Free Republic

Tim Horton loved cars more than he loved coffee, and it cost him his life. By 1973, the 43-year-old four-time Stanley Cup champion and future Hockey Hall of Famer had played 23 seasons in the NHL. Nonetheless, with the new season approaching, Buffalo Sabres general manager Punch Imlach enticed Horton to play an additional year for $150,000 and sweetened the deal with a sporty De Tomaso Ford Pantera. Imlach preyed on Horton’s lifelong weakness for fast cars, and the player couldn’t resist the offer of owning the supercar. Four months later, when Horton perished driving the sports car at breakneck...

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has a beef with fast-food chains, particularly when they’re doing business with public hospitals. The D.C.-based non-profit recently surveyed more than 200 hospitals around the U.S. and found that 40 of them—around 20 percent—housed a fast-food restaurant. Chick-fil-A leads the charge with 20 hospital locations, followed by McDonald’s (18) and Wendy’s (5); donut and coffee spot Tim Horton’s also makes an appearance. In terms of state saturation, Texas and Florida tie with seven hospitals apiece. The report also points out some surprising anecdotal examples, like the McDonald’s attached to the Children’s Hospital of Georgia, which offers...

Small, medium or large? The amount of outrage over Burger King’s deal to buy a Canadian donut chain could possibly determine whether the deal goes through — and helps Burger King dodge millions of dollars in U.S. taxes.

OTTAWA, July 29 - Ask Canadians about their national icons and many will name one very odd one: the Tim Hortons chain of doughnut and coffee shops. So Friday's announcement that 10 years of control by an American company, Wendy's International, might be coming to a close was met in Canada with a great deal of interest. "It's good to hear that Tim's will possibly be coming back to being a Canadian operation," said Ken Smith, a government employee, as he sat down for an apple fritter and an iced cappuccino at a Tim Hortons in central Ottawa. Praise for...