Extreme Fitness loves their direct mail. Every month or so another one of their flyers shows up in my mailbox. They all say the same thing: No Annual Contract! Only $8 month. Offer ends [insert revolving date here].

Marketing such as this has become a hallmark of the fitness industry. As consumers, we have become so conditioned to assume that there will be hidden fees, contracts we can't get out of and a variety of deceptive practices that the new marketing tactics many clubs now employ are designed specifically to address these concerns.

As reported in Morning Brew, beer will no longer be available in the $2 Tuesday sections of the Rogers Centre, a move meant to stop repeated fighting at Blue Jays games this year. Fights broke out on both opening day and the first game under the $2 Tuesday promotion, each leading to about 100 fan ejections from the stadium.

Except, over 21,000 extra fans attended opening day, so the fact that a crowd about half the size produced just as many ejections on Tuesday alarmed Blue Jays officials. Now, the outfield sections of the 200 Level and the entire 500 Level will be dry during the $2 Tuesday games May 6, 20 and June 10.

With videos appearing on YouTube, Blue Jays president and CEO Paul Godfrey decided to act fast. "It's really unfortunate that some [fans] feel that this is a nightclub," he says, "It's not a nightclub. It's a sport venue."

In a tense fifth game of the Canadian National Scrabble Championship finals, 32-year-old mathematician Adam Logan found a triple-triple play of pARI(T)IES scoring 113 points to go ahead 450-229.

His opponent, 44-year-old computer programmer David Boys, not missing a beat, deadpanned "Give up yet?"

Overcoming a 221-point deficit at this point was insurmountable, and Logan prevailed 492-354. It was a hard-fought battle, with Boys overcoming a two games-to-none deficit to force a fifth and final game.

"This is becoming one of my very favourite events," said Logan after the tourney win.

Logan won a trophy and $7000 for his first place finish, claiming his unprecedented third title.

"One of my most challenging games of the tourney came against Maxim Panitch, who caught up and won by three points because I played a phoney," said Logan. "I played HOOPS, hooking an S onto the front of CURRIERS."

I found this story particulary amusing because Panitch and I discovered that phoney hook in a tournament game about three years ago, when I made the phoney hook and Panitch challenged it off.

Never mind Scrabulous, the real thing has come to town.

This weekend, the country's top Scrabble experts face off at the sixth Canadian National Scrabble Championships, celebrating the game's 60th anniversary.

Players from across the country are gathered in Toronto in the opulent Austin Gallery on the 12th floor of 1 King St. W. to vie for the title of Canadian Champion. There's a total prize pool of $12,150 including a top prize of $7,000 and the right to represent Canada at the 2009 World Scrabble Championship.

Entrants include the winners of all five past Canadian championships. Among them are three former world champions, including 32-year-old mathematician Adam Logan, pictured above (right) before his first game of the tourney.

You can follow along with the live coverage online, thanks to tourney director John Chew. If you're really keen, you can observe some annotated games from the top tables, allowing you to follow along play-by-play at home.

While the Blue Jays' first three games of the 2008 season against the New York Yankees may not have been as fruitful as us Jays fans would have hoped, it's really tonight's home opener against the Red Sox that will set the scene for the rest of the season.

It has been a long time since baseball fans in Toronto have celebrated a World Series championship (fifteen years now!) and an even longer time since the Jays had their humble beginnings on a snowy day at Exhibition Stadium in 1977. This year, however, the Blue Jays have moved past the "rebuilding phase" that has characterized the team for several seasons and are ready to be contenders.

Diesel Fitness is no more. Just weeks after making our list as one of the best fitness clubs in Toronto, the acclaim seems to have done them in. In an email sent to members this morning, owners George Chaker and Josh Feuer declined to disclose the reason for the closing aside from saying their lease was expiring on April 1st. Luckily for members they've made arrangements for them to work out at Totum on King who will honor all existing Diesel Fitness membership commitments.

Rumours of Diesel's demise have been circulating for well over a year now. Detractors will likely blame the perceived (but not fair) elitist brand positioning, high membership prices and poor management. More likely scenarios might be the high rent, high churn, intense competition and failure to attract enough new customers from all the nearby condos. Whatever you might think of Diesel, the facilities and classes were some of the best in the city; and they helped push the boundaries for what a fitness club could be.

Keep reading for the email sent to members this morning: