Homeland insecurity for Senators

The Ottawa Senators and their fans face an epic struggle.

The Stanley Cup finals against the Ducks? Nope. The battle for the hearts and minds of Canadians.

Inga Skaya, the current Miss Canada, wore a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey as part of her “national” costume at the Miss Universe Pageant last week -- yet another reminder to the Senators of where they stand.

“We’ve paid our dues,” Ottawa Mayor Larry O’Brien told the Ottawa Sun. “We now have a world-class hockey team, we’re now a world-class city ... and I think it’s all just coming together.”

O’Brien might want to check the polls. A survey by Decima Research over the weekend showed that 24% of Canadians remained Maple Leafs fans. And, despite reaching the finals, the Senators remain a distant third -- behind the Montreal Canadiens -- at 15%.

As one Maple Leafs fan put it in an e-mail reported by the Canadian Press, “All of this chatter about the Senators being ‘Canada’s Team’ is clearly ... being promoted by knuckle-dragging, low-brow types attempting to generate false allegiances. Most long-suffering Leaf fans are patient enough to decline the free ride on this bandwagon.”

The championship wait for Leafs fans now stands at 40 years.

Trivia time

Which team has more Canadian players on its roster, the Ducks or Senators?

Smoke signal

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty told the Ottawa Sun newspaper that he would be contacting California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to work out a wager on whose team will win the Stanley Cup.

That could be good news for Arnold, as McGuinty should be able to get his hands on some Cuban cigars.

McGuinty, meanwhile, could get stuck watching “Jingle All the Way.”

This one’s for the birds

Euan Mahey of Cornwall, out for a bicycle ride in the English countryside this week, was attacked by what was believed to be a vulture, the BBC reported.

“I was cycling along this very quiet road when I felt this awesome thud,” said Mahey, who suffered lacerations to his scalp. “I turned around and saw this bird with its talons outstretched retreating away from me. It was quite incredible.”

No word on how fast anti-doping officials arrived on the scene to test Mahey, the bird and Floyd Landis.

Zoom, zoom, zoom

The Indianapolis 500 will have three female drivers for the first time, trivia that drivers Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher and Milka Duno would seem to prefer talking less about.

“Auto racing can provide an environment where men and women can compete on an equal level,” Fisher told the New York Times.

Well, auto racing, yes, auto insurance, no. So look for Indy officials to get a break on collision coverage this year.

And Patrick, Fisher and Duno certainly do take the respect of other drivers into the race.

“They got here because they’ve got talent,” defending Indy champ Sam Hornish Jr. told the Times. “I don’t care how good-looking you are, or what sex you are. The only way you stay in racing is if you have talent.”

Well, a fast car helps too.

Trivia answer

The Ducks, who have 20 Canadians to the Senators’ 14, according to rosters for the conference finals.

And finally ...

Pearls from Jiggy.

Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere revealed the Ducks’ strategy during an interview on KROQ Friday: “The only way to win is to score more goals than the other team.”

Stop the presses!

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chris.foster@latimes.com