Sports Random
Sunday mornings is a time for me to update the week in sports. I don’t scoure the papers and internet for information, because there’s just one place I need to go. I go to TSN, watch The Reporters, watch Off The Record, and watch the sports wrap. Here’s the take on stuff I’ve seen.
Hockey
We’re into the Stanley Cup final, a repeat of last year as Detroit and Pittsburgh go head to head. The big difference is Pittsburgh is a much better team this year than last year. They have more experience, more skill and more grit. But their going up against Detroit. Detroit won the President’s Trophy for the best record in the NHL. They handily dealt with Annaheim and Chicago. And there’s four guys with four Cup rings (all with Detroit). That’s more than all the guys who’ve won a Cup that in Pittsburgh’s line up. Game One has come and gone, and while the action was different than last year’s game one, the result was the same. Detroit 3-1. My pick, Detroit in five.
Baseball
A while ago, the city of Toronto went through retro week. The Maple Leafs brought in Cliff Fletcher in an interim position as GM, the Argos hired The Don Don Matthews as head coach, and the Blue Jays brought back Cito Gaston who helped the Jays win back to back World Series championships. Much, much later, Matthews is back in retirement (again), Cliff Fletcher is gone replaced by Brian Burke. But Cito is still there. And the Jays are doing well. They went through a bit of a slump recently, but they’ve won two games and look to do pretty good as the season progresses. With guys like Doc Halladay in the bull pen, their pitching looks good, but still can be improved. Unlike the early 90′s, my belief is that the Jays won’t blow the doors off. They might make the ALCS, but they won’t make the World Series.
Football
Class move by Marcus Crandell. He got the shaft last season in Riderville, as on again off again quarterback Michael Bishop was brought in from Toronto, and Crandell was let go. Now, the Riders have announced that the starting job in Darian Durant’s to lose. To help these young 
quarterbacks, Marcus is coming in as a guest coach to help these guys during training camp and during the preseason. Crandell wasn’t a quarterback the level of Henry Burris, Doug Flutie, Tracy Ham or the like, but I’d take Crandell who is a stand up guy, over a guy like Bishop who did nothing but whine and complain when Kerry Joseph showed up in the center of the Universe known as Toronto. The Riders should still be good this year, and I predict they will host a play off game, possibly even first in the west.
Still with football, Michael Vick is free. And Brett Fauve is also. But here’s the thing, you’re the GM of an NFL team that desperately needs a QB. Do you go with a clean cut guy with no priors who may or may not last until the end of the first game, or do you go with a guy who’s spent time in prison, but may have a long career ahead of him? I’d go the latter. No offense, Fauve, but your days as the starter with Green Bay are over. Word is he wants to go to Minnesota. Maybe he should go to Detroit. Anything would be better than what happened to the Lions last year. On the other hand, while teams may not be bashing down Michael Vick’s door, there’s still a better chance that he’ll come back to the NFL. Maybe not this year, but most certainly next year. But in order for Vick to do that, he’s really gotta humble himself.
Tennis
I see some people thinking “Tennis? What the hell?” Yeah, tennis. I don’t really watch the game, but I read an article recently about the number of female tennis players coming out of retirement and going back to competing. That’s great, because other sports have guys come out of retirement to continue on with the game they love. Gordie Howe, Brett Fauve (okay, sorta) just to name a couple. But the big difference with these coming out parties isn’t necessarily the names, but the ages. Howe played hockey into his 50′s. These women that are making these announcements are 19, 20 and 21. I think the oldest is 22. Retirement? At 19? Most normal people are already thinking about the rest of their lives, and retirement is the furthest thing. Well, maybe retirement from the sport is okay, that way, these female tennis stars can get on with the rest of their lives and do something else that they might really love.
Finally, Basketball
It’s been said that it’s not so much the teams that count, but the one key name that can go above the marquis. Kobe, Shaq, LeBron. These are names that are synonymous with basketball. People know the team they play for, but it’s that one key figure that people go to see. These NBA playoffs have been exciting, to the point I’m even keeping up with them. To some extent, I’d say that the NBA playoffs have been more exciting than the NHL Stanley Cup final.
That’s it, that’s all. Until next time…
…keep ‘em flyin’!
