former Massachusetts gov- ernor, 62, revealed Thursday he has the progressive and ultimatelyfatal neurodegenerative disease. Cellucci, who’s maintaining a full work schedule as a lawyer in Bos- ton, said he’s experiencing some weakness but feels fine. Cellucci was named ambassador to Canada by then-U.S. president George W. Bush in 2001. BRITISH COLUMBIA Two more men charged in rape of teen at partyRCMP say a “code of silence” among teens may be preventing police from laying more charges in what they believe may have been a gang rape of a 16-year-old girl at a B.C. rave party last fall. Police announced charges Thursday against two more men in the alleged sexual assault on Sept. 10, but said they can’t pryenough evidence out of the wit- nesses for more charges. Photos and video of the alleged attack in the Vancouver suburb ofPitt Meadows, B.C., were posted on social media websites includ- ing Facebook. Candidate to stand up for ‘older, white males’ A candida te running to lead Brit- ish Columbia’s NDP is standing up for “older, white males.” Former cabinet minister HarryLali entered the race Thursdayand immediately denounced PETERBOROUGH—Greg Walsh stood up on his minor league hockeyteam’s bench Thursday night and screamed. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!” As his pink-clad Napa Auto Parts team rushed their rivals in black, the Austin Trophies, it looked a bit like their last mid-November matchup. It’s not. A lot has changed between that game and this one, and Walsh is happier than he looks (and sounds). It’s his first game back after being suspended by the Ontario Minor Hockey Association for pulling his team from the ice in protest of a racial slur lobbed at one of his kids by an Austin Trophies player last time they met. And when Andrew McCullum, the soft-spoken teen who received the barb sidles up to Walsh, his coach bops him on the helmet affectionately . “Hopefully the kids took a learn- ing experience out of this,” Walsh said before the game as parents and coaches jostled him to welcome him back. “Our job is not just to shove them on the ice.” For McCullum, the media storm, his position at the centre of the maelstrom, and playing for weeks without a coach can be summed up economically: “It sucked.” The saga began at a Nov. 15 game between the two teams. McCullum and the player from the Austin Tro- were “chirping” each other, as McCullum remembers. Then, a game official heard the other boy call McCullum “the N- word.” The official told a referee, but since the referee didn’t witness the infraction, no penalty could be given. The Austin Trophies coach benched his player for the rest ofthe period. When the player skated back on the ice next period without offering an apology, Walsh was incensed. The team agreed to forfeit the game they were winning, and were pull- ing off their skates before a two- minute window to reconsider was up . The boy and two of his coaches later served three-game suspen- sions, and the boy hand-delivered a letter of apology. But according to a Hockey Canada rule on “refusing to start play,” anyteam official responsible for remov- ing their team from the ice is auto- matically suspended pending a hearing. The rule is partially meant call. At the follow-up hearing four weeks later, Walsh made his case to a panel of three OMHA e xecutives. The panel had the discretion to ei- ther return Walsh to his team im- mediately, or suspend him for anylength of time up to a year. Five days after the hearing, Walsh was informed by letter that the as- sociation had decided to suspend him for the rest of the playing sea- son. He was stunned. At the time, Richard Ropchan, the association’s executive director, said, “We felt that it was appropri- ate under the circumstances,” and that pulling a team from the ice carries serious consequences. Outrage followed swiftly. Accord- ing to statements made by Maple Lodge Farms and Chrysler, two of the OMHA’s three corporate spon- sors, the companies urged the asso- ciation to reconsider their decision. Three days later, OMHA execu- tives scheduled an emergencyboard meeting and after near ly an The league would not provide an explanation for the reversal. Walsh called theStar’s coverage of his ordeal “instrumental” in getting him back behind the bench. Rop- chan also said the OMHA said it would review its penalties for using discriminatorylanguage,sayingthe league had “learned from this.” The Greater Toronto Hockey League gives out indefinite suspensions for the use of racial slurs. The team is very close. They wear pink in support of team manager Tracey Groombridge, who was di- agnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and fought it off (her jersey says “survivor.”) “The kids are glad to have him back,” Groombridge says of Walsh. “Justice prevailed.” Everyone on the Napa Auto Parts team said winning wasn’t the im- portant part. But for the record, the game ended in a 2-2 tie. Though, maybe there are still a few more lessons to be learned: McCullum got ejected from the Coach puts hockey row on ice Coach Greg Walsh watches the final minute of play Thursday night. His suspension was detailed in the Star. AARON HARRIS/FOR THE TORONTO STAR Hopes brouhaha over suspension ‘a learning experience’ for young minor league players KATE ALLEN STAFF REPORTER *Book by January 7 (11:59 p.m. MST) for travel on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays until April 20, 2011. Fares on other days may be higher. Advertised fare for Canadian destinations reflects from Toronto to Quebec City. 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