Though Rob Ford isn't talking to the Star about the two ongoing police investigations into domestic disputes in his home, he seems to have no problem commenting for the Sun (considering the two newspapers' history with the mayor, this isn't very surprising). From Florida, Ford told the Sun's Joe Warmington that "there's no problem at all." His brother Doug also denied that his brother had been drinking as reported. The mayor also said: "Look, I think you know a lot of people who have problems behind closed doors."

Vancouverite Toby Samson, who moved to Toronto six months ago, is asking people to "dare" her into doing very "Torontonian-like" things, you know, like chugging a beer in the Distillery District or belting out karaoke tunes in Chinatown (we could probably give her some better ideas). Each dare costs $20 with the money going towards Stephen Lewis Foundation's Dare Campaign, which raises money to fight AIDS in Africa. Funnily enough, Samson is a local tour guide, but sometimes she just doesn't have the time to try out the activities she recommends to other people. Wait - she's lived here for only six months and she's a tour guide?

OpenFile outlines the history of the Odeon Hyland, the movie theatre at Yonge and St. Clair, that closed down in February 2001. The Hyland opened in 1948 to a room full of high school students for a matinee of Laurence Olivier's "Hamlet". Apparently the students didn't laugh in the right places, which really was the least of their problems, which included daily blackouts in the early days and waning attendance in its later years.

Here's some of the Star's predictions for Toronto sports in 2012 (and obviously one needn't be a psychic to see these coming): The Leafs manage to just barely make the playoffs, only to lose to Boston in four games; the Raptors still suck; The Jays don't make the playoffs because Lawrie and Bautista aren't what they used to be, and the FC and Argos? Well, you'll have to read the article...

IN BRIEF:

• Raptors lose to Mavericks
• Chris Selley's advice for Rob Ford in 2012
• CBC picks Jack Layton as Toronto's top story of 2011; Rob Ford 'phenomenon' is second

Photo by Nils Blondon in the blogTO Flickr pool