Canada FM loses beer bet to Kerry on ice hockey

LONDON - Agence France-Presse

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird (L) shakes hands with US Secretary of State John Kerry (R) after presenting him with a case of Molsen Canadian beer on the sidelines of the G8 Foreign Ministers meeting at Lancaster House in London on April 11, 2013, to pay off a gentlemen's bet on a women's the international ice hockey match between Canada and the US that the US won. AFP photo

Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird Thursday handed over a case of Canadian beer to his US counterpart John Kerry after losing a bet on a women's ice hockey championships.
 
"While the Canadian women played tremendously well and almost pulled it off, they didn't quite make it unfortunately again against our American friends," Baird laughed as he handed over a case of Molson Canadian.
 
The two men had bet on the 2013 International Ice Hockey Federation Women's World Championship between the US and Canada late Tuesday in which the American team scored a 3-2 victory.
 
Baird also donated a case of Beau's beer from Vankleek Hill, Ontario for the US embassy staff in Ottawa. Kerry had staked a case of Sam Adams on the game.
 
"We're very, very happy. I'm delighted that the American team won the game, but I salute our great Canadian friends and extraordinary group of athletes on both sides," Kerry said.
 
The US secretary of state, who was in London to attend a meeting of G8 foreign ministers, pledged not to down the beer immediately on Thursday, just hours before he was due to leave for a long-haul flight to Seoul.